Technical could these be used for lifting

I've been looking into ways to lift the body off my frame. Could I use these for lifting, or are these more for support?
http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/big-red-2-ton-tri-fold-high-position-jack-stand

 

more for holding up...you would still need something to lift with

 

Are you asking if you could crank up the adjustable center section to lift a car? I don't think that would work, your anchor point would have to spin, unless you engineered some kind of pad to sit on top with a bearing in it so that the center section could spin independent of the top pad, which would be a ton of work.

What kind of body are we talking about? You could build a simple gantry out of wood and ratchet straps or something. I've even seen it done with an old swing set. Two engine cranes, also a popular way to lift a body off. If it's a truck cab, you only need one. I've done that and it works great.

 

It's to lift the body of my 47 Ford coupe.
I've been thinking about the gantry crane too, and that's probably going to be the best, and most diverse way to do it.
I'm just kicking my self for getting rid of all those 4"x4"s

 

I've only done a few body removals, but I seem to do one end at a time, then rest that end on a beam that goes across two supports that are just tall enough to let the bottom of the body clear the tires. An engine hoist works for this method, and you could even use a floor jack and tall jack stands (and lots of care).

 

From the voice of experience " be sure to remember when you lift the body. Be sure you can get the frame out from under it." We did this once and everything fell in place like it was made to be. But we couldn't roll the frame out. Regroup!!

 

The frame is rolling so I'm good with that. I'll just harness the wife to the frame, and have her pull it out as I steer it in the right direction.

 

Harness the wife? No pictures....please.

 

the real issue is the body, they flex and twist during body removal, angle iron all over bracing is only a minor stop gap, any rust issue's or damage will get magnified during removal.

 

yeah I've been thinking about that too. floor is pretty rusty

 

I have removed the body basically the same way,one end at a time.

You can do it by yourself although it's a good idea to have help I used 2x6 boards between the body and frame and used the engine hoist to raise one end of the car at a time,I used heavy duty jack stands and then removed the wheels and used a floor jack to pull the frame out. HRP

 

Avoid the canted-leg pickup camper shell lifts...(obviously) Also, pre-plan with plenty of room.
If you use the engine crane ('Cherry Picker') you will certainly need the boom extended to reach the center of that chubby '47.
I've done it, but had the ballast ***istance of a '53 Merc short block on the back end of one, then the 455 Olds short block on the back of the other. (each cherry picker was used to place ballast on the other)
It wasn't the first time for an extended boom on the ol' cherry picker...When I got my concrete pad poured, I used the 12 foot ***istance of EMT (tubing) to extend high enough to lift the gables of my metal building.
The neighbors gathered like spectators at a hanging!
Afterward, that long boom was used to lift my 16 foot rollup door into position! (one side at a time, with the ***istance of an 8 foot step ladder on each end...one step, then rest...Other side, one step...
You get the idea.
But as @35w says...Watch your width! I'd borrow some scaffolding, and buy four 4X6 (8 footers) from Home Depot. Good and sturdy. SAFE!
Yeah, you'll be going under there.

 

They actually make those with a swivel head and an acme thread that people use to lift their campers and not just support them. Those ones may work as they are like a house jack on legs.

I use my cherry picker and back. More cherry picker then back these days. The wife and I have lifted a ton of big parts that way, and before that we used a tree and a hoist, lift it enough to roll the ch***is out from under it.

I have also used a bottle jack and whatever was strong enough to support the body while I was taking another bite on it.

 

My method is not very traditional, but it works damn well. Best tool I ever bought was my Rotary lift.

 

There are all sorts of good ideas out there for lifting a body off a frame. I used this system. The key element is the spreader beams fabbed from square tube. I used an engine hoist on the back end. After this picture was taken I rotated the hoist around to the back of the body.



At the front I used a another spreader bar and a chain fall from a pick point in the ceiling. Another engine hoist could be used here.

With this system one person can safely lift the body. I was able to set the body precisely over the bolt holes on the frame, body dolly or rotisserie and align the bolts without concern of the body tipping.

 

The first frame I changed I was 16 years old. '70 GTO. I had a bunch of wood 6x6 blocks and a bottle jack. When I got it high enough I had a 4 55 gallon drums and 2 10 foot 6x6 wood beams. Took a day to get it up and a day to put it down. Drove the car one week after I started the frame change. It was was what I had.

 

Is 8'-0" x 8'-0" a pretty good size for making a gantry?

 

I would go 10 wide if it were me.

 

I've used a 4X4 through the quarter windows to lift my '40 body in the past, but had to come up with a better method when it finally gets painted. I'm using the two 2-ton stands to lift the rear while an engine hoist lifts the front, and will be used to transfer the painted body from the dolly back to the frame.

 

Those are the jack stands (the ones holding up the rear of the car) that I was talking about using

 

This works pretty well. Homemade gantry crane.

 

I think something like this might work better for my needs

 

I made an extension boom for my cherry picker and put a stud on top of the tip. Then drilled a hole in the center of a 4x4 and it sits on the stud and swivels where you need it. I put the cherry picker in through the door holes or where ever the body will balance, pad as needed and lift. My 60 chevy 2door sedan was a heavy body so I put a stud on the back base of the picker and added a few lead pies that I have for balance. Gary

 

Did anyone bother to read the info on the stands?
Of course not.

Yes they have a bearing and yes they can be used for lifting somewhat. However their minimum height is 49" and max of 80 something inches.

 

I built this A frame, it works great, and breaks down for storage.

 

Pretty much on the same line as the above suggestions. Gantry and chain hoist in front and cherry picker in the back. This is how I lifted my model A body and frame off the trailer when I got home. I used a similar setup to lift the body off and on the frame on my 51 Merc 27 or so years ago. You want to have a coupe of guys around to keep the body balanced though.



I built that gantry a number of years ago and the I beam is aluminum with tubing legs. All of it govt surplus. It gets used on more projects than one can imagine.

 

I used tubing and flat stock fixtures to bolt inside the inner trunk panels and firewall. Lifted the rear with cherry picker and set it on wide sawhorse made from 2x6 lumber. then raised the front. Set it on another wide sawhorse, then rolled the ch***is out. Bolted it to a flat jig. After months of floor and frame work. Reversed the procedure to get a roller. The 2x6 horses were plenty strong. Added final steel cage supports, mounts and cross members with weight on tires.

 

Another idea, father-in-law used his garage door opening as a gantry; lag bolted some eyes on the inside of the header, hung straps down between the open door and header and lifted the front of his '37 sedan. lifted the back with a jack and blocked it up, then rolled the ch***is out. lowered the body on a dolly and rolled it out of the way. Not a winter option in northern MN, tho.
We used to make gantrys similar to @topher5150 's drawing out of cheap 8 foot 2x4s; spiked three together for the uprights and cross beam, two 4 foot pieces nailed flat on the bottom for feet and eight more 4 foot pieces for diagonals on the feet and beam. Fifteen 8 footers total. These could be broke down and stored/transported several times before the wood was too chewed up.
Pulled lots of engines with a chain hoist hanging on one of those.

 

This or this. Subs***ute the blue frame with this for frame which mounts under roof gutters. Just adapt your engine hoist.