[A1Judge]

Hi all...

Well I am starting on my 70 Judge. Front clip is off and engine compartment is down to bare bones.

Interior is next, then doors, deck lid, and glass.

When I have it down to nothing, how am I going to get the body off the frame? I am in my garage at home so I have no lift, etc...

I was thinking on building a support structure out of 4 x 4's then jack one end up a few inches, put a cross support under it. Then jack up the other end and do the same thing. Repeat this until I have it high enough to work under...

My question is do I need more than two cross supports running under the car? I will position the front one where the body normally rests on the frame, and probably bolt it in place. Where should I put the rear support???

Any other ideas would be helpful! I only have my side of the garage as the wife told me I can't have her side for the Winter. So I have to go straight up with it.

Thanks

Don

[A1Judge]

Hi all...

Well I am starting on my 70 Judge. Front clip is off and engine compartment is down to bare bones.

Interior is next, then doors, deck lid, and glass.

When I have it down to nothing, how am I going to get the body off the frame? I am in my garage at home so I have no lift, etc...

I was thinking on building a support structure out of 4 x 4's then jack one end up a few inches, put a cross support under it. Then jack up the other end and do the same thing. Repeat this until I have it high enough to work under...

My question is do I need more than two cross supports running under the car? I will position the front one where the body normally rests on the frame, and probably bolt it in place. Where should I put the rear support???

Any other ideas would be helpful! I only have my side of the garage as the wife told me I can't have her side for the Winter. So I have to go straight up with it.

Thanks

Don

[mike nixon]

the last body we pulled without a hoist we pulled as follows. we ran a support across the rafters above the ceiling and chained a j hook to it.we then drilled a hole just big enough for the verticle part of the j to hang thru the ceiling between two rafters and fastened a comealong to it. we attached straps to the body at the cowl with short pieces of chain and ran a 4x4 across the trunk as far forward as possible. we raised the body up as high as possible and supported it with 4x4's and stands located as far from the weak areas as possible. the frame we tarped and rolled outside. hope this helps,mike

['ol Pinion head]

Mikes response was great. Especially if you have access to rafters or an A-frame. It is one of the few ways to accomplish this if the floor pans are real blown out with rust.
Personally, I have to do this job again TODAY & will be using big rachet staps & a forklift to place the body on a body dolly. A body dolly is made out of an old frame that is cut off under the front cowl area & boxed across the front. It has 2' 4" adj square tubing legs welded on going down to big casters. Whole body can thus be rolled around for convience. Thank goodness my brother has a forklift or I would have resorted to plan B.
Another way is possible if you are working out of a fully sheetrocked garage with no access to the rafters or an A-frame. Have had to do this on several occasions.
If the floorpans are solid, & the rear wheel houses are solid, you can lift from below. Take two lengths of oak 2x8, just a little shorter than the inside width of the center portion of the frame. These 2 boards will be stacked together right below the front floor crossmember where the front of the bucket seats bolt down. These boards will be then jacked up with (2) floor jacks & an 8' landscape timber can be inserted between the frame & the body underneath the cowl. Next you move to the rear of the body & lift the body with the boards positioned on the floorpan just before the upperward sweep of rear axle-trunkpan area. By lifting high enough, one can slide another landscape timber between the bottom of the rear wheelhouses & the frame. Next, by using the floorjacks, one lifts the front up high enough to clear the rolling chassis. I installed small empty grease "kegs" under the last foot of each side of the front timbers. In the rear one can use std size grease "kegs" or empty Zep drums. The body will end up being level with the top of the cowl being anywhere from 4' to 4 1/2' off the ground.
BTW, if you have tire clearance problems with std size tires use mini spares. Many used tire joints will give them away. I had better get after it, have fun on your resto.

[S. Sherrod]

I pulled my 65 convertible body off the frame in my garage that has a low sheet rock ceiling. First I had a medium size cherry picker from Harbor freight. Next was 4 pieces of 3 inch pipe 2 feet long. These have 4 legs welded on at 45 degrees( 1/2 flat bar look like rocket fins. Next 4 pieces of 2 1/2 24 inches long pipe were slid into the 3 inch and had holes drilled for pin in both. Next 4 pieces of 2 inch pipe about 8 inches long with an L bracket made of 1/2 plate was welded on top of the 2 in pipe. A 2x8 was bolted thru the hole in the L bracket.Lifting the body off the frame( everything was removed, even doors)with the cherry picker and then positioning the stands out far enough and bolting the 2x8's to each stand I could get the body high enough to roll the chassis out from under the body. The cherry picker was under $200.00 and teh pipe I got at a scrap yard for under 35.00. The boards I all ready had. I can put my body as high as 4 1/2 feet off the ground. A little over kill on the stands could support about my house with one. Just need a good welder, horizontal bandsaw and drill press that can drill 1/2 holes straight and deep. Took me about 30 minutes to actually get the body off the frame and to desired height, about 4 feet. Used a tow strap looped thru the drain holes on the front for the front pick. Wrapped the strap around the structure on the rear side of trunk. Did all picks a little at a time used a little caution as not to bend or damage anything. Any questions just ask can furnish pic's

[TinInjun]

This is how I did the last body I pulled. I do some off road driving from time to time, so I always carry a nylon snatch strap with me. You have to have a engine hoist for this method. I first wrapped the strap around the rear of the body. Then hook the hoist to it. Lift back end up. I made two saw horses out of 4x4s, 2 and a half feet high. I placed the rear saw horse just foward of the rear wheel wells, then placed the body down. Then I repeated this with the front end, placing the saw horse just aft of the front wheel wells. With the saw horses at this height you can roll the frame out from underneath the body. The only downside to this is you cannot rotate the body like you can if it were placed on a rotisserie. This worked for me, and it is very inexpensive to do.

