Remounting the Body

I have already done a total rebuild on my F Head from a '64, and I am about to pull the body off the frame on the '69 to have it sent to a professional body shop owned by a buddy of mine who will work on it over the winter in his spare time for a reasonable rate. I have basically disconnected everything holding the body in place, and am working on removing every piece of hardward from the body so that he'll be able to soda blast it down to the metal before beginning the necessary repairs. In the mean time I will restore the frame, PTO Winch and driveline, and rework the T98 Tranny and Axles.

I have read many threads about using new stainless steel hardware and poly bushings when reattaching the body, in place of the pieces of tire that were originally used when it was built. My question is what I'll need to use in place of the pieces of wood that are between the body and frame in places such as forward of the firewall to the right of the drivers footwell and the left of the passengers footwell. I can't believe that the poly bushings at each bolt down point will be sufficient to support the body without something taking the place of the wood strips that were there originally. Are Poly inserts available to replace the wood pieces, and if not and I have to go with wood replacements, what type opf wood should I use? The original wood appears to be oak but is in such bad shape it's hard to tell. I know it will be a while before I get to this stage, but I like to think three steps ahead as I go along so I don't have to undo any stupid mistakes that I've been known to make.8)

Any help is appreciated.

Happy Veterans Day to all U.S. Vets.

Ranger

 

I'm about to do the same thing...love to get an answer as well!

Perhaps we should sign up for an on-line woodworking class? R)

 

C.K.,

Lord I hope not, although I have to admit the wood that was originally installed has held a up a long time. I am hoping that given the vast number of years experience represented on this site, someone will be able to guide us down the path to success.

Ranger

 

I did use stainless hardware on my '83. I used the standard steel bolts that came with the poly bushing kit(with 1" lift built in) I put in my wifes Jeep but put a dose of never sieze on them.

 

I just welded in a nice brace that didn't need aditional support. And I havn't heard of anyone having problems when using hockey pucks to mount the body. So thats what I did

 

The oak was inside the body support hat channels. If you can see it, the channels have rotted away and need replacing anyway. Replace them with something heavy enough that does not need internal support. Classic Enterprises as well as others manufacture replacements that are heavy enough to not need the internal support. Many people use rectangular tubing with a thicker wall for this ( I did on my CJ-6 with good results). The poly bushings go between the channel and the frame.