[fairwayhit]

My project is a 1971 Lemans Convertible. It is a driver and not a show car, but I don't want to use that as an excuse for not doing a good job. However, I am worried I am getting in too deep and won't be able to get this thing back together right.

I had to pull the front clip because I have rust in the front fenders and the firewall needs repaired. I am also pulling the 350 and replacing with a 400. Since the TH350 was leaking I pulled it too and will rebuild it and put it back in.

With all of that off of the car, it seems like it wouldn't be much more work to pull the body off the frame and paint it as well as replace the fuel lines. This car was driven on dirt roads, so the bottom is pretty dirty and there is a little surface rust.

Would you pull the body off?

I am worried that (being a convertible), I'll tweak it and it will never sit right again...

Would I be better off just to clean the floor pans, mask them off and paint them and the frame as best as I can from under the car?

or,

Turn a blind eye, leave it like it is and put it all back together while I still can?

[stich]

In my opinion, (well worth the 2 cents) this isn't for the faint at heart. I too have to pull the body off my vert to change the frame out and am not looking forward to that part. On top of all the disconnecting of all cables, lines and various other parts that are sure to be rusty, there's the frame bolts themselves that you MAY have big problems with getting loose. Some of the bolts go into caged nuts and cannot get to them. Those are usually the ones you break off or the nuts spin. And so another problem. All this IS fixable, but don't just plan on a weekend job. Also, make sure you brace , brace, brace your body first before you pull off the frame. There's a number of good posts on this part that you should look into. What ever you decide, I feel your pain and good luck.

[1965gp]

Personally I would leave the body on unless (as suggested) you brace the body and put it on a rotisserie.

You can still replace the body mounts one at a time, replace the lines, clean and paint the frame/floors. I would feel differently if this was a hardtop but I think you have the opportunity to do more damage than good if it's not done right.