proxlamus© Posted August 19, 2009 Share Posted August 19, 2009 Welp after lots of frustrating time spent underneath the car getting ready for frame rails.. why not build a rotisserie.. I went out and purchased the following: 2 qty - 1000 pound engine stands from Habor Freight $59.99 each. 1 qty - 720 pound engine stand from Harbor Freight (for spare parts) $29.99!!! 7 linear feet of 2x2 .120 tubing ($14) 8 linear feet of 1x1 14ga tubing ($14) *As you can see.. the 1000 pound and 750 pound engine stand uprights are the SAME! **The engine stands need to be raised up to allow the car to fully rotate without the roof touching the ground.. I started by chopping up the original uprights The I cut up the spare 750 pound upright AANNNDD weld it all together Both are done Here is the front mount setup so far... I slotted the original engine stand mount to allow a more precise adjustment of the C.G. of the car when its up in the air!! Now I still have to build a mount for the rear of the car.. and I would like to add my 1x1 tubing along the upright of the engine stands for a little more strength. I will uploading more pics soon.. and mount the car!! ***thanks to John Mortensen for his ideas.. here is his original link if anyone is interested. http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=126468&highlight=rotisserie *** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted August 19, 2009 Share Posted August 19, 2009 ***thanks to John Mortensen for his ideas.. here is his original link if anyone is interested. http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=126468&highlight=rotisserie *** No problem! I wasn't the first either, just passing the info along. It looks like one of your stands is laid back, but you have the head leveled. I wonder if your bracket that you bolt to the car is going to hit the upright on that side. Something to look out for. Are you going to do diagonals from the sides to the mast? I'd suggest it. I guess your other piece of metal is to connect the stands in the middle. You can leave them loose on either end, but I understand why someone would want to connect them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proxlamus© Posted August 19, 2009 Author Share Posted August 19, 2009 Good point John.. I noticed that the engine stands are naturally tilted back by a small small amount.. hmmm.. I did notice that my front bracket is perfectly level with the ground... and the stand is tilted back some.. aww crap. As for the rear bracket... how do you think this will work?? this is on a 280z. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted August 19, 2009 Share Posted August 19, 2009 On mine I took the bar stock and cut a 4" long section and drilled holes in it for the bumper brackets. It was a bit of a PITA to get the bolts in, but definitely stronger than what you've got there. Figure on a 280 with a bare shell you'll be hanging probably 300 lbs on the bracket there, more if you sit in the car or bolt parts to it to check for fitment, etc. I'd probably redo that one, but I might be a little conservative on this... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proxlamus© Posted August 19, 2009 Author Share Posted August 19, 2009 John how did you use just a straight bar stock?! The rear is curved... and there is an indention where the bolt holes are... I think that mounting a straight bar very securely would dent or bend the rear panel?! Maybe I can just throw on some 1/4" gussets from the 1x1 to the 2x2?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 If you have the square tube and you cut a couple 4" lengths and weld them to the forward face of the tube, then the 4" lengths will space the middle out away from the body. I can take a pic, but it's as simple as the short lengths of tube replacing your smaller square tubing and flat plate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proxlamus© Posted August 20, 2009 Author Share Posted August 20, 2009 ah.. i considered that.. but I wanted to avoid spending the $3.04 for each bolt.. it required 10mm 1.25 bolts that were about 5 inches long.. I know its only $15.. but every penny counts lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DekThaiG35 Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 interesting post, I'm sure once i got my engine stand I will have to go through the samething Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 ah.. i considered that.. but I wanted to avoid spending the $3.04 for each bolt.. it required 10mm 1.25 bolts that were about 5 inches long.. I know its only $15.. but every penny counts lol. I used short bolts and fished them in through the sides of the tube. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proxlamus© Posted August 20, 2009 Author Share Posted August 20, 2009 oh lordy... see what happens when you over think things and dont take a time out?! haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theghosttanker Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 I built my rotisserie from scratch using scrap from a reclamation yard. I bought all the materials, including castors, for about 50 bucks. It looks similar to the engine stand setup you have there except my heads slide up and down the uprights so you can adjust the height of the car. It looks like you are on the right track but you will find that when you put the weight of the car on it, the stands will want to tip inwards at both ends, putting all the weight on the inner wheels and lifting the outer wheels off the ground. This can also bend the mounting areas. You need to tie the two stands together with a long section of square tubing connecting the bottom of the stands. I would weld a piece of square tubing (about a foot long)on top of each stand, and then thread a long piece through them and bolt it up so it can take a very considerable amount of tension. