I'm in the process of changing my body mounts (75' coupe) and started doing some research on what's involved in removing the body completely to refinish the frame. In other words:

1. Is it much more work to actually take the frame out to have it sandblasted and painted?

2. How much does the body weight so I can figure out whether I can use a chain pull supported from the rafters in my garage?

3. How many man hours does it usually take after the body mounts have been unbolted to remove the frame and unbolt everything in order to send out the frame to sandblast?

4. Any suggestions on what other items I should replace if I decide to remove the body? I ask this based on additional costs.

5. Any other information would be helpful in making my decision as to whether I want to tackle this project? After all I'm not getting any younger.

 

My advice is not to remove the body from the frame if you do not need to. It's more of a chore than you might think.

You and six of your friends can lift a bare body.

First consideration is do you have twice the shop space you have now? With the body off the frame you will need space for the rolling chassis and space for the body. Twice the room.

 

Only you can determine whether your car needs a body off, or you are just looking for a challenge. I did a body off on my 69 and was able to do a body on to my 79. The 69 engine needed a rebuild, clutch assembly and IRS rebuilt with u-joints and some fiberglass work on the floor.

When I did my 79 it was just clean it up while I was taking the IRS out to rebuild/replace parts. In the process I needed to fix a rusted #4 body mount and replace most of the body mounts. I cleaned and painted the underside and powder coated the IRS.

The difference is a huge amount of time. The 69 took years, while the 79 took about 6 months. It isn't a big deal to replace body mounts while you raise the body, one side at a time, a few inches. You will need to loosen/remove some bolts, but basically leave the body on. How far you need/want to go is up to you. If you like driving your car more than working on it, keep it at a body on resto IMO. This is my 79 done with the body on.
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Caution ! ... once the body comes off,
it becomes a hole,.... you throw your money into.
another, while I'm at it project !

 

Once you pull off the body, you have really thrown your hat over the fence. A snowball can quickly become an avalanche.

 

Approximately how much would the body weight? Could I use a chain pull along with straps to suspend it from the garage rafters?
I have a two car garage but need the other space for another Vette. I was thinking once I removed the frame, I would strip it of suspension etc and send it out to be sandblasted. Would I still need the other side?
I plan on keeping this car forever and figured since I was half way there, re body mount, how much further do I need to go to remove the frame and have it in new condition. I also damaged the front years ago when using a jack and wanted to repair that....while I'm at it.
I was wondering how big that hole may come to.
That's why I started this post, I was hoping to view how much of an avalanche I was looking at.


Thanks for the replies everyone.

PS.

I got this quote while searching online, does this sound like a reasonable quote as I would imagine C3 parts would be accessible then the C2

"Removing A Body From A Frame Isn't All That Hard

We spent a recent Sunday helping a friend take the body off the frame of a 1966 Corvette coupe. It will take 800 - 1000 hours of work and as much as $25 thousand to restore the car but these mid-year Corvettes appreciate in value at an amazing rate. Typical of frame-off restorations, the body needs to, well, come off!
"

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The job requires time, patience, a good way to lift the body off (I used the straps and an engine hoist), at least one buddy the day of the lift, and a body dolly to set the body on and move it around.

It's a great project to do and if you have mechanical skills, an assembly manual, and a reasonable set of tools it is very doable.

I've done everything, with help from one or two friends during the lift and reinstall of the body, in my garage over the course of a year on weekends and evenings. The paint is being done professionally.

Removal of the body is pretty straight forward. The hardest part is getting the body mounts free. There are 8 mounts plus the bumper bolts and front cross member/radiator support. The mounts are 1- in front of door behind the gill, 2 - inside near door hinge behind kick panel, 3 - front or rear wheel well behind a small access panel, and 4 - rear back corner of frame into boxed in bolt in the rear corner of the cargo area (under hinge for convertible deck lid). Find them all, soak them good with penetrating oil (spray several times over a couple of days before you try to remove them, if not too rusty you can get lucky and have them come out without too much work). I found the very rear bolts to be the hardest to remove

 

I'm listening......

 

Can u post a link to a good tutorial on doing a frame on body mount replacement ? I'm sure there is the go-to source for info ?

Btw...that looks freaking great !

 

Frank you sure picked the right forum name

 

What I did here is to look at the difficulty of replacing the part with the body on the car. So, fuel lines and hoses, brake lines, lower radiator hose, transmission cooling lines if you have an automatic, engine mounts and trailing arm bushings would be on top of my list of things to check. I would also check the radiator support and gas tank to see if they need attention.

 

If you've sufficient ability, resources and motivation, by all means go for it. Just be forewarned those while-I'm-at-it's will cost you double to triple whatever amount you budget and take quadruple the time you set aside to complete. You'll need to build a body dolly or some sort of jig to support it while the chassis is out. Can't recall who, but FWIW one CF'er recently did the lift solo with an engine hoist.


Agree, that's looking good Red. I'll be doing some mods and using different paint, but started down a similar path just last night. Have reasons to do a frame-off, but that'll have to wait a year or two. Now, back to the garage...

 

I did the frame on about five years ago and have the engine out now for another upgrade. I don't remember a step-by step procedure and just did it as I went. Since I was removing the IRS for a rebuild, I had the fuel tank out and the TA's and whole IRS out. Drop the third member together with the crossmember to which it is attached. I removed the two bolts that hold it to the frame and replaced them with as long a shoulder bolt I could find. place jack stands on each side of the crossmember and a jack under the pumpkin. You will need a long bar to break it free from each side, but controlling it on the way down it the challenge. Use the jack stands and center jack to accomplish this. I keep a stack of wood blocks to help with this and removing and installing transmissions. It was after this that I decided to clean the underside and paint everything, since it was all exposed.

