What is the best way to remove a conv body off its frame with out tweeking or twistig it I have two chain hoists and a cherry picker and a floor jack any ideas. o No:
Here's a couple links. http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?t=100456. http://buickperformance.com/body-off.htm I did lift a 67 A body hrdtp using the 4 by 4 method with a chain fall at the back and a engine hoist at the front. It bent the sheet metal up at the trunk area. I had to fix it. Just so you know. Good Luck!! Ray
body Hey thanks ray for advice i thought if i leave doors on it that would help the front area. the back also was my concern. thanks again
As long as the body is in good shape you shouldn't have a problem, although some guys weld a piece across each door opening before taking conv bodies off the frames. The floor pans on my 70 442 conv were so bad I wanted to replace them completely, so I welded an entire "roll cage" inside the car before I took it off the frame, and cut the floor out. That is keeping everything aligned until the new floor goes in. Duane
hey Duane was your car a conv and my pans need to be replaced as well you cant put a role cage in a conv can you I never seen one but really never thought of it either. o No:
Yes, My car is a 1970 442 convertible, and the previous owner let the top go bad, and never took out the carpet, so my entire floor pans including braces, were trashed. What I did was to completely strip out the interior, then I took 3/4" & 1" black steel pipe and welded pieces across the door openings, to the outer rocker panels, criss-crossing the floor, etc, so that everything was tied together by the welded piping. I also welded all the pipe together, where they crossed each other. This is what I called my "roll cage". (If I can find a picture I will post it.) At this point I took the body off the frame, and nothing, absolutely nothing moved. I then cut the entire floor pan out, from firewall to rear seat panel, including the braces and inner rocker panels. I cut a complete floor pan out of another car, and trimmed it to the factory weld lines. I then dropped it into the car, and it fit like a glove. That's where I am now, and will weld the floor pan in this winter. I plan on spot welding it along the rockers, just like it was done originally, so when finished you won't see where it was done. Once the floor is in, I will cut out my "roll cage" do some other sheet metal work, and put it back on the frame. Once the shell is finished, the rest will be easy, as I have all the parts. It's a shame when a 60,000 mile car needs a complete floor pan, especially from neglect, but that's what I got. The last sticker on the car was 1974-75. Duane
These pictures give me hope. I intend to restore my 'Lark if it doesn't rust away first, and it's nice to see people fixing cars with similar amounts of metal missing. So, is the 4x4 method contra-indicated on a convertible?
WELL DUANE THAT ANSWERS MY QUESTIONS LOOKS GREAT I THOUGHT MY FLOORS WERE SOLID UNTIL I PULLED CARPET BACK THIS GUY JERRY RIGGED THE PANS WITH CAULK AND SELF TAPPING BOLTS LOOKS BAD. CAN I BUY FULL PANDS AND WHERE ARE THE BEST ONES I ALSO NEED TO REPLACE WHERE YOUR FEET GO UP THE FIREWALL WHERE IT CONNECTS TO FIREWALL AND MY BODYMOUNT PASSENGER SIDE IS BAD THE ONE THAT IS ON THE FIREWALL MOUNT NUMBER ONE CAN I PREFAB ANOTHER OR SHOULD I CUT IT OFF ANOTHER A BODY CAR. THANKS DUANE. :beer
Jeez Duane, groundhogs could crawl through those holes in the old floor. I knew of a 70 Stage-1 convert local to me that the guy had fenced in his yard and he let the top go to hell. I begged the guy to sell me the car for about 7 years but he never would. His father died and son(owner) moved with the car never to be seen again. Probably same issue with the floors.
Truzi, I used 4x4s to get the body off the frame, then I stuck it on a rotisserie so I could flip it over to work on it. The 1 piece floor rests against the top lip on the outer rocker panels, so it had to drop in from the bottom. 69ragtopman, I am not a professional body man, and probably end up doing some things the hard way, as I try to err on the side of caution, but if you want my advice here it is. I would let a professional look at your car and get his advise before you take the body off the frame. If you only need floor pans, then the braces will maintain the body integrity while the pans are out. Then, when you take the body off the frame, you can fix the body mount. But again, I would check with a professional first. Convertible bodies do not have the strength the coupe bodies do. Some of the other guys here can help with where to buy the panels. Dave, When I first got the car the floors didn't look too bad underneath, the remnants of the carpet were still in it. The hole you see in the passenger rear floor pan is where I stepped/fell through it and got stuck. I ended up hanging out for a while until one of the guys saw me and I was extracted. It's a shame because the rockers/quarters/wheel houses/trunk drops aren't bad, but the floors rotted and the trunk pan is thin. I will probably replace it also. Duane
Here is a pic of my "new" floor pan in epoxy primer. I trimmed it on the factory weld lines and, kept the pans, braces, and inner rockers together as one unit. Enjoy.
enjoy the Olds Duane, some of my best memories as a teenager and into my twenties were with Olds 442 converts. My first car was a used 71 442 I bought for 1200 bucks in 1977 then 2 70 W-30 converts after that. I don't know how I lived through that. Can't wait to see finished product along with your GSX.
body work HEY DUANE YOUR PANS LOOK FREAKIN GOOD I WILL TAKE THAT ADVICE AND HAVE SOMEONE LOOK AT IT ALSO WHAT KIND OF EPOXY PRIMER DID YOU USE IF I MIGHT ASK. I THOUGHT I MIGHT USE PPG DP40 OR IS IT DP90 HELL I DONT REMEMBER I JUST WANT ONE OF THE BEST PRIMERS FOR BARE METAL. I AM TAKING ENTIRE CAR DOWN TO BARE METAL. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK AND KEEP SENDING THIS OLD BOY TIPS. THANKS VICTOR :beer
Victor, A friend of mine owns a body shop and he blasted and primed it. I don't know exactly what he used. Duane
Now that I seen that bracing my 67GS will get the treatment. So far it is the only 67 I've seen that don't have the door gaps larger at the bottom than the top. I used the DP40 and it worked exellent. I wanted more so I did a search a while back and PPG now sells DP40L which is the same but without lead. Some say it does not work as well as the DP40. But then again some say por-15 dosn't work and I think it works exellent. I just bought some Transtar 7274 (fill primer) and would not recommend it. The body paint supplier I bought it from said it even etches the metal. JUNK. :moonu: Dupli-color BG-9000 gray I've had good success with and is easy to sand. These are the only primers I've worked with recently. Once I find something that works I don't use anything butt. If you post in the Color is Everythig forum you will get some good replies. Hopefully extremepaint may answer with a professional opinion. You are taking on a major project. Good Luck :TU:
Gerry, I bought and cut up a rusty 71 Cutlass Supreme. The quarters and trunk were gone, but the floor pan was real nice. The best thing was the 71 car was equipped just like my 442, with bucket seats and a Hurst dual gate, so I didn't have to alter anything. It was a great parts car. Duane
Great pics, Duane. You are going to have two very nice Blue cars one day. :TU: I have access to a free donor car with nice floor pans, and may need some more advice on where to cut so the ones on my 71 Platinum Mist car can be replaced like your 442. Please keep in mind that it will be years from now, but I will remember those pics and probably ask for more when the time comes.
