Car Rotisserie

[Cris B]

I am sick of working on my back under the car so if I have enough height in the garage (sloping roof that i need to check for clearance) I am going to build a spit out of two engine stands modded to be linked, widened and height adjustable. Any guidance on calculating centre of gravity?

 

[norsa]

gravity is not really a major consideration here as a shell is not a concentric structure, its more centre of car that needs to be born in mind so that as you turn the shell, there is sufficient clearance for the extremities (roof and floor sills) Once you find the pivot point of these diagonal centres of extremity it should be easy enough to turn it single handed but you will have to think about a locking pin system suitable for single handed operation though. Made mine out of scaff poles.
Nick

 

[hairymel]

this is much too high


i would guess about bumper height but it varies

if you put a little effort in you will be able to make the c.o.g. adjustable on your spit.

really you need to at least remove the engine if you are going very tilty/upside down.

if you are not doing a full on restoration you may be better with some sort of lift or ramp.

 

[norsa]

Bloody strong mind. Ive seen a few weak efforts that i would not like to be working around. The centre/pivot point on mine i seem to remember was within an inch of the roof sill hitting the floor and ceiling.

 

[hairymel]

the car on my spit wants to sit right way up, so its fairly hard work single-handedly getting it on its side. it seems that its pivot point would be nearer to its bumper level rather than middle of grill height.

i used a prop to keep it in place, as the built in 'stop' didn't

 

[norsa]

current rally car, i did the old put the wheels in old tyres and tip it on its side trick but i was mostly seam welding her. the current mk1 escort resto project is a little more involved.

 

[Cris B]

Thanks chaps, some inspirational ideas. A fellow 106 owner has already paved the way, but I took one look at his set up and had several Final Destination movie-esque thoughts

I'd be looking to use front legs as sleeves over a smaller box section length to join the two ends. Then widen the track - again using sleeved box section to prevent any chance of tipping over. Add in some 45degree braces for the uprights to support the upright against rotational moment and we should be onto a winner, if the car on it's side will fit in the space. I think locking castors on each corner will be essential for moving it around too.

I may not even need height adjustment. Looks like it is just high enough to clear the deck

My shell is equally stripped down so 2x 350kg engine stands should be more than enough and the engine stands can be picked up for £30 each from Blackburn...

Am I missing anything obvious?

I had one thought that the leverage on the locking teeth might be a bit much, but there will be a dual set with one on each end?

Longer handle for turning it?

 

[german8rcoupe]

Engine stand pivots are laid back for strength. They will bind when rotated.(well mine did)

 

[hairymel]

ask that fellow what he would do different

tbh the loads imposed by a bare shell are a surprisingly smaller than you would expect (in my experience)

to my eye looks like it wont go upside down - possibly not an issue for you?

as you have said -

needs castors either end as it wont steer as is, while you are at it extend the legs for perceived safety

and

a bar between the two stands would make you feel safer too



tbh £60 well spent i think, i overbuilt mine out of junk i had available - the engine stand version looks ideal

 

[johniban]

that engine stand jobbie is a brilliant idea! id want to link them together tho even if its was just a bolt together bar

 

[norsa]

Have to say, if i built another one i would go down that line. It was only that i had some spare scaffolding kicking about. Yes, as a static stand, it will be fine as independant supports but if you are moving it on castors a tie bar would be a good idea but be sure to paint some stripes on it to avoid tripping.

 

[Wallace]

Over the last couple of months I looked at a lot of the options available for rolling a car 90°, what stopped me making or buying a rotisserie type roller is the available length in my garage once the car is mounted as I have about 500mm to play with as the car is quite long. I ended up with an Autovip 1700 that does the job nicely but has it's own set of drawbacks as I now need all the floorspace available to roll the car.

I found a couple of American websites quite useful for ideas as they are happy to compare their competitors jigs and methods to show how good theirs are! Site #1, Site #2. Site #1 shows a good video of setting the balance point, this might give you a couple of ideas while you are in the planning stages.

 

[Tupers]

We use one of these at work. Clicky
We've probably used if you about 10 different Minis so far and the basic design is pretty good and has certainly paid for it's self.

It does have it's issues though.

It is fitted with swivelling box section feet that are designed to rotate around to suit the height you have the spit set at. Although this works it also wobbles a lot and a round tube welded to the bottom of each leg would have done the same job with no chance of movement.

The pivot is on 4 bronze bushes that don't take the weight of a shell and broke up after the second time of using it.

The locking plate was welded on in correctly so you can never actually sit a shell level and have it locked in place.

The general design of the mounting points isn't great and need spacing and tinkering to get it to work.


I can't see these things being an issue for hobby users but I certainly know not what to do when I get round to making a few for our selfs.

 

[bluebobtail]

Hi, How did your "spits" fair in the end, I'm looking at making one for a sunbeam imp to do a full restoration on. I will probably put wheels on it to be able to move it in and out of the garage if needed, to fix my range rover.
Any advice taken gladly, I've used a few mini ones in the past with just a ba going through the centre of the car. The Imp should work the same i think.

 

[Wallace]

I made a chassis dolly for my Autovip 1700 so I can to turn the car round and roll it the other way. Link.

 

[bluebobtail]

Thanks for the link, That looks good. I have some 3mm to 5mm box section knocking around so was going to make something up out of that.
Then jut get some tube for it.
Hopefully I'll be starting on it soon, but i'm waiting for my gearbox to come back first for the rover then i can start the imp.
I'm looking frward to it to be honest as ive done a few landrovers but never a car really, so it should be fun.

 

[nickk]

this is much too high


i would guess about bumper height but it varies

if you put a little effort in you will be able to make the c.o.g. adjustable on your spit.

really you need to at least remove the engine if you are going very tilty/upside down.

if you are not doing a full on restoration you may be better with some sort of lift or ramp.

Ummm,lotus sunbeam! always fancied one -when i was too young to insure it.

 

[bluebobtail]

Now a lotus sunbeam yes, Am not sure wether to keep the imp standard or turn it into a works rally car.
I also will have a mini piv=ck up to do after that.