http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/data/500/medium/bodylift1.JPG
I thought I'd post another little update... As you can see, the body is off, and I'm way past the point of no return. It makes me a little nervous having only 2.5 months to the deadline, and still this much work to do. I'll be spending the next 2 weeks cleaning, welding, and coating the floor pans with POR-15, and a layer of "Lizard Skin". My goal is to have the body on the new frame in no more than 3 weeks so I can focus on wiring the LT1, and reassembling the car so it can be ready for the wedding.

I lifted it myself using 2 cherry-pickers, and a rectangular steel tube going through the side windows. From the tube, there are chains going down to the seatbelt bolts. It was balanced nearly perfect. I also made 6 stilts 12" high that attach at the body-mounts. This makes it very easy to work under, and takes the weight off the hoists. (which I left hooked up for additional support in-case it would tip off the stilts)

The rust on the floor-pans isn't too bad, only a few minor holes, but some of the braces are pretty bad. I'll have to do some welding on those... no time to completely replace them. I spent most of today under the car with a propane torch and a putty-knife removing under-coat.

Lookin good!!! Good idea with the cherry pickers. :thumbsup:

Dude,I know exactly how much work it is.I am in the process of doing a frame off on my 67 SS.Man it is a lot of work and takes a lot of money to do it right. Best of luck to you.

I don't know if anyone else has ever thought to lift a body that way but it seems to be a good way to get the body up without damage.

Derrick

This is a very painful topic for me.

If you don't plan on doing much to fix the rust issues you can see now, I'd suggest not poking around with a putty knife or anything else any more than is absolutely necessary. I had no idea my pans were as bad as they were until they were blasted.

A prior owner covered rust holes (big and small) in the pans and braces with tin patches, pop-riveted them on and mudded over them with tar/undercoating. Couldn't see them until it was stripped. Because the holes hadn't been fixed right the first time, there was catastrophic damage caused by trapped moisture for 20+ years that just accelerated the rust problems under and around the patched areas. Every pan, inner rockers and all but one brace were riddled with pits and large holes.

Everything had to go, beginning with the front pedestals all the way back to the rear bumper, including the inner wheel houses and tail light panel! Took a full year to have it done, big $$, believe me, and added at least 9 months to my project!

If you're not going to deal with rust this time, I'd strongly suggest leaving it alone as much as possible! No point in unearthing things that you'll have to address and/or make temporary repairs to that will come back to bite you later. IMO.

Good luck.

Andy

ps If you're interested, check out the pics I added to my showroom.

Andy, I know what you're saying. I'm not really trying to hide the rust, just stop/slow it from getting worse. I'm heating and scraping off the old undercoat (known for trapping moisture), and scraping any of the loose chunks of scaly rust, then wire-brushing the whole thing. The POR 15 is meant to be painted right onto rust to seal out the moisure and stop it from getting worse. If it works half as good as they claim, I'll be happy. The Lizard Skin is an extra layer of protection from the moisture.

I don't see this car ever coming off the frame again in my lifetime, and I know it will never be driven winters again, so I feel what I'm doing to seal out moisture will help preserve the car from needing those expensive repairs for many years.

ps If you're interested, check out the pics I added to my showroom.Wow, they really replaced everything! :eek:

Got a question for you all. I'm about to pull the body off my 70 Chevelle and was planning on lifting it with a pump lift and set it on a 4x4 crossways. Then supporting them by stands. From there I planned on doing the same to the back end. The body is completely stripped of every part I could get off, even windows, doors, dash.

Am I crazy for doing it that way? Thanks--Mike

Derek

I guess I was thinking as much about what you may find when you start poking around as you might do to yourself with/without repairs. I'm sure you'll do a better job than the guy that did my car, but if you haven't owned the car since '69, you might accidently find some very unpleasant things that a prior owner did to it.

I know in my case, I could have busted through some of the braces and pans with almost no effort if I had just started scraping. Once you have a big hole(s), then you've just added to project To Do list! Maybe big time!!

Hopefully, yours is in better shape than mine was, though! I'm just gun shy now.

Andy

Got a question for you all. I'm about to pull the body off my 70 Chevelle and was planning on lifting it with a pump lift and set it on a 4x4 crossways. Then supporting them by stands. From there I planned on doing the same to the back end. The body is completely stripped of every part I could get off, even windows, doors, dash.

Am I crazy for doing it that way? Thanks--Mike


thats the way i did mine.....and i set it on blocks.
good luck....

bob.s

I guess I was thinking as much about what you may find when you start poking around as you might do to yourself with/without repairs. I'm sure you'll do a better job than the guy that did my car, but if you haven't owned the car since '69, you might accidently find some very unpleasant things that a prior owner did to it.
Andy, it's pretty obvious that no previous owner ever did anything to try to hide anything on this car. It was mostly original paint when I bought it, but was a rusty beater. The only real problem I found was from when I got rear-ended a few years ago, the area around the left bumper bracket needs a lot of work.

