How did you get cab, box, burb, panel, blazer off the frame?

[CG]

I would like to see how you got your truck cab and box, or your burb/panel body, or your blazer/jimmy off of your chassis.

But I only want to see how you did it without using a lift or tractor or anything that made it pretty easy.

I know people have used engine hoists for cabs and boxes. That seems relatively easy solution when you have only one or two sets of hands. Probably figure out a way to use it when lifting one of the bigger bodies?

How bout those big bodies like burbs and blazers? I know some of you figured out ways to get those bodies up in the air so you could roll the chassis out. How did you do it without getting all your friends and promises of beer and pizza?

Its a serious question. I know a lot of you are great about thinking outside the box. Lets see or hear about your lifting powers. And once you got your chassis rolled out what did you do with the body?

[Getter-Done]

CG
Here's a couple of pictures of my cab being removed.
I do have an A-frame but I chose to remove everything
from the cab and flip it on it back on a piece of plywood.
Then roll it down some 2x8's off the frame onto a trailer.
Doing it this way left my engine, trans and driveline all intact.
I then took it to a (Blast from the Past) sandblasting place.
I think having the floor-pan blasted a little helped me to see better how to remove the floor-pan for replacement.










.

[CG]

Nice job! Very outside the box, I never would have come up with that.

[notsolo]

I did simular to Getter Done, removed bed with engine hoist... lift cab with jack about 4" roll on to its back. Onto a sheet of plywood with padding. No glass...Removed engine and trans did all work on cab with it on the frame. Painting roof, floor cowl, dash all strait on, much easier.

[jjzepplin]

I went kind of old school. Pics may be in my thread below.(72 Blazer) I used 4x6 pressure treated timbers and blocks. I lifted each corner a little at a time and just added a block or two. Eventually I could roll the frame out from under it. Cheap cuz I just bought bent up lumber from Lowe's at a real discount and used blocks I already had but blocks are like a dollar. It was on these blocks through a hurricane (not a direct hit) but it was damn solid.

[flashed]

I just bought and assembled a commercial Gantry Crane used that is 14 ft tall and 14 ft wide to do my heavy lifting . Have not yet used it but will soon .

[CG]

Originally Posted by flashed

I just bought and assembled a commercial Gantry Crane used that is 14 ft tall and 14 ft wide to do my heavy lifting . Have not yet used it but will soon .

Now now, you do realize that's cheatin' right? haha! I think a lot of us just don't have the room or resources for all that fancy lifting stuff.

I'm pretty sure Ive read some burb fellas actually did it themselves (somehow). I think the only thing Ive muscled off myself is a bed. For awhile I was lucky enough to have a loader tractor I could use.

When I took my panel body off the frame it took a pretty good handful of guys helping out.

There just has to be better safe ways for people that love the hobby but don't have the resources others have.

Couple of good ideas so far. I'm going to try to figure out a way to get my panel back on its chassis just to see if I can. If I disappear from the board you'll know it was a miss =)

[70 shorty]

4 guys and beers afterwards got a parts cab removed from a frame for me. The cab was stripped of everything except the windshield. No doors either. I put it on a pallet in my garage to which I had attached heavy duty casters so I could roll it around.

[projectking]

I’m a cheater then...also have an electric chain hoist for it!

Originally Posted by CG

Now now, you do realize that's cheatin' right? haha! I think a lot of us just don't have the room or resources for all that fancy lifting stuff.

I'm pretty sure Ive read some burb fellas actually did it themselves (somehow). I think the only thing Ive muscled off myself is a bed. For awhile I was lucky enough to have a loader tractor I could use.

When I took my panel body off the frame it took a pretty good handful of guys helping out.

There just has to be better safe ways for people that love the hobby but don't have the resources others have.

Couple of good ideas so far. I'm going to try to figure out a way to get my panel back on its chassis just to see if I can. If I disappear from the board you'll know it was a miss =)

[flashed]

I have roughly $700 in my Gantry Crane , my chain hoist is manual for now but that could change .

[72 tigger]

I used cribbing and rolled the chassis on a floor jack on my extended cab

[Overdriven]

I went to the lumber yard, bought enough 2x10’s to span my 2 car garage and be tripled up. I think they’re 16’ long, not long enough but I staggered the joints and added a 4th piece so every joint is covered on both sides. Bolted it all up with big hardware, added some wall reinforcement and it pulled an engine no problem. This beam is at the back 1/3 of the garage, I plan to add another towards the front when I pull the cab.

