Hi everyone! The body mounts on my 70' El Camino are pretty much shot. I saw them and my heart sank. I'm just an amature, and don't have a lift. I only have a floor jack. Is there any way that I can do this myself at home? Is it something I can knock out in a day? Should I go with regular rubber mounts? Any suggestions?

Yes, all you need is a floor jack and it can be done at home in a day.

Loosen all the bolts on both sides, then replace one side at a time.

If you're lucky all the bolts will come out but if they're rusty and you break loose a cage nut and all it does is spin, you will have to do some cutting and welding.

Rubber is fine.

What should I use as a jackpoint when I jack up the body?

JYags,

Our 68 Elky needs them replaced as well. How/where do you raise the body? The car is already on floor jacks with the tires off. I would guess that would make it easier to get to everything. Any suggestions would be great.

Put a piece of stout wood on top of the jack to spread out the load on the floorpan. Also put a 2x4 on top of the frame to ensure that your fingers will be safe if the jack does anything weird. Be careful to jack up the body only enough to change the mounts, as on some cars the bodywork will hit the inside of the bumper and limit the amount of lift.

When I did my '70 Elky, I took a 5'-0" long piece of 2x4 and cut a kerf length-wise on my table saw wide enough and deep enough to slip over the lip that protrudes down from the rocker panel. That way, there were no obstructions inboard of the frame rails to get in the way. A single floor jack placed in the right spot is sufficient. As JWagner pointed out, slip a block of wood between the frame and the body as you work for safety.

The best advise that I can give you is soak your body bolts with penetrant until the cows come home. When you think that you've done it enough, do it some more. The very last thing that you want to do is break loose a cage nut. Especially the last two by the back bumper or you'll be doing surgery to your bed just to get at them. I soaked mine every other day for a week and a half and only had a problem with one of the front ones at the cowl. Talk about luck, the ones at the cowl are the only cage nuts that are accessible without cutting holes to get at it. When removing the body bolts, you'll still have opposition, even after all that soaking. I used a breaker bar rather than a ratchet so that I could work the bolts back and forth to eventually get them free. Patience is the key. Too much torque on a bolt and you risk breaking the nut loose. There's slop between the nut and the cage so if you feel a nut flopping around while you are working a bolt back and forth, it doesn't necessarily mean that the cage has failed.
And don't forget the two bushings on either side of the radiator.