Got a question for you all. I'm about to pull the body off my 70 Chevelle and was planning on lifting it with a pump lift and set it on a 4x4 crossways. Then supporting them by stands. From there I planned on doing the same to the back end. The body is completely stripped of every part I could get off, even windows, doors, dash. That would work too, but if you have access to 2 cherry-pickers, this way worked very slick. :)

Here's another way to lift the body. I had to go with a rottiserie, no way I could lay on my back to do all that work.

http://community.webshots.com/album/548192667xykpEl

heres my method.

albert

Hey Derek,

Did you attach the chains to the front and rear seat belt bolts on each side?

Looks like a pretty slick way to do it.

Yes, I have 2 chains inside the car. One on the left side from the far left front over the tube to the left rear bolt, and the same for the right side.

To keep the chains from moving, I welded a couple of bolts sticking out on the top just to hook the chain link on, and on the ends, I drilled holes through the tube to run bolts through the tube and chains to keep it from rolling or sliding on the chain.

man, that looks like murder on your roof! Did you consider using wood instead of a metal beam?

The beam is not touching the roof. There are chains from the beam down to the seatbelt bolts. The beam is about 4" away from the roof.

My first thought was the beam was used to lift the body. But after, Derek decribed how he lifted with the chains bolted to the seat mounting holes, it all became clear. The beam is more or less a balancing beam. Where did you figure out the lifting idea from Derek? Prett cool.

Man, you have lots of work to do. Good luck! I hope you make your deadline. I was in Minneapolis last week and thought of getting ahold of you to help you out, but it was during the week and I didn't have any time to cut away from the audit I was on.

Keep at it!

Hey Derek, do you have a link to the Lizard Skin product your going to use? I want to check it out.

I was in Minneapolis last week and thought of getting ahold of you to help you out, but it was during the week and I didn't have any time to cut away from the audit I was on.
Alan, that would have been cool. I'm about 2 hours south of Minneapolis, but I would have drove up to have a couple beers and a steak with you if I had known you were around. My productivity goes way down as soon as there's someone around to "help" (B.S. with), but it would have been fun.

Hey Derek, do you have a link to the Lizard Skin product your going to use? I want to check it out.
http://www.lizardskin.com/pages/ceramic.php

http://www.hotrodscustomstuff.com/PS-LizSkin.html

I hope it works like they claim. I'm going to spray the bottoms first, and if there's enough left, I'll do the trunk and the top of the floor pans... there's 2 gallons, and if I don't use it all doing that, then the insides of the doors and those areas will be coated too.

Alan, that would have been cool. I'm about 2 hours south of Minneapolis, but I would have drove up to have a couple beers and a steak with you if I had known you were around. My productivity goes way down as soon as there's someone around to "help" (B.S. with), but it would have been fun.


http://www.lizardskin.com/pages/ceramic.php

http://www.hotrodscustomstuff.com/PS-LizSkin.html

I hope it works like they claim. I'm going to spray the bottoms first, and if there's enough left, I'll do the trunk and the top of the floor pans... there's 2 gallons, and if I don't use it all doing that, then the insides of the doors and those areas will be coated too.

Im interested in this product instead of the dynamat type stuff, but I have surface rust issues on the floor and some small pinholes to fill. I'd like to shoot this everywhere in the cab including the underside of the roof and in the door areas.

I was planning to POR and then topcoat, seam sealer, then use mat for deadening but this stuff looks great. And I have a compressor now so no issues there. Just wondering about adhesion issues on the POR or if you are going to scuff it up before applying this. Defintely keep us posted on this stuff, I am very interested.

Good work on the ride, sucker is going to be a blast to drive and im jealous.

Just wondering about adhesion issues on the POR or if you are going to scuff it up before applying this. Defintely keep us posted on this stuff, I am very interested.I'm not sure about that yet. I'm learning as I go here :D I'm doing the POR for the same reasons you mentioned. The Lizard Skin needs to be sprayed on a clean dry surface with no rust... doesn't say anything about scuffing, but I would assume it needs it.

I think *not sure - I haven't read the directions yet* that if you spray any topcoat over the POR, you need to do it before it's fully cured if you want it to stick... so if that means pulling an all-nighter, and missing a day of work, so be it. :)

I'm not sure about that yet. I'm learning as I go here :D I'm doing the POR for the same reasons you mentioned. The Lizard Skin needs to be sprayed on a clean dry surface with no rust... doesn't say anything about scuffing, but I would assume it needs it.

I think *not sure - I haven't read the directions yet* that if you spray any topcoat over the POR, you need to do it before it's fully cured if you want it to stick... so if that means pulling an all-nighter, and missing a day of work, so be it. :)

Cool.

