Re: [DML] Re: Roof support repair, was Torsion bars removed.

["Elvis Nocita" <elvisnocita@xxxxxx>]

60kg ? one door or both together ?

I had them off, too and believe me, I won't lift 60kg myself !
They weigh probably around 25-30 kg. But still you need somebody 
who helps.

If everything is marked and measured correctly BEFORE taking the doors off,
they can be installed afterwards without any problems. The only thing I had
to set afterwards were the lock pins (?) a little bit.

Elvis

> Hi Wilhelm.
> 
> Yup, I think working on the car is fun too.  I know how you feel 
> about the rusty screws and the rusty edge on the roof support.  I'm 
> glad all my rusty fasteners are replaced, and that I repaired the 
> roof support.
> 
> To remove the roof support, the headliner on the inside of the car 
> needs to be removed, as well as the doors.  If you have a good 
> headliner, and don't want to replace it, that might be a factor in 
> deciding to remove the roof support.
> 
> If you decide to remove the roof support, I can offer the following 
> experience.  It takes a few days.
> The doors are heavy.  They weigh about 60kg.  It takes two people to 
> install them, but if you are strong, you can remove them alone, 
> though two people is better.
> 
> David Teitelbaum's warnings are all good ones.  I won't repeat them, 
> but I feel they should be followed.  I would add this warning:  If a 
> badly supported door fell closed, and your arm was in the way, I 
> think it would break.  If a finger was in the way in a bad place, I 
> think it would be cut off.  I made a conscious effort to keep my body 
> parts out of the way.
> 
> 
> To remove a door, assuming your t panel is off and the torsion bars 
> are removed:
> 
> Remove the brackets attached to the roof support (the wiring 
> harnesses for the doors go through them)
> Remove the cover of the hole in the roof support.
> Disconnect the connectors.
> With the door open, and supported safely, pull the unconnected door 
> wiring out of the roof support. 
> 
> Before unbolting the hinges, decide where you want to put the doors, 
> so you can move them immediately from the car to the storage 
> location, to minimize the risk of damage.
> 
> Unbolt the hinges, saving the easiest to remove nut on each hinge for 
> last. Figure out which nut is easiest as you go.  Before removing the 
> last nut on each hinge, lower the door as far as you can so it has 
> less far to fall if you lose control of it.  It's helpful to have a 
> helper hold the door at this stage.  If your helper is holding onto 
> the heavy part of the door while you remove the last hinge nuts, it 
> should go smoothly.  If you lose control of the door, remember it's 
> only a car door.  Don't do anything risky to catch it.  You can buy a 
> new one.  
> 
> The hinges may have spacers under them, which set the height of the 
> doors when installed.  Keep track of which ones were where.  They 
> have to go back there later.  Mine were rusty, and needed to be 
> cleaned.  
> 
> After the doors are removed and stored away, you can remove the roof 
> support.
> 
> Inside the car are six 10mm bolts that go through the fiberglass 
> underbody into the bottom of the roof support.  Remove them.  There 
> may be some pther small screws holding the roof support onto the 
> fiberglass underbody, if I remember correctly.  At this point, I 
> believe the only thing holding the roof support to the fiberglass 
> will be the any parts in the way, sealant, and the wiring.  It should 
> be clear how to remove it at this point.  
> 
> After I removed my roof support, I took it and the hinges to a 
> friend, who sandblasted them to get rid of all the rust.  Then I 
> carefully cleaned and repainted them to protect them.  I intend to 
> never drive my car in the rain, having seen what it can do.  I feel 
> very good about the job I did.  It's a shame no one ever gets to see 
> it because it's hidden.
> 
> 
> 
> Installation is the reverse of removal.  While I installed each piece 
> of the roof support, I put a lot of sealer underneath, between, 
> everywhere I thought it might help keep out water.  
> 
> When you install the doors, don't tighten all of the nuts just yet.  
> Leave them loose enough to move the door around to adjust the fit.  
> Are the spacers under the hinges back where they came from?
> 
> There is one subtle thing when installing and aligning the doors.  
> You may have noticed that the doors have a slightly different shape 
> with the torsion bars and struts removed.  That's because the doors 
> are so heavy, their weight bends the door a little bit when they are 
> held up by the torsion bars.  If you can't seem to get the doors 
> perfectly aligned without the torsion bars, this might be why.
> 
> Try to align the door as well as you can before installing the 
> torsion bars, but remember that you might have to have the torsion 
> bars installed to align the doors the last little bit.  I had to do 
> this.  Be careful not to smack the torsion bars with tools if you do.
> Aligning the doors took me several hours.
> 
> 
> About the dents in your torsion bars.  A very smart metallurgist 
> recommended to me that I sand down the the dents in my torsion bars.  
> The dents concentrate stress, and make it more likely the torsion bar 
> will break.  I sanded my torsion bars down just enough to remove my 
> dents, which were about .1mm deep.  I made sure to sand a wide area, 
> to spread the stress over a longer section of the torsion bar.  Then 
> I polished the whole surface with 1600 grit wet sand paper.  I 
> figured out that the surface stress on the torsion bars is 96000 psi, 
> which is a lot.  It's remarkable to me they even work, let alone work 
> over and over again.
> 
> 
> Have fun.
> 
> Rick Gendreau. 11472
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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