HOW TO - 'Vert door pillar removal

[Danrc30]

Hey, that looks pretty good... nice job!

One thing that I noticed that was different on the coupe doors is the lack of a hole and receiver piece for the "pin" that is mounted in the rear of the door sill. I was wondering what that was for as it seemed to have no purpose. It retracted when the door shut but there are not electronic wires that connect to it... so, it's not a switch for anything... So I got to thinking... and I now know what it's for. It's a structural piece of the body. It retracts but it also creates a stabilization for the body of the car in an up and downward flex motion. Basically, it ties the doors in as a structural member of the body and helps reduce flex. I'm not sure if it's really needed... it may have been overkill or it may have given added strength in the case of a collision. In any case, I'm going to see if it's possible to retrofit the coupe doors with this pin. I doubt it can be done easily with accuracy, but I'm gonna look at it tomorrow...

[AZhitman]

Ryan, NICE WORK!!!!

[le_ryan]

Ryan, NICE WORK!!!!

hey thanx, you started it.

Its just too bad the cars possibly gonna be sold 07/26/07 .......

[S-13]

...The worst part is there are 2 zip ties that hold the door harness in the car on the support tube under the dash. One is easily clipped and removed, the other is not easy at all. It's fixed to the tube on the top by way of an anchor in a hole in the tube. You can't even see it from below!!! I had to use a mirror! The glovebox needs to be removed and the bracket holding the HVAC duct also needs to be removed. All of this is obvious... The hard part was removing that anchored zip tie. I had to get a carbide bit and drill a hole in the bottom side of the steel support tube, then use my uni-bit to make the hole big enough to stick a screwdriver through to release the anchored zip tie. Then I had to pull it around the back of the tube to cut it. Then I snaked it through the car and out it came! Getting the new harness back in was almost just as hard.

...

here are those pics i mentioned:the brown ziptie is the one that danrc was talking about

[S-13]

Posting pictures is lotsa fun! after a lot of inspiration from the pioneers of this mod, this is the route I took:

[onosqv]

Wow.

Could you just unbolt the vert door, thread the door harness out, thread the vert door harness into the new door, then bolt the new door up?

^^^ that's what I did, much easier.

Another thing that I don't know if anyone pointed out yet. If you are swapping in coupe/hatch doors & want to use the door wiring harness & components that comes with it, check to make sure it is the same year/type.

For S13's, there are 2 different kinds (think sohc 240's came w/ one kind, dohc's came w/ another) for the power door locks. I was pulling my hair out trying to figure out why my alarm would no longer work correctly.

If you don't want to change out the harness and/or door lock mechanism, you have to rewire the alarm - just keep in mind the wire colors may be different, etc.

Cleanest way (at least for me) is to remove the door harness wiring from the coupe & the door lock mechanism/amplifier/whatever you call it, and transmission it over.

**** I'm not sure if the door harnesses from coupe/hatch will even bolt up to the vert harness since there is the extra 2 wires on one of the plugs for the power mirrors - not sure if there needs to be any rewiring.

Also, don't forget to move the door handles over .

There's also a piece on the door jamb of the vert above the striker (looks like something for the vert seat belts), which needs to be removed for coupe/hatch guys - I didn't realize it at first and couldn't figure out why the door wouldn't close.

[whoflungpoo]

OOPS!

Will shoot some this week....

Also, found a couple more doodads on the doors that needed to be removed to make the coupe panels fit right. Brings total weight loss for this project to 85 lbs.

well, looks like this thread will never die

I've lopped off every piece in the pic's posted, and one of the threaded "bubbles" but am still hitting something.

looking at my donor hatch door, I've noticed it doesn't have the triangular bracing that was under the pillar, and that there are some mounts that look like they need to go through it. did you drill holes, or just remove it? I guess in short, what were these "doodads" that you were talking about.

I'll try and get some pics of what I'm talking about, but I sorta... well.... uh... shut my digital camera in my top while raising it and cracked the screen, and it doesn't work now

[AZhitman]

There's a LOT of little "tacked on" crap that has to go.

If you look real close, and inspect the 2 doors, you can see what was OEM and what was added by ASC.

Keep at it - You're almost there.

[whoflungpoo]

well, I think I found some of it... the triangular brace at the top was definitely interfering, so I had to use some percussive persuasion, as I really don't want to cut it out, as ASC cut out quite a bit of the stock parts.