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proxlamus© Posted August 22, 2009 Author Share Posted August 22, 2009 great tip theghosttanker!! John mentioned that on one of his threads when building his. I am definitely tying the two stands together =) no doubt about that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaparral2f Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 I think use wider cross pieces at the rear where the wheels go, at least as wide as the body mounts you are using. But of course I over build everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DekThaiG35 Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 I built my rotisserie from scratch using scrap from a reclamation yard. I bought all the materials, including castors, for about 50 bucks. It looks similar to the engine stand setup you have there except my heads slide up and down the uprights so you can adjust the height of the car.It looks like you are on the right track but you will find that when you put the weight of the car on it, the stands will want to tip inwards at both ends, putting all the weight on the inner wheels and lifting the outer wheels off the ground. This can also bend the mounting areas. You need to tie the two stands together with a long section of square tubing connecting the bottom of the stands. I would weld a piece of square tubing (about a foot long)on top of each stand, and then thread a long piece through them and bolt it up so it can take a very considerable amount of tension. Got pic on the rear mount? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proxlamus© Posted August 26, 2009 Author Share Posted August 26, 2009 Well Well.. finally got everything welded up and mounted!! It was scary and a pain to do this all by myself... with no help. I would highly recommend two cherry pickers if you are to go this route.. one for the front.. one for the back. Basically I got the car as high as I could with a normal floor jack and 6 ton jack stands. After attaching the brackets, I went ahead and mounted the engine stands on the brackets. You can see how they are laying on their side in the pictures. I figured as I continued to jack the car up the stands would swing into place. I started by buying a 12' stick of 4x4 pressure treated lumber for $12.78 at Home Depot. I cut it up in 4 qty - 3' lengths and stacked them on top of the floor jack. the 3' length is perfect to mount horizontally across the frame rails. The rear of the car was supported by the cherry picker and a tow rope.. as I slowly lifted the front, I would lift the back.. very slowly one side at a time. The 6 ton jack stands almost seem like they are made to have a 4x4 piece of lumber across the stands (jack stand > 4x4 > chassis).. it fits perfect. Eventually I got both stands to swing into place and I pulled out the jackstands and lumber and voila! I was going to weld a cross support to tie the stands together but it was pretty solid as it is. Looks like I did some bad measurements.. the car will not completely flip upside down.. but its fine.. i wouldnt be able to crawl on top anyway lol. Ceiling is too low. Anyway.. here are some pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DekThaiG35 Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 ohhhhh Beautiful!! How hard to roll it side way? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nismo kid Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 Looks nice. I also plan on doing the same thing but I'm moving and have a kid on the way. You may want to make something to attach to the back part where the handles go on each end. To prevent them from sliding out when the pins are removed for rotating the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 Looks nice. I also plan on doing the same thing but I'm moving and have a kid on the way. You may want to make something to attach to the back part where the handles go on each end. To prevent them from sliding out when the pins are removed for rotating the car. I took 5 seconds and welded a bar across the back of mine because the stand in the back of the car constantly pulls out. The one in front doesn't, I think it's because I got the mast just off of square when I welded it up. Very annoying, but it was a simple enough fix. The handle that came with the stand would work too. Can't remember if they have a hole in the end for a cotter pin or something to keep them from falling out. My handles are long gone... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nismo kid Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 I took 5 seconds and welded a bar across the back of mine because the stand in the back of the car constantly pulls out. The one in front doesn't, I think it's because I got the mast just off of square when I welded it up. Very annoying, but it was a simple enough fix. The handle that came with the stand would work too. Can't remember if they have a hole in the end for a cotter pin or something to keep them from falling out. My handles are long gone... Oh cool. Yeah with my luck my s30 would have fell on the floor when I went to rotate it. And I would have followed while crying like a little girl lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proxlamus© Posted August 27, 2009 Author Share Posted August 27, 2009 the handle has a rubber grip on one end to prevent them from sliding out.. and also a cotter pin to prevent the other side from falling out. to be honest it takes quite a bit of force to rotate the car.. well.. at least keep the car steady.. i guess I am tensing up my muscles to prevent the car from rolling too fast. I did not lubricate the mounts on the stand.. so that may be one reason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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