I am rebuilding a 1968 Firebird Convertible. The body shop is just about done, however, they cannot get the doors to fit correctly. They replaced the floor. I believe the floors were not braced as required.

Has anyone had this problem? How can we fix this problem.

Did the doors fit correctly before the floor was replaced? I have owned 4 converts. over the years and all of them have had doors that didn't fit properly due to sagging. Maybe structural support would correct the problem???

If the doors shut properly before they replaced the floors, then they didn't brace the body correctly when they cut out the old floors. They may get to cut them out and redo them to get the body straight again.

After removing the doors they needed to ATLEAST weld in a temporary support across the top of the door opening before cutting the floor.

If they welded the floors in with the body sagging, then they will have to be cut out, doors re-hung, and center of car jacked up to align the doors again. Then remove the doors, weld in the necessary supports to keep the body straight and redo the floors.

Sounds like fun!

Drew

I have to do floors in a '68 FGF vert (and a 66 gto hardtop). Anyone got pics of where supports will be needed?

How do you check if the body is straight to begin with? I have seen the postings before where you do a "three" point check, is that it?

And yes, I am a beginner

You want enough support structure to keep the body form moving, but not so may that it inhibits your ability to get the job done! LOL

I'd recommend (at a minimum) use square tube from the front top corner to the rear top corner of the door opening on each side, AND a cross bar from the center of the driverside support to the center of the passenger support.

I've never done it myself, but have seen it done several times.

You can tell if it's straight by looking at the body lines and the gaps between the doors and fenders and quarters....assuming the car is still assembled. Otherwise you'll have to measure.

I braced my 69 vert with angle iron (actually old bed frames) from the top fender mount hole to the top of the rear jamb. I welded a metal plate and drilled a hole and used the fender mount bolt for the front and then mig welded the rear section to the inside of the jamb. I then welded another piece of angle iron from the drivers side to passenger side butted against the rear jambs and welded to the door brace angle iron. I had the car on a rotisserie for almost a year; took out the complete floor and trunk floor, put in all new floors, braces,inner rockers, re-welded the rear seat back plate thingy back in and took it off the rotiseerie. The doors still fit in perfect. No sagging.

Measruing alone won't get it. I have followed up on many cars that measured up, but the parts don't fit. Most professional--well the better--bodymen know this syndrome and do mock assemballies.

Unless you can be assured that the bracing didn't allow for body shift, it takes a mock assembally to assure that the parts will align.

I am a bit nervous now. I replaced only the front floor pans on my vert this past summer and have yet to reinstall the doors. Would the frame sag with just one front floor pan taken out at a time? No tunnel or seat reinforcement pans were touched.

It depends on how solid the car is. Some birds doors will not close if they are on jack stands. Others, you can put them on the rotisserie without any bracing and they don't flex a bit. I would think that if your car flexed by just replacing one front pan at a time there would have to be some serious structural problems.

You wont know until you set them in place, catalina. Id do like Amervo said and at least hinge them in place temporarily before I got any further along just in case you hafta make corrections.

Probably a good idea. At least they are stripped down and should be easy to re-hang. Now getting to where I have them stored in the shed is a whole different story...