Here's another job I have been putting off for a while but whilst we have some (very welcome) good weather forecasted I have no excuse not to get down to it.
It's body off the frame time ......
Starting with a piece of paper, pencil and a ruler I hashed out a design for a gantry to support the weight of the body. Ironic really because what I built looks nothing like what I designed but I suppose the important thing with a piece of paper is that you think things out first like lift heights and clearances etc..
Most of the wood used here was left over by a building job I had done a couple of years ago and I asked the builders to leave whatever they had over, supplemented by about £60s worth of new structural timber for the two uprights. Threaded rod was used for all the bolts as they were all going to be custom sizes. Two Hilka 1000kg chain hoists from Screwfix were used to do the lifting. It was test built in the back garden and then disassembled and rebuilt in front of the garage much to the amusement of my neighbours. It looks a bit Heath Robinson but it is absolutely rock solid.

The '72 was then pushed out and steered carefully underneath, and a bit further out than necessary so that I could remove the last remaining items prior to the lift: steering column, front body support rod and four rear bumper brackets that I forgotten to remove earlier. One final check was made on possible connections and any loose wiring was tied back. I also made the decision to remove the distributor at the last moment so that if the body did rock a bit on lift (which it did a little) then the distributor was out of the way. There is also a lateral support beam for the front end (the radiator support is still in place) to stop any unnecessary stress on the firewall bonding. The rear of the beam is tied down to the safety belt mounting points on the transmission tunnel that are well braced.
Hoists added and car in position. I used two hoists to make the lift easier and a bit more controllable - they are quite reasonably priced (about £60) each and when all is said and done can be put on eBay to recoup the costs. There is a balance bar at the lower end of each of the support chain to give some control over the weight distribution to stop it having a really bad rear or front bias.
Part way through the lift (with Corvette in off road config) you can see the balance bar a bit better. There are two hooks with load straps that fit on to the bird cage sill.

A bit further in (with a little wood added on the tail to help with the balance) there is clear daylight under the body.... A rope is attached to the chassis so that I can pull it out backwards without having to get under the body - which was my golden rule for the exercise. Lots of oily finger prints to be removed too - chain hoists are messy things.
With some help from my wife to help with the balance and stop any oscillations, the lift continues..... The trolley frame is ready to be slid under.
... and after another few minutes the body is at full height, the chassis is pulled back into the garage and the dolly goes in underneath.
After a few adjustments to the location of the mount supports the body is lowered onto the dolly..... As you can see it's a lovely day and being Sunday nobody was going to use the post box which if nothing else becomes a useful drinks location.
The chassis is now in the garage for some therapy looking shamefully dirty at the front and in need of some redecorating at the rear (beautifully spotlighted) .... I haven't had a detailed look - I was pretty tired after rebuilding the frame and lifting the body but at first glance it all seem to be in (strangely) good shape with the rust being fairly superficial rather than structural - I still can't reconcile the condition of the chassis with the condition of the birdcage. I know it isn't the original chassis - the car was built as an auto but was converted to manual at some point - but I'm not going to complain! More to come on this when I've had a closer look.
It all went pretty well - thankfully without any drama - and I now have a week or two of intense activity (remove corrosion, repaint, new fuel and brake lines etc..) on the chassis before I put the body back on. I don't want them gantry outside for any longer than I have to and it would be good to get the car back in one piece. More to follow.....