Door Sag
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 2,119
Likes: 213
From: Pittsburgh PA
Door Sag
I'm about to see a 1973 convertible with door sag. The owner says the hinges need shimmed. Is this a simple common problem to solve or does it mean bigger problems?
Thanks.
Thanks.
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 2,119
Likes: 213
From: Pittsburgh PA
Re: Door Sag (pats406nitrovette)
Are hinges readily available from parts houses like Ecklers, or is this a swap meet item? Any possibility that the sag is from a rusted frame?
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 9,622
Likes: 16
From: absecon nj
Re: Door Sag (minivanownerseeksvette)
hinges are readily available from ecklers and so forth..you can check the frame out anyway to be sure its not rotted escpecially in front of the rear tires.before you buy you should have car checked out anyway.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 3,023
Likes: 2
From: TEXASTEXASTEXASTEXAS TEXASTEXASTEXASTEXAS
St. Jude Contributor
Re: Door Sag (pats406nitrovette)
If it's just the gap at the front of the door that makes you think the door's sagging, it might not just be sag--C3s are notorious for having a too-wide gap there right from the factory. Also, you probably don't need to replace the entire hinges--just the bushings, which are a heck of a lot cheaper and available from Zips, Eckler's, and others. Some folks think, too, that body mount bushings can widen your gaps, because as the rubber decays, the body itself sags--if this is the problem, you can shim the front body mounts to close a front gap some and the back mounts for a back gap.
Bottom line for buying the car--I wouldn't worry about door sag. Relatively fixable. Like the others said, look for rust frist, both in the trailing arm socket like the others said, and around the window frame (if you can, take a screwdriver with you and take off the kickpanels--if you've got window frame rot where most people get it, you'll see rust flakes in the cavity where the frame mount is).
JB
'78SA
[Modified by JB, 5:34 PM 9/4/2001]
Bottom line for buying the car--I wouldn't worry about door sag. Relatively fixable. Like the others said, look for rust frist, both in the trailing arm socket like the others said, and around the window frame (if you can, take a screwdriver with you and take off the kickpanels--if you've got window frame rot where most people get it, you'll see rust flakes in the cavity where the frame mount is).
JB
'78SA
[Modified by JB, 5:34 PM 9/4/2001]
Race Director
Joined: Apr 1999
Posts: 10,861
Likes: 713
From: Beverly Hills/Pine Ridge Florida
Re: Door Sag (minivanownerseeksvette)
About a year ago, went with a friend to look at a C3 with "door sag". The doors were fine, however the frame was rusted in half on both the right and left sides. That's what was causing the door sag. Check this out carefully Chuck
Pro
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 556
Likes: 3
From: Trafalgar IN
Re: Door Sag (Chuck Gongloff)
When I had my 1975 in the body shop to have a racing stripe painted on it the body shop guy installed new door pins. He only charged me $75 for parts and labor so it must have been pretty easy.
