I've never removed a body from the frame before. Does anyone have any tips/info/guides etc.... that would get me going on this.

I know there are the 6-8 main mounting points, but it also looks like the radiator, brake lines, coolant hoses, shifter plate inside cab need removed. What other stuff. Any info or tips would be awesome!

 

Your looking at a lot of work to remove the body from the frame, it would help if i knew what you were working on, but if its a pick up removing the bed is pretty easy. You just need to remove the gas filler neck and the tail lights and wiring, then unbolt it and lift it off. The cab is a lot harder to do, you have brake lines and a/c hoses to deal with and more electrical that would need to be unhooked, other than that its easy to do.

 

It's an 84 4runner.

I guess the first question would be, where do I start?

 

Is your frame in that bad of shape that you really need to remove the body ?. If you were doing a complete frame off rebuild of your 4Runner then i could see removing the body from the frame, but what i would try to do first is just clean the frame as best as you can and repaint it with the body in place.

 

No, but that is the point. To get it before it can be in that bad of shape.

 

I've done my fair share of restos, and many of mine always started off the same way. I'll just take the body off to clean/paint the frame. Next thing I knew the rears/tranny/motor come off and the frame and body wind up at the media blaster. After you get them back and put a fresh coat of paint on you realize that your old tired motor/tranny/rears need to be torn down and rebuilt using the good stuff (aka gears/lockers/dual tcases etc. etc). After getting all them back (along with a brief marraige seperation from the wife when the credit card bill comes in) you might as well lift it, cross over steering, bumpers, sliders, roll cage etc. etc. Then, after a short term seperation, and a frightening credit card monthly payment you will have a beautifully restored 4Runner worth less than half of what you put in it. OR you can do what the other poster said and pressure wash, wire brush, grind, sand, blast the frame with the body on it, slap a coat of epoxy primer and a rust sealer and call it a day.

Just from the nature of your question I highly doubt you've ever done a full resto. Not saying pulling the body off the frame to clean/paint the frame is a full resto, but you might as well if you're going to do all the work.

 

When I first replaced my body mount bushings on my '85, I had the frame raised up a few inches on each side. I took the opportunity to wire brush and sand out any loose paint and surface rust on the frame. Then after cleaning, it was primed and painted and that has held up quite well over the years. That took me about 2 weekends as I recall, one weekend for each side with the time for the primer and top coats to dry.

And there are 10 body mount bolts, up front, the A-, B-, and C-pillars and in at the rear of the frame.