Hi,
It's not really such a big deal. I lifted my TR4's body off very easily recently. Here's how...
I used two 1000 lb. chain hoists ($40 apiece approx., Harbor Freight or Northern Tool). I made brackets out of angle iron and black pipe to hang the hoists from the ceiling in my garage. Note, I also used one of the hoists to lift a complete TR engine/gearbox/OD. No problem, so it doubles as an engine hoist and two of them easily fit into a large drawer of one of my tool boxes for storage!
One hoist was centered over the front of the car, in line with the hood hinge mounting points. The other was centered over the cockpit, aligned with the roll bar in this case, but the outer seat belt brackets will do. These are the points Triumph used to lift the completed bodies during assembly in the factory.
Using 1/8 x 3" wide steel I made two brackets for the hood hinge points, with two holes at the bottom to bolt up where the hinges normally would. At the other end I drilled an approx. 1-1/2" hole. Brackets were heated with a torch and bent to lean inward. An engine leveller was attached to these (allows tilting the body a bit, side to side, very helpful). The chain hoist hooked onto the engine leveller.
At the rear or middle, I simply used a heavy tow strap wrapped many times around the roll bar. But, if there is no roll bar in the car, a chain might be used and brackets similar to those used at the front could easily be fabricated to attach at the outer seat belt mounts.
An engine hoist could be used in place of one of the chain hoists, if that's more convenient for you. But, the body needs to be lifted approx. 35" above the floor to give clearance to roll the frame & running gear out from under. Keep that in mind.
Be safe. I added two posts in the center of my two car garage so the weight was suspended over about 10-12' of ceiling joists (2x10s on 12" centers, each bracket attached to three joists), rather than the full 22' width of the garage. Use safety links to attach the lifting devices to the fabricated brackets, not just large hooks. You might want to back up the lifting chains or cables with safety chains if the body will be hanging from the ceiling for a while. Don't work under the hanging body, roll the frame/running gear out from under to work on it.
Buy a body mounting kit from one of the major suppliers. Also get an illustration of mounting points out of a catalog or off the Internet and study it.
-Remove the hood (bonnet) and then it's hinges.
-Fold down or remove the soft top (hood). Top frame (hoodsticks) might be left in place, unless you want to optionally brace the doors.
-Remove radiator shrouding.
-Remove the windshield and it's frame (glass might crack).
-Roll the door windows fully down.
-Remove the front and rear bumpers and any associated brackets that join the body/frame or or pass through the body.
-Remove both seats, floor carpeting/padding, the dash support and the gearbox cover.
-Remove seatbelts.
-Attach fabricated brackets at seat belt & hood hinge mounts
-Put the car up on jack stands.
-Drain the gas tank.
-Drain the brake system.
-Drain the cooling system enough that the heater hoses can be removed.
-Disconnect wiring, hoses and brake lines wherever they go from frame to body.
-Disconnect and remove parking brake cables.
-Remove the lower steering column.
-Remove throttle linkage, carbs and manifold.
-Remove anything else on the engine that might prevent the body lifting straight up.
-Optionally brace the doors. This might be done by bolting braces from the windshield frame brackets under the dash (A-post) to the convertible top mounting points just behind each door (B-post). However, if bracing is not done, so long as the doors aren't opened and closed during the lift, there shouldn't be any problems.
-Remove all body-to-frame mounting bolts, I think you'll find:
One ea., Right & Left, at the extreme front end of the frame rails.
One ea., R&L, on the angle braces behind the shock towers.
One ea., R&L in the footwells, near firewall.
Four ea., R&L at the bases of the A-posts.
Two ea., R&L at the dash support (should already be out).
One ea., R&L either side of the driveshaft tunnel.
Three ea., R&L at the base of the B-post (four ea. on TR4).
One ea., R&L at the extreme rear end of the frame.
One in the very center of the spare tire well in the trunk (boot).
-Check again that all frame-to-body/engine hoses, pipes & wires are disconnected and out of the way. There probably are some things unique to your car model that I've missed.
-Lift body carefully and slowly, rechecking that nothing is still connected. If the frame starts to lift with the body, there is usually a reason, something is still connected or a mounting bolt still in place.
-Count carefully shims at each mounting point and note the order of arrangement and location, as you remove them. (There are various rubber shims, round and rectangular, aluminum spacers, etc.) How well you note shim arrangements will determine if you need to do any tweaking to realign the body when it goes back together. Some shims might be needed when it's time to reinstall, so keep everything.
-Once body is lifted, remove the jackstands from under the frame and roll the frame/running gear out from under the car. Remember, the brakes aren't usable now if you have a sloping driveway!
In addition to the repairs you have planned, while the body is off is a great time to work on many suspension, exhaust and drive train parts, as well as replace brake and/or fuel lines. It's especially easy to access the drive shaft: replace U-joints and drive shaft nuts & bolts.
After learning how easy it is, I would never hesitate to lift a TR body in any future projects.
Lifting with minimal body disassembly is *not* a good procedure if major body work/repair is planned. Often when doing that type of work the body needs to be inverted or otherwise manipulated. In this case, it's better to remove most external panels, really strip the body and provide at least door and cross bracing before doing any lifting.
Hope this helps!
Alan Myers
San Jose, Calif.
'62 TR4 CT17602L
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