here is an easy way for removing car bodies. I use 2 old camper jacks,one on each side of car. 2x10 planks across them as in picture. secured with plywood screwd to planks and over angle iron on jacks. I've used this for years . I just took the body of my 50 merc 4 door of tonite .
Camper jacks! BRILLIANT! I can't believe I didn't think of something like that, I've spent the last 1 1/2 years trying to think of a good way to get the body off my '47. How much does a decent used pair go for?
What happens to all of the old Mercury chassis and drivetrains??? (Good idea using them camper jacks...I was envisioning chain falls from the rafters or a tree!!)
lefturn, excellent solution!! And just in time. I have been trying to manouver my engine hoist through the front window to lift my A Tudor body off the frame. (not having much sucess) Heh, heh, heh, there is a camper sitting on "jacks" just down the alley; wonder if he would miss them??
Since there's no floor and two doors are missing, did you have any body flex problems with that one? Mine's missing one back door and doesn't have a floor either, so I was figuring I'd have to weld in a bunch of supports. Is that necessary?
i used to just roll them in a blanket and dump them in a vacent lot really the camper jacks are so simple its a wonder no one thought of it sooner
yea, I used to use the rolled up blanket thing or sometimes carpet, but they would always find the bodies a little quiker than one would hope. I find that I have had excellent results with a gabage can, concreat and a deep lake
[ QUOTE ] Since there's no floor and two doors are missing, did you have any body flex problems with that one? Mine's missing one back door and doesn't have a floor either, so I was figuring I'd have to weld in a bunch of supports. Is that necessary? [/ QUOTE ] It sure can't hurt to reinforce and triangulate the body, if it is square and aligned now that is. if it's not aligned and the doors don't close anyway, it probably won;t matter much. This car does have the rocker panels in it keeping the weight of the rear end from folding the roof in the middle...
id through those chassis up on the classifieds, couldnt hurt. some body could be looking for whatcha got there. just a thought
I used camper jacks to lift my 57 Cadillac body on and off the rotiserrie and on and off the trailer when I took it to get media blasted. Worked great. I used 3 of them though. the Caddy is so long that I was afraid of it tipping one way or the other if I had only used two. "Why not 4?" you may ask. Answer: some rat bastard ripped off the other one.
Okay... What EXACTLY are "camper jacks"? Spare tire Jacks from Winnebago's and the lot? Or something completely different...? And MOST importantly... Where does one LOCATE so-called "camper jacks"?
Camper jacks are what you use when lifting a camper shell (of the large sleeper type variety for full-sized trucks) up or down so that you can just back your truck under it and plop it down inside the bed of the truck, rather than have to find 8 friends to lift and hold the thing up for you. You can buy them at any RV/Camper sales service or accesorie(SP) store.
I just use the low tech approach: Throw a party and then when your friends have a decent amount of alchohol in 'em ...you hit them with the "Hey...since you're all here, could ya help me pull my body off the frame again?" They are getting wise to me now though. When I mention party, they ask what I need them to lift.
Look in the SBC Yellow Pages under Campers-Recreational Vehicles. I just ordered up a set I'm picking up tomorrow from a local guy. They were $98.00 apiece, out the door. Rated at 1500 lbs each, it should handle a shell with no problem. Thanks Lefturn for the encouragement. I'll send that $175 car lifter back I bought that won't work...unless someone on here is interrested...it converts your engine hoist into a body puller. Nice quality, but with my setup, I won't be able to get the engine hoist legs under the body off my wooden buck...
This is the body's temporary chassis...I made a wooden box out of 2X12's, stacked on top of one another. I used 2X4's in the corners. The dimensions of the box are 4'X8', for mobility, I bolted on my "car skates" to each of the four corners. I can actually roll the body around with one hand. This is the reason why I cant use the engine hoist to raise the body with the car lifter...I can't get the legs under the body with the buck in the way...so I'll use the camper jacks!
Lefturn, when you run your supports under the roof, do you only go through the door opening or do you have to go through the quarter window openings as well? I can't tell from past pics, and your latest is a 4 door...so that doesn't help me. (I have a 2 door). I am almost ready to lift the body over the new chassis, got my camper jacks, etc.. but I was wondering if the back end would make it tip towards the back if you ony support it in the door openings... Any more pics? Also, when do you cut out the Merc floor? After you have it supported by the camper jacks? Thanks!
The Jalopy Journal
