This is an Fyi,..posted as a response earlier to a fuel line question. Might be a worthwhile nugget or two.

Yeah, I just went through this. I call it a mini-frame-off. I did it in my driveway with hand tools, one man job,..took most the daylight of a Saturday and Sunday, but I did a lot of cleaning and painting along the way. Plus, the job was primarily for the purpose of replacing the body biscuits,.. the fuel lines (the main and return) were a "while I'm at it".

Also, I studied this option, but I don't see how you could lift your car then lower the frame and have enough room to crawl around under the car. So, I rented an engine hoist and purchased the body removal straps (about $80) and it worked great.

You only need to lift the body about 6-8 inches. Here's a list things I disconnected or removed from my 454 automatic A/C 1973 car. This list is about half what a full frame off requires:

Hood
Kick panels
8 Body mount bolts (note the count of shims at each)
Separate the master from the booster
Negative battery cable
Battery cable at starter
Steering coupler
Tranny shifter cable (at the tranny)
Speedo cable
Tranny fluid lines (at the radiator)
Carb cable at carb
Tach cable at tach
Hot ignition wire at coil
Oil pressure line (at the bracket on the engine)
Seat belt anchors
E-brake cable (at the Y)
2 Bolts that hold the lower part of radiator support
Radiator fan and clutch (didn't require shroud removal)
Very front nose bracket
Bumbers
Most all front and rear bumper bracketry
Exhaust panel
Front valance
A/C hoses near radiator
Ground strap in front of the #1 LH body mount
Ground strap from the radio antenna/ground plate
Alarm horn ground

Everything else like radiator hoses, starter wires, heater hoses, etc,
has enough play to allow for the 6-8 inches.

The fuel lines are started in front of the rear RH wheel,..worked from there to the rear (a tip from someone on this site). Then work to the front. Then I removed the tranny crossmember bolts on that side, dropped the x-member an inch, which was enough to allow me to route the fuel lines through it. Actually, the fuel lines weren't that bad a job,..and I did use stainless.

Just don't count how many times you have to crawl under the car,..

Good luck,
Wes

 

Thanks for the information!

 

Great info...T-Tops on or off?
Thanks!

 

I may be incorrect but as long as your not talking about glass t-tops I would leave them secured on the car. The weight savings is not huge and I would think they would increase the structural stability of the car especially where it needs it when lifting with straps. But then again I did the same thing a few weeks ago with my vert and all was fine.
Just be careful with glass, roll down the windows.
Make sure you lift the nose and rear with the body, they will snap, crackel & pop if you lift only by the four straps. If you rest the body make sure the nose and rear is also supported

I used the engine hoist and straps, lifted the body the same maybe 5 inches and let the frame slowly drop from under and pulled it out.
I just finished painting the frame and birdcage sills today.
Putting in the new brake lines and frame goes back in.
If anyone needs pics of the strap setup with the engine hoist let me know.
Great post Dark Blue 454!

 

I have not read my owners manual (My '73, along with the manual is not here at the moment) but I have have read on this forum that while jacking the car to change a tire the T-Tops should be removed.

I cant confirm this but maybe somebody with an owners manual can.
I wont have my car back until Thursday

That was the basis of my question