Bob Heine

I'd like to turn a small job into a major one. I bought the pre-bent stainless fuel lines and am about to install them. I'm cutting the old lines up so they are easy to remove, except for the one clip behind the passenger seat area. Once the old line is out it appears that the new single piece line will be very difficult to snake in place.

Therefore, I'm planning to lift the body an inch or two. The car is on jackstands about 18" off the ground. Is it possible to unbolt the passenger side body mounts and just lift the passenger side? I don't want to lift the whole body if I don't have to but I don't want to crack the glass if I leave the driver side attached. I'm reluctant to unbolt both sides because I'm bound to misalign it when I lower it back down.

If the consensus is to lift the whole body, that's what I'll do. Of course that will probably mean sawhorses and complete chassis paint job.,,,

7T1vette

Unless you are really, really picky about everything being absolutely 'original', I highly recommend against doing any lifting of the body....unless you intended to replace/fix any body mount problems anyway. You just never know what kind of damage/problems you will create until you do something like that. You can get those lines installed if you just make one cut in each line. And you can join them back together with a compression fitting on each line.

Do as you will, but I wouldn't lift the body for installing a couple of fuel lines.

Go Vette Go

Bob - I replaced the body mounts on both my 76 & 78 just by removing the body mount bolts on one side at a time. What you suggest, removing the 4 bolts from one side should not be an issue IF you are only going up and inch or so. I was able to slide a 2X between the tranny crossmember and floor - used 2 bottle jacks to raise the body. Worked like a champ.

Good time to replace the body mounts if you haven't already done it.

Oh, I disconnected nothing else but the 4 bolts.

joewill

are you sure an inch or 2 is all you need? if so then it sounds ok, but snakeing that line may require 1 foot or more?

Alan 71

Hi,
Am I missing something?
How do you lift the body (even an inch or two) without loosening the bumper brackets, core support and steering column?
Regards,
Alan

Bob Heine

I'm the opposite of picky about originality. If I can make it better when I fix something, that's what I do. I'm flaring the ends of the lines to accept AN -6 and -4 connections. I'll do the same with the cut in the middle of the line if that's what I end up doing. I don't do well with the compression fittings. One of the few jobs I ever farmed out was a transmission overhaul on my '87 and one of the three places it leaked was the compression fittings they added to the cooling lines. I think they overtightened them and only after I disassembled them, cleaned the joints and replaced the rings could I get them to seal.

I appreciate your advice and and it will be ringing in my head when something goes horribly wrong.

I was planning a couple of extra things while I had the body raised, including cleaning and painting the frame (mini-roller) and replacing the hard '72 body mounts with poly '73 mounts.

This car has spent the majority of its life in a garage so I expected the body bolts to be in decent shape. Here's the #3 bolt from the passenger side.

Bob Heine

OK. Kinda what I thought but I've already got the car partially disassembled.

Bob Heine

I'm not sure of anything. I have never replaced the fuel lines on a C3 so I'm hoping those who have will tell me it can or can't be done without raising the body a significant amount.

Bob Heine

Alan, you probably aren't missing anything. At this point I already have the bumper brackets in a box, the steering column on a table with all new parts laid out, waiting for me to spray some epoxy primer and interior dye. The only piece still attached is the core support and it's just two bolts. Should I also remove the main bumper brace (it's only attached at the front crossmember)?

Alan 71

Hi Bob,
I was responding to gvg about only loosening the body mount bolts.
In looking at your picture it looks to me as though the front valance is going to hit the cooler mounted on the brace before the body is high enough to do your work.
I think taking the time to get the body high enough to mimimize the problems installing the lines will be time well spent.
I've VERY rarely ever done any job that turned out to be easier than I thought.
Regards,
Alan

Go Vette Go

As I said before in my original post Alan - did it on both a 76 & 78. They are a bit different bumper wise than the earlier C3s. Nothing, absolutely nothing was disconnected but the body mount bolts. Actually followed an article from one of the then popular Corvette mags. Worked for me without any issues.

Bob Heine

Hi Alan,
I think you're right. I have so much of the car apart at the moment that I have no problem taking a few more bolts and braces off. That cooler is mounted using the four captured nuts for the license plate bracket. Two fittings and four bolts is a piece of cake. Lifting the whole body isn't out of the question (thanks, Lars -- I seem to recall him saying he pulls the body off to change the oil).

I'd go further and say I have NEVER done any job that turned out easier than I thought.

This fuel line project is a result of the Steeroids install:

1. Install Steeroids.
2. Discover caster limitation on stock control arms.
3. Remove power steering and fuel pumps to install control arms.
4. Kink fuel line on re-install of fuel pump.
5. "May as Well" replace fuel and return lines with pre-bent stainless.

Did I mention the two pinholes in my birdcage?

wcsinx

I'm sorry, but this is simply not possible. The frame extensions are bolted to the front bumper support on both a '76 and '78 (I own the prior), and the steering gear box is bolted to the frame which in turn is attached to the column via the flex coupler. You will not lift the body off a C3 by just unbolting the mounts at least not without some major destruction to the car.

74 LS4-454

Quote:
Originally Posted by Go Vette Go
As I said before in my original post Alan - did it on both a 76 & 78. They are a bit different bumper wise than the earlier C3s. Nothing, absolutely nothing was disconnected but the body mount bolts. Actually followed an article from one of the then popular Corvette mags. Worked for me without any issues.

Knowing John, he says what he means, and means what he says......
I think you misunderstood, he did not "lift the body off a C3" as you stated above, he merely raised the body an inch or so to change his body mounts.....very doable.......and believe me, he has no major destruction to his Vettes, I have seen them all...... Tom

wcsinx

Nope, still not buying it. First of all, an "inch or so" is not enough to access the 4 inner mounts. I would say at a bare minimum, you need 4 inches to get them to clear. Second, you won't even get an inch with the steering column and frame extensions still attached. Trust me, I just went through this with my '76.

Now if what he's really saying is he swapped every bushing EXCEPT the lower halves of the 4 inner bushings then that I can believe.

wcsinx

Here's a pic from this thread

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-t...with-pics.html



See the problem there? No freaking way are you going to access those with 1" of lifting. Sure, you can get the 4 outers just by releasing pressure on them. Then you could get the top halves of the 4 inners through the upper access. But the sticky wicket is and always will be the lower halves of the 4 inner mounts. Not happening with "an inch or so" of lifting. This is one of those situations where I just have to say pics or it didn't happen.

hunt4cleanair

Great thread!

Alan 71

Hi,
Last bark.
What about the bolts from the core support to the front cross member? Maybe no bolts after 73?
Regards,
Alan

wcsinx

IIRC the 73L and later cars' core support just rests on two rubber bushings which mount to the front cross member. No unbolting is necessary.

I used this procedure...

http://www.europeancorvette.com/html...eplacement.htm

which makes no mention of touching the core support.

7t2vette

I recently converted to EFI, and as a result needed to run a return fuel line. I had a vendor make me a 3/8" SS return line pre-bent like the factory line. I removed the passenger rear bumper and losened all 4 passenger side body bolts. I then used a block of wood under the outer rocker edge, and jacked up the passenger side body by almost 2". With the assistance of a friend, I was then able to easily install the fuel line.