Body-off question

fwtxghia · Post by **fwtxghia** » Mon Aug 18, 2003 1:06 am

I'm about to pull the body off the chassis of my '73 coupe. I've watched the Bug Me Video about pan replacement & removing the body but I was wondering if there's anything special pertaining to Ghias. Can I use the bumper brackets to support the car like with a Bug? I'd appreciate any advice from someone who's done it.

ToddGsanford · Post by **ToddGsanford** » Mon Aug 18, 2003 12:20 pm

before supporting a car from bumper brackets are your heater channels and the areas surrounding the bumper brackets in decent shape? if so you should be ok. if your heater channels are questionable weld a brace in or what I use is a ratchet strap style tie down. I prefer to leave the doors on when fitting heater channels so I get no surprises when I put the doors back on plus it also saves the step. the brace welded or a ratchet strap helps to prevent the body from twisting or sagging It is very important. make sure you can open and close the door to check your overall rough gaps. Your original Question of where to lift from. umper brackets are aa good a place as any. good luck

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Aug 18, 2003 12:40 pm

when i pulled the body off my ghia, my bumper brackets were not in good enough shape. so i built some wide sawhorses and placed them through the wheelwells. the weight of the car rested on the inner body and didn't cause any problems. if the sawhorses are wide and tall enough, you can even roll the pan out from under the car while the body is up in the air. good luck!

roachghia70 · Post by **roachghia70** » Mon Aug 18, 2003 12:41 pm

oops, i posted as a guest!

bj · Post by bj » Mon Aug 18, 2003 6:17 pm

i just separated my pan from shell. what i did was jack it up high enough so that i could fit 2x4 under the shell near the front of the door post and the rear of the door post and rested them on jack stands.

from there i raised them higher using 4x6 blocks to get the shell a little higher. then a i got a couple of friends to lift one end-roll the chassis out a bit, the lift the back end to completely roll it out from under the shell.

it was way easier than trying to muscle it off and to another location. i have limited space so this worked good for me.

i was able to practically do everything myself except when it was time to roll out the chassis.

one reminder, i forgot to disconnect the cable that go to the heaters and kinda pulled them apart while raising the shell.

after that rolling the chassis around is a one man job. very light.

good luck.

bj

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Aug 18, 2003 8:34 pm

Thanks for the help - I think the heater channels are OK but won't really know 'til I can see them. Bumper bracket mounting areas are strong. I think I'll use the brackets and add a little bracing on the sides as recommended. I just have this fear of lifting it off & the whole thing buckles!