I also noticed a plate at the bottom that was covering some of the mounting holes, so I'll have to grind them down, along with some of the pieces that attach to the edge...

ah screw it, it's too hard to explain it, I'll just take pics in a bit hopefully. (ganking my friends digital camera)

[Thrwnsprkz]

One thing that I noticed that was different on the coupe doors is the lack of a hole and receiver piece for the "pin" that is mounted in the rear of the door sill. I was wondering what that was for as it seemed to have no purpose. It retracted when the door shut but there are not electronic wires that connect to it... so, it's not a switch for anything... So I got to thinking... and I now know what it's for. It's a structural piece of the body. It retracts but it also creates a stabilization for the body of the car in an up and downward flex motion. Basically, it ties the doors in as a structural member of the body and helps reduce flex. I'm not sure if it's really needed... it may have been overkill or it may have given added strength in the case of a collision. In any case, I'm going to see if it's possible to retrofit the coupe doors with this pin. I doubt it can be done easily with accuracy, but I'm gonna look at it tomorrow...

thats what im concerned about? anymore info on this??I just picked up my vert and the passenger door needs replaced.I found a set of coupe doors, but having to retrofit the pins in makeing me weary. Id much rather just hack off the unneeded metal on the vert doors, but how hard is it to find a passenger vert door in a junkyard???

[Danrc30]

thats what im concerned about? anymore info on this??I just picked up my vert and the passenger door needs replaced.I found a set of coupe doors, but having to retrofit the pins in makeing me weary. Id much rather just hack off the unneeded metal on the vert doors, but how hard is it to find a passenger vert door in a junkyard???

After driving the car with the coupe doors in I think these pins are there to stop the doors from bouncing up and down while driving... don't forget that this also includes having all of that extra weight in the stock vert doors. I think the coupe doors are light enough to not need this extra pin for support, but it won't hurt to put it in the coupe doors. It's not that big of a deal to do actually. Just a small amount of cutting, drilling, and touch-up painting so it won't rust and you're done.

[94_240sx]

I just got the rear seat belts from junkyard today and took some pics for you guys. I don't mind door pillars(actually, I like them), but I don't think flimsy interior door panels will last long, so I decided to source the parts anyway. Yeah, I recently removed door panels and they were worse than I thought. Sooner or later they will fall apart, and they are not available from Nissan anymore.

How did you remove the rear seatbelt loop?Mine appears to be welded in.

Well after trying to dirll through that **** i decided to call it for the day. As for the welded rear loop. Undo the small screw below that, take a screw drive and pry the plastic pieces behind the actual belt away and pull the belt to the side and there is a huge nut right there. Its an 18 mm and you have to remove the plastic/rubber liner from the back brace piece where the belt comes over it. (Youll know what i mean).

Yes, it looked like the loop was welded on, but actually it was not. Just push this plastic guard down, move the belt and you will see a big nut holding it.

One screw and one bolt is holding the seat belt mechanism.

For those of you doing the door pillar removal who want to use the coupe/hatch passenger side grab handle, you need to get two little metal mounting tabs and 5 screws off of a coupe/hatch.

These are 2 brackets and 5 screws that ish was talking about. Bottom of the door handle goes to the slot and you twist it to secure and one long bolt goes to the top of the handle.

Regarding seatbelt light in the cluster, can you just take the bulb out? Since it's not making any sound. Or someone already covered it and I missed?

[ishkabibble]

Yes, I just removed the light from the cluster.

[94_240sx]

Yes, I just removed the light from the cluster.

Yeah, if you've taken out cluster before, you know that's the easiest solution. I just saw your post with links that show how to take the bulb out. I missed it I guess.

S-13,What kind of black paint did you use to paint inside like that? I like it a lot.

PIC REQUEST:I want to see a white vert with pillar removed. Side shot preferred. I saw one vert(pillars removed) in person, and it was nicer than I thought. I should have sat in it though... I regret now. Anyway, please post some pics for me. I'm debating at the moment.
Modified by 94_240sx at 8:23 AM 1/9/2008

[whoflungpoo]

Yeah, if you've taken out cluster before, you know that's the easiest solution.

PIC REQUEST:I want to see a white vert with pillar removed. Side shot preferred. I saw one vert(pillars removed) in person, and it was nicer than I thought. I should have sat in it though... I regret now. Anyway, please post some pics for me. I'm debating at the moment.

zerothread?id=270009

doo eet. it looks SO much better.

sorry my car looks so dirty, and the blurry pics, but you get the gist.

[StreetFighter]

This thread is awesome...thank you for the info guys! im excited to do this, i just need some door panels.

what seats are these below? s14

[94_240sx]

This thread is awesome...thank you for the info guys! im excited to do this, i just need some door panels.

what seats are these below? s14

s14. I have same seats but with different pattern in the middle.

whoflungpoo,Saw the pics. Thanks.

[masterteque]

Yes, I just removed the light from the cluster.

When you remove the seatbelt assembly from the door, You just cut and solder the two wires that used to go into the belt and this turns off the light.

[ishkabibble]

When you remove the seatbelt assembly from the door, You just cut and solder the two wires that used to go into the belt and this turns off the light.

