62 Body drop on frame tips

[Clark C.]

[Richard M.]

Re: 62 Body drop on frame tips

Clark,

Best to not have the generator and expansion tank there before drop. Inner fenders may interfere. Watch that distributor for sure, but I'd remove it. Watch that shifter lever carefully during body drop. I'd have the engine fan off too. In general i like to have the most room available during a drop.

Don't install the steering column before body drop. Leave the pitman arm off the box. I would remove the left exhaust manifold for better clearance when the column goes in. With radiator out you can jockey the column/box assembly forward, then column rearward into the firewall. Ensure you have the correct order of the column firewall plate and seals ready on the column tube before it passes through the firewall into the cabin. Protect the column paint with heavy paper or plastic wrapped around it and taped so it wont get scratched up when installing. Remember you may have to shim the steering box to the frame to get proper alignment to the lower dash column mount.

Do a test fit of the screws into the firewall to hold the column plate. These holes are often sawed out from previous overtightening. If they are, fix them first. You will appreciate that fix later. Fill with epoxy or equivalent and redrill holes. If you don't have firewall insulation in yet you could glue some flat nuts on the inside. Or use short length j-nuts on the engine side.

As far as body shims, use the same counts that were there before but you will likely have to adjust as needed. I wouldn't be concerned about cardboard thickness variation. Just make sure you have enough. You can always make more out of thick black gasket material.

One other important issue when you shim...
Test fit/attach the radiator fan shroud to the radiator support and chassis frame horn lower mount points when you shim. You may have to add or remove floor forward shims and radiator support lower center bolt shims(at 3rd arm mount) for proper shroud vertical alignment. This is very often overlooked and a real pain to correct later when everything is installed and tightened.

Keep all body mount bolts a tad loose until all of the major above items are in proper position. Test tighten and recheck. You may have to jockey the body left/right/fore/aft as part of the process. This also will be a issue when the doors go on and when checking door gaps. There is much trial and error involved.

Rich

[Mike M.]

Re: 62 Body drop on frame tips

well put richard. mike

[Mike E.]

Re: 62 Body drop on frame tips

Rich,
It almost sounds like you have done that before!

[Richard M.]

Re: 62 Body drop on frame tips

well put richard. mike

Thanks Mike, I was thinking about the column and the 56-57 cars you've done and the requirement to have the column in the car before drop because it has to go through the firewall and the dash simultaneously. That must be tricky. I've not done one of those before.

Rich,
It almost sounds like you have done that before!

HaHa.... Only enough to make mistakes to learn from!

Rich

[Clark C.]

Re: 62 Body drop on frame tips

Rich,

Thanks for your advice. I have most of your recommended engine parts pulled to help the body drop. Can I leave the clutch bell crank in or does it need to come off as well. I was going to send you some pictures but made the mistake of sending them to NCRS admin., but they were nice and answered another question I had. Thanks again. If you would like the pictures I will send them.

[Richard M.]

Re: 62 Body drop on frame tips

Rich,

Thanks for your advice. I have most of your recommended engine parts pulled to help the body drop. Can I leave the clutch bell crank in or does it need to come off as well. I was going to send you some pictures but made the mistake of sending them to NCRS admin., but they were nice and answered another question I had. Thanks again. If you would like the pictures I will send them.

Clark, The clutch bell crank/cross shaft can stay on. No clearance issue with the inner skirt.

Here are a few photos of a base engine 59 I did several years ago. I notice now the left exhaust manifold was on but IIRC I removed it to get the steering box in easier as the inner skirt is pretty close. Also no shifter here either(3 speed car). I probably could have had the shifter on but was working alone and would have been too many areas to keep an eye on for the drop. One other thing. If you have a new battery it'll be much easier on your back if you install it now too. I wished I did that on this one then.

You can add photos to your posts by clicking on the INSERT IMAGE icon in the editor window. Roll your cursor over the top gray banner, 3rd Icon from the right.

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[Mark S.]

Re: 62 Body drop on frame tips

The column can be installed after the body drop of a 56/57; however, there is some disassembly needed. I wish I had done it with the column in the car, as stated.