I'm in the early stages of starting a frame off resto , my first one and would appreciate any tips or pointers from the board, I've already removed the front clip ,most of the interior and pretty much have the body ready to lift off the frame and this is where it gets tricky as far as how to lift the tub off the frame safely etc.? any advice? , the frame has to go out for repair and sandblasting and while this is being done I would like to start prepping the tub for the same.
Google "frame off resto" and you will see lots of different options for body removal... Personally i use this gantry i built along with some chain falls and straps...
You could also just jack the body up, build 4 little platforms and use a bottle jack on top of them and use a long piece of wood under the body so you can roll the chassis out from between. I dont have pics handy but i have took doubled up 3/4 inch plywood with a 2 inch hole drilled in them and attached to the long chunk of wood... Then my bottle jack slides into the hole and it keeps it secure from falling off the bottle jack. Pics of the kind of "stands" i am talking about. Place them around your car, jack up the body, slide in some 2x2 thick wall steel or 4x6 wood and roll out the chassis.
Yeah i was thinking of doing something similar to that, I thought about bracing the body with some 2"x 8" or something and lifting the body slowly of the frame and the using them to also disperse the weight of the tub evenly to keep from tweaking the tub,Thanks for the info.
I built a gantry crane out of 2x6s and used a harbor freight atv winch with a remote. I would add pics but I can't get the forum to accept them. Here is an idea for a rotisserie that I have thought about doing. https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/body/681758-building-wooden-body-rotisserie.html There are some others in this search too. https://www.google.com/search?q=woo...QsAQIMg&biw=1280&bih=930#imgrc=3zaFVwMA5La81M: The main thing is take lots of pics during disassembly, bag and tag all the hardware, and try to keep all the parts in one area for it. I have a problem with that and if your project takes years it is easy for stuff to get misplaced.
If I were going to re enforce a body I would remove the interior and weld in steel braces but that it is really only needed if you have a convertable.
Can u leave the car all as one in the front end and just roll out frame... I was thinking about this on mine but I don't want to remove fenders and hood as I have nice gaps...
Hey Joe... That's a lot of weight (as in cantilever) hanging the front in mid air with the fenders, hood and core support stuff all hanging off the cowl. Any weakness there is gonna wrinkle the fenders, cowl, rocker panels, or even just bust the windshield. You could probably get away with it with three long 4x4s at the core support, front and rear body mounts with a little jacking at a time. If the motor etc is still in place youre gonna hafta go up three feet to clear everything. The other way is a long I beam with 3 cross beams as a rig. Youd still be rigging near a lot of sheetmetal; even with flat nylon straps. JMHO. If youre doing a frame off, wouldnt you want to get into cowl leaks, door hinges and core support mtce. anyway? You can pull the intact front clip off and move/store it with a lot less work. Keep all the bolts/shims bagged correctly and mark the position with a marker pen. Theres just sooo much more underneath all the tin that youd regret not being able to get at. Again, JMHO, but the gappage is the least of your concerns at that point! ws
Lifted with engine crane and straps, first front, then rear. Built sawhorses in place, connected them with side braces, removed wheels n tires. Placed drums on wheel dollys to get lower then pushed frame out from under shell. I then added more 2x4 braces for side to side strength. Put wheel dollys on all four corners so I could push it around. When it was time to go back on the frame, I removed 2x4 braces, then pushed frame under stand. Hoisted front, sawzalled sawhorses so I could pull them out from side, and lowered shell to frame. Betta redneckidnize.......Jim/Rott Ps: Make sure stand/shell will clear garage door, very important.......
Yes I hear ya bill Thanks for all that information I just hate doing gaps. When I did my dad's car we made a body roller just like dasRottweiler did but removed the front clip. We stuck a 4x4 inside the trunk and lifted the rear with engine hoist.
LOL!! that is exactly the way my wife's nephew suggested we remove my tub!!right down to the ratchet straps..problem being is I intend on keeping the tub as intact as possible..
Is the reason you built the support structure so tall because you're doing your own sandblasting on the tub?..
have a scissor lift. I raised the car as high as I wanted it. I ran doubled up 2x6's across the front and rear onto tall jack stands. I unbolted the frame and lowered it down from the body.
Yes, still was torture ,crawling round in a dust storm. Ya need the height to push the frame/chassis out from under too. Doing it all myself, cept engine machine work and rearend rebuild. Buickrat rebuilt my rearend with some help from me. He has been a great guy to turn to when stumped, need knowledge. Website has been invaluable as well. I do wish I had farmed out the bodywork/paint, they are kickin my arse...Jim/Rott
30 years ago I lifted my skylark tub off with come-alongs that were attached to beams in the ceiling of my second shop (an old Kroeger Food Store). I put the jack stands under to keep it stable until I finished the frame and married the two back together again. I was a little worried that all the weight of the tub might tweek the top at the "A" pillars but all was fine. Larry
