Body Lift Procedure- Help Needed

[BLACK MOON]

I'm about to lift the body off my 63 and need some advice/ guidance:
1. Where do I attach straps. I'm assuming from photos that they attach along the rocker at points where there is metal behind the fiberglass.
2. The straps I bought from Zip Products have about a 2" wide clip and it looks like where the strap attached to the clip is going to cut into the bottom curve of my fenders. Any suggestions?
3. The front of the car will be 'squeezed' while lifting. Should I use a spreader bar or will the inward pressure be minimal?
4. I think these straps are made for 'shade tree mechanics because they are 6' long and when hooked almost touch my garage ceiling. I'll tie off about 4' of each strap or raise the lift point up into the rafters of the garage. I'm glad I never finished the drywall in that area.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. I don't want to screw up after putting so much effort and care into the disassembly.

Thanks all!!!

 

[Ol Blue]

Black Moon
I used some straps that sound similar to yours when lifting the body off of a 64 roadster. They also had been used on a 67 coupe, and neither one of us had a problem with too much pressure. I did leave the hardtop on to give the roadster body a little more stability though. We put the body back on with the same straps and didn't have any damage.

I have participated in the body removal of a 66 coupe using manual labor and it wasn't fun. There were only 4 of us, and it's waaay to heavy for only 4.

I've also lifted the body of a 68 using floor jacks on either side and then putting 2x4's between the body and frame, with the 2x4's sitting on blocks. Then we took off the suspension and dragged the frame out from under the lifted body. Not pretty, but it worked just fine. We put the body back on with just 4 people, but this was a stripped out racecar with no doghouse, so it wasn't very heavy.

Good luck.
Ol Blue

I'm about to lift the body off my 63 and need some advice/ guidance:
1. Where do I attach straps. I'm assuming from photos that they attach along the rocker at points where there is metal behind the fiberglass.
2. The straps I bought from Zip Products have about a 2" wide clip and it looks like where the strap attached to the clip is going to cut into the bottom curve of my fenders. Any suggestions?
3. The front of the car will be 'squeezed' while lifting. Should I use a spreader bar or will the inward pressure be minimal?
4. I think these straps are made for 'shade tree mechanics because they are 6' long and when hooked almost touch my garage ceiling. I'll tie off about 4' of each strap or raise the lift point up into the rafters of the garage. I'm glad I never finished the drywall in that area.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. I don't want to screw up after putting so much effort and care into the disassembly.

Thanks all!!!

 

[BLACK MOON]

Studiog,
Your post got deleted. Please email photos to a.salvatore@comcast.net.
Thanks man.
Moon

 

[henny496]

Hello
I bought the strap lifting kit but it was too long so I don't have enough height in my garage. I made my own system. It is basically a box shape from tubing which goes over the body and clips on at the rocker> I have the tubing low enough to the roof that when it is lifted up, it can be raised quite high. I also welded 4 bumper jacks to the corners and can raise the body that way. Let me know if you want a picture and I will see if 67 Heaven will post it for me( I am going to have to learn how to do that )
computer challenged and over 40
Tom

 

[JohnZ]

Make sure you use C-clamps or vise-grips at each "clip" location to keep the clips from slipping fore-aft on the steel sill flange; you DON'T want the body's center of gravity to shift in the middle of the lift.

 

[BLACK MOON]

This is an old post. i used the straps and shortened them. i'd like to see pictures of your set up. Thanks.

 

[studiog]

Studiog,
Your post got deleted. Please email photos to a.salvatore@comcast.net.
Thanks man.
Moon

Hey Moon could you refresh my memory as to what post you are referring to. I probably still have it on my hard drive somewhere.

 

[BLACK MOON]

This was in January, I can't remember that far back.

 

[henny496]

Hello
I took some pictures of what I am using for a lift and sent them to 67 Heaven, so he can hopefully post them for me.
The car is being held up by the jacks in the pics(welded onto hoist/jig). It also has a spot on the top that allows me to hoist it up. I installed a 24 overhead beam on which I have a trolley. I can hoist the body up, so the top is about 9' 6" up and I then can roll it out of the way. I have my frame jig under it. I kept banging my head on it when it was hanging over the frame, so that is why I decided with the trolley to roll it away. From this, I can use a small come-a-long to support the nose and steady the car from swinging.
When I post pics of the frame and jig in the next little while, my description of this may be a little more clear to understand. It is not hard to make
take care
Tom

 

[Viet Nam Vett]

Hello
I took some pictures of what I am using for a lift and sent them to 67 Heaven, so he can hopefully post them for me.
The car is being held up by the jacks in the pics(welded onto hoist/jig). It also has a spot on the top that allows me to hoist it up. I installed a 24 overhead beam on which I have a trolley. I can hoist the body up, so the top is about 9' 6" up and I then can roll it out of the way. I have my frame jig under it. I kept banging my head on it when it was hanging over the frame, so that is why I decided with the trolley to roll it away. From this, I can use a small come-a-long to support the nose and steady the car from swinging.
When I post pics of the frame and jig in the next little while, my description of this may be a little more clear to understand. It is not hard to make
take care
Tom

Here's Tom's Pic's..

 

[Kd8pe]

Body Lift

i used this strap lift kit and just Tied big knot at the top where
the 3 straps come togather,,worked very well,,shortened about
12" or more.

 

[JohnZ]

We did one a couple of weeks ago for one of my Chapter members using yet another technique - used a pair of camper jacks with 6-foot lengths of padded 2"x 2" angle iron bolted to the jack pads and some ballast added in front of the radiator to balance the car better, with one guy on each corner to stabilize it during the crank-up off the dolly and the crank-down onto the restored chassis; worked great

 

[henny496]

I like the camper jacks idea. My problem is that I usually end up doing this by myself. My body has to get raised and lowered a few times with the custom frame and cage(fitting). I can lower it with the chain hoist and then do it slow and easy with the jacks on each corner

 

[studiog]

We did one a couple of weeks ago for one of my Chapter members using yet another technique - used a pair of camper jacks with 6-foot lengths of padded 2"x 2" angle iron bolted to the jack pads and some ballast added in front of the radiator to balance the car better, with one guy on each corner to stabilize it during the crank-up off the dolly and the crank-down onto the restored chassis; worked great

I like that, Very clever!