Hi All
I'm back to sorting through the clutter and trying to get things organized. I stumbled across something that caught my eye. The rocker panel on a 1964 Cutlass convertible has extra support added to it when compared to the hardtop or sedan. I looked at both a 1965 2 door post rocker and a 4 door, they both had open rockers. The convertible has a thick C shaped piece inside of it, and another layer on the side of the rocker facing the frame. I knew the convertible had a stronger frame, but didn't realize support was added here too. I'm posting a few photos just for kicks so you guys can see what I was looking at. The first photos will be from the 4 door rocker. The next ones will be from the convertible. John

 

 

 

Not surprising. With the roof missing, the only bending stiffness to keep the door openings correct comes from the rockers. That extra member is essentially an I-beam for increased bending stiffness. Keep in mind that the body mounts to the frame with rubber, so the extra stiffness of the frame alone is apparently insufficient.

 

I agree, that makes sense Joe. I'd not read about this anywhere and not known of it until I cut up a rusty 1964 Cutlass convertible. If anyone needs to replace part of a rusty rocker panel on a convertible they'll want to be sure to save or replace these extra pieces. They've got a different color, like they may have a galvanized coating, or something similar to that. John