Most of us that drive beaters really don't care what the outside or inside of our rigs looks like. It's a fact, yet people spend inordinate amounts of money keeping their rigs in perfect condition, to the point of not even driving them in the rain, much less on the street. However, once the clothes or skin start to rip off your body from ragged sheetmetal or jagged door panels, something has to be done. In our case, the door panels were merely crusty and split from UV rays, and only tore the nylons from women's legs as they tried to get in for a night on the town. Yes, something had to be done.
Since ours is such a common '81 Chevy Blazer, we knew a junkyard would be the first stop, but the price quoted for tattered trim made us reconsider so we pulled out a recent Year One catalog. We found not only door panels, but happily the lower carpet piece, door pulls, and even the tools to make the job a snap, all at a reasonable cost. Check out what a simple little job it is to replace door interiors for less than $300, and spruce up the inside of your 4x4 for a truly meaningful relationship.
The most difficult part of the whole process is getting the window crank off. A U-shaped clip on the handle retains it to the door post, and without the special tool, it's a bear. Year One offers the right tool (PN T77 for about $10) that not only removes the clip without damaging the door panel, but also easily replaces it. We highly recommend using one. | 
Another tool is used to pop the plastic retainers away from the sheetmetal, and is super handy to have. All of the door pulls, door knobs, and trim pieces also need to be unscrewed for the door panel to be removed. With the window down, lift the panel up and out. Make sure you clean and lube all of the lock and window linkages while the panel is off. |
Replacement is a snap, and all of the hardware needed is included with the panels. Slip the panel over the top of the door lip, and secure it with the new screws. Double-check the lock and window functions before final installation. | 
The replacement armrest screws right into place as easily as the other parts. New lock knobs finish off the trim, and the panel is done. Check for proper lock operation. |
The lower carpet panels match the door panels and are available in a variety of colors like the panels. The old ones are hard to take off if the screws are rusty, but locking pliers helped us remove the battered ones. Align the new carpet with the holes and insert the new screw. We found that a few holes wouldn't line up, so we made some new ones for a perfect fit. | 
These aftermarket door panels are nearly identical to the factory versions, but not always perfect. We found we needed to trim a little bit around the door release for clearance, but overall the quality and fitment was excellent. |
The final touch is the window crank installation. We first checked the angle of the handle before installing the retaining clip, so that the crank pointed the right way when the window was up or down. Once you like the angle, slip on the clip and install the crank.