Stiffen Up 69 Dart GT conv.

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69moparmuscle!

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Good day. the last restoration (20 years ago) that was done on my 69 Dart GT conv. was pretty good however, their are cracks at the top of the rocker panel that are diagonal where the bottom aft corner of the door shuts. Does anyone know how to stiffen this up so i don't ruin a HOK paint job?!

Thanks guys
 
Easy thing to do is add frame connectors, they add lots of strength to the car, a convertible would benefit greatly from this upgrade. There are a few diff ones available, most weld in, some bolt in. You can make your own :D
 
Thanks 66340SEDAN i should have mentioned i have done that already. My Bad. I was thinking of trying to weld a plate some how on bottom of car running the span of the rocker panel.
 
The structural inner rocker panel may be degraded from unseen corrosion allowing body to flex too much. A lot of moisture finds its way into the rocker area in a convertible via the top’s gutter system. The inner rocker is what connects front and rear sub frames, where convertibles don’t have a solid roof I believe that inner rocker is of a heaver gage metal then sedans.

I would get the car onto a frame machine, and figure out what is sagging & flexing, and then repair it before the car deforms any further.
 
Can you feel the flex? I know that I can feel it on my GTS (no subframe connectors, nor will it ever have any) and cannot feel it on my son's 67 GT convertible with connectors. It would be a good idea to check for flex, but you really don't need a frame machine. Pick it up on a corner and see how much flex you have.
 
Of course I can't find what I'm looking for,but there are Factory plates that weld into 4 corners of the subframe to the floor pans that were used on the convertables for just what you were talking about,flex !! Maybe check Ebay,Year One,I know they're out there,as I was very tempted to put them on my Dart just for a little added insurance !!
 
Of course I can't find what I'm looking for,but there are Factory plates that weld into 4 corners of the subframe to the floor pans that were used on the convertables for just what you were talking about,flex !!

Those are torque boxes, rag tops & big block cars came from factory with them. His flex is coming from somewhere mid chassis. On a frame machine one can quickly and accurately measure all frame dimensions, and ascertain problem areas. If the inner rockers are rotted out, some sort of a jig will needed to square up chasses to factory specks before welding in structural parts, a frame machine is ideal for this work.
 
The torque boxes mentioned above are factory installed on all verts. If you have added subframe connectors where the torque boxes already exist, the problem has to be in the rocker sheetmetal skin or rocker structure behind it.
My best guess... Since there is a welded seam there with some body filler over it, the body filler is what is cracking. This is somewhat typical.
There may not be a structure or flex issue at all, only 20 year old bondo.
 
Thanks for all the info guys. This weekend i will grind out those cracked areas so i can see whats going on. I just gained some great knowledge. I have a brand new floor pan in So Im not sure if i have the torque boxes, i will check on that as well.

MOPAR OR NO CAR
 
You can go to my build and look at what I did. I think there are some pictures of the steel in the rocker. I just got done welding in the torque boxes. I haven't posted pictures yet. Good luck with your fix.

Jim
 
On my '69 Dart, I could open and close the door gap with a floor jack under the rocker panel. The rockers look solid in and out. With the car leveled on stands and the door gaps set, we welded in frame connectors that are formed to the floors. Welded down both sides. Car is straight and stiff as a board now.
 
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