Wagz Posted November 15, 2001 Share Posted November 15, 2001 It’s about time I quit lurking around the place and introduce myself. My name is Marc and I own a Z… (Oh, wait. This isn’t the 12-step meeting… Is it?) Anyway, I’ve been lurking around this site (and some of your personal Z car sites) for months soaking up as much knowledge and wisdom as I can. I gotta say, this site is fantastic and I’ve never seen such a great group of helpful guys. The fact that I’ve been able to learn as much as I have without posting a question before this is proof of the extreme body of knowledge that exists here. O.k. Enough, with the brown-nosing. I’ve recently acquired a ’71 240 and am in the middle of stripping the car down to the bare chassis. The plan is to stiffen the unibody (a la Pete Paraska’s plans), completely upgrade the suspension and brakes and install an LT1 and T56. Haven’t decided on all of the body mods yet. I missed out on a complete ’97 LT1 and T56 on eBay today so, I’m an in-liner for a little longer. I’ve acquired the JTR manuals, a complete coil-over setup with Tokico Illuminas and 10”, 200# springs From Dave Turner and have all of the Energy Suspension bushings I’ll need in the garage. I’ll be deciding soon which disk brake conversion to go with: Arizona Z, Modern-Motorsports(Ross C) or the Outlaw setup from Mike SCCA (your opions are welcome). On to the questions: 1) Is anyone here based in or around the Portland, OR area? 2) If so, can any of you recommend a good source for fabrication and welding? (sub-frame connectors and minor floor pan fixes) Pete: Any chance you’ll fly out to Portland and build the connectors for me? j/k. Sorrowfully, I cannot weld (yet). In the past I’ve been a parts counterman at a GM dealership and various parts houses and have been an under-the-table mechanic, and done tons of R&R work, but never learned to weld. I’ll be signing up for welding classes at a local CC soon. Thanks for your help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted November 16, 2001 Share Posted November 16, 2001 Wagz, IMO, you will probably end up doing a LOT of welding during your project, so my advice is to learn first. Welding is not rocket science, more an art than anything else. With some practice and basic knowledge (plenty of good & fairly short books around) you will be welding like a pro in no time. Practice is the key. Once your confidence is there, you'll have no problems. By the time you pay someone else to do it......$$$$$. The sub frame connectors are easy to do, and if your floors are in good shape....all the easier. I had to replace my floors when I did my SFCs. PITA, but easily done. Check out my pics if you haven't already, and put the car on a rotisserie...welding much easier that way. I built up my rotisserie in a couple of hours with about 15 bucks worth of steel. Good luck.... Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wagz Posted November 16, 2001 Author Share Posted November 16, 2001 Tim - I have seen your pics. Did you develop your own rotisserie or did you have a plan to follow? I'd love to get my hands on one or at least some plans for one. I'm sure your right about learning to weld 1st. The thought crossed my mind and I've been keeping my eyes open for a killer deal on a MIG welder. My impatience to get this project kick-started is my biggest problem... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimzdat Posted November 16, 2001 Share Posted November 16, 2001 Wagz--I also built my own rotisserie; but unlike Tim, mine was not done cheaply--I kinda over-engineered the thing. (Check out pics on my site--link below) If you know someone that can help you with the welding, you can probably pick it up pretty quick--a little practice can go a long way. If you like, I can write up the plans/measurements/materials that I used for mine, and you can go from there. Good luck on your project Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest scca Posted November 16, 2001 Share Posted November 16, 2001 top tech motorsports is in oregon city. Joe does nice work and is reasonable. another place is PRO FAB in portland but Steve is VERY expensive- probably not the place if you dont want perfection.. but if you do he will do it. Tanner automotive in portland has 2 ITS 240's they may do fabrication- not sure though. and i guess i'm just a bit too far away at 5 hours........ but then again maybe not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted November 16, 2001 Share Posted November 16, 2001 Wagz, I just winged it on the rotis. No plans or anything. It will be adequate if the car is completely stripped. If you have suspension etc still installed, you would need to beef it up. I can send you some pictures of it if you want to copy it. Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wagz Posted November 16, 2001 Author Share Posted November 16, 2001 Having my own rotisserie would make life sooo much easier. Especially, in geting the under-carriage completely cleaned up and installing the SFCs. Jim: That is one serious rotisserie! I especially like the fact it's on rollers. Very nice setup. Unfortunately, I doubt I could get my car mounted on it AND get it and my wife's car all in the garage at once. I might take you up on plans/measurements and customize it a bit. Mike: Thanks a lot for the tips on Portland area shops. I'll make a few phone calls and see what pans out. I'll be giving you a call about pricing out the F/R disc brake conversions. Tim: I think your version of the rotisserie is more realistic for me. I'd love to get some more detailed pics. Whatever you can share would be much appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted November 16, 2001 Share Posted November 16, 2001 I'll email you some pictures this afternoon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted November 16, 2001 Share Posted November 16, 2001 Why don't you post a link to them for us all to Z? That would be great A couple dimensions wouldn't hurt either Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted November 16, 2001 Share Posted November 16, 2001 'cause I'm a bloody selfish bastard JK...well sort of... I will post them on my yahoo pictures site this afternoon. It is linked to my homepage icon (up there). Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimzdat Posted November 16, 2001 Share Posted November 16, 2001 Well, if you want to take a look at mine, and go with that style (requires a large garage) here's some of the measurements: (all metals listed are 1/4" thick) Base of rotisseries: 2'x 4'--3" angle iron Uprights: 3" C-channel Casters: 6" Pivot point: 1-1/4" Galvanized steel pipe, app 18" long Mine also has a chunk of diamond plate to mount the uprights--we changed that part of the design on the one built for CBorden--just used more 3" angle iron For the rotating parts (that attach to the car): 3" angle iron, cut as needed to allow bolting to car--mine attach to the "towhook" mounting points in the rear, and to the surface where the bumper shocks mount in the front (I have a 76) Cross piece: 3" C-channel--about 3' long for the rear, 30" for the front Pivot rod: 1" galvanized pipe, with a floor flange welded to one end, then centered on cross piece (NOTE: the crosspiece for the rear is not centered on the car, so don't just measure for the middle of that piece--mount it on the car and then find the center) I drilled holes thru the pivot rods & uprights to drop a bolt in so I can hold it fairly level or lock it in at 90 degrees to each side Your pivot point centerline needs to be about 39-40" off the ground so you don't hit the floor with the car. The one you see on my site (below) is our "prototype"--made with the above specs. The second one we made (sold to cborden) had a couple of changes: -used 4" box tube for uprights and "cross pieces" -eliminated diamond plate, used 3" angle iron across the base instead -used smaller casters for greater stability (make sure you adjust height of uprights accordingly) This kinda shows the rear assembly: This shows how far the car can be rolled to either side: If I get a chance, I'll try and get more (detailed) pics put up, if anyone is interested in building one of these behemoths As said before--this thing is probably WAAAYY over-engineered, but I'd rather have overdone it than have the thing fall on me, or possibly on someone who bought one from me--call it covering my butt. Hope this helps, Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wagz Posted November 16, 2001 Author Share Posted November 16, 2001 quoteAs said before--this thing is probably WAAAYY over-engineered, but I'd rather have overdone it than have the thing fall on me, or possibly on someone who bought one from me--call it covering my butt. This probably isn't the item for me to learn to weld on. Thanks for the material list. The whole setup is too large for my garage, but I can easily adapt it too my needs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted November 16, 2001 Share Posted November 16, 2001 Hi Marc, Send me a E-mail I am here Portland. Dave... V8-240Z@juno.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted November 19, 2001 Share Posted November 19, 2001 I posted pics of my home made rotisserie. Click on my home page icon to go to the Yahoo Photos page. If you need any more details, let me know. Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.