shawn neal

hello can anyone help on the most efficent process of taking body off and supporting the body not to twist while putting floors in and having enough room to work?im planing to put the floor in first on the frame,take the body off next and tieing the body toghether,putting it on the rotesserie,turning it over finish the whole undercarrige put it back on the fresh frame rolling with new mounts then fitting my panels(doors ,fenders,quarters ect.) and filler work on the frame i guess??first convert im doing looks scary{72 cutlass 455}anyone whos done this before im desperate to here dos and donts from you thanks for the help...any process{ in order }for repairs, im all ears

joe_padavano

The secret, especially with a convertible, is LOTS of welded-in cross bracing. I use 1" square tube. Weld across the door opening, horizontally AND diagonally for proper triangulation. Also side-to-side. Are you using a one-piece floorpan or the two piece pans? If the two piece, consider welding in diagonal braces to the trans hump. Do one side first, then add the brace to the other side, remove the first, and replace that floor pan.

If you can afford it, I would strongly reccommend the new one-piece floor pan. This needs to be installed from the bottom, so the body must come off the frame first, but it will result in a better product when done.

shawn neal

im going to put a 1 piece in and also both floor -to-firewall corner sections,it goes from the bottom huh?what about the cross braces do i have to remove those then right?the pan looks tucked in the sides,what about fitting the panels (doors and quarters) later like i was saying on the frame? the cross bracing will be in the way ?..im not paying for it,this is a custemers car in my shop,im going to post pictures while i do the whole project in the projects forum soon,i pulled the front glass also today and what a mess does any one make the whole floor with the braces?and do they come with the seatbelt reinforceing threads??i think im just going to weld and cross brace the crap out of it and get the body up and off, put it on the rotessreie and get it blasted for now,that would be really nice if i can get a full pan withe the braces and everything all in one pan.

Bluevista

Hey Shawn, still need a paint estimate. You didn't tell me the name of your shop but by the address I think I know it, nice location.

I have a goat vert so I take note of this rotisserie bracing stuff and they always have a ton of bracing. Those bodies twist sitting on the frames let alone off of them. There is a new member here with a video of his 'vert on a rotisserie and there's no bracing? Maybe he knows something nobody else does, heres the link to the thread.


https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...ew-member.html

Bluevista

I just remembered this and I'm too lazy to edit my other post.

Mill Supply is local and they do show they have full Cutlass floor pans w/braces.

http://www.rustrepair.com/app2/onlinecat.htm?r=ms&p=sm

shawn neal

yes im at 10770 mayfield rd in munson twp.(chardon)right by the ski place alpine valley,come in any time!i saw that video it looks like a custom rotesserie that supports from the body from the underside,dont know how you have access to the underside for repairs thought with that??thanks for your help

OKIEOLDS

Shawn I have a 70 vert and I am fixing to do a body off my self so I will be watching this thread also..good luck on yours.

Eddie Hansen

Shawn I agree it is a custom rotisserie ( very nice BTW) seems it connects to all the body mount locations, I have pulled the body off my 69, I used an engine hoist and floor jack, I left the doors intact, I then built a "stand" using 4 x 4's the body sits about 1 1/2 feet above the frame, and i have wire brushed, sanded, sand blasted parts etc of the frame , then por 15'd and sprayed gm chasis black while the por15 was still slightly tacky.

I was told to put the body back down on the frame to do the rear quarter repairs and this is what I'll do ( once it gets a little warmer LOL)

I will be watching your thread too for inspiration I made minor repairs to my floor generally it was in very good shape, but I am thinking now I wished i replaced it ( no I am not going back LOL)

man it gets crazy, first it started as a little rust repair behind the wheel well, then might as well have the motor rebuilt, heck why not upgrade LOL, hmmm should I just freshen the brakes heck might as well upgrade..

etc etc etc

if i hadn't found this site I would have seriously consider parting out this puppy ...


good luck with your build.

rockethound

hey i did the same raised the body with floor jack and a lot of blocks supported the body on a 4x4 frame rolled the frame out from under and then lowered the body back down onto casters blasted and painted the frame and lowered the body back down rebuild suspension and front brakes then had the quarter inner outer wheel wells done mine is a holiday coupe and im sure convertables need a lot of bracing mine to get it two how you see it in the picture cost about 3500 its worth it to do as much as you can i even got the air craft stripper and removed all the paint and filler my self so ask a lot of questions and do some of the stuff your self and you can save some money. good luck

shawn neal

i just got the body off yesterday and went well. im posting photos soon..i have it on the rotesserie but i need to cross brace it before i turn it,im putting new floors,trunk pan,top cowl,section of windsheild post,new quarters and new fenders and outer wheelhouses thanks for the advice but im doing this for a customer,i own a bodyshop and this is a concourse restoration for him,ill be posting pics threw out the process on the major projects forum thanks

rockethound

hey shawn i use to work for a resteration shop in battle creek mi shortly after colledge it was a lot of fun and i leaned alot about old cars in general. we did a 68 z28 68 camaro convertable some steak side 40s ford trucks 39 chrysler buisness coupe model a carman gea a couple of buicks and a chevy touring coupes from the 20s and a 50s citron. it was a lot of fun. good luck with the 69 vert