For 25 years I have wanted a Vette. Now I have one. It's a 68 project car but I have one. Frame is decent, not a california car but decent. I want to eventually restore it competely but am wondering if I should do everything except for taking the body off and restoring the frame. My thinking is that task will add a year to the project. I have wanted it so long so I want to spend a couple years making it beautiful and then spend some time just driving it. I figure I can do the frame later after a couple years of fun driving.
Would 3 to 5 more years become too late for the frame, even if kept indoors?
Am I overestimating the time to take the body off and restoring the frame and making too much over nothing?
Is it true some people suspect cars which have had their bodies lifted?
Is there really no right or wrong answers?

 

It all depends on what you want to do with the car. My neighbor picked up a '68 about 5 years ago. The frame was good, body gaps were perfect, but it needed everything. He wanted a car he could drive and one that looked good as well. We did the engine, front and rear suspensions, interior, weatherstripping, chrome, exhaust, tires/wheels, and paint. Everything is new front to rear but never pulled the body, just cleaned the frame, it's a beautiful car and generally gets a 1-3 trophy at every show the past 2 years.

I think every car is different and needs to be evaluated by, condition (does the body need to come off?), your budget (a frame off will require more parts and labor), how it will be used (driver or show), and if you show it, how you want to be judged. Granted a lot of the work done on the '68 would have been easier if the body was off, but the owner made the decision to leave it on and in this case it worked. Just my .02

If you do a body off, will be still be willing to drive it in the rain or go down a dirt road?

 

what are you trying to accomplish???? if you are going to pull the body that would be the first thing you do .....not the last.....so decide if you want to drive it or work on it..... i have done both over the years and only you can decide what you want to spend your money and time on......pulling the body opens up all the cans of worms so this will be the most expensive route, and if your not willing to pony up the $$$$ don't pull the body off of the frame

 

Realistically could someone pull the body get the frame in order and put the body back on say, over a winter?

 

It really depends on a lot of factors.

Yes, it's possible in a winter but how much do you plan to work on it? Are you going to spend 8-10 hrs a day on most Saturdays and Sundays November thru April, or just a day here and there? What about evenings after work?

What kind of facilities, tools and experience are you bringing to the table? How fat is your wallet? Will you do most of the work yourself or send stuff out? Are you doing a restoration, or making mods? Do you have 2 stalls to dedicate to this project? Lot's of considerations.

I am in the middle of a frame-off on a '69 sb coupe (14 months so far) and plan to keep my car when I am done, so for me a frame off was the best choice. The garage gets too hot June-Sept to get very much done, so I really have about 8 months of work into it with a ways to go (still rebuilding chassis). I am replacing or rebuilding everything. The chassis is much easier to work on with the body off. I wish I was driving my car this winter (the real driving season here) but it will likely be another year before I finish this car.

Good luck, either way it sounds like you have a great start.

 

i asked myself the same question when i got my car. i opted to leave the body on the frame and do everything else i could with the car in tact. first i made it run. then stop. now i am working on making it look pretty for the public (paint) and last will do the interior. to me, a frame off is a major investment of time, space and money.

to do a frame off over the winter i think is very aggressive. i can easily see that project ruining a good marriage. the kind of guy that could pull that off is a retired guy with lots of time and money and power tools. Oh and a place to stash the body while he does it without taking his wifes spot in the garage.

i love to look at a sweet frame of restoration. especially when they put the mirrors under it at the shows. myself, i will be getting some por-15 with those special little daubers to get inbetween the frame and body.

i say drive the car now before the fossil fuels are depleted.

 

Believe me I know what a long project is. I spent 8 years building a 2 place airplane from plans. I guess I'm still recovering from that one.
If I had 2 Vettes it would be an easy answer, drive one work on one. But back to reality!
Is this a one way street? Can't I do the frame a few years after I do everything else. A little backwards but I assume it will cut my time in half.

 

you and i both need to see how the following thread develops.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1530819

i am thinking the answer will be yes to your question.

i have a question... What does a frame off get me that i cant do with the body on?

cant replace body mount bushings.
cant sand blast the frame.

ok, what else?

 

I replaced all the suspension stuff, fixed up the interior, rebuilt the motor, changed out the trans, fixed the AC, etc.., all while I still drove it for 10 years until it came time to pull the body off the frame. All depends what you want to do. I could get myself to do one project a year starting with the most important ones first. There are something’s you can’t do correctly with the body on like replace the brake and fuel lines. Most of the rest it doesn’t mater. I still haven’t done the paint yet but it is still a good 5-8 footer. I don’t think I would want to paint the car and then do a body-off restoration. Most of the projects didn’t take more then a couple of weeks to do at one time. The body-off time was the longest, about 4 weeks, but that’s because of the rocker channels had to be replaced. I would not want to have my car judged by the NCRS boys but that is my decision. I feel safe driving it anywhere I would go with a new car and not worry.

 

Lifting the body is pretty simple. The only areas that can pose a challenge are rusted mount bolts and or stripped cage nuts.

