I cut through the sills just in-front of the rear outriggers then remove the three sill bracket to outrigger bolts and packing pieces on each side. As I had guessed, the short piece of sill literally falls away from the B post, 45 year old filler being the only thing holding the two parts together.
To ensure that I can put the body back in exactly the same place (if required) I drill a few very small holes to reference the body to the chassis.
The remaining bolts holding the back half of the body to the chassis are removed. Various brackets, fittings, pipes and wiring are removed until only the bare body remains. Sounds easy when written down in a couple of sentences but this was actually a good days work. Finally, with the help of three friends we lift it off.
 |
| These are the spacers between the sill bracket and the body outrigger. The chemical reaction between the aluminium and steel has caused a quite thick layer of crud (actual name for this anyone) to form on top and bottom significantly increasing the overall spacer thickness.  before and after cleaning. Now 3mm smaller and certainly back to the original size. Did this reaction have the power to stretch the bolts and alter the body position? Really must buy one of those new-fangled digital vernier calipers from Aldi for a tenner. |
 |
| Taken after removal of the the body section, this clearly shows the cut point in front of the rear outrigger and the level of corrosion at the joint between the sill and the B post / shut face panel.  You can see from their facial expressions that these guys genuinely believe that I'm totally nuts.  machine is still to be let loose. |
