I thought the doors were the same and many of the other panels too; could be wrong... I know there are lots of differences round the rear bumper and so on...Inner wings/strut tops, sunroof (eh, Dave....), oh hang on, this is getting to be quite a lot, now...
I am breaking an E12 based E24 ('81 build) right now and the doors do seem to be meant to take either early (as fitted) or late types of door card; but maybe its just an illusion of compatibility...
Also, the '81 car was also fitted with metrics, so that might not be the only reason for the difference in the wheelarch flare 82-. Maybe as above its a track width increase or maybe its the suspension changes at the front altering the wheel path through the arch on bump and on lock?
Anyway a prod at the '81 wings from the parts car showed one of them already to have a lot of filler in, so its back to plan 'a', out with the welding torch and have at it.....
BTW the shut panels were almost new- still had the stickers on, both in the 'last five minutes if you are lucky' black primer, no sign of rubberised paint.
By the time I'm done (if I ever get it all done, maybe...) I shall be pretty nifty at reconstructive wing surgery, be able to MIG weld in my sleep, have 'nibblers' and flanging tools practically as bodily appendages, and never travel far without jenolite and zinc primer supplies.
Agh, if I didn't like driving the things, I wouldn't bother....
cheers