[Jackyl]

I think the Subject line says what I am looking to do, but how is the question I have. My problem is lack of room, one car garage with very little room to move around and a car longer than any I have ever owned. I can unbolt the body without too much difficulty and then I am not sure how to get it off the frame. Any ideas? Let me know. HK as you can see I have decided to do it myself. I probably should have done it that way to begin with. It is just going to take longer than I expected, but I will still get what I want.

 

[Halloweenking]

Good to see you stuck with it. It might be slow going, but the swell of pride and cool ride and the end will be worth it.

You may want to check out the threads below, they are on the same topic and might help you out. Then after you read up on it you can ask some direct questions.

More frame off.

Those should help you out and if you have anymore questions feel free to ask.

HK

 

[rocknrod]

I used a engine hoist for the firewall area with a nylon strap. On the rear area I used a large Eye bolt in the beam above the car with nylon straps....."it could happen"

 

[Jackyl]

The links did help HK, I guess the big question is, can I leave everything together on the body? I did not really there is not a lot left to strip down inside except the front seat which can be done, but the trunk door weighs a lot more than the front and back seats combined. I assume I would leave the doors on.

 

[Halloweenking]

Absolutly. You can leave the doors on if you wish. The only thing that would limit what you can and can't leave on the body is your method of actually lifting the body. If the preticular method your using can handle the weight then its fine. If not, remove all you can. Just make sure everythings supported so nothing twists and shouts.

HK

 

[trees]

Jacky, I reccomend you remove every thing from the body that you can to make it as light as possible. I then put a good strong 4X4 through the door opening (one for coupe or PU cab) and one thru the rear door opening. I will tack a 2X4 between them on each side before making a cradle to lift from the estimated center of the load. I use a cherry picker, being careful to not let the top meet the raised arm!! Once lifted, I roll the frame out from under the body and place it on saw horses or what ever. Some times, have to remove the wheels to get clearance. We have built a "buggy" to place the bodie on so we can move it in and out of the shop for sand blasting or just getting out of the way. We made the front axel pivot just like a little wagon and put a tow handle on it. The axle will spin around 360 degrees so we can turn the buggy all the way around in the length of the body on it.

Trees

 

[[email protected]]

I may be a little slow on one end but why not do it like I do? Strip the body down to the bare essentials to make it light as possible - if you are doing a frame-off job you will get there anyway - and then get your wife, kids, three neighbors, and brother-in-law and just lift it off by hand.

 

[Halloweenking]

"Honey your doing good...keep it up...ahhh common, put your legs into'it!"

Sounds like a good plan to me

I do it more like trees, I don't have a wife of kids or neihbors to come help so I just rig up a way to do it myself.

HK

 

[46_stvblt]

Holloweenking: I'm with you. With a back like mine there is no way I'm lifting any thing that heavy and awkward. I did mine with jacks and pickers. worked fine and no one went home bent over......GlennK

 

[[email protected]]

You'd be surprised how light the load is when you have half a dozen lifters!

 

[bullheimer]

i would remove as much as possible. i used the big header on my landlords shop door. what a pain in the butt. everybody here's right on track, i didnt have any man power for my truck cab. besides it was made with real steel not tin foil. nice links, HK.

 

[sedan_dad]

What kind of body?A couple neighbors and 2 2x4 was all I needed.Took it off and back on a half dozen times.

 

[Stinkin_V8]

If you're planning on rolling the chassis out from underneath the body once it's lifted, don't be afraid to let the air out of the tires to get a couple more inches of clearance.

 

[Kevin45]

Stinkin'...you can't let the air out of the tires then roll it out from underneath. Take one engine hoist in the front and three people in the rear and it's off. With everything stripped out and off of the car it is not heavy. When I did mine there was only three of us. Two guys were in the back at the wheelwells and I ran a wide strap with hooks in the front mounts and lifted the front by myself. All three of us loaded it on the trailer and all three of us unloaded it off of the trailer. This was a '62 Impala. It's not a big job and it's not a complicated job. Just be sure you have something to set it on once it is off.

Kevin

 

[mmetalman]

I happen to be going through the same thing right now on my 72 elcamino 4x4. Outside it was no problem, I just removed the frontend, strapped the shell & picked it up with my towtruck & set it on sawhorses. Then I combined the frame with a 4x4 chassis, but to do the floor on the body I had to get it inside the shop becuz of alll this RAIN!! the last few months. So the other day I set it back on the chassis and pushed it in the shop.I would like to suspend it from the ceiling so I can access the entire bed support area. As I don't have much help, I intend to do this by a combination of 3 things. 1] Throw an I-beam across the ceiling joists to spread out the weight and connect a chainblock between it and the straps lifting the center of the roof 2] Lift the rear of the body using my big upright hydraulic jack (I'ld skip this step if I didn't have one) 3] lift the body, roll out the chassis, set it down on a sawhorse at the front and the jack (or another sawhorse) at the back but keeping the amount of weight on the chainblock to keep the body straight & level.I would NOT remove the doors if I haven't removed the glass, unless it's already cracked, or it likely will. After that I'll repair all body stuctural supports especially where the mounts are and the entire floor & bed, but leave the quarterpanels to be done after it's remounted & bolted on the frame to insure there's no tension, twist or door-binding. I intend to mount the engine, trans fuel/brake lines etc onto the frame before the remounting of the body. If everything goes smoothly this can be done in a week or so. Good luck with your's, hope this helps.

 

[Stinkin_V8]

It just depends how you're doing it, I guess.. Last time I did one, I supported the body on 4x4s across steel barrels with room for the wheels to clear between the barrels. The extra load the body took off the suspension let it lift a little more than I expected. I let the air out of the tires - not all the air, just enough to clear the body - and rolled the chassis out from underneath. The more air you let out, the tougher it's going to be to roll.