After those parts were removed, I started cleaning the underside. After using a putty knife to strip heavy crud from the bottom, lacquer thinner worked best for chemically cleaning undercoating residue and petroleum stuff. After it is clean, use simple green, or POR Marine Clean to scrub the bottom and frame in prep for paint. While painting the fiberglass, be sure to tape plastic drop cloth over the frame for protection. Do the opposite when painting the frame.

Once the body mounts are loose and turn free, I recommend only removing those in the specific side and area you need to. You will also need to disconnect the rear crash absorbing rear bumper, I think there are only four bolts a side, but don't hold me to it. Removing the spare tire carrier goes without saying as is the ground strap by mount #1 to rocker channel. You obviously will need to drain the fuel tank and lines. Don't forget the seat belt reinforcements, emergency brake cable and front fuel line. Always be aware of all systems as you go and you won't accidentally rip anything as you raise one side. Little things like ground straps light bulbs will get you every time. As I recall, I was lucky.

When I raised my body to replace the mounts, I placed plywood under the fiberglass floor, some 2X8 pieces and jacked it up. Keep as close to the frame rails as you can, that's where the fiberglass strength is. As I recall I used two jacks in different locations on one side. I don't remember disconnecting anything up front, not even the steering rag joint. I replaced all the body mounts, only raising the specific side and area I was working on, remember, we are talking no more than a few inches. Only one side was raised, but more at the end I was working. The most difficult mount to replace for me was the #3 mount, as it is a very tight area to work.

I'm certain I am leaving things out, but you get the idea. It is not a cake walk, but much can be accomplished in much shorter period of time. While my IRS was out, I placed the TA's with off-set units and made new strut rods with heim joints, replaced the rear brake line and distribution block and rebuilt the calipers. The drive shaft was powder coated and all new u-joints installed.

I don't know if there is a step by step procedure for doing a body off. If you get stuck, just post a question here and you will have suggestions. I hope this helped.

 

Thanks 76 ray, The brake/fuel lines hoses, all bushings, rad support will all need to be changed. My problem is that this car has been sitting for 22 years so it's going to need a rebuild anyway.
Ability most likely will be there and as mentioned I have this forum for help......hopefully. I lack motivation since this project would be overwhelming and the funds, well that goes without saying, they're limited.
Thanks for the details Red 69, if I may ask, what is "IRS"?

I'm still one the fence with this but know if I don't do I'll regret it later. I just don't know if I'm up for the challenge.

 

IRS = Independent Rear Suspension. Revamping mine as we speak.

 

If your gonna pull the body, put it on a simple wood framed cart on wheels, and support the front end,
you can do 0 work,... on the body hanging from the rafters.
weight depends upon how much you strip off the body/bumpers/ Interior
A full restoration requires Time, Space, Money and Skill.
the good news... this forum can answer any question you may encounter !
and you will know every Nut and bolt, on a C3 after a full Resortation !
I removed my body by myself, no helpers, slowly jacked and blocked the body up,
enough to roll the chasis out from underneath,.... slow and easy.
Figure on about 2-3 year project to do everything working part time on it.
Invest in Zip-Lock baggies !

 

Frank, I believe Bruce aka 7t2vette did his body off restortion in a single car garage. He stored the body outside, but covered up. His Vette turned out great, he didn't even repaint it.

Just a thought. Good Luck, Les

 

Thanks-Charley....BTW your bell housing is waiting to get into my 69 when its turn comes for upgrades.

 

Glad it found a good Corvette home. I've appropriated those funds towards the rear suspension makeover.

 

I have learned a unbelievable about of knowledge from doing this frame off but have dedicated a whole lot of time to it as well. If you are up for a project I would go for it but it is a money pit for sure. I started mine at 16 and bought three other vettes to part out to finance the partial restoration on my 76 and full off restoration on my 68. It is can be a expensive hobby.

I have heard of the body weighing 700 lbs but have no clue if that is correct. It sounds a little light.

I have removed 5 bodies so far; the third one being for a customer buying corvette parts. From start with everything connected to the body hanging from the ceiling, I did his in 13 hours but there are many other factors that can make it much longer.

I do all the work myself. The only thing that was sent out for the 68 was the frame alone for only sand blasting. In the past three years since I bought it, I have only completed the rolling chassis but this is my first restoration. I think I have around $3000 in the chassis alone. I spent a pretty penny on the ceramic primer /paint I used so that jumped the amount spent up.

Like I said before, a frame off restoration has been a great experience but you just have to have the time, space, and money to keep the project going. Good luck with your decision.

 

Very curious what you decided to do here because I am in a very similar situation. I really want to remove the body to get the frame sandblasted and repainted. To be honest it really doesn't need it from what I can tell with the body on as there is very little rust, this car was rarely out. However, like you I want my Vette to live forever. If I never drive it in the rain and of course not in winter, do I really need to do this for the sake of it looking good? Probably not, right? That's kind of my dilemma but I am really **** about how it looks. I have plenty of garage space, lots of tools, time over this winter and relatively decent funds for the project. I say 'decent' funds but I based that on not getting too carried away with the 'while i'm at it' stuff. My goal was clean paint the frame and get all the under car mechanicals cleaned and reconditioned, no motor parts are to be touched, that is next winters project as I want to drive the car in the spring. I already have all the suspension parts purchased, trailing arms, springs, steering components, bushings, etc. I figured if I pull the body I could expect to blow maybe an additional $1000 fixing the unexpected, does that seam reasonable for an 80 that is really in pretty good shape already? Thanks!