Moving a body off frame

[mowpow]

I'm in the beginning of doing a frame off restoration of VIN3154 and now I need to move houses (long story). The frame is on the ground on rolling dollies (totally stripped to go to powdercoater) and the body with SS panels is up on my MaxJax lift. Any tips on how to move the whole body to get it onto a trailer to take to the new house? I won't have enough time to put the suspension back on and get it back on the frame unfortunately.

Thanks,
Jake

[NJP548]

I'm in the beginning of doing a frame off restoration of VIN3154 and now I need to move houses (long story). The frame is on the ground on rolling dollies (totally stripped to go to powdercoater) and the body with SS panels is up on my MaxJax lift. Any tips on how to move the whole body to get it onto a trailer to take to the new house? I won't have enough time to put the suspension back on and get it back on the frame unfortunately.

Thanks,
Jake

Jake,

When I did my frame-off restoration in 2000, I built a big dolly out of 4x4s and caster wheels to move the frame around while I was working on it. At one point during the restoration, I had to move the body of the car into the garage. I was able to use that same dolly to move the body with SS panels and all into the garage. Maybe you could build something similar and lower the body onto it? I attached a picture of the dolly that I built.

69071

Good luck.

-Nick

[mowpow]

Jake,

When I did my frame-off restoration in 2000, I built a big dolly out of 4x4s and caster wheels to move the frame around while I was working on it. At one point during the restoration, I had to move the body of the car into the garage. I was able to use that same dolly to move the body with SS panels and all into the garage. Maybe you could build something similar and lower the body onto it? I attached a picture of the dolly that I built.

69071

Good luck.

-Nick

That's genius, thanks Nick I will give this a try!

[Josh]

I noticed you said the frame is off to be powdercoated. If you are intending to sandblast it you will face challenges. The epoxy is incredibly tough regardless of condition, and coats internal cavities of the frame. It will need to be chemically removed or run through a flame off oven. After that, it is common to galvanize to fully coat the frame (internal cavities powdercoating/topcoating cannot reach). Then you can finally paint or Powdercoat.

[NJP548]

That's genius, thanks Nick I will give this a try!

No problem! You should be able to then use some type of tie-down straps to secure the body on the dolly. Just out of curiosity, how far away is House A to House B?

Thanks.

-Nick

[mowpow]

I noticed you said the frame is off to be powdercoated. If you are intending to sandblast it you will face challenges. The epoxy is incredibly tough regardless of condition, and coats internal cavities of the frame. It will need to be chemically removed or run through a flame off oven. After that, it is common to galvanize to fully coat the frame (internal cavities powdercoating/topcoating cannot reach). Then you can finally paint or Powdercoat.

Ahh thanks, I will ensure the powdercoater can do this!

[mowpow]

No problem! You should be able to then use some type of tie-down straps to secure the body on the dolly. Just out of curiosity, how far away is House A to House B?

Thanks.

-Nick

About 15 miles so not too bad.

[NJP548]

About 15 miles so not too bad.

Ok not too far.

Good luck!

-Nick

[mowpow]

Ok not too far.

Good luck!

-Nick

The car is safely at the new house. The homemade dolly worked like a charm. Thanks a ton for the idea! A couple lessons learned:
1) Buy heavy duty casters big enough to clear bumps in the garage entry and the loading ramps onto the trailer. I used 4" and they needed to be about twice that big. All the larger ones at local hardware stores had larger but no locks on them. The locks are a must have.
2) I should have spaced the 4x4's closer together so they didn't interfere with the lift. I had to do some acrobatics to suspend the body to transition between the lift and the dolly that could have been avoided if I had thought of that ahead of time. I will have to repeat the acrobatics to get it back on the lift.

69264692656926669267

[NJP548]

The car is safely at the new house. The homemade dolly worked like a charm. Thanks a ton for the idea! A couple lessons learned:
1) Buy heavy duty casters big enough to clear bumps in the garage entry and the loading ramps onto the trailer. I used 4" and they needed to be about twice that big. All the larger ones at local hardware stores had larger but no locks on them. The locks are a must have.
2) I should have spaced the 4x4's closer together so they didn't interfere with the lift. I had to do some acrobatics to suspend the body to transition between the lift and the dolly that could have been avoided if I had thought of that ahead of time. I will have to repeat the acrobatics to get it back on the lift.

69264692656926669267

Awesome job! Very happy to hear you were able to get this to work! I actually looked for this thread not too long ago because I was curious how you made out with it.

-Nick