Because we bought 4 project cars, three 1966 Ford galaxies and one 1968 Ford XL which all need body off frame restorations, I thought it would first be a good idea to build a body jig that would bolt in the same locations as the chassis did for two reasons: one, to relocate the body while I'm working on the chassis and two, to hold the body securely while the rear quarters are cut off and replaced as all 4 cars will need that and then some.

I first started with the frame chart from the '68 Ford Service Manual. From that I modeled the body mount locations in a 3D CAD program. Then I spent several days thinking about how high I wanted the body off the floor, the accessibility to the floor and trunk pans and created the rest.

Once I had the 3D model completed, I bought the steel and started cutting and drilling to the plans I drafted. I jigged that up in stages with the help of a rotary laser level from Harbor Freight Tools and started welding it all and then used Rustoleum cans and painted it outside on a non-windy day.

The advantage of this jig is that the vertical supports are bolted on, and so new ones can be made to fit other cars without having to modify the solid base rolling platform. With the dual tyres on every corner spreading the load out, it doesn't dig into gravel as much when trying to move it.

This "should" work for '65 and '67s Fords too, but I don't have the frame charts for those years so I can't be certain without looking at those dimensions. Even the 1966 and 1968 frame charts (non convertible and wagon) have some dimensions slightly different, but it's relatively minor.

‹ the end ›

But a few more pictures: