Hello everyone! I'm doing a frame off on my Merc. I have the body off the frame, and the doors and trunk off. The body is on cinder blocks with 6"x 6"s under the front firewall and rear. I had the frame powder coated. I found a Champ 3000lb capacity rotisserie for sale near me. How would I mount the body? Is there a special attachment? I haven't a clue... Any help appreciated!! Gabe
Most of the time I've been able to use the front body mount to pick up the body and same with the rear. If this has to be replaced or repaired you will need to do it before it goes on the rotisserie.
It should come with 4 x adjustable brackets (Black circles) that attach to balance bar, you'll most likely have to custom fabricate the body brackets to attach to these brackets. Get someone who can weld and use thick wall RHS, last thing you want is a weld breaking under stress and the body falling on you! You adjust the CoG on the clamps (Red circles) bu winding the 'T' bar up or down otherwise it'll hang like a pendulum and unable to be rotated. Most manufacturers offer leaf spring, uni-body mounting or generic brackets to use with their product. Make sure you use a HD large diameter washer under the bolt head and nut, better be safe than sorry, to capture the mounting points and take the load. I fabricated my rotisserie and used 7/16" thick x 2" right angle steel bolted to the adjustable brackets with 1/2" grade 8 bolts. I used similar bolts/nuts to hold the frame to the rotisserie brackets. The angle iron was bolted to floor under rear tail pan (x2) and front body to frame mounts(x2) using OEM body to frame mounts. Not my car however this is how a HAMBer did his 46 Oldsmobile sedanette at the front. Rear is similar.
WOW! Thanks for both replies! And Stumpy - VERY MUCH APPRECIATE you taking the time with such a detailed response and photos!!!! I'm doing this project by myself in my mom's 1 car garage. My dad and I bought this car about 25 years ago and we tinkered with it here and there. When dad died 7 years ago, it's just been sitting in the garage. My dad knew A LOT more about this than I do. I don't have local friends in the car hobby, so I truly appreciate the help, especially those pics!! I'm sure I will have more questions. I have attached a pic of the rotisserie - will this work for me? It looks in decent shape and at $500, I think it's a good deal. I'm going to make an offer. I visited the Champs site and saw these adapters, but not sure which one or ones will work for me.
All good, I'd suggest using or adding that adjustable beam between both ends to add more strength and stability due to additional weight with body, frame or both as it'll prevent both ends from moving apart under load.
Hmmm I didn’t think about that. Would the rotisserie site advise how much clearance I need? Perhaps I just need a Body Cart to mount the body to so I can roll it. Once again, I appreciate everyone’s help.
Thinking about this you could roll it outside to flip the body then roll it back in. It would be a pain but doable if there is a good concrete pad outside the garage.
I checked the front and rear mounting points. What are your thoughts on using the same mounts where the body bolts onto the frame? It looks like I could mount the body directly onto the arms that stick out of the rotisserie. The rear mounts are slightly higher than the rear valance, so I would have to keep the large rubber bushing so the rotisserie arm will clear the valance. I don't think I need to make an adapter. Is that OK???
Sounds good to me, they're definitely stable. You'll just need to shim the gap until there's sufficient clearance and adjust the length of the rear arm from the pivot point to keep the body level. Both pivot points need to be on the same axis to enable body to be rotated. Some fine tuning would be required to get the CoG correct so the body can be rotated to whatever angle is needed enabling you to work on the underside. Use those locking pins as well and make sure all bolts are tightened sufficiently to keep things as rigid as possible. I lightly greased the pivot points to minimise friction on mikne when rotating however it's probably not recommended. I've bad carpal tunnel in both hands and a gummy right shoulder so it helps me. Depending on weight you may need to widen the base at those adjustable legs for stability especially if you intend to rotate the body from the horizontal to vertical position.
Stumpy, I can't thank you enough for your help and guidance. I reached out to the seller and he is looking for the 14 foot long 2.5" x 2.5" square stock that stabilizes the rotisserie between the legs. He told me the rotisserie uses 3/16" thick steel so it should be sturdy. I will hopefully get this rotisserie no later than Wednesday 3/6/19. My mom's 1 car garage is about 8.5' tall and 11.5' wide... I think that would be wide and tall enough to mount the body and have clearance to rotate it. Please keep an eye out for me... I wish I could private message but I don't know how on this site.
I lifted the body off and back on on my 51 Merc using those two back holes for the body mounts. I'd suggest using somewhat larger than a washer plates on the top to spread the pull out though. I'd absolutely tie the two pieces together so they move around more as a unit.