POR makes a tie coat primer that will adhere and allow you to top coat with whatever you want. They did not have this back when I got my first batch. Bet that would work fine. If not, im scuffin' it up. Thanks for the links to the Lizard skin, that looks right up my alley and I did not want to deal with all the peel and stick stuff.

Keep me posted on that, por favor, either via PM or posts here.....if you have time to post since I figure your going to be out there bustin yer butt to make the wedding "deployment" date. :D

Keep me posted on that, por favor, either via PM or posts here.....if you have time to post since I figure your going to be out there bustin yer butt to make the wedding "deployment" date. :DI can always make time to post while at work ;)

I'm definitely going to be busting my butt for a while... good thing I'm marrying an understanding woman :thumbsup: My LT1 wiring harness should be here this week too, so I've got plenty of things to occupy my time with.

Alan, that would have been cool. I'm about 2 hours south of Minneapolis, but I would have drove up to have a couple beers and a steak with you if I had known you were around. My productivity goes way down as soon as there's someone around to "help" (B.S. with), but it would have been fun.

I'm kicking myselft now that I didn't contact you! I even looked your town up and noticed it wasn't too far. I got in there at 1pm last Monday and was bored until I went to bed. I don't get to Minneapolis too often (last time I was there was July 2004), but next time I'll be sure and contact you beforehand. Steak and beers can't be beat. And TCers on top of that. That's a damn good time. If I get out there before you finish your project, I'll make my best effort to get down there and help you out.

Definitely :thumbsup: Monday actually would have been a really good day to have a helper, that was the day I lifted the body off. Too bad we didn't get that planned out :clonk:

Just lifted the body off the frame last night based on conversations in this forum & elsewhere... 2 chains, 1 cherry picker, and 1 helper to move the body away from the frame. Frame sits outside covered and the body inside on cinder blocks.

The 66 body is a bit back heavy lifted this way. It would have been better balanced if I used a 5' chain connected to the 2 outside rear seatbelt bolts and a 7' or 8' chain to the outside front seatbelt bolts. This would (I think) have moved the center lifting point more to the back seat of the car making the lift more balanced... Anyway, I had 2 5' chains and a helper (my son)...

See picts here... http://www.cardomain.com/ride/822091/11

Looks like you are gonna have your hands full getting that body straight JJ can't wait to see it finished. I like that nice little trick with one cherrypicker makes more sense to me now that I see it in pictures. Will definitely rememeber this should I ever lift the body off my 67.

We hooked up to the outer rear seatbelt holes using an engine lift tilt tool.

We welded a brace to the door, just in case.
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-4/990599/bodylift.jpg
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-4/990599/doorbrace.jpg

Looks like you are gonna have your hands full getting that body straight JJ can't wait to see it finished.

Probably getting quarter patch panels on both sides to help in that specific area. Everything else is getting there, slowly but surely....

Derek,
You may want to take a look at Eastwoods "Rust Encapsulator" in lieu of the POR15 Stuff.

I have seen indepentdant side by side test done on both products and the Eastwood stuff came out the winner. Plus it can be topcoated with anything you want.

I'll see if I can find the article.

Thanks for the tip, but the POR-15 kit is already sitting on my toolbox.

Hey Derek,when you gonna be putting the 'skin down? I found thin spot's and pin hole's when I removed the undercoating from the trunk pan, got a replacement pan will be here fri. So my coating schedule took in the behind, want to hear your opinion of the lizard skin. Might just have to buy a couple gallon's, and the applicator gun. I want to do the underside, interior, and the trunk, which might just save me some cash over Line-X. Plus I'll get a new tool out of the deal.:thumbsup:

It will probably be at least a week before I get it sprayed. I hope 2 gallons is enough.

I hit a snag :( The other guy at work who does the same thing as me just put in his 2-weeks. Looks like I'm going to be working a LOT of overtime for a while.

Damn, Damn, Damn. :mad: I was hoping the workload would be light enough for the next 2 months I could take time off at-will to work on the car.

Oh, well... I guess it's job-security. :rolleyes:

Turn in your one-week, and beat him to it!:D Damn, I hate it when that happens. You get a graet plan going, then somebody just has to scerw with the plan.:mad:

What kind of a price have you found on the lizard skin two gallon containers? I was thinking of buying two because I want to coat inside the front fenders, inner wheel wells on the tire side, inside doors, inside quarter panels, inner and outer wheel housings, firewall inside, both sides of the trunk pan and floorboards.

Nelson

I didn't spend much time searching. I think I paid 189 + shipping, but later found it somewhere else for $185 w/ free shipping. :clonk:

You guys are really getting talented with these cherry pickers. Looks like I got a new body lift just sittin in the corner of the garage.

Thanx For the idea.

RandyB..

Hi folks, I lifted my body off of my 65 today. Did it by myself. I thought it would be hard but it actually went real smooth with one cherry picker. If you are interested, I posted two pics, see my sig.