lifting off body of a Plus two

[Foxie]

Here's how I do it: two 1" box section triangular frames which plug into the jacking points bolted to a 2" box cross beam

[JJDraper]

I agree with David in that I would be very interested to hear of the weights of +2 shells. Ken & Neil Myers who have massive experience of Lotus body shells are no longer surprised at the variation in shell thickness. Early +2 body shells are much thicker and hence heavier than later ones. To put some perspective on this, I stake a dubious claim to have the heaviest +2 shell in existence due to extensive re-enforcing work carried out on the shell in the early 80's! Certainly both Neil and Frank at Options complained of this when moving the shell around! The upshot of this claim is that it still only took four of us to lift the body, with doors in place, over the fitted out chassis and settle it in place. However, it was very heavy and I would not recommend that approach again for my car.. It was also stressful for me to see the potential damage a botched operation could have inflicted. But, it shows it is possible with four volunteers, lifting at the wheel arches - six would be better and Sean's 'A' frame better still. In terms of time, it only took 10 minutes to do the deed and the hardest part was the high lift over the rear towers.

Going back to the variation in shell thickness, this can be substantial and has a dramatic effect on the appearance of stress cracks - my shell had none, only goose pimples and worn paint. On Elans, some shells are "paper thin" and "almost impossible to get a good surface finish on" to quote Neil. Pretty sure they go faster though...

Now all I need to do is find a weighbridge and measure the all up weight of the car.

Jeremy

[barefoot]

This was with just the front seats out everything else still in the car. As you can see the back was heavier than the front!

[tcsoar]

Hi Jeremy,

My body is going to the bodyshop at the end of the month, completly stripped out with just boot, bonnet and doorshells fitted.
You say you lifted the body from the wheelarches, was this ok? I have heard that it is not recommended with possible damage to the arches, although it is the most convenient place to lift from.

Cheers,

Chris.

[JJDraper]

I guess it depends on the thickness of the body. As I said, I wouldn't want to do it that way again. Also, I think lifting by hand is less harsh than using straps, which some people have used on the wheel arches with poor results.

Barefoot's approach looks more sensible! Many hands make Lotus work..

Jeremy

[gerrym]

Re lifting from the wheelarches, no way would my body take this without cracking. I found the front and rear section very flexible when separated from the chassis. Then again the front inner wings were not properly glassed to the outer wings, so a body without this problem might be OK. Apparently it is quite common (mine's a 1972 vintage) for the inner wings not to be well joined to the outers.
As an alternative to lifting from the wheelarches, each time I've removed the body I've jacked each side under the sills, 6 inches one side, then 6 inches the other side. Worked a treat. Make sure first though that internal sill reinforcing beam has been replaced and is properly secured into the fibreglass.

Regards

Gerry