My light stayed on for 5 mins when I started the car regardless of whether the seatbelt was clicked in or not... so I went for the "ultimate solution".

[Hijacker]

Hopefully Ish will see this.

So i'm doing some test and fitting last weekend to get a better idea of what I need to cut/drill exactly to get the belts in. The one thing that has bugged me about seeing some of the setups is that the bolt is screwed into the metal of the chassis. Since these aren't self-tapping bolts, that sounds like a bad idea to me. I'm going to make an access hole under the retractor so I can slide a nut up in there and give the bolt something good to bite into. I mean, we're talking about safety and all.

Anyways, I get the upper loop fixed in place with some tape while I check clearances with the interior panel. I had actually butted the loop up against the receiver piece ASC installed to give it a bit more stability. With the loop sitting there, it completely prevented me from installing the interior panel perfectly flush. I'm wondering for those that opted for the slightly higher loop mount, what they did to get around this.

[-RJ-]

ha i cant wait to get rid of my door panels but my plan was just to have racing harness attached to a roll cage. does anyone know if thats illegal or not to not have regular seatbelts?

[ishkabibble]

ha i cant wait to get rid of my door panels but my plan was just to have racing harness attached to a roll cage. does anyone know if thats illegal or not to not have regular seatbelts?

Technically illegal.

[ishkabibble]

Hopefully Ish will see this.

So i'm doing some test and fitting last weekend to get a better idea of what I need to cut/drill exactly to get the belts in. The one thing that has bugged me about seeing some of the setups is that the bolt is screwed into the metal of the chassis. Since these aren't self-tapping bolts, that sounds like a bad idea to me. I'm going to make an access hole under the retractor so I can slide a nut up in there and give the bolt something good to bite into. I mean, we're talking about safety and all.

That's what I did, put nuts on the opposite side of all of the bolts.

Anyways, I get the upper loop fixed in place with some tape while I check clearances with the interior panel. I had actually butted the loop up against the receiver piece ASC installed to give it a bit more stability. With the loop sitting there, it completely prevented me from installing the interior panel perfectly flush. I'm wondering for those that opted for the slightly higher loop mount, what they did to get around this.

I eventually took the receiver pieces off, cut them with an angle grinder, and flipped them around to use them as braces for the loop similar to what you are saying. With the loop at the angle shown in the pic, I didn't have any flushness issues with the interior panel. It was right against the panel, though.

Also, I used the "other" plastic trim piece for the hole in the quarter panel where the seat belt comes out. The one in the metal bracing for the seat belt in the front door, not the one in the plastic door panel.

[-RJ-]

Technically illegal.

lol i really like the non-seatbelt look. i wonder if id get pulled over for it

[Hillkill]

Alright I'm having problems with my door swap. Supposedly the doors were from a hatch. I have all the main stuff done but I ended up repinning the driver side blue socket to work with the door plug. The passenger side plugged in just fine. Now My driver side window and lock both are acting retarded. The window went down fine but makes a weird noise when I try to roll it up. It doesn't roll up and when I try to lock it the lock fights against me and won't let me lock it unless I fiddle with it for a couple minutes. Does any one know what those extra two wires are for on the driver side plug? I think they are blue and green.

[Hijacker]

According to the vert FSM, the blue and green wires are for the power regulators on both sides. The driver side should have the blue and green wires come all the way from the window amp, through the door jam, to the motor. The passenger side has the blue and green wires go from the passenger side switch to the motor.

The driver side switch should use the blue/black wire to tell the amp to roll the driver window up. Blue/white should be the down signal. Those go back to the window amp, and the window amp then sends the proper signal current along either the blue or the green wire (depending on which wire supplies, the other grounds and the motor goes in a particular direction)

As for your locks fighting you, double check to make sure you got all the bars installed correctly and that none of them are bound up in funky ways. Also, I've seen where the driver side power lock actuator fights back on the lock knob switch.

[Hillkill]

Well Igot up this morning took off the door panel and tried the window after I unplugged and replugged the regulator back in. All works fine now minus a little twitch with the locks. The vert looks so much smoother. Thanks for thew help guys

[takk808]

has anyone else tried the pillar removal? i wanna do it but affraid it might not hold if i get into an accident....SAFETY OVER LOOKS

[AZhitman]

The seatbelt mounting points are the same as you'd have in a coupe or hatch.

Realistically, if you're in an accident that bad in a 'vert, it's not going to be pretty, regardless of whether the pillars are retained.

You're basically eliminating the useless feature of leaving the belt buckled when the door is opened, which was their way of complying with the federal automatic seatbelt law (which went away soon after 94).

[-RJ-]

i would just get the 4-point harness lol. from what heard, or here in va, as long as its a 3-point or more its fine. it seems safer to me anyway. i could be wrong though