78silver

Have been here before looking at getting started on my 1969 and wanted to know how indepth it is to take the body off the frame. I figure it will be easier to clean things up and replace parts this way as well as pull the motor/transmission. Where is the best guide on the web for doing this as well as all other restoration data/steps?

Thanks

redwingvette

Here is what I had to do:Body-off
There is more information if you go to Corvettefaq.com

68/70Vette

Doing a search function on this forum will show some good stuff about "frame off."

FYI. You do have an alternative to lifting the body off the frame, which is what most people do. You can also drop the frame from the body!

I jacked my whole car up and then built a lot of wood and bottle jack (little hydraulic jack) supports to fit underneath the body. With supports underneath the body passengers compartment, the front nose of the body, the rear of the body, etc. I next unbolted the frame and lowered it. I seperated the body and the frame by about 10 inches which was all I needed to replace gas lines and paint the frame, etc. I didn't have any rust issues with my frame, so just seperating the frame by this little amount was really all of the seperation that I really needed. It was also easy to replace the gas tank. I did this all by myself. I didn't have to rely upon anyone to help me remove the body or replace it. Not relying upon others really wasn't an unsocial thing. I work irregular and sometimes unpredictable hours so doing this as time became available was a factor also.

I have a 1970 Coupe that I want to "do" and for various other reasons, I am thinking about the more orthodox body lift off the frame. My point here is that people should be aware that there is an alternative to lifting the body off the frame...which is drop the frame from the body.

Gr8Wht

Removing the body is easy, just follow the link Redwingvette provided "Body-off" and make sure you remove everything listed. I removed mine a couple of weeks ago. Check out these pics...

Kilroy1024

Those are great pictures! Really shows how its done.

But I gotta ask, is that just a couple 2x4's holding that up??

rcread

I think they are 4x4s. Hopefully that picture is just the start of some elaborately engineered support for the body.

Kilroy1024

I was thinking about the roof of the garage.
Is that just the 2x4 ceiling boards holding that up?

Gr8Wht

Yes, it is a standard 2x4 gable roof truss system. Remember gable end and common trusses sit on the end walls and carry roof loads directly into the wall below. Although I did not calculate the extra dead load, I know from experience that the truss system would hold. In addition, for extra security and ease of lifting, I supported a 2" diameter steel post on the bottom chord which spanned across four common trusses.

My plan is to work on the body in this shed/garage and the frame, engine, tranny, etc. in the front garage. So the body will not move much. The body is supported on 4x4s and 2x4s with casters. However, I'm not very happy with it.

vabeachvette

thread, great pics gents

mapman

A good resource is "The Body Lift Workbook" and video tape by Noland Adams. It contains instructions on building a body dolly. (About $50)

http://www.ecklers.com/product.asp?p...01&dept_id=227


Noland Adams
P.O. Box 1134
El Dorado, CA 95623

b71vette

shafrs3

Here are a couple more examples. The body weights about 800lbs. I lifted mine using two 2 X 12's ten foot long.

Victor

To answer your question, its pretty easy to remove the body.

Before I started my restoration project, I didn't know anything about working on cars and (so far) I've been able to figure it out without much problem.

The ceiling in my garage is finished and I don't have a place to attach a hoist to the ceiling. Instead, I decided to use a couple of bottle jacks and some 4x4 and lift the body slowly an inch at a time. After about 2 hours of running around in circles and jacking up the body, I was able to just roll the frame out from under the body without any problem. I used the engine hoist to help support the front while I lifted the body off.

The engine and transmission were removed before I lifted the body off.

Gr8Wht

b71vette - Nice body dolly. Looks like 2x12s from a water bed, which I have... I will have to build a new dolly this weekend.

One thing I forgot to mention regarding the body lift.....I forgot to take off the emergency brake cable. Luckily I caught it in time.

Whiplash71

The process is pretty straight forward. The Nolan Adams check list is good to have. It will take about 1 solid day to unbolt everything and an afternoon to pull the body. Building the body dolly is a couple of hours of assembly. I had to modify the dolly that's outlined in the Nolan Adams book. I ultimately made the front section of the dolly 3 inches shorter. I think it could be designed much better for a C3. PM me and I'll give you more details.

I used an engine hoist to do the job. At full extension it was about 3 inches shy of ideal with respect to how high it lifted the body. There was some wiggling required to pull the frame out while still clearing the distributor but ultimately doable.

Here are some pics of the lift using the engine hoist.

74 vert

cool pics of a corvette matchbox.

Cool pics

dyanisis2

reading through this thread i realized i definately need to pull my body off and start a complete restoration of my 80. The problem is, i don't have an overhead hoist or a garage with exposed beams to remove the body from the top. So im thinking i might have to use the bottle jack approach. How safe is this approach? I don't want to damage the body any more than it already is. Also, it seems that the front end needs to be further supported during the whole removal process- is that correct? Furthermore, the engine and tranny are still in the car. Is the a viable removal method with those still installed- or should i remove the engine and tranny prior to trying to remove the body?

SHAKERATTLEROLL

You could also build an A frame to remove the body as well.

I will have to do this soon myself lol.

For a body dolly you might want to look at this thread as well.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1392113

IMA 66

been thinking about this with the 66. She has a good coating of surface rust everywhere which makes working on it lots of fun. Plus i need to run all new brake lines and thinking this would be the easier way to go over the whole car.