Cutting out the crash bars.

by Psychlonic Wed May 16, 2012 12:04 am

Ok so I know a few of you guys have done this. For those who did, how on Earth did you get to the front part of the bar? (closest to the hinges). The rear part was easy but there's so much structure blocking the frontal area I can't seem to get any kind of cutter in there. I wouldn't have an issue taking out some meat, but all of the structure there seems necessary to keep everything on inside of the door. Am I going to have to remove the window gear to make room or is there a better way?

by Psychlonic Fri May 18, 2012 1:55 pm

Well, I managed to do a clever trick to fit a torch inside and cut it out that way without causing any collateral damage. This part was the only real hiccup in the entire process and I'm surprised how easy it was. One of these days I'll toss the plates into a scale to see how much they weigh. Keep in mind, this was in a 73 Laguna. I have a suspicion the ones in my 77 are lighter but I won't be cutting those out so I can't compare.

by Bruisr Thu Dec 13, 2012 1:15 pm

I've just started contemplating on removing the crash bars from my 74 chevelle, once cut free, can they be removed from the top of the door if the door glass is removed? Did anyone get an idea how much these weigh?

by carcass Thu Dec 13, 2012 10:49 pm

could a guy fit a cut off wheel in there with a small disc?? I havent opened my door panels to look but was wondering if a torch would go in maybe even a dremel tool with the extension flexible cord deal on it with a cut off wheel, prolly take forever but just checking.

by Brainstain Fri Dec 14, 2012 12:27 am

I have not done it yet but I would personally pull the window and the guides and crank mech. A torch is going to transfer that heat to the door skin preeetty quick. When I get home I'll look at one of my spare doors and see if I can help you guys out.

by Bruisr Fri Dec 14, 2012 1:53 pm

I read on this site somewhere, The easiet way to remove the crash bars was to torch them out. Using a dremel might work, but I suspect it would take a long time and wear out your arms having to manipulate inside the door. Someone claimed the bars weighed 85lbs.(if I remember correctly), just looking to see if it has been confirmed. I'm tired of sagging doors, plus, I'm putting her on a serious diet. Already gutted the front and rear bumpers,(tucked in and shortened also) front and rear. Next is the door bars, inner front fenders, and a fiberglass hood. Gonna upgrade to bigger, better brakes, and tubular control arms. And whatever else I can think of.

by carcass Thu May 30, 2013 12:36 am

id sure like to get more info or photos of how removing door bars has worked out for guys here, anybody up for bringing this thread back??

by driveit Thu May 30, 2013 8:20 am

I found this one which has a lot of info, but its not just specifically about the bars.

https://www.g3gm.com/t2500-g3-diet-plan-for-the-street?highlight=diet

by Brainstain Mon Oct 21, 2013 12:06 am

I just bought a set of hacked up inner door structures from a circle track racer. I'm going to try to chop out the bars and weigh them. If they really weigh what some people say then I'll do it to my 76.

by driveit Mon Oct 21, 2013 8:09 am

Please let us know how that turns out.

by Brainstain Mon Oct 21, 2013 10:03 am

I most certainly will. The hard part is going to be trying to figure out how to do it to a complete door. These had the skins cut off so it will be easy to do whatever I need to get the bar out.

by carcass Mon Oct 21, 2013 9:22 pm

my buddy who did the body work and painted my car told me after I asked him if he could cut out the crash bars before he painted it "the crash bar is part of the main support for the door hinge/hinges and is attatched to the outer skin, to remove it would be a pain and theres to much structure on the inner door surface and window mechanism/door handle/lock to get it out, if the door was being reskinned at the time it could be done more effectively"
I don't know for sure if this is all the case but I did look in there at one time and its a tight mess,
Please post photos of the skinned out doors you got and the process if you do it!

by Brainstain Mon Oct 21, 2013 11:07 pm

I'm 100% sure they are not connected to the skin. I took pics last night but they are too dark to see anything. I'll get em in a few days when I go to the storage unit to get some stuff.

by Brainstain Thu Oct 24, 2013 12:09 am

Got some pics when I went to pick up some parts from storage after work.

Cutting out the crash bars. 00A225F4-81F3-41D3-BC6E-E382F6280D41-184-00000007F653DE12_zps99a58b16

Cutting out the crash bars. 00A225F4-81F3-41D3-BC6E-E382F6280D41-184-00000007F653DE12_zps99a58b16

Cutting out the crash bars. 0DA44B92-9B04-44F4-8135-3B33CD131847-184-00000007DBEF68B6_zps80020046

Cutting out the crash bars. FC66CDB5-A376-4F1A-B2D7-7EE996E69719-184-00000007AFDDCC6F_zps29f24fdd

by driveit Thu Oct 24, 2013 7:22 am

I have never seen the inside to one our doors. I don't know what I am looking at. Where is the bar?

by dynchel Thu Oct 24, 2013 7:27 am

The bar and would be the rusty piece facing the ground in the first pic. It would run down the center of in intact door to protect the passengers in a crash.

by driveit Thu Oct 24, 2013 7:33 am

So, are they vertical?

by dynchel Thu Oct 24, 2013 7:56 am

driveit wrote:So, are they vertical?

No, they are horizontal, the door in the pic is standing on end. They run right down the middle of the door where it peaks out.

by Brainstain Thu Oct 24, 2013 9:10 am

It's really hard to get a good picture of it. I took about 12 pics and these were the ones that actually looked like something.

by carcass Thu Oct 24, 2013 9:26 pm

those are pretty good shots really,
If I'm looking at it right the door bar is the part at right angles to the latch assembly, it looks like it is a two fold deal, where it is kind of box shaped maybe and one surface is against the door skin and the other stands away from it except at the ends where it looks pinched together,
Looks like a pain allright to get it out while the door is intact, but if a guy had one of those as an example right next to his work it would make the process easier I'd bet.
I wonder if you could just reach in and cut away some of the part that stands out from the door skin and leave the rest?

by Brainstain Fri Oct 25, 2013 12:36 am

I would guess that it would take you forever but you probably could cut them out. I got these in a bunch of stuff for the sole purpose of this thread. They were dirt cheap an have electric window stuff so I figured I could get my money back out of them..

by Psychlonic Wed Mar 26, 2014 12:13 am

Hey all, been awhile since I've been on the forum but I'll get some pictures soon of the bars. "Crash plates" might be the more accurate term since they're not really "bars" but a wide, corrugated plate that runs the length of the door. The key to removal is that they attach to the sides of the door and you can actually cut down each side to drop the plate completely out. I had to cut a tiny portion of the inner door out so the plate could actually fit through it and come out, but in the end the structure was still quite beefy and I'm confident it can survive a fairly rough impact. The small "slots" in the sides that are a result of the cutting are very easily patched back up, smoothed, and prepped for paint.

by dynchel Wed Mar 26, 2014 6:41 am

I looked at mine, just out of curiosity. Wouldn't you be able to drill out the spot welds on either end to get the bar loose, then cut the bar in two to remove it through the existing openings behind the door panel? I wouldn't remove mine (for safety reasons) and by looking at it I don't think it weighs as much as people keep claiming. i'm thinking maybe 15/20 lbs per side.

by bitterfitter Wed Mar 26, 2014 10:38 am

I could have sworn I posted pics and info on this last year about this time. I was removing the doors on my car as I had 2 new ones and the originals were shot. I tried removing the crash bar from one with the door gutted of window hardware. The other I skinned and took photos of to show the bar and how it is located and attached. I guess I will have to look for the pics and get them up on here. I did remove one bar and weighed it. I would have to look through my notes as to the weight. I may even still have it in the scrap pile to weigh again if needed.

by chevellelaguna Wed Mar 26, 2014 12:15 pm

I'd want them in there, with my luck some a hole would "T" bone my car and cripple me. I can understand the benefit in a strip only car, but still, these cars are way to heavy.

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