One man band

[marz68]

I was wondering if anybody has removed the cab off the frame alone with nobody's help by using some home made lift or contraption. My new frame is almost done and my friends shop is full of customer cars wich means his lift's are being used 24-7. I really want to make it to the April ford show. Any ideas.

[dragtruck]

I used a cherry picker to take a cab out of my bed,or take 4 4x4 and a 4x6 for the top beam and make a A frame to lift thr body and lower it on to the frame. :twisted:

[71-F-250SC-72-F-250C]

You can take an engine lift, and put the arm of the lift inside the cab. Hook a chain up to the gas tank bolts. Or any bolts that you would think are strong enough to lift the cab, and try pulling it that way. I have seen it done that way, but never tried it. I will be trying it though the next time I move my cab because it sounds easier than what I am doing. The only thing is the lift might get unstable. You might want to try bolting it to the ground or have another guy keep it from tilting.

[marz68]

250c your right I just saw sharkdance's pics of him removing the cab of his truck with a engine lift. I think it will be a piece of cake since my lift is a monster like the ones you see at a wrecking yard.

[FORDification]

I've also seen a picture of someone removing a cab with an engine hoist, by just putting the boom up against the roof and lifting there. He had a couple pieces of thick plywood there to distribute the weight and to prevent denting or distorting the roof panel. However, if using an engine hoist, I think I'd still prefer rigging up some sort of sling and attaching it to the cab floor.

[1970F250]

get some kids from around town to help

[Sharkdance]

Ive heard several times over that 2 or 3 men can lift and remove a cab without any special equipment.
Welp, Im here to tell ya; They must be better men than me.
Maybe its true for a completely stripped cab with no glass, AC, steering column, etc. but from what Ive learned recently its still one heck of a job.
I did mine by myself with an engine hoist for one simple reason. I didnt have any help and I couldnt figure out any other way to do it alone in my driveway.
I wouldnt recomend it for most people to try but there was some satisfaction in having done it by myself. Mind you, Im still not done though. I still have to put it back on. LOL

A few things I learned while removing this cab:

1) Remove the doors, seat, gas tank, and anything else you can to lighten up the load.
Once its in the air high enough to clear everything, it gets pretty hairy. Things can shift un-expectedly and thats a lot of mass get out from under should something go wrong.
If you have to do it by yourself, at least have someone (kid/neigbor/wife) check on you every few minutes to make sure you dont need a Dr. or an ambulance.

2) Get help! An extra set of hands and eyes will make it a lot easier steadying the cab once its in the air and catching any cables/hoses/wires that might get caught up on something while your lifting it.
I had to cut my E-brake cable because I had forgotten to remove it from the hole in the frame. By the time I realized what I had done, it was in a bind and I couldnt get it loose any other way.

3) The front of the cab is 3 or 4 times heavier than the rear of the cab. You cant see it in the pics I took while I was removing my cab, (because I had to put the camera down and had my hands full the rest of the time) but shortly after that pic the cab fell foreward and I had to re-adjust the chains to lift more from the front than the back.
It went better after adding a second set of chains from the front cab mount holes up thru the tranny access hole.

[1970F250]

this is OT but on funniest home videos there where these guys that got in a vw bug body, stood up and started walking around. maybe you could do that with a bunch of people and the floor boards out.