Door Bar Removal Thread
09-21-2010, 07:02 PM
#1
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Door Bar Removal Thread I edited my door bar removal thread and figured Id post this up for the LS1 guys who havent seen my build thread in the LT1 section. This is mainly written up for both Firebirds and Camaros but the Firebirds can get away without using special tools since there is more room between the door skin and the bar. Camaro guys will NEED special tools...
Door Bar Removal
The things I do for you guys...Opened up a door off an LS1 car so you guys can see what you are dealing with that you cant see. Here is the door bar exposed.
The end facing the 1/4 panel...
And the end facing the fender...
Before anyone tries this, unless you plan on cutting the bars out, you will need to make one or both of these two tools. (I had to replace the drivers door with a door off an LS1 camaro awhile back, so Im guessing for the LS1's there is two 10 mm bolts holding the door bars in the front and one 15 mm bolt holding the bar in the back. Im guessing that the LT1 drivers door had 2 10 mm bolts in front and back like the passenger door too) Because of the tight space, you can get one or two of the bolts out with just a wrench or a socket, but the bolts that killed me where the 2nd bolt back on the door bars. You cant get a wrench on it because you need something to bend inwards and a wrench wont fit in there. So here is what I came up with to fix the problem and get these bars out...
I had to take a 15 mm socket and a 10 mm socket, grind them down on the bottom, and then weld them to a thick piece of metal.
Next, you will want to break the rest of the bolts loose with this tool. It still is really time consuming as I probably spent a total of 2 hours per door. Also if you have a beer or two, it will help you relax and not throw any wrenches. After you get the bolts all out, you will want to try and turn the bar in its holder to break the glue that GM put on there. (The drivers door was the worse for this, had to also take a thin screwdriver and slide it between the bar and the bracket)
Once the bar is loose you will want to slide the back of the bar up as far as you can and that will cause the front of the bar to drop free and the bar will then be loose in the door. To get the door bar out with the front clip still on the car, you will need to jack the front of the car up and pull off your front tires and if you have the wheelwell plastic, pop that off too (mine was already off at the time) What I did next was I pulled the wiring harness grommet out (left the wires still there since there is room to get both through the hole) then close the door and slide the bar out of using the wiring harness hole. (If you have a friend handy, they can be in the car feeding you the bar, but it can be done with one person, just have to go back and forth and enter the car from the opposite side) The bar will come out as shown...
Then just continue to pull the bar out and be careful not to hit any painted panels pulling it out. You can at the same time pull the door panel insulation out along with any speaker stuff at this time. The insulation is probably good for a whole pound, but that probably adds up to about 10 pounds removed from each door. Then pop the wiring harness grommet back on and re-install your door panel. This is what I removed from the passenger door...
Then all you need to do is repeat the process for the other door. Like I mentioned above, I had a new door put on awhile back from a donor LS1 Camaro because the door skin had seperated from the door frame. This caused me to make the 15 mm door bar tool. Goes alot easier once you done the first door though. So I guess I did an LS1 Camaro door and a LT1 Camaro door all together. Here is the final results, they do seem pretty heavy, and overall Im happy with the results...
Enjoy the weight savings and easier to close doors!! Also, go green...recycle your door bars! They make excellent breaker bars! Havent failed me yet!
Door Bar Removal
The things I do for you guys...Opened up a door off an LS1 car so you guys can see what you are dealing with that you cant see. Here is the door bar exposed.
The end facing the 1/4 panel...
And the end facing the fender...
Before anyone tries this, unless you plan on cutting the bars out, you will need to make one or both of these two tools. (I had to replace the drivers door with a door off an LS1 camaro awhile back, so Im guessing for the LS1's there is two 10 mm bolts holding the door bars in the front and one 15 mm bolt holding the bar in the back. Im guessing that the LT1 drivers door had 2 10 mm bolts in front and back like the passenger door too) Because of the tight space, you can get one or two of the bolts out with just a wrench or a socket, but the bolts that killed me where the 2nd bolt back on the door bars. You cant get a wrench on it because you need something to bend inwards and a wrench wont fit in there. So here is what I came up with to fix the problem and get these bars out...
I had to take a 15 mm socket and a 10 mm socket, grind them down on the bottom, and then weld them to a thick piece of metal.
Next, you will want to break the rest of the bolts loose with this tool. It still is really time consuming as I probably spent a total of 2 hours per door. Also if you have a beer or two, it will help you relax and not throw any wrenches. After you get the bolts all out, you will want to try and turn the bar in its holder to break the glue that GM put on there. (The drivers door was the worse for this, had to also take a thin screwdriver and slide it between the bar and the bracket)
Once the bar is loose you will want to slide the back of the bar up as far as you can and that will cause the front of the bar to drop free and the bar will then be loose in the door. To get the door bar out with the front clip still on the car, you will need to jack the front of the car up and pull off your front tires and if you have the wheelwell plastic, pop that off too (mine was already off at the time) What I did next was I pulled the wiring harness grommet out (left the wires still there since there is room to get both through the hole) then close the door and slide the bar out of using the wiring harness hole. (If you have a friend handy, they can be in the car feeding you the bar, but it can be done with one person, just have to go back and forth and enter the car from the opposite side) The bar will come out as shown...
