want to b safe cleaning under 59 galaxie.Rotiserie the best bet?

Was trying to get some advice from people on the best way to clean under my galaxie. But the same guy who told me he used railroad ties and jackstands also told me that hes been trapped under a car body for 3 hours before when it fell on him! So that kinda worries me. And when I see people doing it with cinderblocks Im sure it works for most people but I think that would freek me out a bit 2. The guy said it takes like 7 or 8 guys 2 flip a rotiserie Is this accurate? The car is a 59 galaxie so its pretty big. Im not rich, but if I have 2 Im sure i could shove out $1500 if I have 2 2 be safe. Would rather spend that on something else but Ill do it if I have 2. Thanks in advance.

 

The body is off the chassis right? Nobody spins an assembled car.

 

Flat level surface, nice Jack, 4 heavy duty 6 ton stands
Those stands are over kill but they are taller giving you more room, wider giving you much much more stability, and piece of mind knowing you could be holding up 24 tons but are only holding up 2. 20x. Safety margin.

Oh did I mention flat level surface!!!!!!!

Few thread out there on converting engine stands and cranes into rotisseries.
it all depends on what you're going to be doing under there, how long It may take,

 

What he said! as long as you make sure you have solid jack stands, and that they are placed under the chassis in solid spots you should be just fine. This is how I always do it. now, if your still worried about about that, maybe a 2 post lift is what you need. you can pick one up fround around $1500 too.

 

Not off the frame yet but I will take it off when I get a plan of action. I like that safety margin. peace of mind. hopefully it wont need 2 be on there long but realistically it probably will be. Knowing me.

 

Are rotiseries even safe? I dont have lots of car friends so most likely Id be doing a lot by myself. Just curious.

 

Just a aside; went to a nearby "known streetrod builder's" place last week in search of a part. There were two guys there working under a '58 Olds 98. It was sitting up on two 55 gallon drums, one at each end. This was a whole complete car.

I ain't the world's most safety concious guy, but daymmm.

 

What are your plans for this car? Blowing a late model apart is quite a commitment, you may want to think about door, hood and trunk alignment and repair before you have a two car garage filled with parts.

 

Damn, complete? Sounds like they wanted that thing in and out.

 

That would depend on the rotisserie. A well made shop built one should be safe if the body is mounted to it correctly or a well made home made one should be safe to use. I've seen some using what looks like HF engine stands that are pretty shaky though.

As far as jack stands go, don't set jack stands directly on asphalt as they will usually dig in to it. You can set the stand on a heavy square of plywood or a piece of steel plate on asphalt and be safe though. And don't use stands on dirt or grass.
You are correct in that cinder blocks are not what you want to use as they can crush pretty easily under the weight of a car and have many times in the past.

 

Well this would be my first frame off if I did it. My reasoning....The lines are old, The suspension is F'd. Needs new brakes. And last but not least It will probably drive me a little nutty not having the bottom cleaned. Does it not sound like a good idea? I never have done anything like this. So...is it a really bad idea? I get people saying that its a good idea, and then people saying its a bad idea. Most of the bad idea being people who dont like old cars. So I would like 2 see what real car people think.

 

Depends on you.
There are lots and lots and lots once enjoyable cars in pieces because of an ambitious owner who over estimated his abilities and financial obligations.

If you got What it takes to finish it, frame off can't be beat. That's alot an awful lot
There's no reason why you can't do it in sections. , like eating an elephant one bite at a time. One project a week eventually it gets done and driven. Blow it apart and loose interest, you have a pile of parts.

 

I got ya. Maybe im biting off more than i can chew. I dont want 2 lose interest. And maybe that money can be spent on something else. Since im not really all that well off.

 

Plus, every god damn thing on that car including trans and motor need 2 b rebuilt. suspension, interior, chrome........piece of crap.

 

I tried to do a frame off on my first old car...Its still sitting in the garage, in pieces! You can get overwhelmed quickly if youve never done this before. It may sound easier but its no simple task to do what your attempting by yourself. Not saying it cant be done just saying its hella tough! I know prefer to get em running first as so I can enjoy it a little bit, then do weekend projects when the time comes. That way I dont lose interest in the project.

 

Rotisserie's can be very safe IF they are built correctly (and there are a bunch of unsafe examples here on the HAMB if you search a bit). I designed and built this one for my '62 Monterey as the ones offered for sale by Summit and Eastwood looked too flimsy for the big Merc. I have a little over $500 (2008 steel prices) into it. It can be built in a weekend with a chop saw and decent welder. Once the body was balanced properly, I could easily spin the body over myself. I ended up replacing the entire floor, gas tank, rockers, and rear quarters of the Merc from the rotisserie, and I can not imagine doing all that laying on my back with it on jack stands. If you are interested, PM me your e-mail and I can send you a set of plans for the rotisserie.

 

Wow, very nice rotiserie!Thank u, but im not the greatest welder. Thank u frozen. very cool.Thank u mopar! I think I will go in that direction. I get jealous of the guys driving there cars, while im driving my 05 truck.

