Installing the body?

[cal.cheesehead]

Has anyone used anything other than brute force (manpower) to install the body on the frame? Not that I don't have enough friends to drink all the Bud in my garage and help me get it back on..But... I would like to know if someone has come up with a fixture to slowly ...gently...methodically.. put it back ino it's final resting place. This makes me nervous.....

[RJacobsen]

I use my shop crane and a framework that hooks into the wheel openings.

http://www.uniquecobra.com/gallery/files/1/5/0/5/BodyLift.JPG

[sllib]

I had a bunch of 2 x 4's left over from another project, so I built a lifting fixture. I used two bolted together to go front to rear, then notched them for cross members wide enough to reach out to the center of each wheel well. I added extra pieces on either side of the notch for strength. The cross members are mounted long-side up and down and I cut drop down pieces to reach the fenders. I found some storage hooks at the hardware store and mounted them on each drop-down piece to hook under the fender securely without bending. I put the whole thing together using long 1/2" stove bolts, mounted an eyebolt in the center to hook my cherry picker to and covered every surface that could possibly touch my paint with carpet. Whew!! It is IMPERATIVE that you get all the bolts as tight as possible and that the hooks hold all the weight without bending or you could drop the body much faster than you planned to. If you want to try it, PM me with your phone # and we'll discuss it.

[robbinsshkr]

i don't know how the get a photo from a previous post into this one, but if you'll go to a posting i did under build update on feb 8th you can see the what-cha-ma-call-it i built to lift mine by myself. i made it out of some old semi-trailer crossmembers from a wrecked trailer [very light and strong]
I used some thin cable in an x fashion with one turn buckle pulling the cable run tight for rigidy. the entire thing only weighed about 75 lbs.
a few months back i made an over head lift system that tied into the post in my pole barn.
i don't see any reason the same set up could be done with a 4x4 center beam and out riggers. a cheap chain hoist could do the lifting if you had something over head that would support it. you could always do like they do where i'm from [eastern, ky] and use the tree in the front yard. pick any day of the week and you'll see engines hanging from trees and refrigerators sitting on the front porch :D

[Bill D]

How much does the body weigh?

[Slither]

How much does the body weigh?

I was thinking of asking this same question[thumb]! Thanks Buil D

[scott h]

it is easy to move and install with manpower only. the body is light enough that two people could probably lift it. I am not suggesting that, but it is pretty light. one person on each corner and it is off the body buck and on to the frame in a minute or so.

[weaver]

We use brute force when installing a painted body back onto the chassis, 4 men to lift and 1 to watch through the nose opening to make sure the body clears the headers. We have a wench powered body lift but I don't trust it not to leave a scratch.

Alan

[diegokid]

I am building my body buck and noticed that the wheels are only 24" wide from the plans that I have. Has anyone noticed this as being slightly unstable. It also looks that this narrow bottom would make it harder to do work under the car whils the body was off, esp. like cleaning engine oil off everything. I was thinking about making the base the same width and length as the top member.

Any prior experience here?

[RJacobsen]

Here is the lift that robbinsshkr built

[RJacobsen]

I think that the important part of any lift is how it grabs the body of the car. I used two pieces of plywood with a piece of 2x6 sandwiched between to grab at the wheel openings. The outer plywood attaches to the lift frame and carries all the load, the 2x6 is cut to the shape of the wheel opening to distribute the load over a larger area (just hold it against the opening and trace the shape) and the other piece of plywood is cut to the shape of the wheel opening but larger to provide at least a 1" lip above the 2x6, (screw or bolt this together securely), I then lined this with a towel for cushion.

[weaver]

Have you ever taken a car that was just painted back to the painter for touch up?

Alan

[brfutbrian]

How much does the body weigh?

took the body off my car last nite. with the doors and windshield on the car i would guess is about 400 lbs. bare body probably 300. i use 6 lifting and one to guide at the rear. ive had it off several times over the years. i always lower the gastank well into the frame first, pull tight to the rear crossmember. the front of the body has always found its place without any help. later, brian.

[Bill D]

So the tub (cockpit) is integral with the body?

[robbinsshkr]

RJacobson, thank you for reposting that photo. As far as the body buck, they are very stable and strong. I did make it a bit taller than the plans called for to make it easier to work on [for me anyway]. the left rail needs to be extended outwards a bit, as its very tight against the dropped floor, even with the tapered edge. as far as replacing the painted body, i'll probably not use the hoist and just get some freinds over with some nice soft gloves. Resetting the painted body is the only part of the build that makes me nervous.

[Glenview289]

Brian and I had our painted body on and off 3 times before leaving it on. Four people lifting, one on each corner, and one person front and back for spoting is ideal. Gloves are OK, but don't forget to remove or cover rings, watches, belt buckles, buttons, and zippers. Always an anxious moment, but take your time and make sure everyone understands your reference points and intensions. We found that with our FIA body, that a slight (3") nose down attitude helped clear our engine and allow everything to slide in place. Yours may be different. Have fun!

Bill

[sllib]

One thing to consider if you're going to use a engine hoist and body buck: if your hoist has wheels (most do) is your body buck tall enough to let you slide the hoist wheels under it? I had to go back and build mine taller and use bigger wheels on the buck.

[cal.cheesehead]

Thanks to all for the advise. I think I'll opt for a couple extra bodies when I'm ready to install.