Then just continue to pull the bar out and be careful not to hit any painted panels pulling it out. You can at the same time pull the door panel insulation out along with any speaker stuff at this time. The insulation is probably good for a whole pound, but that probably adds up to about 10 pounds removed from each door. Then pop the wiring harness grommet back on and re-install your door panel. This is what I removed from the passenger door...
Then all you need to do is repeat the process for the other door. Like I mentioned above, I had a new door put on awhile back from a donor LS1 Camaro because the door skin had seperated from the door frame. This caused me to make the 15 mm door bar tool. Goes alot easier once you done the first door though. So I guess I did an LS1 Camaro door and a LT1 Camaro door all together. Here is the final results, they do seem pretty heavy, and overall Im happy with the results...
Enjoy the weight savings and easier to close doors!! Also, go green...recycle your door bars! They make excellent breaker bars! Havent failed me yet!
Last edited by Black94Z28; 09-26-2010 at 04:46 AM.
09-21-2010, 07:41 PM
#2
Man, people over do this. We did it with regular *** tools in about 5 min a side, no cutting. We just drilled a hole in the bottom corner of the door, un-bolted it and wah-lah DONE!! Thanks for the write up though.
Sean
Sean
09-21-2010, 07:45 PM
#4
I took them out cause i have a cage... So there pointless.. But as broke ef said. Just get a ratcheting flex head wrench. I took all the nuts off in maybe 10 minutes a side pulling the door panel, and we drilled a hole in bottom corner with a hole saw, and it was very easy.
Chris
Chris
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09-22-2010, 06:24 AM
#8
I found, that a cheap gear-wrench socket set from sears made the job EASY. I went out the front like shown above because I HATE that hole at the bottom of the doors that I see all the time 
The gear wrench sockets, and ratchet were really low profile and fit right in really REALLY easy, no fighting at all. I was able to get the bars out quick, with no hassles at all.
The gear wrench sockets, and ratchet were really low profile and fit right in really REALLY easy, no fighting at all. I was able to get the bars out quick, with no hassles at all.
09-23-2010, 05:42 AM
#9
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I found, that a cheap gear-wrench socket set from sears made the job EASY. I went out the front like shown above because I HATE that hole at the bottom of the doors that I see all the time
The gear wrench sockets, and ratchet were really low profile and fit right in really REALLY easy, no fighting at all. I was able to get the bars out quick, with no hassles at all.
The gear wrench sockets, and ratchet were really low profile and fit right in really REALLY easy, no fighting at all. I was able to get the bars out quick, with no hassles at all.
09-23-2010, 08:30 AM
#10
Yeah, damn Camaro doors are much tighter in there than the Firebirds. I tried once to pull mine and ended up throwing my ratcheting low profile wrench because even that was almost too thick to get in there. If I try again I am just punching a hole in the door where the bolts are.
09-23-2010, 11:56 AM
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I haven't had the door panel off to look at it but would it be possible to use a hole saw to expose the nuts holding the door bar. Then just remove them with a regular socket/extention/ratchet?
09-24-2010, 10:53 PM
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Inspired by this thread I finally did mine. I needed to make a dog-leg in the 10 mm tool as shown in the attached picture. To help the nicks on my hands heal, I propose that we establish a fraternal guild to honor the Knights of the Door Bars. The purpose of the guild would be to acknowledge just pride in great deeds. Pride being its own reward, there should be no need for secret handshakes or t-shirts - members know who they are. Some Knights will possess a complete set of fasteners, including four 10 mm shoulder bolts, two 15 mm flange nuts and two semi-round shims from under the nuts, retained as souvenirs, to remind them of their valiant struggle. Firebird Knights shall be recognized without prejudice despite having slain a lesser dragon than Camaro Knights.
09-26-2010, 04:38 AM
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Inspired by this thread I finally did mine. I needed to make a dog-leg in the 10 mm tool as shown in the attached picture. To help the nicks on my hands heal, I propose that we establish a fraternal guild to honor the Knights of the Door Bars. The purpose of the guild would be to acknowledge just pride in great deeds. Pride being its own reward, there should be no need for secret handshakes or t-shirts - members know who they are. Some Knights will possess a complete set of fasteners, including four 10 mm shoulder bolts, two 15 mm flange nuts and two semi-round shims from under the nuts, retained as souvenirs, to remind them of their valiant struggle. Firebird Knights shall be recognized without prejudice despite having slain a lesser dragon than Camaro Knights.
10-03-2010, 07:25 AM
#19
Mine were 7 lbs each. Between the bars, DMH's door panels, and a little work with a hole saw I was able to get just about 40 lbs out of the doors on my car.
Not a bad loss IMO... and if I really wanted to take it farther, I probably could cut more of the internal part of the door away, and drill holes ni the window lifting metal parts too. Might do that over the winter if I get some time.
Not a bad loss IMO... and if I really wanted to take it farther, I probably could cut more of the internal part of the door away, and drill holes ni the window lifting metal parts too. Might do that over the winter if I get some time.
10-03-2010, 10:33 AM
#20
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U can also cut away all the metal that is part of the latch assembly Bracket where the bar bolts just need to make u keep the 3 holes for the latch its worth a pound or so per side