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Need you guys advice on this idea. Since I don't have the luxury of getting to rebuild this car full time in a two car garage, I have to build my body dolly so that it will go over the frame at the end of the day. Momma's rule of the house is that her car will be inside at night or if storms are coming. So, I have always had to make sure she had room for her car at the end of the night and yes it is a pain in the **** but it's how I have to do it. I saw in the C3 section a guy did a raised dolly but his dolly slid front to rear over the frame. I think mine will work better if I can go from the side do to my driveway angle. I made a crude drawing for the idea. My guestimate measurements are 14' and some change long and 6' and change wide. I figure the gas tank on the frame with tires would be the tallest point ever and looks to be about 31-33" so I plan to keep the bottom of the top frame at 36". The top of the raised frame will have four sides and the lower leg support will be three sided. Once the dolly slides back over the frame I can do lower support bar on a quick release if needed. I figure on the raised part, I will build the mounting points off of a traditional dolly plan. Has anyone here ever built one like this?
The red lines in the drawing are cross brace support ideas. If I put the cross supports at the body mount locations and then make the vertical correct height mounts there, do you think it would hold over a 6' span or should I run a long center brace down the middle? I was thinking to use 2x8 or 2x10's for the frame and top cross braces. Don't know what is the best size. Also I am looking at 8" and 10" casters. Here again, don't know if that would be to big or to small.
With one side open, you will need to brace the closed side with 45 degree braces and gusset or brace the top to prevent the ends from moving.
2x8s for the top should be more that adequate and 2x4s or 2x6s for the bottom frame as it is in tension and will not see much load.
Caster should be rated for the weight of the car and framing - my guess is 500# capacity each. Large wheels will make it easier to move for one man.
I'll try to get a few minutes to sketch up the bracing later. The boss is calling right now.
I can make measurements on mine - which as you know is all on ground level.
One caution, you saw the Noland Adams plan where you have a large "box" for the cockpit and a narrower front "box" for the front clip etc. The accepted wisdom is that for a convertible you need to add support for the rear as well. The supports for those 2 rear-most mounts cannot be a bar parallel to the ground, like the other "boxes". It has to stick up from below but the body hangs lower than those 2 mounts. See the first 2 pics in my body lift thread, it may make more sense than I can describe in words.
My gas tank was 31" but that did not include the filler neck. It's very simple to remove the tank, that might be an option to consider and then it's one less thing to deal with as you move things in and out.
Last - when I bought my car I went to Harbor Freight and bought 4 "Vehicle Dollies" - again, they show in some of the pics on my previous threads. Under $100 for the 4 and they are worth their weight in gold as far as moving the chassis or even the whole car. They would add a couple inches vertically but the convenience factor would be worth it IMHO.
Thanks guys. R66, that was my concern about it bowing in on that side when rolling. I will have to see how big of a gusset I can get and still clear the frame.
After reading RRman’s post it hit me. Maybe I’m doing this backwards. If I still raise the dolly and put it on wheels, I should leave the long side open to empty side of the garage and roll the frame out on the tire dollies. I could put a long board across the span at the bottom of the body dolly that removes easily and just take it out when I slide the frame out. Then when I get to the point the tires come off I build another frame dolly to still slide under the body. If I do need to roll the body I can move the frame out and then the body would be braced at the top and bottom on all four sides.
Here is a conceptual sketch of what I think you had in mind. You can substitute plywood gussets for 2x4 bracing and vice versa as you wish.
I think the structure is sufficient for your use, but you have to determine if it is structurally sound as I do not accept any responsibility for the structural strength as I have not performed calculations to verify the same, nor am I a registered structural engineer.
I would screw and glue (unless you wish to take it apart in the future) all joints.
Please excuse the rough drafting as I learned how in BC, Before Computers.
Ron, that is awesome and I will not hold you liable for anything. I had pictured the gussets going in towards the body, not extending the top rail out and going away. That was a great idea. The more I think about it the more I like rolling the frame out and then only move the body when I have to. I think as long as the base is sturdy I would not have any problems rolling the body, but all that weight will be 3’ up. If I line the cross beans up to the body mount locations I should still have access to the engine compartment and the height might make doing all the wiring easier.
Rolling the frame and drive train assembly out from under the body is probably safer than moving the body. However, you may need help (unless you are young) and if you are doing it quite often, your significant other may get tired of pushing. Of course if you are only pushing it back to gain access to the engine bay, that shouldn't be hard. Some of the bracing can be safely eliminated if the dolly is stationary, and the body will provide support to any dolly if you bolt it down at the front and rear.
The body is reasonably light and you should be able to move it if you have 6" wheels or so on a rolling dolly.
In Illinois, pushing the frame partly out, in the winter means working in the cold assuming the OH door will remain open. You guys down there are lucky down there to that respect.
Thanks for the compliment, I enjoyed tinkering with it.
Raised Body Dolly
