ok i am taking the engine, trany, and interer out of ny 70 chevelle malibu and doing a frame off restoration on it does anyone have plans to make a homemade body lift and something to set the body on after it is off the car? also the rear packedge tray is rusted out should i go get one from a junk yark or and i just make my own? both ways im going to be putting in some 6x9 speakers back there so i dont no if it would be worth cuting one out af another car and then cutting it up.

Josh-

Check out my two sites shown below. The '72 SS is completed, and underwent a 2.5 year frame-off resto. Lots of pictures to help you figure things out. My suggestion to you would be make a "frame" out of 2x4's, with large pneumatic caster wheels. Build plenty of strength into the design, so it wont collapse. You'll find right away that restoring the chassis goes quickly and easily, especially with the body shell removed. Restoring the body goes much slower. Good luck, have fun, and if you ever need answers to questions, Team Chevelle has them!

I'm in the middle of a frame off resto as well. I learned from other posters here and from experience that you should do all body work on the sheetmetal, such as welding in all trunk and floor pans, quarter panels, etc. BEFORE you remove the body. The temptation is to lift the body first, blast and paint the frame, then the engine, tranny etc. But then to do body repairs, you must have the body bolted to the frame. You cannot weld in any patch panels with the body off. You lose all your alignment. I did this the wrong way. I lifted body first. Now I have my dirty old body sitting on a beautiful painted and detailed frame and engine. It gets full of bondo dust and will be oversprayed with primer surfacer soon. Other people on this site recommend body work first, prime, then lift the body off. I learned the hard way. Concerning lifting the body off, I used an engine crane to lift the rear, and a come along hooked to my garage rafter to lift the front. Worked fine. A stripped body doesn't weigh that much. Have fun, it is a rewarding experience if you have patience.

Hey Josh

I didn't have a strong enough structure to lift from so I used 4x4's with a slot cut in them under the rocker panels. The slot is for the pinch seam. I lifted with floor jacks and blocked the 4x4's on each end. Worked alone and went very slowly to make sure I didn't mess up. I had a inexpensive rotisserie build and loved it. Click on the link in my signature for pictures.

you should do all body work on the sheetmetal, such as welding in all trunk and floor pans, quarter panels, etc. BEFORE you remove the body Does this stand true for unibody cars? I have been restoring my '72 nova and the frame is out and completely restored. I was going to start on installing my new full length floor pans tonight. I never even considered if cutting the body apart without the frame would cause a problem.

hey chevl71 i was looking at your website nice cars! do you still have those bucket seats for sale and the drum to disk set up
josh