At 03:03 PM 6/11/99 -0400, Matt Pringle wrote:
>....
>What's involved with lifting the body shell. Presumably one removes all
of the interior and any peripherals from the shell. Can the drivetrain and
running gear (suspension, brakes, etc.) stay?
You don't even have to remove the seats, doors or fenders, let alone the
drivetrain and running gear. When I pulled the body off my MGA I was
unrelenting and had it done just 6 hours after taking posession of the car
(lots of broken bolts not withstanding). There are only about two dozen
bolts holding the body to the frame.
Remove front bumper and brackets and the valence. Remove rear bumper and
brackets, including the brackets extending from the frame rearwards through
holes in the body. Pull up the carpet along the sills and anlong the frame
ahead of the doors to remove a few screws there. Remove one large screw
each side inside just ahead of the doors. Remove one large screw each side
behind seats under battery cover. Disconnect the hydraulic lines from the
master cylinder, and unbolt the pedal assembly bracket from the heater
shelf. Disconnect the steering column from the bottom of the dash. Remove
radiator and two body screws each side from radiator duct panel of the
body. Remove several screws across heater shelf. Disconnect heater water
hoses. Disconnect bullet connectors in wiring harness near starter switch,
and the pull cable for starter switch, and oil pressure gauge metal pipe at
same bracket. Remove several bolts from trunk floor (some across front and
some at rear corners). Remove fuel filler pipe and hose. Disconnect small
fuel line and gauge wire from right side of fuel tank, undo two bolts for
band clamps holding fuel tank, and drop tank out the bottom. Disconnect
bullet connectors in wiring harness near RR tail light. Lift off body.
Optionally remove the kick panels in front of the doors and remove bolts
from the front door post area if you are removing front fenders. Remove
splash panels and unbolt front fenders. Some bolts are in the wheel area,
some far back under the bonnet, some inside the car near the door post, and
a few at the bottom edge near the frame. If the car still has the sill
trim strips, remove them before removing any fenders.
Optionally remove two bolts each side inside the body in front of the doors
to remove windscreen from body.
Optionally remove 3 bolts each side behind seats to remove rag top frame,
then remove kick panels behind seats, then remove bolts here that hold rear
fenders if you are removing rear fenders. Remove the door latch striker
and shut plate (2 large screws striker, 2 small screws bottom of shut
plate, three small screws outer edge of shut plate, and two screws from
door buffers). Remove splash panels inside rear fenders and unbolt fenders
from body. Some bolts are inside behind the seats, a couple are at the
bottom edge outside, quite a few under the wheel opening from outside, and
a few inside the trunk near the rear.
Optionally, remove the doors (easy if you don't break the screws). Use an
impact driver and a posi-drive bit to remove 8 screws each side to unbolt
the door hinges from the front door post.
Notes: Easier to remove lights from fenders while fenders are still
attached to body. Front fenders about 20 pounds each. Rear fenders about
10 pounds each. Doors about 6 pounds each without the trim parts. All
fender splash panels and shut plates together about 15 pounds. Main body
shell stripped bare is about 160 pounds (best guess from experience) and
can easily be lifted and handled by two people (60% of the weight at the
front). A couple of burly guys can lift the body with the fenders, doors,
trim, windscreen and rag top still attached.
>Is it worth the effort of taking it off and restoring the frame?
Absolutely! Just allow LOTS of time for proper repair work and painting
before thinking about reassembly. This body-off thing is all the
difference between a shoddy repair job and a quality restoration that can
last a lifetime. There will generally be more work in the sheet metal sill
area of the body than in the frame. Sometimes the body is cancered enough
in the sill area to be in two pieces, so alignment around the doors is
tougher when the sills are finally reconstructed. If you are starting a
body-off restoration, set aside several hundred hours for restoration work
before you get to the finish painting and reassembly.
Regards,
Barney Gsylord
1958 MGA wih an attitude
http://www.ntsource.com/~barneymg
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