Removing the body from the frame

[Runningwild]

I have all the chassis bolts undone, interior gutted, tunnel stripped, engine/trans out, and everything else but doors and windshield removed.  Any tips on removing the body would be greatly appreciated. I was thinking 4 people lifting at the wheel wells???  Any thing I should watch out for?    It's an early 68 S2.
Thanks tom

[Grumblebuns]

Tom,

With the body pretty much stripped, you could probably do a trial lift on each end by yourself and check to see if the body lifts without catching on anything. On my initial body lift, I forgot the pivot bolt for the handbrake bell crank in the front compartment. Four people lifting a stripped body will be more than enough.   

[StrawberryCheesecake]

I lifted the whole lot up on jacks, supported the body on wheels and tyres, and then lowered the chassis down on trolley jacks. It's easier to lower straight down on a jack than trying to get 4 people to lift straight up in unison. I did it on my own then got a mate to help lift the shell - it's more or less a bare shell.

Two of us lifted it without a problem - no doors / glass/ interior. Just an empty radiator and that was about it.

[Runningwild]

I like the jacking up the car and supporting the body method.  I'll use the chassis lift for the back and a roller jack for the front.  I'll build 2 wooden supports to go between the front and rear wheels.  Thanks guys. 

[andy harwood]

Tom,
I used floor jacks on either side, put a 2X4X24" on the jack pad, placed under the seat area. Jacked high enough where I could run a 4X4 under the rear wheel wells, placing the 4X4s on stacked solite blocks. Then did the front the same. I did get the wife and daughters to slide the 4X4s through while I steadied the body.
I have the body sitting on a dolly now.
Hoping body goes back on frame as easy...

[EuropaTC]

Hi Tom,

Another vote for letting gravity do the hard work...   I also used the "jack it high enough" method and in my case I left it as a rolling chassis. 

Undo everything you can whilst it's on the ground and then lift it high enough so the rear of the car is above the engine.  The body was supported on big axle stands plus a home made steel framework at the front end later,  There was some shuffling of the supports to allow the front chassis crossmember to roll backwards, but it worked out ok.

It sounds a daunting proposition but actually it's nothing special and definitely a one-man operation. Make a check sheet of every bolt, wire or pipe you need to release before you start, soak everything you can see in release fluid for a few days and tackle it slowly. You'll be surprised how well they come apart.

Brian

[Gmg31]

After unbolting everything I jacked the body up at the rear and slid two lengths of 4x2 in 1 from either side and them screwed them together in the middle, then repeated at the front.  It is then easy for 4 people to lift it off.  Don't forget that there is an extra bolt which is the mirror of the handbrake pivot bolt which can only be reached from the foot well of the opposite side. It took me ages to find that flippin bolt. 

[Runningwild]

Didn't know about that bolt. Is it on the top of the tunnel inside the car?  I've removed the complete hand brake system. The pivot bolt is removed from the boot area.  I'll try and find it today. Thanks

[Gmg31]

It's In exactly the same place as the handbrake pivot bolt but on the other side. mine is a right hand drive so to get the bolt you have to get into the passenger side footwell and reach behind the heater on top of the tunnel and it bolts straight down into the chassis.

[Runningwild]

Thanks. Found it. Luckily the PO had removed it or I wouldn't have found it.  Just need a warmer day to get it off.

[LeftAngle]

I'm having an issue with the opposite end of the procedure.  I'm renting a space at my classic car club's facility and have built a frame to hold the body with the rolling chassis underneath. I roll the chassis out to work on it and allows me to rebuild the firewallall while standing up.  This has been working exceptionally well.  Yesterday, I removed the 2x4 supports running through the wheel openings that have been supporting the body and lowered it via block & tackle at each corner onto the frame.  I did this alone, so each corner had to be lowered individually a few inches at a time.

All went as planned, but the body is still sitting 1" above the frame at the center.  It's a tiny bit higher on the driver's side, but nothing I've done so far has been able to correct this.   I've tried lifting the right side a little, but as I'm still unable to lift both ends at once, my results still end up with the body being hung up.   Assuming the twist of the fiberglass is the issue here, does anyone have experience lowering a body by him or herself?

I'll post pictures as soon as the car doesn't look like one of those raised things that seem to be the rage now J

[EuropaTC]

First - congratulations on a major milestone !

I don't recall any significant lean on the car but....   measuring the wheel arch heights they rarely coincide exactly. And it's been like that from new, the original owner was clearly a geek like myself because he recorded such things in a notebook which came with the car. 

However when I did mine I tried to make sure the central spine soundproofing didn't snag and if yours is massively out of line then it might be something as simple as the body catching the insulation on the way down.

I followed a similar process using trolley jacks around the car to lower it into place.  IIRC it was two jacks at the front corners behind the wheel arches, then the same just in front of the rear arches using wood underneath the sills. 

Can you add your body weight to the car by getting in and seeing if it slides into place ? 

If all else fails then there was a service bulletin issued about "leaning bodies" which sounded like a molding problem at some point, the downside is that the note says "RH Side", which I assume is your passenger side ?  However, the issue did exist......    and as per Standard Lotus, the answer was to bodge it with washers !

Brian

[Runningwild]

Body mounted on supports.  Chassis lowered to the floor.  No problems!  No to move the body onto the filling cart.

[blasterdad]

 
Congrats! Planning on dropping the frame on ours this summer, can't wait! 

[4129R]

When putting the body back on the chassis, where does the noise insulation felt go?

I can see some between the seats. Is there anywhere else?

Alex in Norfolk.