Elan FHC Body Removal Suggestions

[JonnyPlus2]

Hi,
My first step in restoring my Elan is to pull the body off.

If you have done this I would really like to hear your suggestions as to how to do it. I have access to a couple of block and tackle units. As I have a couple of sons about to go to off to college, this is of necessity a low budget production so I have to use ingenuity instead of $$$$.

Thanks.

Regards,
Jonny Elan Coupe

[garyeanderson]

I usually lighten the shell by removing every thing thats coming off anyway first. if the doors are coming off DO NOT remove the 1/2 inch headed bolts. Take a look at this post

elan-f14/elan-door-removal-don-mess-with-the-inch-bolts-t19282.html

Start reading more of the forum before you start the restoration it will save you many hours in the end.

don't ask after the fact!

Gary

[GrUmPyBoDgEr]

I 2nd Gary on that, get as much weight out of the car before the "lift"
Engage 4 helpers & bribe them with beer etc.
Get one at each corner to do the lift (not under the weaker wheel arches)
Whilst they are slowly lifting charge around the car like a dervish looking for cables, wires, earth straps etc. that you have forgotten to disconnect.

Good luck
John

[UAB807F]

Hi Jonny,

I took out the seats as they are surprisingly heavy and make it much easier to access the rear chassis struts. Also removed the bonnet & boot lid to make access easier but left the doors in place.. After that it was just pulling the engine/carbs/exhaust/radiator out leaving the bellhousing, gearbox & diff in the chassis until the body was off.

As I was working solo on the change getting the body off was a problem. In the end I jacked it up roughly a couple of feet, doing roughly 6-9" at a time at either end then and supported the bodyshell on planks & some large axle stands. Thinking I'd just undo the bolts and wheel away a rolling chassis I was surprised when everything came undone but the chassis stayed firmly fixed in the shell - it needed a hefty shove crowbar to drop it onto the floor. (hint - if you try this method, I suggest you undo the speedo cable first.... amazing how much load one of those will take y'know )

Brian

[ardee_selby]

Jonny,

Hi, My first step in restoring my Elan is to pull the body off.

It may be wise to think about the subsequent steps, you will need to take, for body restoration. Getting the frame off & out isn't difficult, but subsequent handling of the body could pose some problems...I see the doors are already off so maybe the hinges that Gary refers to may have been disturbed already...

If you have done this I would really like to hear your suggestions as to how to do it. I have access to a couple of block and tackle units. As I have a couple of sons about to go to off to college, this is of necessity a low budget production so I have to use ingenuity instead of $$$$. Thanks. Regards, Jonny Elan Coupe

...in my case (working single handed) I raised the whole car and supported it so I could drop the frame from underneath. The frame was being replaced so I wasn't too worried about damaging it whilst getting it up in the air, but sure it could be done without damage...

I then lowered the body (which was complete with seats/doors/trim/glass etc etc) onto some "supports"

For house move No.1 one, it was put on timbers and shifted on a flatbed truck, for house move No.2 it was on it's new frame and was a rolled into the back of a horsebox.

Anyhoo...I would recommend you having a dolly prepared to accept the shell (some have a "spit" for turning the body over for repair) so it could be moved easily (Info & photos of these are in the archives plus a checklist for all the fixings and things that need undoing)

One question...does the door aperture steel grid need repair/replacing?

Cheers - Richard

Edit: See the following
elan-plus-f13/bodytub-support-frame-t17995.html

elan-f14/cart-for-elan-body-t23203.html

[JonnyPlus2]

Hi All,
Thanks for all the helpful comments. It sounds like my boys and I and a friend can lift the SOB off the chassis and I can have my wife push the chassis out of the way.

I should have included a pic, there really is nothing left to remove except the steering wheel and the wiring harness. LOL

It looks like the PE (Previous Eeyjit) removed the clever bolts, but WTH, how hard could it be to fix ? The body on this baby is in fact not too bad. Although it looks like shite, it fact it mostly needs sanding and paint. (LRG of course). Anyway it's going up into the top of the garage while I weld up the chassis and rebuild all the suspension bits in the warmth of my basement. I'm not dumb enough to do F/G work in the Canadian winter.

I will take the advice to not do the body while it's off the car to heart though. If I have to do any serious glassing I'll bolt the body back onto the chassis.
Best,
Jon