I took my 68 big block coupe by my body man last week and he advised me that I should remove the body and start with the frame, and go up with the restoration process. How much trouble is it to remove the entire body? I have striped paint done some minor body work in the past but I have never tried to remove the body. I guess i'm wondering if I'm up for the job?

 

Hey, it's only 10 bolts and it's off!!!!

Seriously, think long and hard about it. Be prepared to spend lots of money and time. If you just want a cool driver and your car has been maintained mechanically, just paint it. If your car has been a Georgia car all its life, rust probably isn't much of an issue (maybe some surface rust). Clean up the frame as best you can and repaint it the best you can. Unless you're one of the fortunate with a garage lift, that means a lot of time on your back with dirt and crud falling in your face.

I went the frame off route for a couple of reasons:

1) My car was a Michigan car--'nuff said (fortunately it had been stored for the last 20 years of its life so the frame was only a little scaly but still solid).

2) The bracket that attaches the rear end support to my frame was cracked about 1/2 way accross and the only way to fix it was to pull the body to weld it properly. Found out that the bracket was never welded correctly from the factory. A few more miles of hard driving and the car's rear end would have surely been laying in the street.

3) The aluminum biscuits had decayed to the point that they were crumbling, so the body was not well supported on the frame.

Check out my website which is badly in need of an update, but you'll get an idea. if you have any questions, there's lots of poeple on the forum (me included that can help out).

Also make sure you have an AIM and service manuals for your '68 as well as an NCRS judging guide if you want to bring it back close to original. They've been indespensible for me.

Good Luck!!!

Eric

 

Just noticed that my sig's not working. My website is:
http://www.corvetteforum.net/c3/lemansblue68

 

Eric,
Good post and nice pictures.After looking at your car I'm tempted to go ahead with the frame-off.
Steve

 

Here's another reference point for you. Our car was wrecked (in Ga) and sat for almost 4 years.

My site is a little out of date, we've finished with almost all of the frame, suspension, engine/tranny and exhaust. But it will give you an idea.

I lifted the body with an engine hoist and some cargo straps. Don't recommend it, but it worked. Good luck.

Ck it out at http://kksjjohnson.home.mindspring.com/

 

Currently, were just about ready to lift the body on our project. The body mount bolts were not fun at all, but what really helped out with the bolts was PB Blaster. Of course we snapped quite a few bolts in the process.
Kieth72: Im interested in why do u not recommend not lifting with an engine hoist? We were considering this option for lifting.

 

JC Orange 72BB,

I think an engine hoist is OK, it should hold it if you take enough stuff off. What I mean is lifting it with motorcycle tie down straps like I did. :nono:

I would recommend some heavy cargo straps or a lifting sling. I had the doors, windshield, interior, and everything out of the engine bay when we lifted ours. So, it was significantly lighter with all that removed.

Check out the pics at http://kksjjohnson.home.mindspring.com/

 

I used an engine hoist, no problem. You just have to have one that has an extendable boom and extendable legs. Some of the cheap fold up ones don't have the legs that extend out far enough. You don't want that baby to tip while your body is dangling up in the air.

Good Luck.