A true un-touched original Vette that has been well maintained and not exposed to rust would be an example of a car that you would not want to remove the body.

Everything on the chassis is easier to work on with the body off, and the time saved here more than makes up for the time required to R&R the body.


If there are any body repairs needed, these are also easier with the body off.

Things that can't be done with the body on:
1) rocker channel repair, cleaning, anti rust application
2) replacing body mounts, shimming for fit, ride height, door alignment
3) cleaning and inspecting frame---repairs are much easier with the body off
4) Fuel and brake lines are much easier to repair/replace with the body off


If you're sure the frame is solid, if you like the looks of your rocker channels, like your fuel and brake lines, then don't pull the body.

So as stated in previous posts, it all depends on what you want/need to accomplish, what tools and space you have, how much time you have, and what work you can do yourself.

 

I did a frame on. Got it finished and used it for about 6 months. Now thanks to Hurricane Katrina, I will be doing a frame off. But I cheated some, I purchased another frame that I will be using to speed up the process.

 

If the frame is solid and all the panels are a nice fit, then forget a frame off why waste all that time and money, Later

 

I think the key is whether the frame needs repairs and whether rocker channels are okay. If they are, leave it alone.

Keep in mind the body mount bushings are solid on the 68. Thus, there is no ride advantage to changing mounts like on a rubber mount car.

 

it will increase costs because you will most lileky have to redo certain items........if you want to take it apart fully you should follow how the factory built it.....any thing other then that will mean that you repeat the same steps twice and that costs time and money....but after all its your time and money so do what works for you.....

 

There are no right or wrong answers. Either way it's a lot of work.

My frame was in good condition, just some surface rust. My body mounts and brake and fuel lines were also in good condition so I left the body on.

here are some before and after shots so you can see some results with the body on.









I cleaned and stripped the frame where I could get to it. I unbolted the brake and fuel lines but did not remove them. Then I painted the frame with por-15 and top coated with a satin black (also painted the brake and fuel lines). Since it's garage kept and babied now I don't think it will ever need the body completely removed.

If I were going to do a factory correct restoration then I think I would have needed to remove the body to get all of the colors and finishes correct.

Good luck with your project.

 

i started my project car in may of this year, working week-ends only. it was in bad shape and i fully expected to do a body-off rebuild. i had the usual amount of hot rod experience in high school. besides money (biggest problem) you have to have a moderately good set of tools, both manual and pneumatic, and a two car garage sized area. even with a large garage, with the body set aside in a corner, space gets really tight when the car is disassembled. i just finished assembling the steering this week-end, and have to install the exhaust and cooling system, and then double check every thing before i fire the engine without the body, just to triple check every thing. i really don't think that a body off can be done over the winter unless you are very experienced (you'll find that you will have to install and remove and then reinstall parts)or have lots of help. just my experience.

 

Absolutely, eventually your bank account will hit zero and you will have to start putting everything back on.

I pulled my body a 4 weeks ago and will have the body back on the frame in 2 weeks. (haven't been able to work on it everyday).

QUESTION IS.....do you have a heated garage? depending what you plan to do such as paint the frame, some paints can't be used in cold tempatures so doing it over the winter might not be possible.

I started doing a frame-on, but I put so much work into grinding, wirebrushing and painting the frame that it drove me nuts knowing I didn't do the last 10%. And the most important area to protect your frame is the top...and you can't get to that with the body on.
Go for it, just make sure you keep that fire lit under your **** to get it done....and keep the garage warm
I also have a 68 (my dream car) which I am doing the body off. I have pics of every step so e-mail me if you want any doogie1101@hotmail.com
-Brett

 

I did a frame on restoration on my 79'. As I was progressing through the work, I found myself getting fussier and fussier. My frame was in good shape except for surface rust.

I started by tenting off the car and sandblasting underneath laying on my creeper, suited up with protective gear like an astronaut. I could only stand about ten - fifteen minutes of this crap at a time.

Once I got finished the job, I wished I had just done a frame off. The car looks like a frame off, but i know it's not.

For me the prime enjoyment is working on the car, improving its condition, and enjoying the satisfaction of the finished product.

For what it's worth, if you've got the room, do a frame off.

 

I did a complete frame-off in 10 months. It can be done if you don't have other hobbies consuming your time and have a very understanding wife. I probably worked on the car every weekend but two and averaged 3 evenings through the week.
From my perspective there are a lot of things that you will probably be doing that would be easier with the body off. If I were painting the car and going to replace my engine, suspension, etc. I would rather remove the body than work around it because it would be easier overall. The problem with doing this is that when you get the body off you will want to fix everything while your there and as was mentioned earlier, get ready to spend $$$. Here's a few pics of my 10 month project.

 

Ditto MichaelG.
If you are building a driver and have a frame in good condition, clean everything you can reach from below, paint with POR15 and move on to the next area. i replaced the solid shims between body and frame with rubber mounts from a 73+ to soften the ride a bit.