Lift 'em Up! The Final Chapter

This kit DID NOT come with instructions.  In addition, most links you see on the web apply toward removing the body completely.  I saw on BradleyGT.com where someone had lifted his GT using a series of wooden 2X4s - this great if you have a Bradley GT.  I have a GT II and that method won't work.  Why?  The GT is lighter and has clearance to run a 2X4 under the wheel wells, you can't do this with a GT II.  The GT II manual suggests you use a hoist and lift from the bumpers.  Now I did see where a GT II owner lifted his car with jacks only six inches to insert the lift - this is the direction I wanted to go.  Another decision I made was to use two gaskets, one on the top of the lift and one on the bottom - it rains a lot in WA state.  However, if you decide to do this, you'll need to use longer bolts!

As pictured above, I used a motorcycle lift on a heavy duty cart and this worked very well.  Most floor jacks won't go high enough, and when you put 2X4s underneath a floor jack it moves the body out of alignment from the chassis.  The cart idea allows you to move the body with wheels so things can line up. Still, I had to use a couple 2X4s on top of the motorcycle jack and then position it underneath the bumper to get the clearance I needed.

After jacking up the car and placing jacks underneath, I started by removing the rust on the outer edges and on top of the rails of the pans.  Using a wire brush attachment to my electric drill, I managed to scrap off what rust I could. (SAFETY: wear a mask, rust can cause all kinds of problem especially if you're inhaling the junk!) Then I sprayed with rustoleum to stop the rust and hopefully give it a little more strength. 

*Note: If you plan on replacing the pans, you'll also replace the sides too.  I didn't know this, now I do....live and learn, live and learn. *sigh* While this was drying, I took the time to brush the aluminum washers that attach the bolts to the underside of the frame - they were also rusted, and spray painted those as well.

YOU MUST ATTACH THE FRONT OF THE FRAME FIRST!  (I found this out the hard way - ARGH!!)  The front of the lift won't need a bottom gasket since it slips right over the existing hump.  That's what makes it so hard to install.  If the sides are there first, it won't attach - trust me on this.  I used painter's tape to attach the gasket to the top of the lift just to keep it from falling off.  You don't get a lot of room to play with, so this simplifies the installation.  Now pre-drill the holes for the bolts in the gasket. Place the front lift portion over the existing front of the chassis or as I refer to it as the "hump." Next, get the bolts through the body and frame so they line up.  Granted they won't go all the way through.

I pretty much did the same procedure for the sides except I bought about a dozen 1 inch 5/16 bolts, washers and nuts and used them to secure the bottom of the lift to the frame temporarily to hold the bottom gasket in place and line up the frame with the bottom holes.  You can see below how I used tape to keep the gaskets in place while I placed the lift railing in place.  Then I drilled a few holes from the body through the top gasket and stuck some of the bolts in so I could how far off the alignment was off, plus this helps to keep the top gasket in place.

In my 1967 pan, the rear portion of the frame had threaded nuts that were welded to the bottom of the railing underneath the chassis.  These were not going to work with the metric bolts I was given, let alone be a royal pain in the @##.  I drilled through the threads using a little larger drill bit until I could easily get the bolt through.  Once again I used two of my 1 inch bolts to keep the rear lift in place. Then drilled from the top for the other two bolts and got them positioned as well.

As I lowered the car, I kept watching to see if I was lining up or not.  A well positioned shove and push while my blushing bride press the pedal to lower helped coordinate the effort.  I stopped with a half inch to go and drilled the top gasket and positioned the remaining bolts through the body to the lift.  From there it was lower all the way and then I drilled through the bottom gasket, from the bottom up, to get the bolts all the way through.  Use the special VW washers to attach the nuts from underneath the car- (the nuts were not included in the kit, BTW metric nuts cost more!)

My final step, after the new pans are in place, is to seal along the edge with a weathercoat to help seal any gaps that didn't seal correctly.