A great New Year's Day spent UNDER my Studebaker!

[StudeMann]

Call me crazy, but I had the perverse pleasure of spending several hours in my driveway on a crisp, clear New Year's Day under my Stude, scraping off old undercoating. All the sheet metal has been removed from the body except the doors so as I was crawling around I was toying with the thought of hoisting the body off the frame to do a proper job of cleaning and painting the undercarriage.

Unfortunately, my garage is not high enough to jack it up inside and the body is down to bare metal so it can't remain outside. Also, my driveway is somewhat sloped so I have yet to figure out how to raise the body off the frame and roll the body back into the garage without dropping it or crashing into the door frames. The body still needs to be high enough to get around underneath for prepping and painting by hand.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

BTW, after much deliberation I have decided to take Elsie back to her original Comanche Red rather than Black Cherry as a previous owner had done some 40 years ago.

Cheers!

[Flashback]

Don't roll the body back in the garage. At least without the frame!
Roll it back in with the body on the frame, and then jack it up as much
as the garage will allow, and block up the body. Take the wheels off
and lower the frame down and roll out.

[jclary]

You didn't say what car you have, but I have taken a few off the frame and this is what I did.

Back the car in the garage with the front to the door. Disconnect and prepare all wires, hoses, and linkages that could interfere with body and frame separation. Remove your steering wheel, steering column jacket, shifter, etc. Remove clutch, and brake pedal pads. Remove all but one bolt that attaches your steering gear box to the frame. The one bolt that is left should be loosened so that the steering column can pivot up and down.

Using jack stands or cement blocks on four corners of the body, you can begin to jack the body front to back and side to side an inch or two at the time. Once you have it high enough, you can slide a six or eight foot long 4 x 4 between the frame and the body. Once you have the 4X4's across the frame, you can then place your supports under them to continue to lift the body a few inches at a time until it is high enough to clear the axle hump over the rear axle.

We are not talking about a real high lift. Once you are able to clear the axle hump, you simply roll the frame out from under the car body. After the frame is out-of-the-way, you can leave the body where it is or mount it on a small utility trailer or dolly and move it in or out as needed.

I am including a couple of pictures of a C cab I did recently. Of course, trucks will require higher clearance than a car, but you should get the idea.

Mounted on my old canoe trailer. I have fixed it on the trailer using four large eye bolts at the rear cab mounting holes so that I can pivot the cab back and work on the floors.

[ROADRACELARK]

John's idea is good except for the use of concrete/cement blocks. Use jack stands, make metal or even heavy wood framework to support it, but NOT concrete blocks. I lost a high school buddy when his car fell on him from sitting on concrete blocks. They are suspect when stood on edge as they are building a wall, but much weaker when used as in John's picture. If you must use concrete blocks, use the solid 4" thick ones. They would be the least likely to fail. Good luck.

Dan Miller
Auburn, GA

[jclary]

John's idea is good except for the use of concrete/cement blocks. Use jack stands, make metal or even heavy wood framework to support it, but NOT concrete blocks. I lost a high school buddy when his car fell on him from sitting on concrete blocks. They are suspect when stood on edge as they are building a wall, but much weaker when used as in John's picture. If you must use concrete blocks, use the solid 4" thick ones. They would be the least likely to fail. Good luck.

Dan Miller
Auburn, GA

I agree with you for the most part. However, when working with a mere body shell, I think the blocks are OK. It is a quick way to gain height and provide a flat surface for the wooden beam supports. Even with the relatively light weight of the body shell, I still wouldn't venture under without additional support.

[sals54]

I sent this pic to JP, who just happens to be under Winter's wrath, to share the only thing left in California worth living here for... the weather. My son, washing his new Jag.

[tluz]

Here's what I did.

It took some careful measuring, but when I was done I could roll the body anywhere I wanted and could also roll the chassis.

[StudeMann]

Thanks for the input, guys. There are some good suggestions here.

Unfortunately, I guess I forgot to tell you that my ceiling in the garage is really low so I can't possibly jack up the body and roll the frame out from under it while it's in the garage. I could jack it up probably 8 to 10 inches maximum so that would probably end with 4-6 inches clearance between the frame and body once the springs have rebounded. This may be all I can manage in my situation.

Jim

[sweetolbob]

Jim

I have got to think that if you can stand up in your garage that you have room enough to raise the body and remove the wheels and lower the frame enough to roll the frame out, as has been previously suggested. It should roll out on the brake drums.

Bob

[jclary]

Jim

I have got to think that if you can stand up in your garage that you have room enough to raise the body and remove the wheels and lower the frame enough to roll the frame out, as has been previously suggested. It should roll out on the brake drums.

Bob

...and if you can't do that...you don't have a garage...you have a drawer!

[jallen]

I agree with you for the most part. However, when working with a mere body shell, I think the blocks are OK. It is a quick way to gain height and provide a flat surface for the wooden beam supports. Even with the relatively light weight of the body shell, I still wouldn't venture under without additional support.

Dan is right, even turning the blocks 1/4 turn would make you and your project much safer. Easy to do, and eliminates the possibility of the blocks collapsing

[Warren Webb]

If its in bare metal treat it NOW & at least prime it. Metal starts rusting in hours after it is exposed to the air, even if your in a desert, it will rust. Treat it with metal prep and at least prime it. Remember too that primer is not water proof & if left alone for a long period, rust will form under it. Then wait untill the weather allows & pull the car outside & pull the body off. If your driveway in on such a slant, then I would have the car facing uphill. The rear has to be highest anyway to clear the rear axle hump. Lower the body on some movers dollys & it will be a one man job to get it back in the garage. As a side note, if your removing all the factory undercoating, replace it with bedliner coating. Will look like the undercoating & protect much better!

[Pat Dilling]

Here is the ultimate way to do it:

http://www.mts.net/~hpokrant/Restoration_Tips/1-Rotisserie/Rotisserie.htm

http://www.prostreetcar.com/body_rotisserie.html

And once you are finished with it, if you have no plans to do another car you can sell it at a profit.

[sweetolbob]

Here is the ultimate way to do it:

http://www.mts.net/~hpokrant/Restoration_Tips/1-Rotisserie/Rotisserie.htm

http://www.prostreetcar.com/body_rotisserie.html

And once you are finished with it, if you have no plans to do another car you can sell it at a profit.

I'll agree totally with Pat on this issue. I designed and built this one to redo the 54K and did get more than my money back when finished.

The beauty of a rotisserie is it makes you a much better welder and when scraping or sanding everthing is right in front of you.

Here's the one I built. It held the body in a very stable position no matter the angle.



Bob

[StudeMann]

Jim

I have got to think that if you can stand up in your garage that you have room enough to raise the body and remove the wheels and lower the frame enough to roll the frame out, as has been previously suggested. It should roll out on the brake drums.

Bob

Bob, This might be possible if I had a C/K or an Avanti but not with my 51 Land Cruiser. I haven't been able to convince my wife that I need to build a proper workshop at the back of the lot.

My ceiling in the garage is 6'9" at the highest with 2 obstructions about 1/3 from each end that drop to about 6' high. I need at least 13" clearance to clear the rear axle hump so I would absolutely have to take the wheels off. Even then, I don't know how much spring rebound there would be when the body weight is lifted off the frame. I would hate to go through the whole rigmarole and find it still won't fit. However, perhaps a shorter version of tluz's wood frame support might do it. I am an architect so I should be able to figure out how to make a frame like this work (Yeah, I can see all the contractors out there rolling their eyes).

Jim