# Questions on seperating frame from body



## mrvandermey (Jun 15, 2011)

Hi guys, long time no hear, heh? I know it has been awhile since I have been here, but I was traveling for work so the project got severely stalled. Plus I have seriously been considering dumping the entire project. 

Anyways, the only work that has got done on the GTO project over the last 8 months was the completion of the rear end (minus brake cables and brake lines). I did manage to get the door braces installed in preparation to separate body and frame. I managed to disconnect the fuel line from gas tank, removed the gas tank, removed everything off the front end (except steering box), and I have removed 8 of the 14 bolts holding the body to frame. This is where I have gotten stuck. Frustratingly so. 

I was able to remove the 4 bolts holding the rear of frame to body. I was also able to remove the 4 center bolts holding frame to body. Of the very front 4, the inner 2 do not have bolts, although there are bushings (is this normal?). The 2 outer bolts and the 2 in the center over the rear wheels are my problem bolts.

1) I can get to the front outer ones, but when I turn the bolt, the nut turns with it, is this normal? Since I can not get a wrench on the bolts, I am out of ideas on how to remove those front 2 bushing bolts. How do I remove the front 2 outer bushing bolts?

2) Next, I can not seem to access the 2 bolts over the rear wheels. For there seems to be some kind of rubber plug filling the holes and covering the bolts. Again, is this normal? How do I remove the rubber plug to get access to the bushing bolts?

3) Finally, the one thing I can not seem to remove is the hand brake cable. I see it goes through the frame and into the body. I have unsuccessfully attempted to disconnect this cable from both ends. I am very close to just cutting the damn cable. How do I fully disconnect this hand brake cable? 

Other than these issues, I am ready to separate the body and frame. I have new bushings with sleeves and hardware, I have a completed rear end with suspension ready to go and the front suspension with disc brakes ready to go . I want to be able to separate frame and body to clean and paint frame, then build chassis before I mate the chassis and body back together.


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## Colorado67GTO (Sep 11, 2014)

You didn't mention what year you are working on. The information below applies to a 67. I am basically at the same stage but am by the problems you mention.

On mine, the two inner mounts DID have bolts. They were held by cage nuts I was able to get to through openings on the firewall. I had already removed the fenders and fender liners. One of the bolts was spinning in the cage, but I was able to brace it with a screw driver blade, taking up some of the extra space in the cage. Remember to turn them back and forth and don't force them.

The rubber plug you are seeing from the two holes over the rear wheels are probably just bushings without bolts. That is the way mine was. The bushings just rest on the body. To verify this, once you get all the rest of the bolts out, put a board across a couple of body braces and SLOWLY lift. You will probably see that the frame is not connected at those two points. I actually had 4 spots like that. Yours may be that way on the inside two front mounts. That may be why you don't see bolts there. 

FYI... I had to cut off one bolt where I couldn't get to the cage nut. I will have to fix that later when I do the metal repairs. 

As for the brake cable, I had trouble with that as well. The first thing I did was to remove the clip that holds the cable on the inside of the frame. This will give you some wiggle room ( but not much). Also, lift that edge of the body (as described above) to take some of the stress off the cable. You will obviously have to have all the body bolts out first. The brake cable is so stiff and makes such an angle, it makes it hard to move. Lifting the body a bit relieves this stress. Then use either a deep socket or a hose clamp to collapse the fingers so you can push the cable through. I used both methods. With the clamp method, you have to tighten it, pull a little through, move it up a little and repeat.

I hope this helps.


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## PontiacJim (Dec 29, 2012)

Looking at a 1968 brake diagram, the cable goes through the frame and there is a clip that holds that end. I am seeing another clip which appears to be on the inside under the dash which hold the other end. The cable that goes through this sheath/outer casing is hooked onto the emergency foot brake. So if you got the one off at the frame, look for one on the other end.

As far as body bolts. Found this on a Chevelle site which may help. 
Body Mount Replacing - How to Avoid Spinning a Cage Nut - Chevelle Tech

When they get that bad, sometimes it takes torches or grinding to get them off. But if you have no room, then maybe attacking them from above might be the answer. I have only done one frame-off car about 30 years ago and I'm sure any stuck bolts got the torch in one way or the other.

