Racin_Jason Posted March 15, 2001 Share Posted March 15, 2001 I havent ran across anything about this in the forums yet, so i thought I'd bring it up. As I was sitting in my new 240Z I got to playing with the doors and it became frighteningly clear that it wouldn't take much on an impact to put that door were I 'was' sitting. The door is featherlight and the metal is very thin. The thought of getting hit in the drivers door makes me shiver.. Has anyone ever fabbed an impact bar inside or concocted (sp?) some sort of reinforcement for these Datsun doors? The first thing that comes to mind is a cage but, me being 6'3" and WELL over 200Lbs..I dont think the door bar would be comfortable to say the least. Maybe theres an answer already..or maybe we can brainstorm and figure one out. Either way i dont want to end up a dead canned tuna in this thing! Jason ------------------ 71 240Z soon to be 350'd 73 Camaro street/strip project w/490BBC,10-point cage..my "budget bully" 2000 F150 on 35's "DirtSlinger" have a look... http://www.JasonsHobbyShowcase.homestead.com/homepage.html "If speed kills..Im a DANGEROUS GUY!" >:^) [This message has been edited by Racin_Jason (edited March 15, 2001).] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted March 15, 2001 Share Posted March 15, 2001 Yeah, I was thinking about this when I was putting in my power windows. I wish the door was a 2 piece thing that could be bolted back together. Other than cutting it open and welding it back shut, I can't think of any alternative besides door bars on a roll cage. Owen ------------------ http://www.homestead.com/s30z/index.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Shasteen Posted March 15, 2001 Share Posted March 15, 2001 Just remember.....Its hard for someone to Hit a Moving Target...Dont ever stop-just keep moving...you know-like a shark! Seriously, I agree-I dont like the thin doors either! Kevin, (Yea,Still an Inliner) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLKMGK Posted March 16, 2001 Share Posted March 16, 2001 Ummm yeah - I've mentioned this four or five times actually. The 240Z I've got is scary thin. I've got a spare set of doors that have been gutted and they darn near ring like a crystal bell if you tap them! My solution was side bars on th ecage. I'm 6foot 2 inches and trying like heck to get under 200lbs. Dragging my butt across those bars and into those buckets is a SERIOUS pain the rear but worth it in an accident. The woman is going to HATE those bars too but I don't care - our lives are worth it. Anything you do inside those doors is going to be worthless IMO. Later model cars have stronger latches and whatnot to go along with those impact beams. It's not just a matter of adding metal to the doors, you've got to make it such that the metal is locked into place on the door frame else the entire door ends up in your lap. I specifically decided against swing out bars because I felt that they were weaker and because the temptation to remove them for daily driving would be so high. I'll pad my side bars and deal with it Heh, glad to see I'm not the only one scared by those doors! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmanadam Posted March 16, 2001 Share Posted March 16, 2001 I'm going to be running tubing through one end and cutting it off on the other, only because I have no windows. My car is now Red and is it bright OOps, maybe yellow might have been a better choice, oh well, I can always change it . I now have matching mix match car and bike of the same color. I just hope when I'm all done, the wife will let me drive it . Safety is every thing to me for my wife will be with me or she will be driving. Bewell, behappy Pictures soon Adam ------------------ Fun in the sun in shacky Washington 1972 240 V8 Topless for ever. zya8ter http://www.madmanadam.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fl327 Posted March 16, 2001 Share Posted March 16, 2001 i know what you mean about paper thin, and dang i didnt know i would have to break the thing open to get to the internals liek that wow. well yeah, i got t-boned by a motorcycle at like 10mph, and have a hairy ass dent on my passenger door, hole in rocker panel, and a fat quarter panel dent thanks to him, yes paper thin doors, he almost went through it and he wasnt bearly moving.