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need info on alignment rod placement when dropping body. they go thru holes in frame and body but need a pic or diagram. any input woulb be appreciated. bigal883
Not sure what you are describing, there is no alignment rod. Installing the body is really quite simple, but it depends on what degree of movement you have a available for the body, the chassis, or both.
I always have the body on a 2 post lift, so there is no significant movement available for the body. It will go up or down, but no forward, backward, or side to side. Put the chassis on skates, so it can move in any direction on the floor. As the body comes down, there are a number of interference points, the lower rear fenders will hit the rear body mount if you are not careful. Also have to watch the rear crossmember, front inner fenders as they clear the a-arms, the core support as it clears the front frame horns, and of course the shifter as it goes through the hole in the floor pan. Assume engine is installed in frame, remove the distributor.
It is very simple to do, takes 30 minutes, you just have to be careful and take your time. I have done it my myself many times, and had a buddy help on occasion. Once the body is on the frame, use drift pins to center up the mounts to get the bolts inserted. Go through the shim adjustment process and tighten everything down.
need info on alignment rod placement when dropping body. they go thru holes in frame and body but need a pic or diagram. any input woulb be appreciated. bigal883
So, when I recently did this, although not a stock frame, (the mounts are in the stock position) I took some washers and tied some string to to them, then put bolts on the end....home made plum bob....worked out real good with a four post lift....see picture...you can see the string hanging with the bolt on the passenger side 2nd mount area....
If you don't have a lift, about eight guys can handle the body, plus two more with drift pins at the #1 mount (botttom of firewall) on the driver's side, and at the #4 mount on the passenger side. Make sure you have the accelerator pedal pivot assembly attached to the firewall before the drop - it's almost impossible to attach with the body in place on the chassis.
How does one determine if/when shims will be required?
Thanks
Dom
You will ALWAYS need to shim at each mount; there was a good thread on that subject here in the last week or so - use the search function for "body mount shimming" to bring it up.
If you don't have a lift, about eight guys can handle the body, plus two more with drift pins at the #1 mount (botttom of firewall) on the driver's side, and at the #4 mount on the passenger side. Make sure you have the accelerator pedal pivot assembly attached to the firewall before the drop - it's almost impossible to attach with the body in place on the chassis.
This thread asked about a coupe body, so posting a couple of pictures. I lift coupe body with 2 post lift, with the lifting pads directly on the birdcage rocker rails, piece of cake.
On a roadster, I lift with a 2 post lift with the arms over the top of the body. I connect short links of chain from the lift arms down to the hood latch area on the firewall, and the soft top mounts in the rear. This works really well with a roadster, but can't do it with a coupe for obvious reasons.
09-17-2017, 09:31 AM
body drop 1963 corvette coupe
