'67 roadster body lift

[Keith N.]

I'm contemplating removing the body on my '67 convertable so I can save some money on resto shop labor, all in preparation to send the frame out for media blasting and re-painting. I've never attempted anything like this before and would like to know where I can get a 'checklist' of the items I need to either disconnect, or remove, in order to lift the body off of the car. I would expect to catalogue each task and reverse the order when I re-install the body on the (professionally) restored frame when returned to me from shop. I only have a shallow, one bay garage, so finding room to store dismantled/ removed components (ie. motor and drive train, etc) from the frame would be difficult. Can I send the frame out with motor and drivetrain intact or is that just nuts?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. BTW, is the labor involved in removing the body really a substantial savings, or do pro shops just pop 'em off and on so efficiently that I'm really not saving any money doing it myself?

[Jeremy Hedges]

Re: '67 roadster body lift

I have a restoration business and we can have the body off in less than a couple of hours. With a shop rate of $45 per hour, you would save $90 at my shop.

Jeremy Hedges
Hedges Corvettes.com
#31711

[Jeremy Hedges]

Re: '67 roadster body lift

I have a restoration business and we can have the body off in less than a couple of hours. With a shop rate of $45 per hour, you would save $90 at my shop.

Jeremy Hedges
Hedges Corvettes.com
#31711

[Keith R.]

Re: '67 roadster body lift

Go to the NCRS store and buy Nolan Adams video on body lift procedures. He demonstrates a 65 and also included is the checklist you are looking for. I'm getting ready to lift mine soon and am researching lifting the body with a hydraulic lift. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Joel F.]

Re: '67 roadster body lift

Here is a link to a helpful checklist, compliments of Kevin Mackay

http://www.corvetterepair.com/tech_tips.htm

[Harmon C.]

Re: '67 roadster body lift

I'm contemplating removing the body on my '67 convertable so I can save some money on resto shop labor, all in preparation to send the frame out for media blasting and re-painting. I've never attempted anything like this before and would like to know where I can get a 'checklist' of the items I need to either disconnect, or remove, in order to lift the body off of the car. I would expect to catalogue each task and reverse the order when I re-install the body on the (professionally) restored frame when returned to me from shop. I only have a shallow, one bay garage, so finding room to store dismantled/ removed components (ie. motor and drive train, etc) from the frame would be difficult. Can I send the frame out with motor and drivetrain intact or is that just nuts?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. BTW, is the labor involved in removing the body really a substantial savings, or do pro shops just pop 'em off and on so efficiently that I'm really not saving any money doing it myself?

Keith
Think about how much the total cost will be for this project if saving a few hundred taking the body off is in your plan. If you do no work yourself
I have seen 80-100K restorations. Pick your restorer with care so you know up front close to what the restoration you want will cost.
Lyle

[Mike G.]

If you haven't already pulled the body...

I'm in the final stages of a body-off on a '65 roadster, and like you I thought step 1 must be pulling the body. Seems logical right?

It's really a big mistake in my opinion, and the next roadster I do will go in this sequence:
1. pull the motor, and send it off to the machine shop.
2. while the motor is in work, gut the interior & doors, but leave the wiring intact enough to run the car.
3. start stripping the paint. I use chemicals, but only do a few square feet at a time and mask off adjacent areas to guard against "double exposure" to the methylene chloride.
4. when the motor comes back, reassemble and reinstall into the car.
5. break in the motor and make sure you're happy with it. Then pull it and set it aside. It's done.
6. finish stripping the paint and then move onto the bodywork. If you try to do the door/deck/headlight bucket gaps on a roadster with the body OFF, you're going to be unhappy with the results after body reinstall. The body flexes and shifts too much when it's separated from the frame.
7. you can actually go all the way up to final topcoating before body pull.
Cut and polish after body drop.
8. with the painted body off, and on a nice dolly, you can do the chassis, work on the engine bay, underside, whatever sequence you prefer.

To get your gaps to match how you set them, just make sure to use the same number of shims and evenly torque all the bolts.
All of the above assumes that you're frame is not bent and going to the frame shop. If it does need straightening, then I would do the rolling chassis first, reinstall the body and do the gaps and any panel replacement, then pull the body for remaining body & paint steps.

[Alan J.]

Re: '67 roadster body lift

I pulled the body off my '65 roadster about 7 years ago, to have kickup rust repaired. I didn't touch the body, engine or trans. I had a two-car garage available. I used "The Body Lift Workbook" published by Noland Adams. It contains dolly plans, checklists, and vendor data - great resource. I needed about 8 months -- to get the frame repaired & painted, suspension parts purchased/painted, and reassemble it all. I did everything myself except for the frame repair and parts plating. The job came in at about $6k. A one-car garage would be pretty tight--you won't have much space to work in, unless you store your body outside. This is very do-able yourself, if you have reasonable mechanical skills.

Good luck and enjoy!
Alan

[Alan J.]

Re: '67 roadster body lift

I forgot - I stripped everything off the frame before having it repaired. Why?
1. The frame repair shop (Caledonia in Michigan) would have had to do it anyway -- they blasted, repaired, straightened, and painted it for me, and did great work.

2. I could then do multiple jobs in parallel -- e.g., replace control arm bushings, overhaul the differential, get halfshafts re-tubed, rebuild calipers, etc.

3. I had the satisfaction of knowing the assembled chassis was done RIGHT.

Alan