I'm getting ready to pull the body off my 73 coupe. Can anyone tell me what the preferred lifting device is? I have access to a cherry picker but I don't think it will be suitable. Please let me know what has been used sucessfully. I assume the body will weigh in around the 1000lb mark.

Thanks

 

I used a large cherry picker to lift my body; however, I had to cherry picker one story above my garage, and lifted through a hole in the garage ceiling. The problem with using a cherry picker on the level is lack of head room, and you are not able to roll out the chassis.

I was thinking of using a set of chain falls-but again head room is an issue. What kind of shop/garage/environment are you lifting in, give me a better picture of what is going on, and what resources are available to you. Keep in mind you have to lift the body quite a ways to clear brake lines, gas tank, ect...

Hope this helps,
Andy

 

I used a portable hoist on my 81. There are better ways to do it, but it will work. Some of the things I learned:

You need more than 8' ceiling with a hoist like this.
With the front clip attached, mine centered just behind the windshield
I used two seperate nylon straps, one under the rear of the floor pan and one under the front where the clip is bonded. I have the strap with hooks made for this but it is too long for the hoist.
It may take several times to get it balanced properly so you can clear the carb and dist., I eventually remove those but left them on when I went back on with the body.
I used a hoist with rollers. Once I got it high enough, I rolled the hoist back away from the car and set it down.

Good luck. This will make all work to the car a joy instead of a fight.

 

I'm limited in ceiling height to 8' so I thought of moving the car outside and setting up an "A" frame arrangement with chain falls. I ordered the slings from Zip corvette which should be here shortly. This sling has only 4 points, so I thought I'd add a fifth point on the front vacuum can. Finding an "A" frame and beam arrangement is the next challenge.

 

body lift
You will need about 28 inches of lift to roll the frame out with the gas tank and motor still in place.

 

i pulled the body on my project with an engine hoist. it didn't have a nose clip, though. i stripped the interior, left the doors in place, had to cut the #3 body bolts by drilling thru them getting access from the wheel well (massive rust), removed all other connections per normal routine. then i built a frame of 2x4 that matched the shape of the car as viewed from above about 6 inches wider than the body.. braced it with 2x4 in a position infront of the wind shield(about 1 foot) and behind the rear wheel wells. used metal angle brackets from home depot at all joints. then i fastened two 2x6 on the proposed under side of this frame in a position over the seat belt bolt holes spaced about 8 inches apart. i bolted my engine leverer(it has a large screw that allows the center of gravity to be shifted) to the far edges of the 2X6s. then i used large eye bolts in the #1 body holes, nylon straps bolted in the seat belt holes and hooks that came with the nylon straps(home depot) in the rear wheel wells.
this system worked very well because as the body was lifted, the position of this whole contraption could be tested and adjusted in small trial lifts. also since the straps are vertical, not wrapping over the fenders the total tension on the straps is much less. remember your high school physics.
rolled out my hoist and off it came. except i forgot the battery ground wire. quick fix and it's done.

 

 

I reinforced the rafters in the garage where I pulled my body. I used a 4x6 post bolted to the existing 2x4 rafter and then used 4x4 post for stiff legs at each end of the 4x6 post. Used two cable com-alongs with two 8' nylon straps. I winched the body up while my wife and mother-in-law pushed the chassis out. I set the body down on a wooden dolly (that I made) and then rolled it off out of the way. It sat for about 2 years while I worked on the chassis/drivetrain.

 

I used an engine hoist to remove my body.
you can't roll the chassis out from under the body when you use an engine hoist, so getting it high enough to clear the gas tank is not a problem. all you need to do is get it high enough to move the hoist out from the chassis.
It worked great!




The front clip will be on the car when I put the body back onto the frame, and I'm going to use the same engine hoist to do it.

 

 

Thanks for all the great ideas. I'll post some pictures when i get the body up in the air.

 

That's a really cool rig you have there!

 

Thanks RPOZ4Z it works pretty well.With the end straps I can keep from cracking the body.I see you made provisions to keep the door opening from spreading.Can you imagine the surprise raising one up and you hear a crack and the tail falls off? Not funny but I'm sure it has happened.Those $80 strap lifts scare me.