Body Lifting - NCRS Discussion Boards

Body Lifting

Collapse
X
 
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
  • Chuck R.
    Expired
    • April 30, 1999
    • 1434

    Body Lifting

    I am ready to start the process of removing the body from my 68 coupe but have a couple of ideas as how to lift it.

    Has anyone lifted the body from underneath as long as the body was stripped, braced, and as light as possible with the nose still attached?

    I am trying to avoid investing car money in a one time lifting structure.
  • Jerry Clark

    #2
    Re: Body Lifting

    Hi Chuck:

    I am not certain I am understanding your question. If you are asking if the body can be lifted in one piece, sure, buy some pizza and some brews for AFTER, get four or five stout friends and lift away. Am I understanding that you are asking if removing the front end from the birdcage is necessary ? Not.

    Have Fun.

    jer

    Comment

    • Robert C.
      Expired
      • December 1, 1993
      • 1153

      #3
      Re: Body Lifting

      Noland Adams has a great vidio on Body Lifting. You can get it from NCRS store in Cincinatti. Preparation is the whole deal, lifting is easy. You will need to build a body support frame out of wood first, then have at it. On our last few lifts, we borrowed two A-Frame worm skrew type jacks from our local restorer. It makes it real simple.


      NCRS-Texas Chapter

      Comment

      • Chuck S.
        Expired
        • April 1, 1992
        • 4668

        #4
        Re: Body Lifting

        This is another method I have used sucessfully: Remove everything that can be removed from the body, including the doors. I have a coupe, so I am not sure about convertibles; you may want to fabricate some braces for the door openings if you have a convertible. Buy one of those lifting strap kits. They cost about $100 last time I bought one. Rent a LARGE engine hoist, the kind with the long legs that extend out in front. Place the engine hoist such that the legs extend under the car, with the lift hook centered over the passenger compartment. They say the best lift position is just above the shifter opening; I actually found the best location was forward of the shifter opening. Arrange the lift straps as directed and rig to the hoist. Lift very slowly, watching for "hang-ups" with each hoist pump stroke. Once the body is in the air and clear of the chassis, the body can be moved SLOWLY AND CAREFULLY away from the frame using the casters on the hoist. Use a buddy to steady the body during the move.

        CAUTION: One thing I learned the hard way is that the strap clamps that hook onto the lower edge of the birdcage can slip if not restrained. I used some small C-clamps at each corner (MAKE SURE THEY ARE TIGHT) to prevent the strap clamps from traveling up the birdcage. It can be really un-nerving to have the center of gravity suddenly shift with the body 3' over the frame.

        I have done this successfully alone. I do not recommend it. At least one additional set of eyes is needed to watch for forgotten connections to the chassis and other potential problems. I did this lift inside a double garage with a standard 8' ceiling; I found I needed about 4" more, but everything worked out after some "adjustments".

        Chuck Sangerhausen

        Comment

        • Chuck S.
          Expired
          • April 1, 1992
          • 4668

          #5
          Re: Body Lifting

          Chuck,

          If you are preparing to do a body lift, I know you are anxious to disassemble and restore that greasy, dirty chassis. I don't know where you are in the process, but here is some food for thought: If I had any body work to do, I would do it BEFORE the body lift. In fact, I would strip the body, do any large or small repairs, prep the body, and prime it before the lift. I wish someone had given me this advice. The reasons for this are (1) you want to make any repairs with the body mounted to the frame as when finished, and (2) you want to have minimun amount of paint and body work once the body is lowered back onto the restored chassis to minimize the dust and clean-up. Plan on protecting the restored chassis by wrapping with "saran wrap", and spray primer-sealer and finish coats after the body is dropped and mounting bolts are torqued. Just my humble opinion.

          Chuck Sangerhausen

          Comment

          • Brandon K.
            Expired
            • April 1, 1997
            • 474

            #6
            Re: Body Lifting

            good advice, Chuck, unless the frame is rusted thru or bent. In that case, it's best to straighten or weld the frame, and then drop the body back on before adjusting door gaps, etc.

            Brandon

            Comment

            • Art A.
              Expired
              • June 30, 1984
              • 834

              #7
              Re: Body Lifting

              Comment

              • Chuck R.
                Expired
                • April 30, 1999
                • 1434

                #8
                Re: Body Lifting

                Thanks for the great input, as I own a great rolling enging hoist, I will more than likey move towards this process.

                My original thought though was if anyone had heard of, or witnessed a body being raised from under neath by means of jacking up against bracing placed between the underside of the floor boards and the jacks? Just a question.

                Man I love this organization (my wife on the other hand),thats another story!

                Thanks again.

                Chuck

                Comment

                • Chuck R.
                  Expired
                  • April 30, 1999
                  • 1434

                  #9
                  Re: Body Lifting

                  By the way, just how much does a stripped body weigh?

                  Comment

                  • Chuck S.
                    Expired
                    • April 1, 1992
                    • 4668

                    #10
                    Re: Body Lifting

                    Chuck,

                    Don't worry about straining that engine hoist; I think the one I used was 2.5 tons capacity. It had a trailer hitch built into the hoist, with trailer wheels for towing. More important than the weight capacity is the long leg extension to give stability while the body is in the air.

                    Just guessing, I would say the stripped body weighs maybe 1000-1200 pounds.

                    Take your wife to an out-of-town chapter/regional meet. Give her the credit cards, and let her shop while you drool on Corvettes. Positive reinforcement you know!

                    Chuck Sangerhausen

                    Comment

                    • Patrick T.
                      Expired
                      • September 30, 1999
                      • 1286

                      #11
                      Re: Body Lifting

                      Chuck, after reading the posts above, I was thinking the same thing. When 4 of us lifted off the body of my stripped '57, I seem to remember, judging by how much of the load that I carried, my ballpark guess would be around 650 lbs.

                      Comment

                      Working...

                      Debug Information

                      Searching...Please wait.
                      An unexpected error was returned: 'Your submission could not be processed because you have logged in since the previous page was loaded.

                      Please push the back button and reload the previous window.'
                      An unexpected error was returned: 'Your submission could not be processed because the token has expired.

                      Please push the back button and reload the previous window.'
                      An internal error has occurred and the module cannot be displayed.
                      There are no results that meet this criteria.
                      Search Result for "|||"