sagging e body convertible ???

Posted By: Jupiter331

sagging e body convertible ??? - 11/15/14 03:17 AM

I have a 70 e body convertible. Its fully restored. The body was completely rush free to start with. I believe the car sat without the doors for a period of time. Problem is the doors are lined up perfectly when closed but when you open them they drop down,making it difficult to close. The hinges feel fine. I've found that if you put a floor under the car near the doors and raise it up a little the doors close and line up perfectly, leading me to believe the body might be sagging a bit in the middle. If this is the case I was thinking of installing frame connectors to correct the problem. Any ideas or opinions would be greatly appreciated.

Attached picture 8331504-2013-08-2919.06.46.jpg

Attached picture 8331504-2013-08-2919.06.46.jpg

Posted By: dilvoy

Re: sagging e body convertible ??? - 11/15/14 03:21 AM

Sounds like you have to adjust your doors at the hinges or repair/replace the hinges, because of wear at the pins then adjust.

Posted By: DaytonaTurbo

Re: sagging e body convertible ??? - 11/15/14 04:16 AM

Move your doors to the almost closed position then tug up and down to check the hinges. Often they will feel fine when the door is fully open. If that fails, adjust your door latches amd strikers.

Posted By: ademon

Re: sagging e body convertible ??? - 11/15/14 04:26 AM

Maybe you can tie a taunt string from the windshield area to just behind the door and open both doors if the string gets a little slack then you probably have a bit of sag.

Posted By: Jupiter331

Re: sagging e body convertible ??? - 11/15/14 04:27 AM

The hinges are tight. If you adjust the striker down the doors close fine however the body lines no longer line up

Posted By: HemiRick

Re: sagging e body convertible ??? - 11/15/14 04:36 AM

Then the Doors need to be readjusted at the hinges. The doors do NOT cause the body to move when opened closed. If the jack test you talked about in the 1st post is true, this implies the car moving when the door is opened closed and this is just not possible on a solid, non rust bucket car.

Posted By: DaytonaTurbo

Re: sagging e body convertible ??? - 11/15/14 03:13 PM

Loosen the hinge where it bolts to the car and readjust.

Posted By: ahy

Re: sagging e body convertible ??? - 11/15/14 03:56 PM

Quote:

Sounds like you have to adjust your doors at the hinges or repair/replace the hinges, because of wear at the pins then adjust.

Agree... the striker is positioned to line up the door with the body so it looks right closed but the hinges are sagging. They are adjustable and rebuildable. I like to open the door part way and use a floor jack with wood block and rags for padding under the door edge to support the door. Loosen the hinge bolts and adjust. If there is any slop in the hinges, rebuilding first will give a better result. The "help" section in the AP store likely has the hinge pins and Y1 sells a kit with bushings. Pretty easy to do.

Frame connectors are a really good idea on all these cars, especially convertibles... but should not be required to get the doors to close correctly.

Posted By: DAYCLONA

Re: sagging e body convertible ??? - 11/15/14 04:11 PM

Quote:

I have a 70 e body convertible. Its fully restored. The body was completely rush free to start with. I believe the car sat without the doors for a period of time. Problem is the doors are lined up perfectly when closed but when you open them they drop down,making it difficult to close. The hinges feel fine. I've found that if you put a floor under the car near the doors and raise it up a little the doors close and line up perfectly, leading me to believe the body might be sagging a bit in the middle. If this is the case I was thinking of installing frame connectors to correct the problem. Any ideas or opinions would be greatly appreciated.

Unless you know for a fact that the hinges have been rebuilt and are working properly, I'd start by having them rebuilt, often times "restorers" will just adjust the hinges/strikers to compensate for their frugalness/ignorance in having the hinges rebuilt, the worn hinges will continue to deteriorate.

"rust free/low mileage/driven only to church on Sundays/ little O'lady owned/etc/etc"" or not, E body verts flex horribly, a nice addition would be welded in full frame connectors BEFORE you attempt any door/hinge repairs/adjustments...

mike

Posted By: feets

Re: sagging e body convertible ??? - 11/15/14 04:31 PM

If the car sags noticeably with the doors open then the subframe connectors will need to be welded in with the car on a frame rack.
You can do it without ensuring the chassis is perfectly level but that guarantees that you have a permanently sagged car.

Posted By: Challenger 1

Re: sagging e body convertible ??? - 11/15/14 04:35 PM

Quote:

The hinges are tight. If you adjust the striker down the doors close fine however the body lines no longer line up

If there's that much slop in the hinges,door alinement, then the hinges are worn and need rebuilding. Once that is done you need to re-aline the doors. The door post is probably worn from the sagging door and will be need to be replaced also, it sounds. Hope the door lock is not damaged.

Posted By: Vert

Re: sagging e body convertible ??? - 11/15/14 06:23 PM

I had a 70 convertible Challenger. Pretty solid, but it had some door sag that had been adjusted out. Had the US CarTool frame stiffeners welded in by a good bodyman. Just do both. You will not regret it. Frame stiffeners in while you rebuild the hinges. Throw in some sound deadener in the door while you have it off. Will feel and sound like a new car. Says the guy who needs to do both on the current car... Have the frame stiffeners, have the Dynamat...

Posted By: mk_

Re: sagging e body convertible ??? - 11/16/14 04:22 AM

Starting a resto on an E body ragtop now�.. do the frame connectors really make that much of a noticeable difference?

Posted By: ahy

Re: sagging e body convertible ??? - 11/16/14 05:10 AM

Yes on a non-convertible... I would think "really yes" on a convertible.

Posted By: Pacnorthcuda

Re: sagging e body convertible ??? - 11/16/14 05:19 AM

Quote:

Yes on a non-convertible... I would think "really yes" on a convertible.

to me they are a must on a hardtop ebody. On a vert they are critical. Ever seen cracks in the upper quarters of e-verts? Definately something you want to prevent.