What happens if I cut all body mount bolts?
07-17-2004, 06:32 PM
#1
Racer
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What happens if I cut all body mount bolts?
5 are loose but just spin, 2 of them won't budge. will i still be able to lift the body if i just cut them off?
07-17-2004, 07:00 PM
#2
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What happens? Well, you'll need to buy new bolts for one. 
You can get the body off by cutting them no problem. Had to cut multiple bolts on my to get the body off. You'll still have to get the remaining bolt out of the frame, but obviously that job becomes much each with direct access to the frame.
You can get the body off by cutting them no problem. Had to cut multiple bolts on my to get the body off. You'll still have to get the remaining bolt out of the frame, but obviously that job becomes much each with direct access to the frame.
07-17-2004, 11:37 PM
#3
Safety Car
The reason they just spin is because the nuts are held in place by a cage welded to the frame. Just cut the heads off the bolts and the body will lift off without any problems.
07-18-2004, 10:04 PM
#4
Team Owner
Tobe a little more specific, the #2 and #3 bolts have cage nuts welded to the frame. The #4 has a cage nut riveted to the tub on the inside.
With cage nuts, they rust, the cage gets weak and can't support the force that the nut applies on them. The nuts give way and the bolt just spins.
If you cut them off, there's no problem getting the body off. Once it's off, you'lll have to replace the cage nuts though. The #2 & #3 will require cutting the old cages off the frame, and welding on new ones. Not a terrible job really. #1 & #4 can be replaced by regular nuts and don't NEED to be cage nuts. Using a normal nut just complicates bolting them back in since you need an extralong arm to hold a wrench inside the car while you wrench outside.
With cage nuts, they rust, the cage gets weak and can't support the force that the nut applies on them. The nuts give way and the bolt just spins.
If you cut them off, there's no problem getting the body off. Once it's off, you'lll have to replace the cage nuts though. The #2 & #3 will require cutting the old cages off the frame, and welding on new ones. Not a terrible job really. #1 & #4 can be replaced by regular nuts and don't NEED to be cage nuts. Using a normal nut just complicates bolting them back in since you need an extralong arm to hold a wrench inside the car while you wrench outside.
07-19-2004, 04:55 AM
#5
Originally Posted by ddecart
If you cut them off, there's no problem getting the body off. Once it's off, you'lll have to replace the cage nuts though. The #2 & #3 will require cutting the old cages off the frame, and welding on new ones. Not a terrible job really. #1 & #4 can be replaced by regular nuts and don't NEED to be cage nuts.
I had to cut 4 of my 8 bolts to get the body off. But it was much easier to cut off the cage nuts and weld on new ones. So glad I've got new bolts ready to put back on. My problem is I'm deployed for 1.5 years and won't remember what my Corvette even looks like by the time I get back. Good luck.
