Body swap ... help needed

[Bertl]

It looks like things are moving forward with the restoration of my '78 GTL. I acquired a car that has been through an accident and will use its body to get my original car on the road again while the original body will be restored.

I was searching the forum for "remove body" and had to smile for the implications ...

But the boots are already empty. Now ... could somebody please give me a walkthrough for a swap of body shells between two cars ... what are the minimal parts that have to be removed before the body shell can be lifted from the chassis.

Pictures to follow.

Robert

 

[renault4mad]

Hi Bertl,
i have just taken the body off my GTL this week, straight forward enough.
Disconnect battery,Bonnet,tailgate,doors, disconnect steering column from under bonnet,gearstick disconnect, throttle and clutch cables,speedo and handbrake cables from rear drums, disconnect wiring from engine,brake pipes from master cylinder, disconnect exhaust from front pipe,disconnect pipes to heater matrix, the metal support panel from inner wing to inner wing including removing of top hose,battery and tray plus any other fixings on the inner wings
Then theres 25 or 30 bolts holding the body on to the chassias...dont forget the two at the back of the boot floor plus the two below heater box plus the two in the engine bay from bulkhead to chassias...
The next thing is to lift the body off with something. I was lucky because i have a ramp to lift it off (see my picture album). Once this is lifted then the chassias will fall away...well sort of. lots of black sealer to cut off with a kitchen knife.
Now im sure that i have missed something and no doubt someone will add a few more things,,, but good luck anyway...Have fun

Regards
Andrew

 

[Bertl]

Hi Andrew, thanks for the rundown.
Lifting should not be a problem as the procedure will be carried out in a garage with a lift running along the ceiling.

Now I got this poor baby for 350€ and it'll

a) get my car on the road again while
b) providing enough time to have the original (pre '83) body restored and
c) yielding loads of spare parts that I had already considered buying.

It'll be interesting though how the chassis turns out rust-wise and distortion wise once the shell is off. The previous owner was a 88 year old woman who slid into a ditch with the car during the icy spell a few weeks back - the travel was stopped by a bush ...

Robert