ChopperLoco

...so just for clarification,lifting a painted roadster body off the frame is 100% doable without cracking body work/paint?
Or is it a crap shoot?!
Most likely would be with a body sling&engine crane or a bunch of guys...
Thanks again
Dom
Car in question...

66jack

A bunch of guys...beer afterwards..

No belt buckles...
No watches...
No phones...
No 'big' rings
No 'Gold Necklaces'..

4 Speed Dave

Let me add to that:

No flip flops or sandals
1 person directs and observes the others follow.
Guinea T's are acceptable.

rick piras

Lifting off with the "bunch o' buds" method is fine. But depending on what you're planning to do once it's off (and hopefully onto a dolly), when you go to drop back down it's much safer and relaxing to use a lift.
For instance, if you need/want to shim between the frame and body that's really sketchy doing it by hand. Being able to raise the body off the frame an inch or so and look underneath is easy and stress-free with a lift.

Good luck with the project,
Rick

slalomfiend

I did the strap lift to remove because I just couldn't wait to get it off of that rotten frame fast enough!! Did the "bunch of buds" to put it back on and strictly monitored the clothing metal objects as well as provided new leather gloves for each 11 lifters. Drinks were of course provided... afterwards

outofspec

I just lifted my 1963 roadster, 2005 painted body, off and on again without incident this summer.
Like you I weighed the buddy method and my only other reasonable option, the engine hoist. I chose the hoist and it worked great. A little unnerving to have the body hanging by a couple of chain links, but not really hard. The hoist lets you take your time and guide the removal and installation more carefully.
If you do the hoist, I suggest customizing the readily available straps with ratcheting device to aid in balancing the load. see pic.

DUB

So I do not get my @$$ handed back to me with this comment. What I am commenting on is the possibility of problems that I HAVE encountered.

I will state...that a convertible can...due to NOT having a roof line and tying in the windshield/cowl area to the 'B' pillar in the 'birdcage'...can have the rear actually sag badly when it is raised with straps.

When I use straps on a convertible..I have the door removed an I have a metal beam joining the front hinge area ('A' pillar) to the lock pillar ('B' pillar) where you latch is so the door can close and latch.

Raising it WITHOUT a metal brace to keep the 'B' pillar from moving is do-able...and you can even keep the doors on....BUT...what can happen...is the rear clip can sag..and doing so..the latch will go back due to the sag and possible catch on the latch that is bolted to the door itself and cause for possible damage to that metal plate where it is riveted to the fiberglass door shell.

SO...it can all depends on how good the steel and riveted parts are in the car being lifted. And seeing how I have seen good strong 'birdcages' and really bad ones.. I always err on the side of caution and do not assume anything.

DUB

John McGraw

I have lifted a bunch of them, and have never cracked anything. I usually lift them with the doors off, Glass out and nothing mounted on the body that does not need to be I have never braced the door openings on either coupe or convertible. I always paint the body complete on the rotisserie, and then lift it back to the completed frame. The factory lifted these bodies completely assembled, minus the interior, on to the completed chassis. They picked up the body by a jig that lifted in the wheelwells, front and rear. I use straps and hooks that lift on the rocker support at the front and rear end of the support.

You bet that the convertible bodies can flex at the back of the door, even when they are mounted to the frame! Try leaving the door adjustment wedges off of a car and driving the car, The top edges of the doors will beat the hell out of the top edge of the quarter. That is why they used these wedges, to maintain the gap between the door and quarter, Without these wedges, the gap changes constantly as you go over dips and bumps and can damage the door or quarter.

Making a brace is not a bad idea, but I have never seen the need to do so.

Regards, John McGraw

ChopperLoco

Thanks very much everybody!
Very helpful!!!

Dom

NightshiftHD

Just adding a couple observations to this topic ...

- Dom, I wouldn't worry about THAT paint taking the body off :-)
- I've done several, mostly roadsters with the doors on and glass in without any problems
- Here's a key point ... St. Louis dropped these bodies on the chassis AFTER paint with doors installed, glass installed, even hard tops on when the car was ordered with one. Here's a picture courtesy of John Hinckley at the body drop on the Final Line
- IF you crack the body work on the way off ... its been hit ... and you need to fix that before you put fresh paint on!
Bill

Westlotorn

That is a great photo, thank for sharing!

Bluffman

I don't see the tank sticker, who applied the sticker dealer or mfg.

AkrHack

That assembly line picture is of a 65 or 66. GM first started putting tank stickers on the 1967 model year cars.

Bluffman

Thanks for the info, that is a great nostalgic picture. Ian

Greg Hollowaty

Just like the General did it, my 67 lift off. No cracks.

NightshiftHD

Yup, same lifting points indeed. Just the General was lifting at least another couple hundred pounds with the doors on and side glass and regulators installed.

Greg, with your 2-post setup, I would recommend a slightly better way of raising/lowering the body. If you made some right angle brackets for the ends of your lift arms, you could lift via the underside of the birdcage at the front and rear corners on each side. This method would ensure the body does not accidentally get bumped off one of those pads on your fender lips. It just takes one corner to slip off and you'll be in a world of hurt! Bill

hope2

Looks to be some kind of spacer at back edge of door in assembly picture.

NightshiftHD

I don't believe so, I think the door is slightly ajar. But maybe John Hinckley can comment. Bill

Greg Hollowaty

Hi Bill,
Thanks for your concern and recommendation. My body lifting skills have evolved over the past two years. The direct lift arm to body lift was early 2014 and I now have two additional new lifting options that have worked very well, they required some minor lift arm modifications.

I owe this forum and one specific member, Slalomfiend a debt of gratitude for giving me the confidence to remove and replace birdcage sills in my 1967 Frankenstein coupe. My car is made up from several others, assembled by Bubba in about 1979. I bought this as a daily driver in 1981. No rust on the sills, just ugly bad butt-welds on the channels.

When I first removed the body from the frame I used the lift arms on the body without concern of cracking parts, because the existing front clip was a replacement part that used glass cloth not press molded as original, the old clip was on it’s way out. At that time, the body was placed on a rolling dolly
and when the old front clip was removed I had no way of using my lift arms to lift the tub back on to the chassis. It was during this process (November 2015) when I found the “67 project update” story by Slalomfiend on this forum that changed my life. Sill Replacement.

Sill Replacement – a way of lifting the tub without the use of a dolly,

As I studied the tub support method used in the post as well as the replacement sequence and realized that by modifying my lift arms I could fabricate a stable platform that would securely support the tub. That structure allowed me to remove and replace my sill channels. Something I have wanted to do for over 30 years.















With the sills replaced, the tub went back on the dolly. I now need a way to lift the tub off the dolly and lower it on to the chassis. I found another body lift option using 4 x 4’s and notched them to fit the trim supports. I also modified my lift arms and bingo = body on / body off.

NightshiftHD

Wow, excellent work Greg. Well done! Bill