door question

[va_tlc]

my friend has put all new body panels on his 72 blazer and was wondering since he lined up his doors and fenders cowl basically everything with the top on, question is .. when he took the top off the doors dropped about 1/4 inch. he scared that after its painted it may hit the paint, do yalls doors do this is it common for this to happen? thanks for any info

[pound41]

Condition of the floors. Could be the rocker/torsion boxes are gone. Or body mounts. Top makes a big difference in keeping everything together So when its removed any one of the three things or any combo of them could cause the body to sag

[LUV2XCLR8]

Doors shut perfect on "Merlot" till the top came off, now they do not, and
just about all Blazers / Jimmy's have this issue, just a matter of how much.

[bouncytruck]

Most likely the body mounts are shot and causing body sag.

[va_tlc]

ok thanks alot guys, thats knda what we were thinkin,, like yall said with these old trucks we can just about take our pick at which part we wanna blame huh later guys im gonna try and get some pics of his blazer for yall hes running 36x 15.5x 18;s... 6 inch lift.

[Luba]

So what is the cure for this? Or is there one? Do you have to align doors and such both with the top on and off? Can that be done?

[Huck]

The floor must be supported by good torque boxes and rocker panels in place--welded in with the top on to insure proper alignment. You also must have decent body to frame mounts in place and properly shimmed to prevent the body from sagging when you remove the top. THis is a common issue with ALL convertables---. The bodies were not built for convertable design but were done as an after thought--mustangs--chevy's---just about every vehicle. Only those built as a convertable only are usually stiff enough to avoid the door sag issue.

[69TowRig]

If only GM would have fully-boxed the frame...

[vtblazer]

Originally Posted by 69TowRig

If only GM would have fully-boxed the frame...

Nothing to do with it, it's all in the tub structure.

va_tlc, is everything still intact on your friends blazer?
Torsion boxes, torsion rods still there?

Any rust in the lower A pillar or inner/outer rockers?

All these parts play their part in keeping the door opening stable when the top's off.

[DURRTY]

Originally Posted by Huck

The floor must be supported by good torque boxes and rocker panels in place--welded in with the top on to insure proper alignment. You also must have decent body to frame mounts in place and properly shimmed to prevent the body from sagging when you remove the top. THis is a common issue with ALL convertables---. The bodies were not built for convertable design but were done as an after thought--mustangs--chevy's---just about every vehicle. Only those built as a convertable only are usually stiff enough to avoid the door sag issue.

good post. BUT if the body came off with no shims and many random diameter and length bolts, what do you measure to properly shim the body mounts. I was just reading the sheet that came with my body mounts tonight and it says to keep all the shims that may come off. mine has no shims LOL i was lucky it was all bolted to the frame.

Now i am very confused, not just a little drunk.

#1 I am about to put the body back on the frame with new mounts.
#2 was going to put the top on and start to replace the sheet metal

BUT
but but

all this shim talk now makes me think i should shim the body I have no rocker panels, front floor or torsion box to speak of they are kinda there but not really doing anything but rusting. (I do have the replacements)

GRRRRR

so loosely fit the body mounts, put the top on, doors on, then torque the body mounts? and try to line up what i can?????????????

Or get the frame level on the stands(shim up the frame temporarily).... then level/shim the body to the frame?

then the sheet metal?

ouch I'm hurting now.


At work i deal with less than a 1/16" tolerance with what i fab. and I try not to bring it home but a 1/16 is big to me......

any one who has dealt with this your knowledge is appreciated.

[va_tlc]

i belive his rockers was in pretty decent shape, he had the door openings braced up while he had the doors fenders off. he got the body shop to put the new bedsides on.... then again like most of yall suggested the top has yet to be put back on yet!!! i relayed yalls info and i told him after ya put the top on hold yer breath and cross ya fingers and close the doors verrrryy slowly .....he showed me how easy it was to move the windshield post w/o the top on... so whats yall guess... when the top goes on ya think he may have to alter doors and things? thanks

[swyfor5]

Very interesting! I'm listening, anybody?

[JUSBLAZ]

I had the same problem. After we changed the bushings the door would not close. So we loosened the bolts closest to the door and tightened the ones on the end to "hopefully" spread the door opening, but that still did not work. Like you DURRTY I did not have any shims from the factory. So we added a couple of shims and the door worked fine... until the top came off. So now my fix will be to add a cage to give the tub extra strength while the top is off. My thinking was if it does this now on level ground without anyone inside what will happen when there is. Still not sure where we are going to tie things together yet. (waiting for my painter to prime it so the cage guy can look at it) Was thinking either to the windshield frame, or gussets to the firewall & floor, or all of them.

Love to hear more on this topic. I think we all deal with this because it was a design flaw. (my opinion)

[DURRTY]

GM could not un-f--k the problem thats why they went to a half top a couple years later(1975) but thats why the first gens are sooo coool. I am going to put in a full cage also.

Thanks for the reply Ill just put the body on there with the new bushings. Then shim and sham till it ll lines up. Then get the cage in after its all straightened out. probally will end up being a huge pain in the ass but this seems to be the way to get it done.

I have been told here on this board and from people i know that the body MUST be on to properly put on the rocker boxes and pillars and ALL that area. wich make perfect sense.

but then there is this guy http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...1&goto=newpost

and his is not on a frame as I can tell and it looks good to go. so never give up the fight!! measure it all and support it Things should work out.

Later Jeff

[vtblazer]

Originally Posted by DURRTY

but then there is this guy

Me?

If you want a down and DURRTY () way of keeping the firewall in place, run a piece of 1.75x.094 DOM along the floor and weld it to the bottom of the inner kick panel, problem solved.

I have a cage that was tied in but it wouldn't be mandatory.

Just make sure the door opening measurement is correct first.

Reference pics:

[DURRTY]

maybe I have to stand corrected LOL I swear I saw pics of serious sheet metal repair with the body off the frame. but looking back I cant find any now. I have all the sheet metal I need to get it done but am waiting on springs(whole lift kit) to come in I trashed the original shackles and bolts getting them off
That there combined with the carnage inside the tranny has set us back just a bit.
Ive seen your set up once before VT and Im going to do just that. Along with some rock sliders..... should be close to bomb proof. I like it.

[vtblazer]

Yeah, gotta have rock sliders.

[va_tlc]

vt man those sliders look rite sturdy, and im sure youve tried em out huh ... nice work