best way to lift body off frame??

[cobraman428]

I have a 54 stude 2 door C coupe and want to come up with a contraption to lift the body off the frame yet keep the body as complete as possible such as leaving fender on. I figure I'd have to pull the steering column, probably radiator to keep from damaging it. Has anyone else tried this (meaning the whole body not just center body section)? I would suppose it would need to be supported in several locations. (front cowl, body and rear member). Was thinking cherry pickers, come alongs or jacks etc..)
Any ideas or pictures would be helpful.

[tbirdtbird]

wow you'd leave the front fenders on?

[cobraman428]

They have no rust. I understand that you cant lift by the front fenders.

[kmac530]

It is not as much the fenders that are the issue as the inner fender panels clearing the motor, if that is still in there.
Then there is all of the wiring that goes in and out of the fender wells and in and out of the frame. I am not speaking of your model specifically, just general concerns on lifting any body off of a frame without stripping it down at least some.

As far as lifting it up in general, with or without front clip, is easy if you do it with jacks or a cherry picker on the front and a jack under the back and then just go slow and use blocks to space the body up, then move the jack down with spacer blocks and shorten the chain on the hoist. Lift again, more spacer blocks between the frame and body, lower the jack again.....repeat....lather, rinse, repeat.

Remember to be careful, take your time, and do not get between the parts with any of YOUR parts.
Also remember that your dunage that you use to support the body between the frame is the safest when it is longer and running all of the way across the frame and NOT little square pieces of 2x4 that will roll over easily like JENGA tower.

If you google images of how they move a house and how the stack dunage that may help, not that you can do the same technique with stacking 2 left then 2 right like they do, but the principle will be similar.

Then once the body is high enough to clear the frame/engine or whatever you need to clear, you can run some timbers {minimum 4x4 preferably 4x6 stood upright or better 6x6} or steel beams to support the frame and make supports for those OUTSIDE of the body line and roll the frame out from under the supported cab.

You WILL get alot of the nay sayers who will cry "NO DONT DO IT like that, or it cant be done, or it should NOT be done like that"....but I have done this twice and it woorked just fine. There are dangers, but there are dangers sitting on your couch too. I know a guy who died while sitting on his couch when a plane crashed into his house....moral of the story, dont live in a flight path, and be VERY carful under your car....but have fun and post some pics.

[woodysrods]

A number of years ago I built a simple but effective body lift, as we lift of a lot of bodies.
I will submit pictures when I return to the shop after the Xmas break.
But, I still don't understand why you would want to leave on the front fenders??
Good Roads
Brian

[woodysrods]

A number of years ago I built a simple but effective body lift, as we lift of a lot of bodies.
I will submit pictures when I return to the shop after the Xmas break.
But, I still don't understand why you would want to leave on the front fenders??
Good Roads
Brian

Here is a 40 Pontiac we were lifting with my device.

[hausdok]

Hi,

Now might be a good time to warn folks that if they have a garage with the roof framed with prefabricated manufactured trusses - trusses joined with punchplate gussets - that those trusses are usually not designed to carry a lot of weight on the lower chord and lifting engines and car bodies with chain falls or winches connected to those trusses can (and often does) damage the trusses and threaten the structural integrity of your garage, shop or house. I know this because for the last 15+ years I've been a professional home inspector and I've seen, literally, dozens of structures unwittingly damaged by well-meaning folks who were simply pursuing their favorite hobby.

Before you attempt to suspend weight like that with the lift device anchored to framing above the car, make sure you have a structural engineer look the structure over and determine whether the structural members bearing the load are capable of doing so without damaging the structure. If not, have them altered/reinforced as the engineer suggests.

Mike O'Handley
Kenmore, Washington
hausdok@msn.com

[Johnnywiffer]

Hey, even Studebaker had the fenders off--when they built 'em.