I’m thinking of borrowing some heavy duty ratchet straps from work. Jack the truck up, run the straps under the cab (front to back) to the beams, tighten, lower the chassis and roll it out. Then I can play with jacks and the straps to lower it onto a dolly or something. I can do something similar with the bed grabbing it from each corner. In my head it sounds better than the cab sliding off cribbing or a jack stand, I can do it single handed, plus I’ll have another heavy beam in my garage to do stuff with.

I don’t see why a similar setup wouldn’t work for a burb or panel body. The straps would have to run left to right and downside it might be harder to balance. Plus I don’t know if you have a garage, it’s construction, where your body is, what it’s on, so there’s those logistics too.

[Livrat]

Two 30 gal drums, a railroad tie, a few 4X4's, two tall jack stands, a chain with hooks and an engine hoist. Then left it sit that way until the chassis was converted to 2WD.

[Getter-Done]

Originally Posted by Livrat

Two 30 gal drums, a railroad tie, a few 4X4's, two tall jack stands, a chain with hooks and an engine hoist. Then left it sit that way until the chassis was converted to 2WD.

This brings back memories.

I am glad CG started this thread.

Livrat
When I was 15 years old I use 55 gallon drums
and a lot of 4x4 to swap the frame on my Impala.







.

[Castle09]

Well I don’t know how strong 💪🏼 you are lol but this is how I did it by myself. I first built some low to the ground wood frames and casters. Lifted one side of the cab (did the box the same exact way) and slid the wood frame under one side. I used a jack and a long wooden 4x4 to lift the opposite side. I don’t have any suspension on my frame so I was able to drop the frame to the ground and slide it out. Then I lifted the side that’s supported by the wood frame up and push the WF towards the side supported by the jack and 4x4. That’s it, a little shimmy and done. I have a few pictures of the process on my IG C10_Steve if you wanna see. Hope you understand my gibberish 😂😂

[CG]

Originally Posted by Castle09

Well I don’t know how strong 💪🏼 you are lol but this is how I did it by myself. I first built some low to the ground wood frames and casters. Lifted one side of the cab (did the box the same exact way) and slid the wood frame under one side. I used a jack and a long wooden 4x4 to lift the opposite side. I don’t have any suspension on my frame so I was able to drop the frame to the ground and slide it out. Then I lifted the side that’s supported by the wood frame up and push the WF towards the side supported by the jack and 4x4. That’s it, a little shimmy and done. I have a few pictures of the process on my IG C10_Steve if you wanna see. Hope you understand my gibberish 😂😂

There are a whole lot of us here that don't do insta-face-social-etc so if you wouldn't mind it would be great if you could post some pics here .. Thanks!

[projectking]

Originally Posted by flashed

I have roughly $700 in my Gantry Crane , my chain hoist is manual for now but that could change .

$800 in mine including the 2T Dayton chain hoist.

[GASoline71]

Case of beer and 4 to 6 friends. So, muscle power.

Gary

[CG]

Large Cranes, large electric hoists, and sizable groups (more than two) of friends dont really fall into what I’m looking for.

One or two guys figuring out home style mechanical ways to accomplish this task. I think one of those home folding engine hoists qualifies though.

[BigBird05]

I have done it all by myself. Just takes a long time. One bottle jack, 2 4X4's, 2 sets of saw horse's and a lot of cement blocks for cribing.

[Keith Seymore]

When I had the body off my Chevelle I did the railroad tie technique mentioned above with two floor jacks (one on each end of the railroad tie).

One other trick was to use bare steel wheels to roll the chassis in and out. Not only does it keep the whole affair lower but you can scoot it side to side when lining it back up to go together.

K

[Madkidd007]

Here ya go. Put chassis on jackstands as high as it’ll go. Build a structure, unbolt and lower chassis down and simply drag it out. Just don’t forget to cross brace it. Also used the Lowe’s “cold lumber” that’s 75% off

[jjzepplin]

That's what I did. It is actually called "cull" lumber. And don't settle for 75%. They can go to 90%.

[special-K]

Don't try this. I did and they wouldn't come apart so I junked it

[57taskforce]

This is how I removed and installed the cab on my K20. I know I cheated big time. In the past I’ve built 6x6 A frames for either side of the cab And lifted it off the frame with a 4x4 through the door opening with nylon lifting straps on the ends. You have to run a 2x4 or similar over the roof to keep the straps from bending the drip rails. I just a block and tackle type setup to do the actual lifting. The latest way I did it is a lot easier.