You may also want to post this in the restoration forum as many have done the frame-off in there.:thumbsup:


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## mrvandermey (Jun 15, 2011)

Colorado67GTO said:


> You didn't mention what year you are working on. The information below applies to a 67. I am basically at the same stage but am by the problems you mention.
> 
> On mine, the two inner mounts DID have bolts. They were held by cage nuts I was able to get to through openings on the firewall. I had already removed the fenders and fender liners. One of the bolts was spinning in the cage, but I was able to brace it with a screw driver blade, taking up some of the extra space in the cage. Remember to turn them back and forth and don't force them.
> 
> ...


Hello there. I apologize, I have a '68 GTO convertible. 

On the body bushing bolts, according to a restoration book, there should be bolts in both the front inner bushings and the two over the rear wheels. On the front inner ones, there are sleeves but no bolts. On the two over rear wheels, they are completely solid with no sleeves and the rubber stopper protrudes through to the underneath side of frame. I have tried prying them out with a screwdriver, pulling them out with pliers and even pinching them through the frame. No success yet. On the two front outer bolts, I tried using vise grips to hold the cage nut. Again, failed success. 

On the brake cable, I noticed the clip on the frame side and removed it with little progress. I missed the one near the emergency brake pedal. I will look for it.


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## PontiacJim (Dec 29, 2012)

mrvandermey said:


> Hello there. I apologize, I have a '68 GTO convertible.
> 
> On the body bushing bolts, according to a restoration book, there should be bolts in both the front inner bushings and the two over the rear wheels. On the front inner ones, there are sleeves but no bolts. On the two over rear wheels, they are completely solid with no sleeves and the rubber stopper protrudes through to the underneath side of frame. I have tried prying them out with a screwdriver, pulling them out with pliers and even pinching them through the frame. No success yet. On the two front outer bolts, I tried using vise grips to hold the cage nut. Again, failed success.
> 
> On the brake cable, I noticed the clip on the frame side and removed it with little progress. I missed the one near the emergency brake pedal. I will look for it.


The bushings that don't have bolts and the two over the rear don't sound like they are attached. Have you tried to raise the body off the frame a few inches to see if it will separate? You may not need to do a thing except remove them with the body raised and simply pull them out.

The other two bolts that you cannot get off are the problem. If you can get a pair of vise grips on them, can you get in there with a sawzall and cut the bolt, maybe in between the rubber at some point or at the cage nut? Take some pressure off 'em by lifting the body a little and then work the sawzall in there and cut 'em.

Where there is a will, there is a way.:thumbsup:


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## mrvandermey (Jun 15, 2011)

PontiacJim said:


> The bushings that don't have bolts and the two over the rear don't sound like they are attached. Have you tried to raise the body off the frame a few inches to see if it will separate? You may not need to do a thing except remove them with the body raised and simply pull them out.
> 
> The other two bolts that you cannot get off are the problem. If you can get a pair of vise grips on them, can you get in there with a sawzall and cut the bolt, maybe in between the rubber at some point or at the cage nut? Take some pressure off 'em by lifting the body a little and then work the sawzall in there and cut 'em.
> 
> Where there is a will, there is a way.:thumbsup:


hhhmmmm...I like the Sawzall idea, that might work. I may be able to get a smaller pair of Vise Grips in the hole in firewall to stop the nut cage from turning. I am pretty sure the front inner two bushings are just sitting there and I expect them to come apart once I lift body. Now for the two over the rear wheels, I may try lifting boding and then re-examine the situation.

The brake cable is still a mystery. I got the clip off the frame side, but that made little difference. I do not want to cut the cable, but at last resort, I will.


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## PontiacJim (Dec 29, 2012)

I'm thinking the body bushings over the rear are just like rubber biscuits and just set in there.

Got to be a clip at the other end of the brake cable that keeps it in place. Look where it comes up through the floor on each side, under the body or inside at the floor pan. If you don't find it, I have a diagram - I will post it.


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## BearGFR (Aug 25, 2008)

Brake cable: Pull back the carpet or whatever else is in the way at the point where the cable goes through the firewall/floorpan, and you'll see it has sort of a collar on it at that point with "fingers" that spread out and hit the sheet metal to prevent it from pulling through the hole. Compress those "fingers" with a pair of pliers or something and you'll be able to pull the cable through the hole. I forget if the "fingers" are inside or outside the passenger compartment, so look at "both ends".

Front outer body bushing bolts: With the front clip off and the inner fenders off it should be pretty easy to hold the nuts with vise grips or wrench of a suitable size. Soak the threads liberally with a penetrating lubricant and let them sit over night.

Other body bushings: If you can't see bolt heads from underneath the car through the holes in the frame, then there aren't any bolts at those locations.

Bear


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