lifting off body of a Plus two

[bob_rich]

Hi

About to lift of the body work on the +2 I am rebuilding. Boot and Bonnet off, all inards removed, doors still on but tied shut with all windows and locks removed, front and back screens out, only stuff other than fibre glass are the two side impact sill members (known to be in OK condition). body looks to be in fairly good condition --no serious fibre glass failure

Can get my lad with a few of his mates from local sunday league footy team ( all 25 to 30 years old) to help with lift. questions (1) how many and where should they hold on?
(2) what sort of weight will the body be?

any advise gratefully received

cheers

Bob

[types26/36]

Can get my lad with a few of his mates from local sunday league footy team ( all 25 to 30 years old) to help with lift. Bob

Yes they should be able to lift it with no problem ........I helped lift a +2 body (6 of us as I remember) and it was easy! as I recall take the carbs off AND the rear studs out of the inlet manifold

[DUKE]

Hi Bob,
You ask the question to six different people and you are likely to get six different
answers,I personally favoured 2 genie lifts(available from your local HSS) and 1 other person to remove my +2 body in complete safety for both of us and the body.A quick and easy solution for replacement as well, completed in minutes.

[gerrym]

Hi Bob, one person ideally should be assigned to watch but not lift. They can spot any snags. Also check the seatbelt bolts are removed... the one that go through the central tunnel in the chassis backbone.

Lifting on the body should only be under the sills. The front and rear mudguards, nose and boot section are too flimsy and will probably crack.

Regards

[billwill]

On my elan 2 seater way back in 1978, I seem to recall having 6 blokes, plus me doing the looking, troubleshooting & guiding and a prepared set of beams on trestles at about 3 foot high on which to place the body after lift off. I took the doors off, seats out and I may even have removed the windscreen and rear screen to lighten the body.

It is important that the lifting volunteers understand that it has to be lifted clean and not put down again, because if you misjudge it the engine may break the fibreglass between the engine compartment and passenger compartment. DEpending on what crud, old rubber or whatever is between the body & the chassis at the bolt points, the body may be stuck to the chassis & may release suddenly.

Then you also need a small barrel of beer for when all is done.


================

I found it relatively easy to put the body back on, rather than lowering the body onto the chassis I supported the body on trestles arranged along the sills, then I wheeled the new chassis complete with engine & transmission but minus wheels under the car using wheeled trolley jacks, then I slowly jacked it up into place. until the chassis just took a little of the weight of the body.

Finally supported it with axle stands before getting underneath to bolt it on. It was long ago now, so I don't remember all the details, maybe I had an initial across support arrangement for the body while getting the chassis initially into position. and then changed it to the sills supports so that cross supports did not prevent lifting the chassis into position.

I do remember that I did most of it alone. Pity I didn't take photos.

[types26/36]

The easy way to lift the body on and off.....unfortunately I no longer have the lift

[msd1107]

Another way to lift off the body. Only requires one person. Build it out of 2X4 and 4X4. You can support the body at different heights and rotate it to work on it conveniently. Or take out the body and roll the chassis back in to lift the engine out easily.

David
1968 36/7988

[alaric]

Hi. I lifted my +2 body off single handed using a set of 4 jacks and blocks, a set of inserts into the sills and two scaffold poles. Took a bit of time but it worked. I had 4 old waist high metal stools to support the body with scaffold poles running across the body at the front and rear. I lifted the body with the jacks to the point where I could slide the scaffold poles through and rest them on the top of the chassis at front and rear. The rest of the lift was quite easy.

I had 4 helpers to put it back on, with one person at each end of the sills. They were not allowed to touch the bodywork itself, other than under the sill. I had the job of spotter and positioner. Quite stressful with a repainted body. But actually quite easy.

I'd recommend taking all the chassis bolts out and releasing the body before you get the lifters round it.

Good luck.

Sean.

[billwill]

Nice one Dave,

Not enuff height in my garage to do that alas.

[msd1107]

Bill,

I know, it needs at least 9 ft in this configuration.

