I am putting the body onto the frame for test fitting. I will remove and move forward with body/paint.

Question - in lowering the body, does the core support/radiator need to be removed can I leave it in? If leaving it in, does the body have to 'slip in' a special way to clear the support?

 

Do you have the rad support bolted to the chassis or the inner fenders?
I was able to lower the body down on the chassis with the rad and support installed in the engine bay. I had a few helping hands to guide the body down and watch the lower rad hose connection.

 

I would leave it in to help support the nose and keep it from flexing. It will also help guide you to where the nose is suppose to sit. The bottom of the support will land in the frame rail horns and you can see where the bolt holes line up.

A little blurry but will give you an idea.

 

My only caution would be that the radiator support adds weight to the nose of the body, which removed from the frame is supported only by fender connections to the firewall. BE SURE to add support straps to the nose to keep the front section from buckling under the weight.

 

If you balance the load properly, it should not be a problem.

The trick is to use the badest hoist on the block!

 

Thanks guys... I understand the pro/con of having the core support in and was willing to be careful with the nose section for not having to remove the radiator. I want to have all leaks/hose routings complete before installing the body - plus this is just for test fit purposes.

So.... I do see one item I need to redesign and that is the hoisting method - I really like the central attching point. As now I am using 4 separate points on the ceiling and 4 separate tie-down straps... which unfortunately require me to 'reset' them twice during lift and setting down. It was very tempremental loering and lifting with the 4 points - it was difficult to maintain balance.

I will re-assess tomorrow night..... and hope to continue without removing the radiator and core support. It just seems soooooo tight at the skirts/cor support. If I can achieve the test fit with the core support in, I am sure it will lift off easy. I probably need more help - as in several guys, rather than just me.

 

Licastro's book** on the St Louis Corvette Plant and various factory body drop photos indicate that the core support and radiator were in place when the body was dropped onto the frame.

Page 73 of Licastro's book shows the front end in a panel bonding fixture with the radiator core support in place. This is before the front end is bonded to the birdcage.

So I don't see any problem with having the core support in place for your body drop/trials.


** Birthplace of Legends, The Story of Corvette Production at the St Louis Assembly Plant 1953-1981, by Peter Licastro - 1993.

 

This is good advice. The balance of the body when hanging is irrelevant. It's the stress on the firewall bonding that the rad support causes which is a cause for concern.

Having removed my body with the rad support (and radiator) still installed, my advice would be to remove it completely. It doesn't need to be there for alignment purposes and removing it places a lot less stress on the front clip and firewall bonds while the body is hanging.

 

Correct. Radiator and support were mounted in the body at time of body drop.

 

How were the bodies supported in the air during assembly? Were they hanging on straps from a point roughly central over the birdcage or were they on some sort of framework that supported their structure in several places along the length of the body?

 

OK - so the factory setup had the core support and radiator installed on the body before dropping. Obviously this would be without fluids.

My choice would be without the core support attached only because I have the fluids and the car running. However, the weight of the core support (without radiator) is nothing and the stability it would add to the front surround panel would far out-weigh (no pun intended) the added weight. Ha - I am just in denial having to remove the radiator

 

The only stability that the core support adds to the front is in the stiffness of the front clip. And when you're removing the body this is irrelevant in my experience. You're just lifting it vertically.


That's funny. People told me to remove the rad + support when I took my body off and I ignored them. I wish I'd done it. It added nothing except a buncha weight to the front clip.

 

What would happen if you left the radiator support and radiator on the chassis and dropped the body in over top of it. (granted I'm not looking at it right now, so I'm not sure if there is an obvious overlap that would prevent this.)

Okay, just checked my disassembly photos. The front clip overlaps the radiator support cross member, making it presumably impossible to drop the body down over the radiator, radiator support, and the the radiator support cross member. Disregard the above question.

 

The rad support is wider at the top than at the bottom (on my '76 at least) so the body wouldn't slide down over it.

Besides, the rad support only bolts to the chassis with two bolts at the bottom. It would need to be braced in some other way to stop it falling backwards onto the engine before the body was lowered

 

I'll have to look at the rad support dimensions. It does have plenty of strength with those grade 8 bolts to hold the rad support w/ radiator upright. I have the entire rolling chassis assembled and run the engine every month to keep it lubricated.

There is an overlap issue with the front clip though, according to my photos. Glad this post was made. I'm getting ready to put the body back on. I wonder if I should do a test drop too.

 

OK Gents - update... the body is on!

To clarify, when I removed the body, I pulled the core support before lifting. Now, in my attempts to lower the body back on for test fit, I already previously installed the core support and radiator onto the frame. I am too lazy to remove it

With the assistance from a friend (I call him the McGuiver (sp?) MF, as he can figure anything out. Anyway - it was a breeze to lower the body with the core support and radiator already installed on the frame. I used two pices of thick cardboard to ensure the inner fender skirts were directed to the outside of the edges of the core support. The only thing I needed was a sensible friend to watch other clearances - I was doing everything correctly.. As Ben mentioned, the core support is wider at the top, but the way the body lowers, the angle of the inner skirt support side brace and the andle of the core support are kinda staggered (when you get there I think you will see what I mean). By using the pieces of cardboard, the wider issue was no issue.

Also - just FYI, I had the front of the car about 6 inches above the rear and once levelled, it made it better to enable the dropping over the core support.

Last tidbit - be careful that the front lower valance does not get caught as you lower the body - its a close fit, but very workable... I was cautious of this and all is good. I just need to finalize the shims and figure aluminum spacer placement..... oops ! I am reading the AIM now.....

So..... thank you for the input

 

what did you remove off the engine. Is your car operable. I was contemplating doing this for fit. I have absolutely zero parts on the body, so the car won't physically move, unless I put everything back in.

 

I had completely taken the motor out before the body came off... also I took the core and radiator out.

Also - as a note, with the noted fragile state of the surround panel/front end, when I re-lift the body, I wonder if the 'tight fit' around the core support will strain the glass?

 

No, the Rad support is not on the frame as of yet. i am using a 14 foot gentry lift so lifting and shifting the body will be no problem.

 

I just put my body back on last weekend. No core support in it. I took mine out before taking the body off last year too. You gotta be a little cautious and support the front end (once it set down) because the radiator core will do nothing to support the front end while the body is lifted. But it does give you a convenient support point for the nose when it’s on a dolly. I forced boards under the a arm openings to support my front end on the dolly.

Ford tractor works great for lifting the body.