? on complete frame off

[brans72]

Which do you guys prefer first to do body work or the frame work? Thanks!

[Tinkermc]

frame work gives you a place to keep the rest of it. you can set the bed on it and you can't believe how much extra room you will have in your shop.

[rustypu]

I did my complete rolling chasis first. then when it was time to do body work i was able to bolt the cab and nose down right away after paint!

[brans72]

So what do you cover frame with to protect it while doing body work etc? Guessing thin thin plastic sheet?

[vectorit]

In my case, when I did the body off on my Suburban.
The heavy body work was done before lifting the body off.
All the cutting and welding, and major dents/body tweaks were done.
Then the body lifted off, placed on a dolly and the chassis was done.
Drive train installed onto chassis before body, along with fuel lines, and brake lines.

Body installed, and the front end with out the clip was covered in plastic while the body finish work completed.

Then the doors, then the front clip.

The chassis did get dirty, but it was just body work dust that can be wiped off with a damp towel.

[ChevLoRay]

Kind of a Chicken and Egg deal....

Once we got everything off of the chassis, then tore it down to every last nut and bolt....then the thinking began as to what to put back first. My thinking is that once the chassis is a roller, that we're gonna put the drivetrain back together. What I long for is to hear it run again. I think that putting the engine/transmission in will give us plenty of room and that setting the cab back on will be fairly easily done. At that time, the little stuff can be reinstalled and I think that the bed/front cap will be the last things we install...particularly the bed. Reason for that is that I'm thinking about brake lines, emergency cables, fuel lines to the rear tank that I'm planning. It'll be easier to get to that stuff w/o the front cap or the bed.

I'm subscribing to this to see what the pros suggest.