floor pans and structural integrity

[Iansenn]

Hey all, so I've been doing quite a bit of work on my 72 and I'm finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. One of my major projects left is the floor pans. The front pans have some rust, a couple of holes about 3x3, I plan on patching those up. My main question is how much of the structural integrity relies on the pans. Both of my doors are a bit off as it is, they line up alright in the front but are about 1/8 of an inch off in the rear so I'm concerned that the body may have started sagging in the middle, hopefully I'm wrong. I've done a few restorations in the past but never a convertible so some of this stuff is a bit foreign to me. What are the major things to look for to ensure the structural integrity hasn't been compromised? Thanks in advance, gents. I've already learned alot just reading through forums on this site.

[DieselSpider]

The front and rear frame components where they attach to the structural inner rockers and joints where those multi-part structural rockers are joined together along with the transmission hump to the inner and outer middle cross members take care of limiting sag while the pans and their bracing help keep the structural rockers parallel. If you feel that the car is sagging and binding the doors it may be a good idea to take the outside rocker panels off as they are just decorative covers held on with a few screws and 2 stud bolts so you can better inspect the structural rockers behind them. Its not uncommon for the structural rockers to rot out where they are covered by the decorative outside rocker panels.