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Body full lift off guide??

Piper

New Member
Joined
Oct 16, 2010
Messages
28
Hi all,
I'm about to start a bit of restoration work on my Colorado. The back axle is rotten and there's pin holes on the top of the diff causing oil leaks. I've patched them temporarily but as I want to keep the car for many more years to come, I've bit the bullet and bought a new axle case from Milners. I'm going to o a step further though and plan to lift the body off the chassis so that I can give the whole chassis and underside a proper clean-up, rust proofing etc, etc.

The reason for the post is that I'm sure years ago on here, someone had posted a guide to lifting the body off, but I've searched and searched and can't find it. Would anyone know where I may have seen this and point me in the right direction?

Thanks
Ryan
 
 
Made that a sticky thread, so should be easy to fined in future
 
I'm going to o a step further though and plan to lift the body off the chassis so that I can give the whole chassis and underside a proper clean-up, rust proofing etc, etc.

One thing to bear in mind is that Collie chassis have a tendency to rot from the inside out so it would be an idea to give it a really good examination before just " cleaning" it to rustproof it.
 
Hi folks.

Thanks for the replies - very helpful. I've a family member who is much more skilled than me helping with things, he also has a lift which is great. At the moment, I think we're almost ready to start lifting the body off and all has gone ok so far. I'll add a few pics (if the forum allows) so you can see. The chassis seems very solid (touch wood) but scabby of course and definitely in need of some TLC as I want to keep the car for many more years. Sill are good too and generally everything forward of the back wheels is surprisingly good. It's 25 now and I've had it for the last 12 or so with no desire at all to replace it, so the work is an investment in my mind anyway.

There are a few big holes around the rear wheel arches which became visible when the trim was removed. The arches themselves are pretty much knackered too. I've spotted replacement arches on eBay which include a section of the rear quarter panel - £84 for both sides which is great. However I'm struggling to find a replacement for the rear sill below these (can't think of what else to call it). My friend may be able to make replacements for these but I'd prefer to buy new ready made parts if I can. I'll include a diagram of the parts I've already bought - The blue section is what I'll be getting but have marked a red X on the part I still need, Any pointers to a source would be a good help.

Thanks all,
Ryan
 

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Ryan,

So, you're back - under a slightly different name - Welcome Home.

I'm glad to see you've still got the truck (pictures from 2011) :thumbup:.


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I hope its still running well after the head swap :icon-wink:.

Bob.
 
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Hi Bob,

Great to hear from you and thanks for the pics. I hope you're doing well.

Yeah the car has been running great since the swap and never had a single issue since - up until the rust issues now of course. Crazy to think that's been 11 years - so many things have happened in that time. I've been back living in NI since the first lockdown in 2020 having previously built my own camper van and planning to spend a couple of years on the road around Europe. Only managed 7 months until the pandemic hit, but will get away again soon I hope. In the meantime, I'm just trying to get the old Colorado in tip top shape.

I really hope all is good with you and thanks again for the help all those years back.

Cheers
Ryan
 
Ah, so you're not in Glasgow any more !

Not so easy to offer help . . . But then I'm the last person on earth to advise on body repairs as both my Land Cruisers are still off the road with rust issues. I'm no good at it and keep finding other "higher priority" jobs :lol: .

Keep the pictures coming, it will be very interesting to see how you and your pal tackle the new panels.

Good luck with it.

Bob.
 
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