Ghunter

Hey all, have really been throwing the idea of taking the body off my 72 and wire wheeling the frame to prime and paint.
This is a budget build so that's why I'm going with wire wheel as opposed to taking it in to get blasted.

Just wondering how big of a job this would be? Currently the car is sitting with no motor and trans or interior except the dash.

Where do you lift from?
Where are all the mounts?
What troubles can a person run into?
Any info or help is appreciated!

Also if anyone has done this as well and used a product like POR15 id be interested to hear the durability and how long it lasted underneath.

Thanks in advance!

Olds64

If you're doing a budget build then removing the body from the frame isn't a good idea. I'm surprised that you have the engine, transmission and interior out already. If you remove the body from the frame you MAW buy a rotisserie and do everything.

I've used POR 15 products before. They are very durable and I would recommend any of their products. The only thing you could get that might be more durable would be a truck bed liner product. Here's one you can do yourself:

Ghunter

Sorry i should've specified, I'm trying to keep this more of a budget build / saving costs by doing basically everything myself, but by no means will this be a cheap build ha ha.

I pulled motor and trans right away so I can get my transmission rebuilt sooner than later, and since they both had to come out anyway I figured I'd get it done.
Removed the interior because Ill be replacing some parts of the front and rear floor pans.

I'm just thinking of my finished product, it would be a lot nicer to see a nice clean undercarriage when I look underneath, I'm sure I would regret not pulling the body.

cherokeepeople

well there are 10 to 12 frame to body bolts to remove,i currently have my car tore apart to do the trunk floor.and figured i need to take out 6 of those bolts so might as well take out the others and put in new bushings.well 3 of the bolts broke off.so had to cut out above the nuts to get to the bolts that were still there,lots of heat and penetrating oil and got all 3 out,to lift it i have an old gray bumper lift i just spread the arms out and picked up on the bottom of the rocker panel just enough to replace the bushings then went to the other side.when everything is removed frontend,int,trunk lid,doors etc the body thats left doesn't really weigh that much with the bolts all loose i can pick up the back end off the frame. i think when i'm done i will hit the neighbor up to use his rotisserie so i can clean up the underside and do the frame.

boese1978

I did mine, body on, using POR and rustoleum paint and primer. It is a S**t ton of work- but well worth it if you are doing a budget build, my "budget" build sits just shy of 18k right now ( includes all the engine and tranny stuff), probably x2 if I had gone the sandblasting, paying someone else for the labor etc route. It's all plain ol' labor and planning. For what it's worth- I would do one corner, finish that and then move to the next corner of the car. I found that routine to be very motivating- you see one section of the under carriage all refurbished and clean and it drives you. It costs more in the long run but if you don't have cash up front nickle and diming it does work. You'll love it when you start putting new parts under there!

Ghunter

I wish I knew someone with a rotisserie, that would be great.

Boese1978 - That sounds like a lot of work with the body on, but I bet it'll look good! Are you able to get the top of the frame in all spots?

And what are you guys replacing suspension wise? I was thinking of doing bushings on some parts as they are worn out pretty good, but not entirely sure what else is common on these builds.

Olds64

Suspension work is actually pretty easy. If you remove the front control arms you can replace the bushings and ball joints. At the same time you can do the front sway bar, stabilizer bar links and front / rear shocks.

boese1978

I swapped out my entire suspension with UMI stuff. You have it apart you may as well replace everything Frame turned out good- obviously you can't get between the frame ( my convert frame is boxed so I could get some of the top frame) and the body shell to well........

rr480

Better get someone that can help, there is a lot of extra physical labor invovled. I used two roll around engine hoist to lift my body off and a 18foot trailer to set the body on