Due to an accident, I'm going to have replace the driver side door on my Vette convertible. Are all doors and hinges the same from '69 to 82? Convertible and coupe?

 

There are differences but in most cases workable. The skins on the 72 and earlier doors are FRP whereas 73-up are SMC. I can’t confirm but the 80-82 skins are supposedly thinner. Side impact beams came into effect in 73 and I understand that the interior panel design changed in 78.

How bad is the damage to your current door?

 

Thanks for the reply. The door was open and got pushed all the way back to the front fender while rolling out of my shop. The metal was bent in the front part and the hinges were broken also. I had to cut the hinge pins out to get the doors off. The door pillar also suffered some distortion which will need attention. The fiber glass is cracked and crushed in but possibly could be repaired. Doesn't look so bad in the picture, but there is some underlying ugliness. I thought about cutting the damaged part of the door and replacing it with a matching piece from another door shell. Just thinking another door would be easier.

 

That’s a tough call. I would not be afraid of replacing the portion of the damaged skin. The key, as you have identified, is now much the steel substructure was damaged and potentially reparable. If it were mine, I’d surgically section out the damaged skin, then assess the steel to see if it is worth the time/effort. Buying a replacement door come with its own baggage so if you have the ability, I’d get out the respirator and the saws.

 

Thanks for your suggestion. I'll probably give it a try. Certainly nothing to lose.

 

A convertible door is different than a coupe door. The convertible has a recess in the upper rear for the chrome aligning pin that goes into the tapered receiver on the body. The coupe does not. You can buy a recess piece , cut the hole in the coupe door, and weld the recess piece in.

 

If your car is a late 70, do not be surprised if the doors are white SMC rather than grey polyester glass. Use epoxy resin not polyester resin to repair a SMC panel.

 

70-75 convertible doors are interchangeable, they all have the recess for the chrome alignment pins. Obviously the convertible door glass is shaped differently than the coupe glass. and the outer wipes used on convertibles are also different than those used on coupe doors. 73-75 convertible doors will have the side impact beams inside them, and while it won't hurt anything to have them in your door they do make the door somewhat heavier. You can identify 73-75 doors by looking for the end of the beam at the latch end of the door, where the inner frame meets the outer skin. On doors with the beam there will be a raised area about half way up the frame in the area where the weatherstrip is, while on doors without the beams are uniform in appearance along the whole edge where the frame meets the skin. The upper and lower door hinges are the same from 68-82, but all four hinges are different so make sure you have a left hand upper and lower.

70-75 convertible doors can be hard to find and more expensive than coupe doors because there were fewer convertibles so convertible doors are more in demand. As has been said above, coupe doors or more accurately 69-77 coupe doors, can be modified for use on a convertible by adding the recess, the alignment pin, convertible glass and convertible outer wipes. 68 doors are one year only and use a different skin, door release mechanism, outside button/lock and outside door handle. 78-82 doors have a different inner structure to accommodate the 78-82 "hockey stick" arm rest and completely different inside lock, door release and latch mechanism.

Two things to watch out for on used doors is rust and the condition of the bottom corners of the door's outer skin. The bottom of the steel inner frame of the doors can rust out, especially on old doors that have been sitting outside or ones with bad or missing outer wipes. The bottom corners of the skin are often broken and worn off on doors that have been stored standing up on the corners, and while it came be fixed, it should still be checked and figured into the price.

 

I have a 1972 conv. drivers door too bad you are so far away.

 

Thank you all for the great information. It's confirmed my suspicion that it may be hard to find a good, correct replacement. My door is rust free and composed of the correct gray fiberglass (most likely original to the car). All the damage is at the front. I have it on a stand now and plan to remove the internals. Then I can evaluate whether it's worth trying to save. If I can save it, that's the best solution for me.

 

That's the problem I found looking for a door. Far away and crazy shipping cost. Thanks anyway.

 

I agree, but would start by repairing the pillar distortion. If he doesn’t get that right, new or old door, it won’t fit right.

 

Look closely and you can spot the side impact beam in this 73. It lies just under the skin and next to the weatherstrip. Whether that makes a difference for a pre-73...I don't know.

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Yeah. I know. I'm going to have to think on that for a while. It's not horrific, but there is a noticeable crease down the middle of the pillar across the hole that is used to run the power window wire to the door. I've got some ideas, but none are easy. What a pain!

 

That's good to know. If I have to get another door, I'll definitely measure the door width to make sure it isn't slightly wider than what I have.

 

im in need of one drivers side also is there anyway I can contact you ty

 

Don't know how far Van Alstyne, TX, is from you, but YouTube's Corvette Ben (also here on the forum as Chstitans42) may have a replacement door. The last walk-through video of his yard showed quite a few C3s but I don't recall coupes/convertibles specifically.

 

where are you located