How to build a dolly for your body

I am looking for ideas on how to build a dolly to hold the body of my 39 Ford coupe.
I did a search and didn't come up with much.

Should it be all steel or is a wooden good enough?

Ideas for wheels? I want to be able to move it outside in the gravel driveway.

I am open to suggestions.
Thanks

 

Might be a bit pricey but this is what i used out of steel

 

Some 2x10's, decking screws and 6-8 inch diameter wheels work well. Two of the wheels need to swivel. Bob

 

Where are you located (sorry can't tell on the mobile app)? I have a dolly I used on my model a that I don't need anymore that you can have. I'd upgrade to larger casters/ wheels if you want to roll over the rough stuff. I'm in NorCal.

 

If you plan to push it out on the gravel you will be better off pnuematic tyres wether you make it out of wood or steel.Abit of weight on hard castors on soft ground will cause you grief.

 

I built two body dollys that we use in our shop and I made them out of lumber, but I made them to fit lighter, smaller bodies like a Model A. For something like your 39 the dolly would have to be substantially heavier, but it could still be done out of wood. Here is one of the two I built:





If I were doing it for your body I would use 2 x 8 or 2 x 10 lumber for the main sections, and 4 x 4 lumber for the uprights. I used long carriage bolts and casters from Harbor Freight, but on yours I think I would use much heavier casters with either large hard rubber tires or pnuematic tires, and instead of 4 I think I would put 6 on it to spread the load.

You could make yours wider and longer, and also I would suggest you double up on the outriggers where the casters mount because under load mine do bend slightly. Just thought this one might give you some ideas to start with.

Don

 

there a few things you can build, one is a workbench type with wheels, another is more like Tedly's style, i use a rotisserie when i need to flip it to work on. another idea that i think would be better for you is an old trailer, like a boat trailer cut down. it will give you the ability to pull it out easily with a car or garden tractor. the bench type is good for inside the shop and if you build it with shelves underneath it will hold the parts from the project. even a simple four wheeled dolly with a wood box on top will work. i have all of these styles because some are better depending on the project.

 

Don, those dollies are nice and would be fine for a larger body if the 2x4s on either end were replaced by a 2x6 and extended past the wheels to the end of the boards.

 

Thats a good idea,i have to build something like that after i have finished the sheetmetal work from the body.

 

Don, those dollies are nice and would be fine for a larger body if the 2x4s on either end were replaced by a 2x6 and extended past the wheels to the end of the boards.
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I think so too, all he would have to do is build a larger, stronger version of what I have, and add another outrigger in the center with two more casters on it. The 4 x 4's really take most of the load, but the outriggers would be best doubled up so they don't sag in the center.

What I like about mine is that by removing the bolts I can dismantle them and store them away when we have no bodies to move around. I have rolled mine outside the shop when we used it to paint our bodies and surprisingly, it rolled pretty easy over blacktop.

I think I have something like $ 100 in the two dollys.

Don

 

I will help you build it if its steel....wood and you are on your own lol!

 

I built mind out of pressure treated lumber 2x4s used 6 inch wheels two that sivile, bought those through northern tools they were rated 1000 lbs each I weld them to angle iron and then bolted them onto the 2x4s I made to rectangluar frames with cross braces in between and made the the total height for the body to sit on 36 inches high didnt want to have to do alot of bending over worked real well. between wheels and lumber and nuts bolts just under $200

 

My current dolly is all my poor old body can handle. And she's been that way for years! Good luck with yours.

 

this is under $200 for the steel and wheels. After the cab was done Iremade the cart to hold the pick up box,

 

I made this one out of some leftover square tubng..The swivel wheels came off an old hospital bed that was in the dumpster where I was working

This shot was made in my "spraybooth" !!!

 

I built a dolly out of 4X4s and have used it for several cars, I used 4" casters but don't use it on gravel. Make sure it is straight and level if you plan on fitting doors with it on the dolly otherwise you will have problems when you mount the body on the frame.

 

I built the one my Studebaker sits on out of 2x4's I have since cut them down to make it shorter as I am storing it for the time being and not working on it.

 

Large diameter wheels for gravel. Avoid harbor freight pneumatic tires they are like balloons and will keep growing as air pressure goes up.
Then they will leak down.

 

There's a joker in every crowd.

 

This is good info, I was thinking about getting a set of those for gravel use.

 

I made a dolly out of a wood pallet used for delivering thick 4'x8' or 5'x10' steel. They are much longer than a standard pallet and use 4"x4" wood for strength. We have these around work, and often had extras laying around. You may want to contact someplace in your area who uses sheet steel and get one of these steel pallets for free. Then I used other scrap wood to rest the floor on where the frame rails would have been, so I could get inside the car when needed. It cost me nothing and took maybe two hours to get it together. Lag screws held the body into the dolly and it was strong. I could move it around with a forklift or transport it on a flatbed to mediablasting without worry. I had HF casters on it at one time, but took them off.

 

wow All great info and fast too!

I have some pneumatic tires from my rotisserie that i could use, 300# rating each.

I just remembered I have a couple long pieces of 2" sq tbg from the rotisserie as well. Wood would be quick but I'm leaning towards a steel one now. I'm trying to keep the cost to a minimum. I still need to buy steel for the bracing inside the body.

Thanks a million for all the replies.
I will post a picture when it is completed.

Thanks for the offer on the dolly but I am out on the East Coast.

 

I see boat trailers being given away all the time. The problem is there's usually an old boat that goes with it that needs to be disposed off. If you can get rid of the boat, all it would take is a little work to make a really nice body dolly.

Just an idea.......

 

...for my Model A body, I made a rectangle out of wooden 2x3's, gusseted the corners with some plywood scraps and added some casters off an old creeper. Works fine for just movin it around. Cost about $6. It doesn't need to be up in the air like some of these other ones unless you're gonna be workin on it.

 

cooter you are spot on plus use plenty of glue on the gussets and screw everything together

 

About 4 or 5 years ago I bought a 46 Ford tudor body and frame only......no axles or any other running gear. When the guy delivered it to our shop we put down 4 of those metal wheel dollys that HF sells and lashed a heavy wooden pallet on top of them. We used rachet straps to hold the wheel dollys to the pallet. It was like a big old skateboard.

I figured it would at least hold the car until I could get it properly blocked up, but 4 years later it was still sitting on the same pallet and had never fallen off. When my Son bought the 46 from me he bought a proper metal frame jig and we took it off the pallet, but the thing was still in good condition and we were able to roll it around a few times on that makeshift dolly. The damn thing was actually stronger than I thought it would be.

It didn't sit very high off the ground, but at least it gave us a way to roll it out of the way for shop cleaning and stuff like that.

Don

 

Great info as I will need one for over the winter. Thanks for posting.

 

I made a dolly for my truck cabs out of some old scaffolding I had lying around.

 

A few years ago I cut down a frame that had damage on the front end to use as a dolly for my 48's cab.

Boy howdy I should have cleaned it out before taking the photo.


It's setting a bit back on the dolly as I just moved it around on the gravel today.

 

I thought you were talking about this: