im about to pull my body off the frame and i was just wondering it the doors have to come off? there is nothing in them and id just rather leave them on, any thought?

Leave the doors on, latches in so that they lock/latch, glass down or preferably out. Windshield and back glass should be out to prevent the glass from popping while the body twists when you lift.

I would also leave them on so the body doesn't flex and bow. I took mine off when I did both my cars since I had to sand down the jambs, weld in the jambs and I used the lower door mount area to lift the car off the body.

I have to tell you guys, there is no way the body would flex enough to break a window, not even close.

If this is a car with roof, the body doesn't need the doors either. Even if it is a convertible, if the rockers and floor is solid, it will not "damage" the car. Yes, it may flex a little in the middle, but it will not hurt a thing.

I would pull the doors off if for nothing else to eliminate some weight to make the job easier.

Doors on ......

I remove the doors for several reasons. One being, G.M. didn't paint behind the hinges so there will be rust. Also,to be sure the inside bottom of the doors are prepped and painted, It is easier to prep the door jams as well. Also to rebuild the hinges. I put the doors back after the jams are cut in then paint the rest. It is a simple process to remove the doors and fairly simple to reinstall them..

Why would you go through the trouble of pulling the body off the frame to do a restoration and then leave the doors on graemlins/sad.gif . Get the weight out of the body, take the doors off and clean , blast jambs and cowl area. The body will not flex at all without the doors. graemlins/thumbsup.gif

you can index the doors with a 1/8" drill bit before removing them from the car. If the hole is placed in the hinge under the area of one of the bolt washers it will never be seen when all back together. Indexing makes the doors installation and alignment a lot easier.

I think that you should do what ever is best for you. If you have a mechanical lift of some sort i think it doesn't matter if you leave the doors on or off. If you are and a couple of guys are going to be lifting it manually you might want to take them off since they just add extra weight. Doors and fenders should go back on to the body as a unit for painting so i think it doesnt matter if you put them back on later.

i took my 65 off the frame with doors,glass,int,font fenders all on and had no problems,i just made a cart out of 4x4s under the rockers and nothing twisted,and i had to tow it 4 1/2 blocks to my shop for bodywork