John

[8E45E]

A cherry picker worked just fine for me:



Craig

[jclary]

I have done several vehicles off frame, both, cars and trucks. I have never lifted the body using an overhead lift. I have also managed to do it without removing the steering column, or clutch and brake pedal shafts. However, I have always removed the front clip. Due to the fact that everything beyond the firewall is supported at the front of the frame, the overhung weight of those components could cause warping, flexing, and distortions that would be nearly impossible to correct for reassembly.

The first part of the process is to make sure you have your most valuable tool handy. (Corny part here) That is your "patience." Without it...mistakes and injuries are likely. Next, keep a chair handy, so that you can rest for a few moments as you think about your next move. Keep in mind that taking a car apart, requires room to store the parts. Since upholstered parts like seats, door panels, etc. need to be protected...behind the couch, under the bed, and closet space is good to have.

Once you have the front clip, seats, etc. safely off and stored, you can remove the steering wheel, gear shift lever, column jacket, pedal pads, accelerator linkage, hand brake linkage, and wiring. Instead of removing the steering column, I remove all but one mounting bolt from the steering gear. I back off the one bolt that I leave in the gear box. That way, I can pivot the column as I raise the body. When I get the body high enough to roll the chassis out, the steering column will simply pivot and slide out of the hole in the firewall.

No matter how many times I do this, there always seems to be something I miss. For example, the hoses to the under seat heater, a ground wire, or something a previous owner has done that is only discovered later. Once you get the bolts, wires, hoses, and linkages removed, you can start at what I call the "four corners" of the body and begin jacking it up off the frame. What I do is use four bottle jacks and lift an inch or two at each corner.(Of course, four jacks are optional...you can simply support the body and move your jack.)

As I get the body in the air, I use jack stands, (good healthy) cement blocks, and wooden beams. I slide the beams between the body and chassis. When the body is high enough to get the beams in place, you can then lift on the beams until the body is high enough to roll the chassis out.

If you support the body at the chassis mount locations, it should not flex or warp unnecessarily. I have done this many times and it has worked well for me.

[tbirdtbird]

Some good ideas and advice esp about today's trusses. And wow ya Stude had the fenders off but the hood on? Wild.
When I was a kid having nothing overhead to pull on I made an overhead support from 5 tree trunks I had cut which were about 4-5 inches in diam. Made a triangle at each side and then the last one stretched across the top of the two triangles. I think I used 3/4 threaded rod to go thru and thru the tops of the triangles, then the 5th section lays in the small V at the top, use 2 more thru bolts to stabilize the cross bar, and i think i used cables to the ground from the cross bar to further stabilize. Looked Neanderthalian but was strong and worked fine

[Ray Stewart]

I put up a warehouse rack over top of a SilverHawk side-to-side and ran two oak 4x4 12' beams front to back. Used four cable come alongs & chain loops over the oak beams so there were 4 points to lift. The two front come alongs hooked into the openings at the firewall-to-frame supports. Cut an oak 4x4 to span inside of trunk left to right and attached come alongs. As long as you raised the body fairly level...all was very secure & safe. The body was suspended for about 3 months. The trunk structure was not damaged at all by the timber. Of course, the front clip was removed prior to lifting the body.

[woodysrods]

Here are a couple of pictures of Sandi's car as it was lifted off of the chassis and placed on the roticery.
Good roads
Brian

[woodysrods]

Picturesof my lifting device.
It is made frome .125 wall 1 1/2" sq. tubing & 1 1/2" angle iron. 64 1/2" long, 12 1/2" wide,
& 6 1/2" tall (Actual frame) with the rings 9" tall. I have wooden shoes that can be moved in and out depending on the width of the car c/w with rug buffers. The lift chain is a 6' piece of chain with a fixed centre hook and clevised locking hooks on each end.
Works like a charm on all types of cars and truck cabs.
Good Roads
Brian

[woodysrods]

Picture of my ceiling hook.Please note that those four scres are #10's 2" long and the ceiling is 5/8" plywood.
Have you ever tried to pull 2" screw straight out of a piece of 5/8" plywood???
Brian