Re: 48-50 - bottom of rocker panels open??

Posted by Rusty O\'Toole On 2011/1/17 20:09:49

What you describe is typical of cheap bodywork. Used to see it all the time in the rust belt.

To do the job properly you have to weld on the inner panel first. It is about 5 times harder to weld it in afterwards, if it will even fit.

How do the doors fit? If the body sags the doors will be hard to close and it may even look like the doors sagged. But it's probably the body. You can check for door sag by holding the door nearly closed and lifting up and down. Any movement reveals hinge pin wear.

If the doors do not have an even gap all around and do not close and latch easily the body may have sagged. This is not too hard to correct BUT you have to do it before you begin the body job. If you weld a car up that way you have to cut all the new body parts out and start again.