Body removal

If the hinges and pins are ok I would leave the doors on. They can be a project to remove.
 
Here is one way to do it. I used a lifting frame in the front borrowed from a neighbor and a motor lift also borrowed, in the back. I made hooking things to fit under the back and front. This works great if you can borrow the lifting devices.

BTW, you do not need to dog to supervise.
 

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Fred K-OR said:
Here is one way to do it. I used a lifting frame in the front borrowed from a neighbor and a motor lift also borrowed, in the back. I made hooking things to fit under the back and front. This works great if you can borrow the lifting devices.

BTW, you do not need to dog to supervise.
Click to expand...

Have a Lab to supervise....

I have a fork truck to help just wasnt sure the best way to lift without tearing stuff up.

Mark
 
The bodies are not neccesarly heavy, just bulky. I think I would skip the fork lift, get some beer and invite your friends over. Most guys around here run some long pieces of lumber across under the body and just walk the body backwards onto some ready sawhorses.
 
remove all the body bolts.

while on the frame, lift the front at the cowl and slide a heavy board under the cowl, sticking out both sides. Support each side with tall jack stands or something.

Lift the back side and do the same thing.

Remove the rear wheels and put the center banjo on a rolling floor jack. Drop the rear of the frame down to the floor on the rolling jack and pull the frame out the front from under the body.
 
RonC said:
If the hinges and pins are ok I would leave the doors on. They can be a project to remove.
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I second that. I removed my Tudor body with the help of four friends and two 2x4's. Four of us lifted the body while one pushed the chassis out from under, then rolled my platform underneath. That precluded carrying the body over to sawhorses or, in my case, the support platform. Less than five minutes. Easy.
 
I did the same as Ray when working on a 1930 AA. Just make sure the 2 x 4's don't have any knots. One of the 2 x 4's had a knot and broke while we were lifting the body. No damage though, since I was able to grab the cab.
 
Fred K-OR said:
Here is one way to do it. I used a lifting frame in the front borrowed from a neighbor and a motor lift also borrowed, in the back. I made hooking things to fit under the back and front. This works great if you can borrow the lifting devices.

BTW, you do not need to dog to supervise.
Click to expand...

Like Ray mentioned, I also built a frame with casters under it so I could roll it around.
 
I built four pillars of cement block in each corner of the body (tudor) just clearing the fenders and just a couple of inches higher than the body as it rests on frame. Removed all the body bolts, shift tower etc. Using a small bottle jack mounted on another pillar of cement blocks under the firewall I jacked up the front of the body. When it was high enough I pushed a long piece of angle iron under the front of the body and rested the angle iron on the two front pillars of cement blocks then lowered the body on to the angle iron. Used the same process in the back of the body. Once the body was off the frame and secure I was then able to lift the body higher using 1 or more blocks in each corner. What is nice about this setup is that you can still keep the frame with all the running gear under the body and roll it out as needed, good for limited space. I was able to do the body lift alone and did not find it at all difficult.
 
A good 2 Ton floor jack two eight foot long 4x4's and blocking/saw horses are all you need, COMMON SENSE is also needed. I've lost track of how many bodies I've removed by myself. The 1936 Plymouth Coupe was the most awkward. The '40 Ford Coupe body we removed this week with a 4 point lift sure was easy. Bob
 
Bruce said:
Saw horses, planks, engine hoist and one man can do it. Done it many times. Just keep thinking.
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Yeah really,

The first one I ever did was with those old time bumper jacks. Once I got the body free from the frame I inserted two 4x4's. One directly underneath the cowl section and one under the *** end of the body. I then used four bumper jacks, one on each 4x4 to raise the body and then dpull the frame out from underneath. Did this with 72 ElCamino as well.

Just be carefull.
 
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