1966Oldsmobile

Who can tell me how to lift the chassis from the frame without a car lift?
What is the weight of the chassis including front and rear window? Can 6 people lift that??

Thank you very much

tmaleck

We lifted my friends 65 GTO with 4 guys. It was an empty shell, no doors or glass. We were lot younger then,though.

Tim

D. Yaros

I do not believe that it is possible to "lift the chassis off the frame," even with a lift. I say that because -

chas·sis [chas-ee, -is, shas-ee]
noun, plural chas·sis [chas-eez, shas-]
1.
Automotive. the frame, wheels, and machinery of a motor vehicle, on which the body is supported.

Professur

A lot will depend on just how high you have to lift it, and how much interior is in there. Fully loaded, you're adding another 4-500lbs. Pull the entire interior, yank the fenders and core support, even the trunk lid and you're good with 4-6 guys going backwards. Don't forget .... disconnect EVERYTHING. You do not want to deal with 6 guys who've just tried to lift a body only to discover that the steering column is still attached.

And yes, it is possible to do it solo too ... but it sucks and it's a lot of work that can be avoided for the price of a case of beer and a couple of pizzas. But some folk have trouble finding 6 people. BTW ... 6 lifters ... have 2 spotters too, at least. Someone's back pops and your prize possession crashes to the ground .... it's gonna be a bad day.

bigoldscruiser

I separated the body from the frame solo on my 1966 Holiday Sedan. The trick is to lift the whole car, block up the body from underneath and then let the frame down. You will need plenty of heavy blocking and some stout timbers. As you can guess, if you don't then carry the body away, you will be very limited in moving the frame around and will have to work on it one side at a time.

dfire25

4X4's, cinder blocks, and a jack. We did this to my buddy's 69 Chevelle. Put short 4X4's under the trans tunnel between the frame rails and by the gas tank area. Then start to jack it up until you get it high enough to get longer 4X4's between the frame and the body. Make sure the long 4X4's extend out past the body and frame. Then continue to jack it up little by little until its high enough for the 4X4's to rest on the cinder blocks, 2-3. Then wheel the frame out leaving the body supported by the 4X4's and cinder blocks. Wasn't that hard and it was a complete body, doors, interior, and glass. I have pics if your interested.

Sampson

Here is my Redneck Body Lift. I did this solo with a floor jack lifting the body 6 to 8 in at a time to keep the body from twisting. I used 4x6 timber as the 4x4's sagged in the middle when I tried them. Fram rolls right out after you get it high enough. Take you time and go slow.
https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...-clone-001.jpg

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...-clone-003.jpg

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...-clone-004.jpg

dfire25

That's pretty much what we did. Ours was, or looked, a little more stable though. It works, it's not pretty, but it works.

OLD SKL 69

I did this as well with my 69. Wasn't that difficult...that is after I made sure the emergency brake cable was disconnected..

rcdynamic88

I bought one of these attachments for my engine hoist and one of their body carts also. It worked perfectly! I removed the body from the frame on my 65 Olds 442 all by myself.
http://www.accessiblesystems.com/bl.php

Professur

$300 ... damn that's worth every penny if you use it more than once.

boese1978

I did my convert with a engine hoist/cherry picker. Takes some bracing and care but can be done.

1966Oldsmobile

Wow, a lot of input! Thank you very much. I will try and let you know the result, good and bad ;-)

1966Oldsmobile

Thank you very much for the english lesson! Please wrote your answer in German again - and I will correct you :-)

D. Yaros

My apologies if you took offense. None was intended. I did not note your location or that english might not be your native tongue. I just found the mental picture of trying to lift a chassis off a frame humorous. Sorry.

1966Oldsmobile

You don´t have to apologize! I learned something new :-)

Oldssupreme

I did the same, solo as well. The trick was to get it high enough to be able to roll the chassis out from underneath the body. I used an engine hoist bolted to the firewall, lofted it high enough to rest it on 4x4 the went around to the trunk, and placed a 2x6 under the trunk floor with two chains coming out from the plugs in the trunk floor, and connected those chains to the engine hoist.
Funny thing was that i had trouble getting the hoist to engage. My 5 year old son asked "can i try daddy?" I said "sure". He said, "try lifting it up all the way until it clicks daddy", which he proceeded to show me as he pumped the body up in the air until it was high enough lol!
Kids!
Good luck buddy!
Chris

Lukewarm

I need to do this to my 71 Cutlass Supreme convertible. Do I need any internal bracing? Will the body flex if the doors are opened on a convertible (while the body is off the frame) or is it structurally stronger than it looks? I'm hoping to leave the interior fully intact, glass and all. The body is good but the frame is bad on the passenger side behind the front wheel.

Any additional photos and advice would be greatly appreciated.

D. Yaros

You may rest assured that bracing is necessary/required to prevent unwanted consequences.

Opening the doors in this instance would be a definite NO-NO!

Koda

But a hard top or post car is ok to remove doors and take it off frame and then whirl it around on a rotisserie, right?

D. Yaros

Yes.

electra483

I used a lift on my last 55. Everything was completly removed (even the parking brake cable)

With everything removed, I would say yes to the original question.
Paul..

Jamesbo

Do not use cinder blocks. Use concrete blocks

allyolds68

I restored my entire car while it was blocked at the cowl and over the rear wheels. The whole stripped tub probably weighs less than 600 lbs and I plopped my fat 225 lb *** in there many times to work on it. I did everything except the floors (they were done when I got the car) and I zero problems with the body flexing. I never braced the doors. I routinely opened and closed them with no binding or hint of flex. The only time I'd worry about bracing the doors is if you're really cutting up the floors or especially if you're replacing the rocker panels. The rocker panels are the tube support that run from front to back and they provide the longitudinal ridgidity for the tub. Fortunately the rockers panels are rarely a rust problem on 68-72 A-Bodies.

This isn't to say that you shouldn't do it. It's just to let you know that's it's been done successfully without bracing

Also regarding the cinder block comment by Jamesbo. A cinder block placed correctly will hold tens of thousands of pounds. I personally like to use 12x12 timber blocking but I used cinder blocks, 6x6's and 4x4's as well. This pick shows my body blocked in three places but it was only because I was replacing the trunk. I usually had it blocked at the cowl and over the rear wheels:

Jamesbo

JWHO but cinder blocks have a high ash content and are brittle