On my 52 hard top I have to replace the inner and outer rocker panels and front floors. which do I replace first? I am thinking inner then outer rocker then floor. Would this be correct? Do I complete one side at a time or do both inners then both outers or what? Any pics would be appreciated. I tried searching but did not find what I was lookign for. Thanks,
What I would do, were the car mine.........I'd get the car elevated, maybe a foot or so above normal height, and stabilized on jack stands or equivalent and level side to side/front to rear. Then I would go about gettting the doors to fit the openings properly. That may be okay as is or may be a chore. Since the floor and rockers are rusty the body dimensions could be affected. It could require as much as jacking the body/cowl area up/down etc. In any case, when the door fit is satisfactory, temporarily weld some bracing tubes in the door opening to hold dimesions stable. I would remove the bothe outter and inner roacker on one side only and install the new pieces. After welding those back in place securely, then do the other side, then floors. My opinion only........others may differ. Ray
Thanks for your help. I think I am also going to have to replace a couple of the supports under the floor. I imaging I do them after the rockers correct?
I am with Hnstray on this, and the floor supports can be replaced after you remove the floor. Take some measurements from various solid points, remove the floor, take measurements in specific areas of the rotted supports, repair them, then reinstall a floor...
we are doing the same thing to a 50 hardtop here, http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=642935 we are doing mounts first, inner rocker, outer rocker, and then floor.
Replace the rocker first , then the floors . You need to weld the floors to the rockers . The rockers also help keep the door pillars where they are suppose to be . Now if you need to replace a lot of the flooring , make sure you brace the body of the car very well with side to side and a "X" brace on the door frames and posts . That way the body is square or the way it was from the factory . I would do all the brace welding first before removing all the rockers and floors . This is what I do and works for me . Retro Jim