Working on my Son's '91 Firebird, I pulled the driver side door panel off to see why the window motor wasn't working (it wasn't plugged in) but found this :

WTF! Why would someone do this?! The motor for the window has been replaced, it has bolts holding it in instead of rivets. The door window was not secured to the lift rail, you could just pull the whole window right out of the door! The door sags at the latch end because of these cuts.

Do you think I can get this welded back together, or should I just find a used door?

 

Are you sure the door sags from the cut and not from the hinges? Getting that welded up would certainly be easier than pulling the door and having it painted/wired.

 

Hinges are fine. No movement at the pins, top and bottom. (I do know what to look for as the hinges on my Camaro were in bad shape.) The bottom of the door at the latch end scrapes the gfx. If you close the door (with the interior panel off) you can see the gap at the cuts close up when it latches.

 

wow, i can believe a certin dergree of it saging comes from those cuts since it is cut so much, i'd weld it back up. but the majority of the door sagging probably comes from the hinges.

 

It looks to me like at least 2 welds are broken off.If so than that expalins the sagging.I would fix it with the door closed,cut the welds to close the gaps,weld it up again.Then find a good used door to replace that butchered door.Who knows what other problems you may have to deal with in the future.Plus i wouldnt want that next to me if the car was ever T-boned.WTF!!!

 

Darn good point there. Not much between you and that SUV bumper anyway.

 

wow................ ive never seen anything like that

 

I'd just get a new door from the j-yard. Then again I suck at welding, so maybe I'm a little biased.

 

Trying to have that welded or welding it yourself would be a ok, but I have a feeling that if the door doesn't line up now because of the cuts, it will never line up even after you remove those spot welds and place solid beads along the cuts. I feel this way because that metal is so thin that even on a low setting on the welder, you will still warp the metal welding up those cuts completely and then the door will not line up perfectly. I know this because I am a 4th generation blacksmith.

 

Looks and sounds like the damage is already done, save the headaches and start searching the JY's. Maybe you can get lucky and find one already the right color.

 

No 3rd gens in the junkyards around here (at least ones that aren't wrecked), people still driving 'em, or jealously guarding them in their backyards so they can watch them rust.

Until I do find a door, I know someone that can attempt welding it back together for me. The metal is actually a lot thicker than it looks, and there are ways to keep the heat from warping it too much. Closing the door while welding or a jack in the right spot to close up the cuts, should get it close enough to function better and be safer than it is now.