Lifted body off frame today!

[matchframe]

Well, we finally did it! The body is now off the frame. We had a bunch of people over here this morning helping lift the body. Even the kids were involved. They took pictures and pushed the body dolly under. I went out early this morning and bought fresh doughnuts (You know Energy!) had coffee for us old folks and cokes for the all the others. We had the body off the frame and on its dolly in 15 min. I expected about 30-45 min., but when you are having fun, it goes fast. Now, the work starts. I will post some pictures later if anyone is interested.

Vettes Rock!!

Bill

 

[Thumper]

By all means, post pics!

 

[billybob]

Sounds like fun!

Please post pics, as this is planned in the near future, just so I can get at the frame cleanly and clean and recoat her

Bill

 

[matchframe]

Here's some pics

Before the lift

 

[matchframe]

Lifting. I am the one in the black shirt.

 

[matchframe]

Frame being pulled out.

 

[matchframe]

Being placed on the Body Dolly.

 

[matchframe]

My wife Jennifer documenting it all.

 

[billybob]

Cool thanks for the pics... question tho, What other then the frame bolts and hood did you have to take off to lift the body off?

Bill

 

[matchframe]

You have to disconnect everything between the body & the frame. All the electrical, brakes, clutch (If you have a manual trans) shifting linkages and steering column. The best resource is Nolan Adams Body Lift Workbook. This is what I followed. I got mine from Corvette America for about $40. It covers how to prep the car for lifting, building a body dolly, and includes a video showing an actual lift. Its a pretty big project. Keep us updated if you do this!

Bill

 

[billybob]

Outstanding, thanks I check out the Nolan Adams Body Lift Workbook.

Bill

 

[groovyjay]

Looks familiar, keep us posted along the way!

 

[Stallion]

When you take the body off of the frame, how would you keep the body in perfect condition? For instance, I assume that fiberglass would like to bend and mold into new shapes with time and a bad position? How would you prevent this with a body-off restoration?

 

[matchframe]

The body is flexable, especially the front end. The body dolly that I built is designed to hold the body the same way the frame does. So as long as the body is placed on the dolly correctly, it sits as if it were on the frame. The front end flexed alot during the lift, so I had place a come-along from the radiator top brace up to the lifting eye on the bridle to steady it. My problem is keeping the kids out of the body while it is on the dolly. I don't think they will hurt it, but I also don't want to take any chances.

 

[billybob]

Well the CC is warm and got another work out today.

Just another general question, I noticed you didnt pull the doors?
I guess it adds strength to the body or does it just add weight?

Bill

 

[matchframe]

Just another general question, I noticed you didnt pull the doors?

I actually did remove the doors, the picture angles did not allow a good view of the sides. I originally planned to leave the doors on, but when I fit the lifting harness to the car, there was alot of pressure put on the outer door skins from the harness, so I pulled them. I attached a pipe from the door hinge to the strike bolt, mainly so we could have a good grabbing point during the lift. Also, I think they may have made the body a little stronger, but being a coupe, I really don't think they were that necessary. If you want, I can post a pic of how I did the pipe across the door.

 

[DakotaFlash]

The wood on the windshield ....

Match,
I assume the wood covering the windshield and so forth is to protect the car from the chain on your hoist. Is that the reason for it? And it only looks llike you had about 2 feet or so of hoisting room there. Is that all she took? I need to yank my body off my 74 coupe and have sort of a low height ceiling for hoisting and now see by your pics that I ought to be able to do it. Also like your fancy floor. Something I can only wish for.

 

[matchframe]

G.W.

Yes, the wood was to protect the windshield, but it was not really needed, because the chain naturally fell to where the shifter was. I had a cardboard box there to collect the chain. Also, when I built the beam that the hoist was attached to, I had designed it to lift the body about two feet. I had calculated that I only needed about 20 inches to clear the frame since I had removed the fuel tank. What I did not take into account was the pulling tension of the lifting harness. It took about 6 inches of chain pull before the body lifted, therefore we were lacking about 3 inches of clearing the tires. Four of us picked it up from there to clear the tires while others pulled the frame out. The body is not all that heavy, it just that I wanted the flexability of hanging the body in the air if I had overlooked anything that needed to be disconnected. Surprisingly, everything was disconnected and we had the body on the dolley in about 15 min.

The floor is two part epoxy paint that I bought at the local Sherwin Williams Paint store. I painted the floor white, then taped and papered off to paint the black. Took me about two weeks to do. The hardest part was taping off for the black, but it was something I was determined to do. Thanks for the compliment!

When you do lift the body off your 74, let me hear how it goes!

Bill

 

[Hunter]

Man that was great. I also would like to remove the body off of my 77. Your pictures have motivated me. I live in MN, and don't use the car in the winter so I will have lots of time to do this.

 

[matchframe]

Welcome to CAC, Hunter!

It really is not as difficult as it seems to lift the body off the frame. The hardest part is finding a place to store all the big parts, (such as the body) while working on the frame and components.

Be sure to us let hear how it goes when you do lift the body off your '77.

Bill