 

Here's one way to NOT do it.

http://thereifixedit.failblog.org/2011/04/10/white-trash-repairs-pickups-dont-grow-on-trees/

 

Haha, that way is ghetto!

 

depends on what your after, what level you want to buld the car to, how much work the underside needs

buying a rotisserie depends on how much you can tolerate shit falling on you, in your hair / ears / eyes. straining your neck / back to see what youre doing. then doing that for several days / weeks in a row.

As I get older my tolerance for it has gone down, Ill be building a rotisserie.

Im not that old

 

there's a lot to take into consideration here. If you've never done it before, you may want to start off with an easier car to do a frame off. When you pull the body off the frame, it is going to twist and turn in ways you couldn't even imagine. If you don't brace it properly (which involves welding in supports) you could really ruin that car. Sure, it would probably bolt back to the frame, but your door gaps will be horrable, body panels will have highs and lows like the grand canyon, and you will have unimagineable problems with parts that just don't fit anymore. I'm not trying to be discouraging, just realistic as i do this everyday for a living. pickup trucks are much easier to do.

 

Thanks ckunsman, I will be taking the advice and just waiting to do that on a smaller car in the future. I dont want to lose interest and I sure dont want to be stuck in a bad situation. I think Ill save that money for something like the brakes, or something else that needs 2 b fixed.

 

You might take a look at Rod and Custom June issue pg 14 There is a 63 Galaxie on a new style rotisserie there. It is a very very rusty body shell but yet there is no stress on the body and the doors open and close just fine on it email me at [email protected] I'll email you some detailed pictures of the Galaxie mounted up in it.

 

here is what I use, some people think its dangerous and crude, but it has worked for me for years. I use it because I don'y like crawling around on the floor working on rusty stuff.
My opinion is if you are as inexperienced as you say if you take this car apart you will never put it back together. Start with the easy samll stuff, carpet ,detail the trunk and engine compartment. brakes ,little stuff with big satisfaction will keep you interested for years and you can drive it while your doing it. good luck
Shot at 2010-10-11

 

here is what I use, some people think its dangerous and crude, but it has worked for me for years. I use it because I don'y like crawling around on the floor working on rusty stuff.
My opinion is if you are as inexperienced as you say if you take this car apart you will never put it back together. Start with the easy small stuff, carpet ,detail the trunk and engine compartment. brakes ,little stuff with big satisfaction will keep you interested for years and you can drive it while your doing it. good luck
Shot at 2010-10-11

 

I'm using a US Car Tool rotisserie for my (OT) 69 Roadrunner. Seemed to be the best bang for the buck, especially if you source the casters and hydraulics yourself.

That said, I came across this a while ago and thought it might be great for someone that wasn't completely disassembling their car.
http://www.accessiblesystems.com/et/et.php

 

Use a two post lift. You can remove the body with it, clean all you want with it up in the air and use the lift to put the car back together. I have resored several cars using my two post lift, and would never go back to my rotiserie.

 

Maybe you need to buy a finished car instead?

I did a complete rotisserie job on my O/T Jag, it took me 4 years, and would have taken longer if a deadline hadn't cropped up unexpectedly, but there's no way I could have done it without the roto.....

When I total up everything I spent, I would have been smarter to buy one someone else already did the work on, or an original that didn't need so much - and I could have been driving it all those years.

A good roto will let you control it with one person, no problem.

 

Just thought this might be a good place to show this rotisserie (since I now figured out how to post pictures), This my new concept I developed years ago and have been using just about every day in our shop. It not only makes restoration work easier, safer, more efficient, and Fun but it takes up very little space, it suspends the body shell cradling it, rather then hanging from the ends and causing undo stress. With the four foot operated brakes you can quickly stop and lock into position on the fly with no need to move from your work area to dial it in just right! if you need to rotate just an inch or two just release the brake with a flip of your toe, rotate the hoop just a bit and press on the brake within seconds and keep working! Doesn't seem like that big of an issue? until you don't have that option, be kinda like welding with a helmet that doesn't flip up or down, it works and dose the job but taking off on putting back on each time well that gets annoying and time consuming! I've been restoring classic cars a long time and like to be as efficient as possible to do the best work I can , the Roller hoop allows me all that. i also train young guys this craft of restoration and they love the Roller Hoop is are some pictures of them mounting up a 54 Chevy in it and jumping right in on do rust repairs, The Roller Hoop on it storage rack, and even Speedy Bill using a Roller Hoop to display his Speed goods, with it's compact design I can have three or four units up in the shop at one time, and I have a rather small shop. note the garage door is down now the Kitty can't sneak out side! As with my other rotisserie I'd have to open the door to make enough room to work and late at night and when I was ready to go home, well miss kitty-cat still wanted to play outside, so add another hour to cashing the dam cat!

 

I've used a pair of jackstands by leaving one pair of wheels on the floor, either the front or the rear pair to stabilize my car.

And have also slid the other pair of mounted tires stacked under my car for cribbing just in case it ever came down. My old L-60/14's were dandies for this under the rear!