Removing Weight from Doors - '72 GTO
 

Hey Everybody,

Are their factory door bars for safety on a '72 GTO that can be removed for weight?

How hard are they to remove and keep the glass and the ability to roll up the windows?

Thanks, Craig

68 GTO's did not have em. Can only improve window function.

Popular to remove on 70's T/As to improve handling. Never did it but may be hard to remove em.

They're a PIA to remove on a second gen F-body. They weigh considerably less than the rumors claim.I removed one and after weighing it i didn't bother removing the other side.

Some guys will also gut the inside supports that hold the window roller channels and attached parts. That may help with the removal of the crash bar. But you still have to be careful not to damage the exterior paint and sheet metal as you cut out the bar.

For me an extra twenty minutes on the treadmill would've been a better strategy but I shortly gave up on that and concentrated on more power.

Thanks guys this makes a lot of sense and yeah more exercise and less beer

I have 71 doors on my car which should be the same, and they do indeed have a crash bar the full length about 1/2 way up. I can't imagine how you could cut them out without either damaging the door skin or slicing your arms open trying to work through the small access holes.

There is no relationship between the crash bar and the window regulator; I can't see any issues with the glass fitting or operating without that bar.

I have a set of fiberglass doors for sale,

That crash bar started with the 1970 A body models.
You would have to use a torch to cut most of it out or use the Swiss cheese method to drop some of the weight.

Or a cut off wheel

An old friend of mine used a sawzall to cut his out.

I removed both sides on my 70 F. Drilled the spot welds on jambs. Then put a heavy steel plate between brace and door skin then cut plate with torch.

I did the ones in my Chevelle back in high school (probably the summer of '78).

Used a die grinder with a cut off wheel.

Car was 4100 lbs when I started; it's down to 3550 (without me in it) after almost 50 years of trimming.

K

I've always thought that if you're chasing weight loss to the point of removing steel from the doors, you're better off going with glass or carbon doors instead.

Even more so nowadays, where getting the windows to function like original isn't as difficult as it used to be.

Not allowed for me.

Only glass allowed is hood and bumper.

K

But removing the beams is free, and fairly easy

We removed the crash bars in pieces on our '70 Firebird,it was worth it.

The pieces weighed 15lbs per side on my buddies scale that he used for shipping.

It was a pain,and the very end of the bars are still in there,but 30lbs is 30lbs.