Flimsy Doors??

[BrookelynnGreen]

1986 Chevrolet C10

I noticed today that the outside middle of my doors seem "THIN", I'm not sure if this is normal, I would have expected an old truck like this to have doors like a tank (thicker) and not doors that you could push a dent in with your hand!!
Is there anyway to fix the doors so they will be more sturdy because I sure as heck don't want to waste a few thousand dollars on a paint job to have my son lean against my door and put a dent in it!! And my son is 3

CAN YOU PLEASE TELL ME POSSIBLY WHY THE DOORS ARE LIKE THIS? AND HOW I CAN GET THAT FIXED?!?!

Thank You

[rayfinseats]

I noticed this on my 83 and the 78 and 79 I had. More on the drivers side. Is the passenger side the same way? I have noticed this on the drivers side and was wondering if there is a bolt or tab that is broken or missing? Any feedback? Maybe you have aftermarket door skins?

[old Rusty C10]

are you sure the doors on your truck are real GM parts and not some cheap aftermarket made in asia that are thinner and junkier?

[tucsonjwt]

I have had 73. 76, and 83 C20s and all had what I would consider "thick" steel doors. I suspect you have aftermarket doors. If you push on my doors they have no "give". Newer vehicles I have owned all have doors which will give a lot when you push on them - Silveado, Sierra, Yukon, Tahoe, etc.

[406 Q-ship]

Teach the boy to not to lean on the doors. I had to repair a set of doors off my friends suburban (they went on my 74 pickup) from the kids hanging on the door handles, I caught them doing it a few times......arrrrrgggggg! The lower section on the squarebodies are so flat that it will be tough for the sheet metal to take alot of force, but you can help it with sound deadener inside of the door skin.

[RastaRobb]

Those doors definetly should be better than that. My driver's side door is dented up, but it took the wife's suburban to do it. Anyone know you can tell if the doors are after market?

[86Burban]

My 86 Suburban has the original doors and the drivers door definitely has flex in the upper section just below the window. I can EASILY press it in about 3-4" left of the door handle. The other 3 doors aren't as bad but still more flexible than other cars I have/have had. My only thought is that with the drivers door getting the most use the metal may have somewhat fatigued from the constant use..but I haven't pulled everything off the door to see if some brace has let go in some manner.

[tucsonjwt]

One way to be sure - go to a junkyard and start pressing on doors - compare to your door. I am not talking about heave ho push, just press with your fingers.

[78 Chevyrado]

you can clean up the inside of the skin, and use some structural adhesive to attatch a piece of angle to it, that will make it even better than a stock door.

[sethv]

I've got doors off a '91 Burb on my truck, and they're pretty flimsy near the door handle

[SeanPaintsFlames]

I have aftermarket doors on my '80. I don't think that they are any less hefty than the factory doors, but if you roll the window down and grab the inner and outer parts of the door where the belt moldings attach, you can squeeze them together. I've seen truck doors with the steel actually split right under the window because of this weakness.

[BrookelynnGreen]

I'm not sure if my doors are "aftermarket", but i wouldn't be surprised if they were... but on the other hand they could be factory, just old & worn out. Thank you all for sharing

[78 Chevyrado]

The main giveaway I found for ALL the aftermarket doors I ever bought, no matter tha brand, and over a 10 year period was, they werent thick enough. when you got the outer skin lined up properly, the inner shell at the bottom was a good 1/2" or more from even touching the seals that mount to the cab. other than that they all looked good, but even I can't put up with a gap on the seals. talk about wind noise.

My known original (to my truck) drivers door is a bit flimsy right at the door handle, but out in the center of the skin seems good.

[rwhit57]

My factory doors are the same way. Let's face it in the late 70' and 80's Detroit wasn't building great cars. They were trying to cut down on weight and cost, and quality control wasn't the highest priority. The hoods on the 73-77 is a good example. Then of course the paint of the 80's. In the 60's GM starting stamping deeper wells in the floorboards of their passenger cars to create more legroom. The problem was they used the same thickness of metal as before. The extra stretching of the metal caused the floorboards to be paper thin in the corners and the floors rusted out quick. It took them a few years to catch that one. Insulation added to the inside of the doors can help, I'm getting ready to do mine. I'll post it when I do.

[rayfinseats]

I have noticed this on the drivers side and was wondering if there is a bolt or tab that is broken or missing?