Yes, you can drop a C3 body with radiator attached
Dropped the body back on the chassis of my 1969 427/390 coupe this weekend. I searched the web, but did not get a definitive answer if it would work with the radiator and shroud attached to the body, rather than installing later as most folks do. Well it does work quite well and I would recommend it as an easier way.
Here is a picture when we removed the body earlier this year. I used a comealong attached to a large garage crossbeam with body lift straps and two straps between the windshield frame (windshield not yet installed) and radiator frame to help support the front end. The doors were removed and braced.
Body_Lift_2_zpsb0d496b2.jpg
I don't have pictures of the body drop. We did it with three people in 1.5 hours, I'd recommend 4 (or 4 plus photographer). One to crank comealong, one to support front end, and one each side to guide and check clearance. The body did hang lower in the front with the radiator attached as compared to when we pulled the body. It was easy for one person to lift the front end to keep the body level while dropping.
I installed the radiator support, radiator seals, radiator, shroud and shroud seals on the body prior to drop. It was much easier to work on the radiator standing inside of the engine compartment as compared to bending over the side of the car. Getting the top radiator mounts with cushions in place to line up was not easy, even when I had great access and leverage to muscle the supports into place. You can really finetune the position of all the seals when you have such good access. I am sure this would be way more difficult to do after the body is on the chassis, given the tight fit of the shroud.
I removed the 4 bolts holding the fan assembly to the pulley, with it removed there were no clearance issues, though the spacing is very tight. Also, the front crossmember and frame extensions were not on the frame, they were installed later and the radiator bottom shimmed. There was no A/C or smog pump but the generator was in place. Keep this in mind, clearance in front of the engine may be affected depending on your options. The radiator hoses were installed later.
We used two metal rods through the frame alignment holes in the sills to guide the last few inches of the drop. Once we touched down on the mounts, only need an 1/8" adjustment on one side to line up all the mounts. We did this by lifting one side at the wheelwells.
It is important to be able to drop the body straight down, you need a good winch system with a lot of control and you need to go slowly and check/recheck clearances. I was able to achieve this with a simple comealong, but I have the height needed in my garage to make it work. You need to watch the distributor to firewall/electrical harness clearance at the back of the engine and the shroud to upper A arm in the front. Other than that, it all went smoothly.
No guarantees, but it worked for me!
Here is a picture when we removed the body earlier this year. I used a comealong attached to a large garage crossbeam with body lift straps and two straps between the windshield frame (windshield not yet installed) and radiator frame to help support the front end. The doors were removed and braced.
Body_Lift_2_zpsb0d496b2.jpg
I don't have pictures of the body drop. We did it with three people in 1.5 hours, I'd recommend 4 (or 4 plus photographer). One to crank comealong, one to support front end, and one each side to guide and check clearance. The body did hang lower in the front with the radiator attached as compared to when we pulled the body. It was easy for one person to lift the front end to keep the body level while dropping.
I installed the radiator support, radiator seals, radiator, shroud and shroud seals on the body prior to drop. It was much easier to work on the radiator standing inside of the engine compartment as compared to bending over the side of the car. Getting the top radiator mounts with cushions in place to line up was not easy, even when I had great access and leverage to muscle the supports into place. You can really finetune the position of all the seals when you have such good access. I am sure this would be way more difficult to do after the body is on the chassis, given the tight fit of the shroud.
I removed the 4 bolts holding the fan assembly to the pulley, with it removed there were no clearance issues, though the spacing is very tight. Also, the front crossmember and frame extensions were not on the frame, they were installed later and the radiator bottom shimmed. There was no A/C or smog pump but the generator was in place. Keep this in mind, clearance in front of the engine may be affected depending on your options. The radiator hoses were installed later.
We used two metal rods through the frame alignment holes in the sills to guide the last few inches of the drop. Once we touched down on the mounts, only need an 1/8" adjustment on one side to line up all the mounts. We did this by lifting one side at the wheelwells.
It is important to be able to drop the body straight down, you need a good winch system with a lot of control and you need to go slowly and check/recheck clearances. I was able to achieve this with a simple comealong, but I have the height needed in my garage to make it work. You need to watch the distributor to firewall/electrical harness clearance at the back of the engine and the shroud to upper A arm in the front. Other than that, it all went smoothly.
No guarantees, but it worked for me!
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