Removing Body from Chassis
Discussion
cheers mark great pic,you wouldnt believe how easy it is taking the car to bits with the body off,makes so much difference.same with the prop shaft though had to take the diff off b4 it would come out.off to try and rent an engine hoist tomo.most of the car is now stripped,just the engine and gear box to go. one bit of good luck was the torx bolts on the labros,they came off first try and i didnt even knacker the one and only t40 bit i had 
no probs dern,the carpets have to be pulled a little to get to the bolt heads.i'm replacing my rather rotten set anyway but the glue was'nt that strong.watch out for the little self tappers and remove them,they rip the carpet if you do'nt
as for the rest,here's how i done it but may not be the best way;
1.car up on four axle stands.please make sure it's solid as you WILL be putting a good bit of force into it.
2.discon the battery.
3.remove the bonnet.over night soak in release oil on the hinges a must.and disconnnect the lighting wires.
(yup did get that one the wrong way round
)
4.trace and discon any wires ,cables,controls,linkages that connect the body to the engine/engine bay.labell EVERYTHING!
5.drain clutch and brake fluids and discon the pipes.
6.drain the coolant and discon the hoses to the heater and expantion bottle.
7.discon vacuum hose from the master cylinder.
8.discon the throttle cable.
9.remove the seats.
10.now the nuts and bolts.locations as follows from the front of the car;
two on top of the tunnel(remove consol)
two in each footwell(connect to outriggers)
two middle mounts one either side of the tunnel(i had to remove the exhaust to get to these underneath)
two either side that connect through the seat belt bottom mount to the wheel arches.
there is a bolt left hand side of the seat just next to the seat belt mount same on other side.
remove the other two lower seat belt mounts.
two in the boot that bolt through to the petrol cradle.
11.remove the handbrake handle,retainer under the car(fiddly)
12.we lifted the body manualy,if that's your plan discon the speedo and reverse switch first.then the petrol sender wires and the wire to the fuel pump.
13.if you leave the petrol tank on(which seemed to be the better option imho,remove the boot stay as the nut will foul the petrol tank on lifting (personal experience)
14.double check every thing is disconnected and lower the car back onto its wheels.
15.get at least six burly friends to lift and one to pull the chassis.in hind site eight to lift would have been better!
16.have an experimental lift,just enough to make sure it will come free.rust and stones trapped between the outriggers and body actually stopped the body lifting on mine
the lift goes as follows;
lift the front end about 3 inches and pull the chassis forwards about the same.with the front at that height lift the back end high enough to clear the suspention and then left the front to the same height,spare man then pulls the chassis clear and puts something like 2 by 4's in position to put the body on.then the six,now with very red faces,lower the body onto the wood.and thats that,easy eh?
i removed the rubber gear stick gator as well to stop it getting damaged.
please watch your fingers,damage count was three fingers nipped between the outriggers and the body!
hoist might be a better way to go as it would be a more controlled lift.think i will use this method when replacing the body as it will have to be put in the right place so to speak.
you would'nt believe how much easier it is to work on the car with the body off.been at this now for a week now in my spare time and all ive got to get off the chassis is the engine and gear box. i recon about 20 man hours so far.the fact is its not as difficult as you might think,maybe ive been lucky,but with the help of the bible,the peeps on this site and a friend of mine who is good with cars thing have gone really well so far.will keep you posted as the project progresses,hope this helps,cheers
edited because i cant spell vacuum!
>> Edited by kev s3 on Monday 10th March 20:51
as for the rest,here's how i done it but may not be the best way;
1.car up on four axle stands.please make sure it's solid as you WILL be putting a good bit of force into it.
2.discon the battery.
3.remove the bonnet.over night soak in release oil on the hinges a must.and disconnnect the lighting wires.
(yup did get that one the wrong way round
) 4.trace and discon any wires ,cables,controls,linkages that connect the body to the engine/engine bay.labell EVERYTHING!
5.drain clutch and brake fluids and discon the pipes.
6.drain the coolant and discon the hoses to the heater and expantion bottle.
7.discon vacuum hose from the master cylinder.
8.discon the throttle cable.
9.remove the seats.
10.now the nuts and bolts.locations as follows from the front of the car;
two on top of the tunnel(remove consol)
two in each footwell(connect to outriggers)
two middle mounts one either side of the tunnel(i had to remove the exhaust to get to these underneath)
two either side that connect through the seat belt bottom mount to the wheel arches.
there is a bolt left hand side of the seat just next to the seat belt mount same on other side.
remove the other two lower seat belt mounts.
two in the boot that bolt through to the petrol cradle.
11.remove the handbrake handle,retainer under the car(fiddly)
12.we lifted the body manualy,if that's your plan discon the speedo and reverse switch first.then the petrol sender wires and the wire to the fuel pump.
13.if you leave the petrol tank on(which seemed to be the better option imho,remove the boot stay as the nut will foul the petrol tank on lifting (personal experience)
14.double check every thing is disconnected and lower the car back onto its wheels.
15.get at least six burly friends to lift and one to pull the chassis.in hind site eight to lift would have been better!
16.have an experimental lift,just enough to make sure it will come free.rust and stones trapped between the outriggers and body actually stopped the body lifting on mine
the lift goes as follows;
lift the front end about 3 inches and pull the chassis forwards about the same.with the front at that height lift the back end high enough to clear the suspention and then left the front to the same height,spare man then pulls the chassis clear and puts something like 2 by 4's in position to put the body on.then the six,now with very red faces,lower the body onto the wood.and thats that,easy eh?
i removed the rubber gear stick gator as well to stop it getting damaged.
please watch your fingers,damage count was three fingers nipped between the outriggers and the body!
hoist might be a better way to go as it would be a more controlled lift.think i will use this method when replacing the body as it will have to be put in the right place so to speak.
you would'nt believe how much easier it is to work on the car with the body off.been at this now for a week now in my spare time and all ive got to get off the chassis is the engine and gear box. i recon about 20 man hours so far.the fact is its not as difficult as you might think,maybe ive been lucky,but with the help of the bible,the peeps on this site and a friend of mine who is good with cars thing have gone really well so far.will keep you posted as the project progresses,hope this helps,cheers
edited because i cant spell vacuum!
>> Edited by kev s3 on Monday 10th March 20:51
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