Vehicle door structures incorporating hydroformed elements and processes for assembling such elements

A vehicle door and window frame subassembly comprising:

• tubular hollow frames, and
• a reinforcement member defining receptacles within which portions of the tubular hollow frames are received,
• said portions of the tubular hollow frames being press-fit within the receptacles by pressurized fluid supplied to an interior of said tubular hollow frames to join the frames and the reinforcement member together to form the door and window frame subassembly.

A process of making a vehicle door and window frame subassembly comprising the steps of:

• providing a reinforcement member having ends defining receptacles,
• placing ends of hollow tubular preformed frames into said receptacles, and
• supplying pressurized fluid to interiors of said hollow tubular frames to press-fit said ends within said receptacles and form said subassembly.

A vehicle hatchback frame subassembly comprising:

• a tubular one-piece window frame having a hollow interior and including a central portion disposed between opposing end portions,
• inner and outer panels attached to each other and secured to said opposing end portions of said window frame,
• said window frame having a cross-sectional configuration produced by supplying pressurized fluid to said hollow interior.

A process of making a vehicle hatchback frame assembly comprising the steps of:

• forming a tubular one-piece window frame having a hollow interior and opposing end portions by supplying pressurized fluid to said hollow interior,
• attaching said window frame to an outer hatchback panel,
• hemming an inner hatchback panel to said outer hatchback panel and attaching said inner hatchback panel to said window frame to form the vehicle hatchback frame assembly.