Hello again everyone! I bought a Weaver Rotisserie and would really appreciate some advice on mounting. I'm really nervous but excited thus far. The front mount looks easy enough to do. The rear mount is harder. The rear valance is lower than the body mount. Which adapter should I use? I labeled them A, B, C, D, but none have holes in them for a bolt to mount the body. Also, how do I mount the door braces? Do they need to be really tight, or just offer some support. I can't seem to mount them flush with the B pillar because of the shape. Any tips? What will prevent the mounts from sliding down the horizontal bar when I rotate the car? The screws on the arms just press against the bar which passes underneath, but there is no screw hole. Do I need to drill one? Or does the screw pressure suffice? Does the rotisserie look centered? I have posted pics showing the approximate center mass. I've never done this before an am excited, nervous and scared all at once. THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR HELP!
This comes easy to me as it was my bread and butter for years, auto-body repair. I understand that it can be daunting as well as dangerous if things aren't done correctly or safely so I've attached a PDF copy of Champ 1471 user manual in the hope it may assist. Do it once, do it right. Last thing you want is for the body to fall off with someone getting injured or having your prized possession damaged. https://www.autobodytoolmart.com/champ-deluxe-hydraulic-frame-rotisserie-1471-p-13439.aspx You'll note that there are no holes that correspond with adjustable brackets at either end supporting the body. When centred on [Inverted] 'T' frame tighten the bolts up until they contact horizontal beam. No need to tighten bolts until they dimple the tubing. The adjustable brackets are an interference fit and are designed to be moveable along the length of the beam. This applies to both front and rear, you may find that the cowl feet spacing is wider and doesn't correspond with the mounting pads spacing in the trunk floor. I'd get the body mounting points further under the cowl feet and in as far as possible then drill new corresponding holes to secure body. Longer arms create a fulcrum affect loading up the welded end. Shorter arms or moving the mounting points up the arm towards the securing bolt would place less stress on welds and be more stable IMO even if the rotisserie is closer to firewall. The imaginary central axis line needs to be horizontal (parallel) to ground so there is no binding when body is rotated on rotisserie. You may find the cowl feet and rear trunk floor mounting pads are at different vertical heights from the floor (Datum line). Inevitably you may find that the length of the adjustable [Inverted] 'T' arms, and the adjustable RHS brackets with securing bolts, are different. Once you get the body level and centre of gravity (CoG) correct, the body should freely spin 360 degrees on the rotisserie with a little effort. I note that bolts are low grade metric fine thread. I over engineer and use graded bolts where I can in heavy or high load areas, better be safe than sorry IMHO. I gather that these bolts meet the necessary safety standards comparable to 3,000lb load rating. Again I'd set out to get the arms further under the trunk floor and close to the mounting pads or in as far as possible, it just depends on how much room you require between rotisserie and rear of body. Then mark and drill new corresponding holes to secure body to brackets. Longer arms create a fulcrum affect loading up the welded end. Shorter arms or moving the mounting points up the arm towards the bolt would place less stress on welds and be more stable even if rotisserie is close to firewall. To deal with that gap I'd locate some similar specification 3/16" thick steel RHS off cut and divide into 2 x short equal lengths, then drill vertical holes from one side through the other. Use these as spacers between the arms and that under trunk floor brace to spread the load, naturally you'll require 2 x longer bolts. On the trunk floor I'd use a 4"x4"x1/8" flat steel as a large washer to spread the load under the bolt or nut. I use either 7/216" or 1/2" UNF graded bolts / nuts to secure my body to the arms. When all bolted up try to rotate the body, most likely it will hang like a pendulum until until CoG is achieved. To get this correct both ends of rotisserie need to be adjusted here via locking pin. As above you may find one end hangs lower than the other. It's just trial and error until you get the balance right. Don't forget to put the locking pins back in and tighten all bolts to necessary torque. Practice safety, it isn't an option but a necessity!
Quick! Get that body off those cinder blocks! While they look safe, they are not safe to use as supports. They are tempered (kiln dried) and are like tempered glass. One hairline crack (or bump with a hard object) will cause them to crumble instantly and that body will come down like it was dropped from a crane. Many people have been killed while working under or around cars "supported" by cinder blocks.
Stumpy!!!!! I can't thank you enough for sharing your response!!! I really do appreciate it. Thank you thank you thank you! If you were local I'd buy ya a Fosters! And Hot Rods, thanks for the heads up! I went ahead and bought some tall jack stands used on trucks to support it until I mount it on the rotisserie. I didn't know those blocks are fragile!! The car has been mounted like that a long time and it scares me to think what could have happened! Thanks for looking out. Thanks to all the members helping me. With everyone's help, I'm hoping to get her done soon!!!!!
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