[Chevelle-list] Body off Frame How-To?

Wed Nov 22 15:10:11 MST 2006

The 66 Chevelle I'm currently building broke off all but one of the cage nuts. Repairing them added a ton of time to the job. Luckily, the floors and trunk pans were coming out anyway. The ones above the axle are the worst to fix. Good luck. Take Rick's suggestion to heart and soak them boys good with a penetrate.
Mike Holleman
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Rick Schaefer 
  To: The Chevelle Mailing List 
  Sent: Wednesday, November 22, 2006 2:16 PM
  Subject: Re: [Chevelle-list] Body off Frame How-To?

  Tom
             Seems like you have a pretty good handle on things.  Just take it slow and if something does not look right or safe , STOP and regroup.   Its not rocket science but it will take some planning.

               I'd suggest that you SOAK all the body mount bolts in some type of rust penetrator, starting now.   After 35 years those bolts maybe rusted to the nut.   You can easily break the nut plate loose and the bolt & nut plate will just spin.  You'll want to SOAK the bolt & nut with penetrant 2 or 3 times before you try to loosen them.   I was lucky in that I only broke 1 bolt when I removed mine.  I've heard horror stories of people who have broken 3 or 4 and had to cut thru the floor pan to get a hold of a spinning nut. 

  Good luck & keep us posted on your progress.

  On 11/22/06, mike f <dslwizard at yahoo.com> wrote: 
    T.J, that is just about "exactly" the way I did it. If
    you look carefully at the body of the car, the bottom 
    sheet metal has additional bracing located in the
    trans tailhousing area, and further back. Find these
    sections and put your 4x4's there. Jack it up from
    inside the frame first carefully. If you can get under 
    it, you can make the necessary block arrangements to
    lift the body. Once it's up from the frame, you
    replace the 4x4's and blocks and jackstands to the
    "outside" of the frame. That way, you can just pull 
    the frame out from underneath it.  For goodness sakes,
    be carefull! This lifting and do this will kill you if
    you are not careful. It scared me and I was so
    careful.

    mike
    --- Karl Groves < karl at karlcore.com> wrote:

    > First thing you need to do is remove EVERYTHING you
    > can from the car.
    > Chevelle bodies are HEAVY.
    >
    > Now, others may have different tricks & tips to 
    > share, but the end goal is
    > the same: Take the body off the frame and roll the
    > frame out from under the
    > body.
    >
    > My method is this:
    > 1. Place 1 saw horse at each corner of the body. 
    > 2. Jack up the body
    > 3. Place pieces of wood (4x4s at least) between the
    > saw horses, so you're
    > supporting the body
    > 4. Roll the frame out
    >
    > Seems simple, right?
    > Well, I've demolished 2 sets of saw horses (that's 
    > right, 8 saw horses) this
    > way.
    > The first set was metal, and the manufacturer
    > claimed they supported 800lbs
    > each.  I think they got their lbs and grams confused
    > because the legs 
    > buckled on the two front ones causing a chain
    > reaction an the car fell
    > The second set was (seemed) more substantial, with a
    > claimed capacity of
    > 1000lbs per pair.  I'm guessing that the Chevelle 
    > body weighs more than
    > 2000lbs because one sawhorse completely shattered
    > and 2 of them buckled, but
    > did not break.
    >
    > I've now constructed my own saw horses out of 4x4
    > wood, held together with 
    > 1/2 inch threaded rod, bolted up nice & tight.
    > I have a 4x4 top piece, 4 legs that are 4x4s and
    > braces (front & back, and
    > each side) made from 2x6s.
    >
    > I do not know for sure that this will hold, but I'm 
    > almost positive it will.
    > If it doesn't, the next step is welding some up!
    >
    > I'll let you know how it goes
    >
    > Karl Groves
    > Master Certified CIW
    > http://www.karlgroves.com
    > <http://www.karlgroves.com/>
    >
    > Grayscale Content Management System:
    > http://www.grayscalecms.com 
    > <http://www.grayscalecms.com/>
    >
    >
    >
    >
    >
    >
    >   _____
    >
    > From: Thomas Ringlein
    > [mailto: TJ.Noelle at sbcglobal.net]
    > Sent: Tuesday, November 21, 2006 12:25 AM
    > To: 'The Chevelle Mailing List'
    > Subject: [Chevelle-list] Body off Frame How-To?
    >
    >
    >
    > I know, there are no stupid questions, only stupid 
    > answers.  Hopefully we
    > won't get any on this topic.
    >
    > I know the classic "A-body" cars we love have some
    > problems that need to be
    > addressed occasionally on cars that have not been 
    > apart in 30-plus years.
    > One of those happens to be the frame - notably, the
    > frame mounts that are
    > prone to rusting.  I want to inspect my frame for
    > rust, and in the process,
    > put some POR-15 on it to prevent it rusting for the 
    > next 30 years or so.  I
    > plan to pull the car apart starting in January, but
    > I don't have any high
    > dollar tools or access to a local shop.  Is there an
    > easy way (or not too
    > incredibly hard way) to pull the body in my garage? 
    > Can I use an engine
    > hoist to lift the front, support it on some concrete
    > blocks and a 4x4, do
    > the same with the back, and roll the frame out from
    > underneath it?  Without
    > buying some special tools and/or shop time, I am not 
    > sure of any other way.
    > Any local guys know a place that can help me with
    > this endeavor?  My body
    > shop of choice will only work on the body when it is
    > on the frame.  The
    > ideal situation would be a good body guy that would 
    > work on the body while
    > it was on a rotisserie so I could have 6-8 months to
    > work on the chassis.
    > There are at least a few guys here that have done
    > this - what did you do?
    >
    > Now if I can only prevent the "if you give a mouse a
    > cookie" routine...
    >
    > T.J. Ringlein
    >
    > 72 Chevelle in shambles (but it still runs and
    > drives)
    >
    > Clovis, California 
    >
    >

    ____________________________________________________________________________________
    Sponsored Link

    Online degrees - find the right program to advance your career.
    www.nextag.com

  -- 
  Rick Schaefer
  72 TPI El Camino

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  No virus found in this incoming message.
  Checked by AVG Free Edition.
  Version: 7.1.409 / Virus Database: 268.14.13/546 - Release Date: 11/22/2006
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: /pipermail/chevelle-list_chevelles.net/attachments/20061122/946247f0/attachment.html 