Thinking of pulling the body of my '64 vert and wondering what the body weight would be without seats and hood installed. I'd probably use an overhead come-along or such and would like to know what capacity it should have.
My frame is bent and nobody in the business I've talked to will straighten a Vette frame without the body off due to fear of cracking the fiberglass.
Any info will be greatly appreciated!! dave

 

I am not sure if I am correct on this, but I believe it is around 1,000 lbs.
Roy

 

Vert should be less...My coupe is 1,000 lbs dressed body and 2,000 dressed chassis.

 

Good point, I did not think of coupe vs. vert.
Roy

 

I remember seeing a JohnZ picture sometime this year where his local club was lifting the body of the frame and onto a dolly and back into the garage in about 17 seconds, but they had incentive to hurry. It appeared to be about -20 outside. Six or eight good friends can do it with ease.

 

THANKS GUYS....I THINK I'LL GO THE "BUDDY LIFT" INSTEAD OF RIGGING SOMETHING OVERHEAD.

 

DKleather: On my 66 vert eight friends lifted the body in the garage while the better half pulled the chassis out with a truck. I checked for stuck shims and placed a castered dolly underneath. The doors were removed prior to the lift (with threaded rod attached in the door space to support the rear end). Even with the doors, seats, hood, deck lid off, I'm glad we had eight guys and that they didn't have to do anything but lift, hold briefly and place it down.

For the body drop, I didn't want to risk a group around the car holding the weight while having to make adjustments lining up bolts and mounts . Lift straps from Corvette Central attached to a 1 ton overhead hoist did the trick. I reinforced the garage rafters with 2x6 planks and a 2x6 "telepost" and used a 4x4 "A-frame" arrangement above the weight bearing rafters (to give the hoist the lift height needed). With two friends ... one raising the body off the dolly and lowering it once the chassis was underneath while the other bud and I watched each side placing the mounting bolts and shims. The straps supported the body evenly at their strongest points. Piece of cake.

Long story short, the straps/hoist allowed adjustments up and down / sideways as needed. Lifting the body with friends was fun (another excuse for beer and pizza ) but (for putting it back at least), I'd recommend a mechanical rig where you don't have to hurry because of people holding the weight while trying to act in unison/ slipping, etc. . JMO
Good luck, have fun ... it's a great adventure!
Alex

 

Thanks VanIsle.....I was wondering about the lift when even with 8 guys they'd be holding 125 lbs or so. Makes sense to use the sling for putting it back on so nobody has a heart attack or something in the middle of the drop...we're not a bunch of spring-chickens anymore!! Sounds like I'm in for some fun!!??..dave

 

Planning this move myself soon. What is the lift height needed to roll the chassis out from under my coupe body (frame w/wheels only)?

 

Highest point is the gas tank.

I used a sling with a front loader and 6 people for stabilization. Just have someone not lifting that can run around and disconnect or cut wires, grounding straps, etc.

 

Gas tank is out, so I'm guessing the height of the tire and the floor are the critical points. No big deal.