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevor Posted March 17, 2001 Share Posted March 17, 2001 I have seen the guts of a replica car door (32 Ford street rod) which is a fiberglass shell around a 1x1 steel tube frame. They (Gibbon) weld a corrugated 18-ga. steel plate inside the door. The door meets 2001 Federal side impact requirements. | / | The edge looked like this | Each flute was about 1/2" deep / So it doesn't take much mass, just rigidity. Maybe a similar piece would fit inside a Z door between the outer skin and the window mechanism. It would have to bridge the door jamb-to-jamb, so it wouldn't act like a can opener if one corner popped loose. weld buzz weld buzziitt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Posted March 27, 2001 Share Posted March 27, 2001 280Z's have a reinforcement bar inside the doors. If you can figure out how to mate the door and latch, a 280--> 240 retrofit is one option (the latch design changed in 1975, I think). For my car, I went all-out and had an X-bar welded into both sides of the car. Looking at the car from the driver's side, the top left of the X-bar is welded to the windshield valence panel/top door hinge mounting area, the bottom right is welded to the "pocket" where the seat belt retractor used to be (and also joins the rocker panel), the top right is welded just behind the lower front corner of the "rear" window sill, and the bottom left is welded where the dead pedal (next to the clutch) used to be. At all but the bottom left, the X-bar also connects to some one of more other bars in the roll cage. Present use of the car does not justify such extravagance, but the "room for future growth" is nice to have. Getting into the car is moderately difficult, but I've learned to deal with it. Evidently I'm one of the few people on this list that is both under 6' and not overweight , and climbing over the X-bars keeps me that way! A bigger challenge is welding in the various bars butted against the existing sheet metal, to maximize what little interior space there is, and to improve structural strength. It requires all sorts of oblique cutting of the tubing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drax240z Posted March 27, 2001 Share Posted March 27, 2001 Off topic a bit... How come such a high percentage of Z guys are so big? I've noticed that a lot! Big guys and little cars... works for me. ------------------ Richard Lewis - 1972 240z, Powered by a Nissan 2.8L Turbo Inline 6. Drax240's Turbo Site Beginners Turbo FAQ & Answers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Racin_Jason Posted March 27, 2001 Author Share Posted March 27, 2001 lol Richard..you have a point there. Im a fairly big guy myself at 6'3" and WELL in excess of 200lbs. I cant imagine trying to get over a door bar with THAT tiny door opening and the steering wheel. If I do end up doing a cage I'll do a swing out door bar for sure.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drax240z Posted March 27, 2001 Share Posted March 27, 2001 Heh, you forgot to giggle when you mentioned the swingout bar. Scottie always does in his posts, I thought it was a requisite! I think I'll contort myself to get over my side bars. (giggleless, they aren't going to be swingouts) Just for that slightly better stiffness and protection. That, and it may be a good excuse to lose a few pounds. Heh, everytime I try to lose weight, I end up gaining it. First thing I do, hit the gym hard... and bulk up! ------------------ Richard Lewis - 1972 240z, Powered by a Nissan 2.8L Turbo Inline 6. Drax240's Turbo Site Beginners Turbo FAQ & Answers [This message has been edited by Drax240z (edited March 26, 2001).] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted March 27, 2001 Share Posted March 27, 2001 Yeah would be nice of the swing out bar was connected to the door through a link or something (hmmm, maybe a heim joint will have to look at that....) as I was wondering when I put in a cage how I was going to get Wide Ass A: over door post B:, while squeezing a nutritionally challenged torso between steering wheel C. and Seat D. Perhaps this is doable... Lone PS I think the reason for the big guys in a Z is for a small car it is actually roomy once you get your carcass into the seat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeromio Posted April 2, 2001 Share Posted April 2, 2001 I plan to put a side impact "bar" in place in my car this summer. It will most likely be 2 pieces of tubing with plate steel welded in between. Like so: / O | | O I may or may not upgrade the latches to bearclaw style. One way to get around a latch upgrade is to re-enforce the doorjamb area with an extra "lip", like this: (imagine looking down at the door from above) During a side impact, the doorbar should deflect energy towards the front and rear of the door. The rear part of the door will press against the latch, and if that fails, the extra "lip" there, made by welding steel plate to the door jamb, should keep the door from moving inwards. Of course, this is not going tobe as good as a side bar welded to the frame, nor will any of this added weight contribute to stiffening the chassis. But if you drive your car everyday like I do, it's a good alternative. (Yes, by driving the car everyday I increase the chances that someone will smack into me, but I'm not going to make a modification to my car that makes entry/egress any more difficult than it already is.) ------------------ 240Z.jeromio.com [This message has been edited by jeromio (edited April 02, 2001).] [This message has been edited by jeromio (edited April 02, 2001).] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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