I lost my space at the garage, so will have to recreate it at home. One advantage is that it is bolted/screwed together, so I can put it together outside when needed and then unscrew it when done.

It uses Simpson strong-ties to provide corner rigidity and is bolted together at the bottom and middle ends so that the car can be rolled in and out easily. The frame is on casters so that I can move the frame and leave the frame in situ. The winch is from Harbor Freight. The beams are cut to fit an Elan, but a +2 owner would just make it a little longer and wider.

Since I am alone, have very little mechanical ability, it has to be very simple and easy to do.

Incidentally, I got the idea from Mike Ostrov and the rotisserie he built for his Elites.

I couldn't lift the body off, even with helpers. There was goo holding it together. But gentle continuous upward pressure courtesy of the winch gradually eased it off. Putting the body back on is also a one man task. And it is not lifted by the roof, so is useful for FHC owners. There are convenient holes in the body (yours may be different) that together with load spreaders allows the body to be lifted without stressing anything. No worry about stress cracks.

David
1968 36/7988

[stugilmour]

Used a similar approach to Dave. Here is a pic of the rental scaffold towers and four simple block & tackle sets.

Might not be clear in the pic, but I put a square tube rail on each side at the rocker panel base, with threaded ready-rod studs to engage into the stock jacking points. The rails provide an easy way to initiate the lift with two trolley jacks, one on each side. We found this was necessary to release the body from the chassis as there was a lot of friction to overcome at the backbone pad area. After the body was clear of the frame backbone, I tied the two side rails together with threaded ready-rod and attached castors, providing a cart to roll the body around.

In terms of what to expect:

Keep a good eye out during initial lifting as you may inadvertently try to lift the chassis with some unexpected attachment bolt. Seat belts mentioned above are easily missed, but anything the PO might have added to the car like an extra ground connection could cause difficulty.
When the body releases from the frame it can be pretty dramatic
Once loosened body should lift pretty easily
With what you have stripped off, my rough guess of weight is 500 to 700 lb.; this is a lot of weight for four guys crouched down to grip the rockers

I am glad we used the method we did; really wouldn't want to do it with just a dead lift due to difficulty gripping the body at the rocker base.

For lowering back on (in a couple of weeks) we are using four platform jacks similar to Sean's method. I was concerned the pulley ropes would damage the new paint work and make lining up a bit difficult, which were not issues during removal.

HTH and definitely post pics showing how you make out.

[msd1107]

Here are pictures of Mike Ostrov's setup for his Elite's. Much better in my estimation, but I can't weld.

David
1968 36/7988

[bob_rich]

Thanks all responders for some very useful advise.

looking at all the suggestions I plan to modify 4 simple jacks to lift the body around a 12" or so (on the standard jacking points on the sill members as these are known to be 100% solid) thus breaking any initial sticking so the manual lift will be clean so to speak. Will then put the body on a tressle made up from timber (lumber).

fully understand the need for "post lift lubrication" which will be available in adequate quantities!!

Like the idea of the reworked body on a frame and jacking the chassis back up into it. will work something out along this line for when the body comes back from the body shop.

Just one final point to help What is the weight of the glass fibre body?? doors on, boot and bonnet removed?? Always like to understand the weight that will be handled

once again thanks all for useful info.

cheers

Bob

[alaric]

Hi. With everything removed but the door shells i.e. no internals to the doors, I'd say about 150 to 200lbs, if not less. I didn't weigh mine, but recall being surprised by how light it was when lifting it on arriving at the body shop - I think three of us did the lift then. Previous lifts were with all the bits and pieces still in place - a lot heavier.

Sean.

[msd1107]

From previous posts, the Elan body seems to be around 200 lbs. The Elite was around 300 lbs, like an Elan body and chassis together. I suspect the +2 body would be a little heavier.

The Elite body weight varied somewhat during the years. I suspect we will find weight variations among Elan bodies also.

Once anybody gets their naked body off, weigh it and post the results.

David
1968 36/7988