Best way to remove/support S-10 Blazer body?

[Blaze]

I was trying to figure out the best way to replace my cab mounts on my S-10 Blazer and I think I might just be better off removing the body to sandblast the underside and coat it all to keep any further rust from forming. I don't have a lift and will probably be doing this in my driveway.

I was thinking about finding some scrap steel tubing and building a frame for it, then lifting the body up and rolling the frame out from under it. I'm not sure where to support the body though, since I'm going to be replacing the body mounts. Of course, I need to replace the rocker panels as well, so not like it matters if they get tweaked.

I'm just wondering how to jack up the body safely and then how to support it.

 

[diesel4me]

We did a few ametuer frame off restorations and frame repairs on some antique cars at the junkyard....we used rims stacked up inside each other and tack welded them together to make supports for 4x6 wooden timbers to support the bodies high enugh so we could sit under them and sandblast...we used larger rims at the bottom and progressively smaller ones inside the larger ones to make a more stable support that wouldn't tip easily.....one car we used 55 gallon drums filled with water as supports for the timbers......................................................................................................................................................................................................We used a forkloader to hoist the bodies off,but a floor jack and a pile of wood blocks will work if your careful not to lift one side too high all at once..but a gantry crane or overhead hoist works a lot better and easier than jacking it up...where you hook the chains or ropes to lift it is importnant,and dont lift it with the doors off ,or open,take them off after its well supported to prevent the body from sagging and causing heartache..................once you bend one up,good luck getting the doors and other panels to ever align and close again......we lifted the cars we did with lengths of 4" channel iron slid between the frame and body under the rear wheel wells and under the firewall area on the floor up front....not sure what the best spots to use on your truck would be,its important to keep the weight "balanced" so it'll lift straight up,and not tip down or up at one end..........................................................................................

 

[Blaze]

I was thinking I might get a gantry crane. Probably wait till my Trans Am is running again so that way I can pull the body off in the garage and work on it there rather than in my driveway.

 

[bronc3buster842001]

I took a chain and streched it between two trees to lift up a truck cab. I know its a redneck way to do it.

 

[diesel4me]

I have a gantry crane I made out of an old swingset that was home built out of thick schedule 40 pipe, that used to be in a city playground--I was driving by the place and saw workers cutting it up with torches one day,and I asked if I could get some of the pipes,the guy asked what for,and I told him I wanted a gantry crane,so they cut it off at the 12 foot mark (it was a good 25+ feet long!) and I was able to get it into my truck and splice the two sections together with a larger pipe.....................................................................................................its proved to be very useful,but the one bummer is it wont fit under my 10 foot high overhead door in my garage,so I must use it outside only...which kinda sucks!.....but it would be better if it were even taller,sometimes the hoist limits how high you can lift something ,especially big things like a cab that is pretty tall--.....I've done the shade tree & chain falls routine many times myself too,but I hate trusting a tree branch with that kind of a load....

 

[Fordum]

I just use my boom truck..........

 

[Blaze]

Oh man, why didn't I think about using my boom truck. I never use it for anything.

Oh wait......