Lifting Body off the Frame-options?

[jcfoote60]

Hey guys, I am wrapping up my 72 SWB 4X4 so am going to start this fall on my 71 Jimmy restore. I plan on going down to the frame, but am wondering what's the easiest way is to get the bodies of Blazers/Jimmys off of the frame. With trucks it's easier with the bed and cab being separate. Any lessons learned would be greatly appreciated.

JC

[mastercraftkpk]

Pull off the front clip(outer/inner fenders, radiator support), hood, and both doors. Take off the wheels and rest the frame on 4 furniture dollies (this lowers the height that yo need to lift the body to clear the tires.

Put a cherry picker on the rear of the body and slide a 4x4 under the front. Jack up the 4x4 on each end to plif the front and lift the cherry picker.....roll the frame out the front.

[hotrodhomi]

Free beer and pizza for your friends always helps.

[bpmcgee]

Take the body bolts out and barrel roll it (preferably over something soft).

Brian

P.S. Some people might say my ideas aren't really practical, but they're just naysayers!

[LUV2XCLR8]

^ 2 funny

[jcfoote60]

Well I have some ideas so I will figure it out without a doubt, just looking to the board for some of that creative talent out there. Thanks the replies and the laughs

[71RestoRod]

Here's how I lifted mine... could work for you if you have the garage space.

First I did all of the rust repair (inner & outer rockers, cab supports, rocker boxes, floors, pillar bottoms, lower side panels, etc.,etc) POR-15d and undercoated the bottom, finished the bodywork and paint... all basically with the body on the frame and the top on to keep things lined up. That part gave me four or five years to figure out how to get the frame out from underneath.

When it came time to lift the body I built a scaffold of sorts in my garage. I strapped some 4"x4" posts to the rafters, screwed cross bracing to them to stiffen it up, and then used two 2"x10"s as joists to hold up the body. I drilled a couple of sets of holes in each of the posts for the joists so I could use my cherry picker to raise / ratchet up the body in stages. I lifted the front a foot or so, then the back, then the front again. With the body in a structurally sound condition, it didn't flex a bit. If I had tried this before doing the rust repair it probably would have folded in half.

It worked great and I was able to get the body well off of the frame. I had room to roll the finished chassis back under the body with the engine and drivetrain in place on the stock wheels.

[jcfoote60]

Now that's creative! Thanks for the detailed reply 71restorod! You did one heck of a job on that Blazer, very very nice! I sat here just staring at all the work you have done and because I did a partial restore on my daily driver SWB 4x4, I know what it takes. So, once the realization has set in on the long road I have ahead, your post has given me some ideas about how to go about this. Thank you again, you are a great example of why this board is important to all of us.

JC