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"Run wild with an Indian, not with the crowd in a Chevy"
Check out my restoration at http://members.aol.com/jetmech15/gto

[Scott Misus]

How comes nobody is mentioning the brace that should be fabricated to fit between the cowl and the door latch post on the door jamb. I was told this was pretty much mandatory with coupe and convertibles. Since most of my POS project cars are sedans, I was hoping I could skip this step.

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Never been banned here...
Because I've got MANNERS
....I've been warned a coupla times, though...

[old gto]

DC, I did mine exactly the way you described, very slowly, without a problem. Mine was complete though, front clip, doors, trunk lid, it was all together. I used lots of short 4X4 pieces for blocking & stacking, and only 2 long ones to go across. I only brought it about 18" above the frame, but had plenty of room to sand, grind, paint the top of the frame rails & bottom of the body. Biggest problem was getting the new body bolts & bushings lined up when it went back down. I was also working in a pole barn with dirt floor with limited resources. Biggest thing is TAKE YOUR TIME!

['ol Pinion head]

Scott, I only brace up the convertibles or consider the brace important on really rusty cars. Extremely important if you are putting the body in a rotisseri...The '70 LeMans shell I pulled today only had a pinhole of rust in the rear window channel, it was easy. I have a real tough time finding them like this anymore.

Lot of good ways to attack the beast in this string, good luck DC!!!

[Scott Misus]

Old GTO:

"Dirt floor?"

Yeesh.....and I thought I had it hard.

Orlando? Do you know Glenn Uetwiller or Gary Patrick by any chance?

[A1Judge]

You guys are great!!!!!! [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

I now have a picture in mind on how I will do this and where to support the body. Like I said, it will be a shell.

A bit of concern today as I removed the rear window!!! All the way around the window is shot and rusted! How do I repair the sides and upper part by the roof???

I am not a professional welder and what do I use for parts? I mean it is really shot. Some lame brain filled the area with caulk or some other S^&*. In fact the moulding pulled right off, filled with the caulk and other garbage.

I am going to be posting pictures in a few days detailing the damage. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Or if any one knows a Pontiac fan / body man in the Rochester, NY area,,, GIVE ME HIS NAME.

Challenged but never discouraged!!!

Don

[JC455]

DC,
Why not buy a wire feed welder? They run in the mid $100.00's around here. You're gonna hafta (good engrish) pay someone money to weld this anyways, so why not get some skill and do it yourself? You'll be money ahead as you develop your skills and can repair others rust problems.
Just a thought... I hate paying for something I can do myself (even if I have to first learn how to do it).
Good Luck!


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John

[old gto]

Scott....I have talked to them at local Pontiac gatherings, and was in the "Wide Track Warriors" (till my dues expired.) I don`t know them real well, though. I`m pretty sure it was Gary that made me a great deal on some rally gages. (The dirt floor is gone now....the wife & kids tore down the pole barn while I was in the hospital, and Santa Clause brought me a new 3 car garage last spring. Hope to make it BIGGER next spring!)

[mike nixon]

one thing i forgot to mention, if you've got some time get a copy of ed neasham''s rotisserie plans and build one. it's a piece of art, the plans are really clear and easy to read. it'll make your life alot easier when working on the underside of the car.mke

[A1Judge]

John

Way ahead of ya Buddy. I have a "mild Steel" Wire feed MIG welder that I just purchased. I am going to get some fenders from the junk yard this weekend and practice!

Thanks for the reply. I too hate to pay for something I can do myself!

Don

[A1Judge]

Mike

Where would I get a copy of the Rotisserie plans? Does he have a WEB site or something?

I am not afraid about lifting the shell as the rockers, cowl and most of the lower portions are in tact. In fact, the rocker area has NO RUST whatsoever. (GOOD !)

Thanks!!

Don

[Brian Baker]

DC,

I used a floor jack, some heavy cap block (like cunder block only the holes are filled too), 4x4's, and some 2x6's and 2x8's (for fitting between the jack and underbody).

I just went at it very carefully, jacking one side at a time and placing the 4x4's under it at each end (this was on my 73 LeMans). Once I got it high enough, I rolled the chassis out from underneath. Make sure the doors are installed and shut while raising the body to prevent body flexing. Otherwise you'll need to install some sort of makeshift fixture in the door jambs (x-brace) to help prevent flexing. If you'd like any more specific (and lengthy) details, e-mail me.

[mike nixon]

dc,there is a topic in the archives of the board on de's plans . just e-mail him [he's a board member] and ask for a copy,mike

[Scott Misus]

You went to all that trouble for a 73 leMans? Sheesh...

[Kurt Zimmerman]

Hey, Scott...
I know you're being facetious, but I'd take a 73 Lemans over any Shove-roll-a any day!

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...if God wanted us to drive Chebbies, we'd all be wearing bowties!