Vehicle lower body structure

An elongated open-top vehicle body structure comprising a front body section having a forward end and a rear end, a rear body section having a forward end, a rear end and two opposed sides in each of which a side door opening is defined, the forward end of said rear body section being connected to the rear end of the front body section and a side door mounted on each opposed side of said rear body section to open and close the side door openings, said rear body section comprising:

• (a) a floor panel horizontally extending forwardly and rearwardly between the forward end and the rear end of said rear body section and transversely between the opposed sides thereof;
• (b) each side opposed side of said rear body section extending along and connected to one side of the floor panel and being composed of a vertically extending first portion constituting a side sill defining the bottom of the respective side door opening and a second portion constituting a rear body panel defining the rear edge of the side door opening and a rear wheel housing extending vertically and rearwardly of the side door opening;
• and
• (c) a transversely extending reinforcing means of inverted U-shaped configuration extending transversely across said rear body section for reinforcing the vehicle body structure, said transversely extending reinforcing means having a lower inverted U-shaped member connected to said floor panel at its bottom and connected at its opposite ends to said vertically extending first portions of the opposed sides of said rear body section substantially flush with the tops of said side sills and rearwardly of the rear edges of the side door openings, and an upper inverted U-shaped member mounted on and extending vertically above the lower inverted U-shaped member and the side sills, the upper inverted U-shaped member overlapping and connected to the lower inverted U-shaped member and the vertically extending first portions of the opposed sides of the rear body section, and secured to the rear body panels above said side sills and to the rear wheel housings of the rear body panels so that the vehicle body structure is thereby characterized by substantial torsional and sideways rigidity.