Rotisserie question

I've been thinking about constructing a rotisserie to assist in some work I want to do on one of my Mustangs (a 1987 GT) and in searching around I noticed that for some reason or another, it seems like the only people ever using the things are people working on pre-1970 Mustangs. I did find one page that talked about using it on a Porche 914, but seriously, it seemed like it's all early Mustang projects. Does anyone know why this might be? Is there any reason why a rotisserie would be a bad idea on the later model (1987-1993) Mustangs? It seems like an ideal application for any unibody vehicle, and probably for non-unibody vehicles with the frame removed, and yet it just seems like that one narrow range of cars is all anyone uses it for.

I'd ask if anyone knew of plans for such an item, but I've seen a few sites that have them for sale already... as I'm too cheap to buy a pre-made one, I'm also too cheap to buy the plans anyhow. Most folks seem to just suggest modifying a pair of Harbor Freight engine stands, so perhaps I'll do that. Otherwise maybe I'll do it all from scratch and post my progress online when I get a chance.

Reply to
The Hurdy Gurdy Man
Loading thread data ...

Years ago I saw a site where a fellow had made a rotisserie of sorts by building two huge circles of thick plywood. He bolted them on to the front and back of the car ( a vintage Mustang oddly enough) and then rolled the car over. He did it outside to blast the bottom but then made a set of stationary rollers for each end to just rotate the car in the garage. Kind of neat for a bargain build but it would cost as much for the 3/4 ply he used today as the two stands most likely. I don't see why it would not work on a Fox car. You don't see it because there are a lot of Fox cars still around so I doubt many people are doing that level of "resto" on them yet as compared to the vintage cars. StuK

Reply to
Stuart&Janet

Wayay Stu,

Do you remember where the plywood 'rotisserie' was? It sounds like a viable option for me, as I can't get hold of heavy duty engine stands for less than about $450 a piece here in France. Putain de paye de merde! Fait chier! (sorry 'bout that - had to let off steam, and in French it shouldn't offend too many people!)

If you've an idea, could you let me know, or give me an idea on what sort of diameter I'd be looking at?

Later

Kevin

67 Conv. (Money Pit) in Restoration

"Stuart&Janet" a écrit dans le message de news:PISdnfqWgIQw5J7dRVn snipped-for-privacy@golden.net...

building two huge

blast the bottom

Reply to
elmo

Hehe... You should see how that translates to English using Babelfish or Google translation. It comes out fairly garbled (and funny!), but the intent remains clear. :)

Reply to
Garth Almgren

I did a search on rotisserie a while back and bumped into a couple of sites with plans for doing this... no fee. I wish I had bookmarked them, but I'm sure you can find them.

Reply to
Mustang_66

To all interested in this idea...

I'd be seriously concerned about the idea of a rotisserie. The floorpans of these cars are notoriously weak, and if the car were only supported by the very front and very back, it has a good chance of bending right in half. They bend enough just sitting on the wheels - ever try to support an older one by the subframe and open the doors? Chances are they won't open or close correctly. Many of the 5.0 cars that 4 jackstands placed in the same spot at the same height won't sit the car level - I've worked on more than one that would hold itself up on three stands because the car was higher than the 4th stand - the car's twisted too badly.

Maybe with a set of subframe connectors, and even then I'd be concerned about support placement.

Mind you, I've not researched this fully and don't know the attachment or support system, but I'd hate to see anyone break their car or hurt themselves. Just something to think about before trying to hang a Fox upside down.

JS

Reply to
JS

I've spent several hours with Google looking for just such a thing, and about all I found was links claiming to be to free plans that later ended up not being free plans after all. Although sometimes the "plans" offered were just some sketchy details about how to modify a pair of engine stands. Really though, it's not the kind of project that requires serious plans. The concept is simple enough, it's more just a matter of using common sense and quality materials in the construction. As long as the axis of rotation between the front and rear mounts stay in line, it should rotate without any problem (though the balance will no doubt be off, but that can be worked around). More than anything it'd just be a fun project to work on and document. You can purchase one for around $900, which really isn't all that bad a price when you think about it, but as long as you have access to a welder you can build a better one than you can buy for about $200 so it seems the better option.

Reply to
The Hurdy Gurdy Man

This was the exact thought I had when I saw that pretty much every usage of a rotisserie involved a pre-70s Mustang. It is suggested to use an additional door frame support on convertibles, but I haven't heard of any such braces used on hard top vehicles... but again, I also haven't seen it done with anything later than a pre-70s Mustang either. I'm thinking, though, that with a 14 point roll cage installed stiffness won't be too much of a problem....

The vehicle would be completely stripped before attaching to a rotisserie (and I do mean completely stripped... no glass, no K member, no rear end, no doors, nothing) and so I'd expect the severe reduction in weight to help matters some. But also I suppose the direction of the flexing involved is also a question... when turned upside down, the forces would try to elongate the roof and bow the floor, which isn't the normal direction in which you see frame deformation. Usually it is, as you said, twisted. And in this case it wouldn't be twisting at all. While I have absolutely noticed twisting problems in any Fox chassis, I haven't seen so many problems with the bowed-in-the-middle kind of flexing. But then I'm comparing it to the 1989 Camaro I worked on a few times... that sucker, with the front on two jackstands while the rear tires were still on the ground, would bend so substantially that you could far too easily see the deflection as the frame contacted the stands. I've never had that kind of trouble with any of the Fox chassis vehicles I've put on stands, and it's been quite a few.

Still, though, I share your concerns in the matter. But also, with a whole lot of tubular steel welded to the frame, I wouldn't expect it to bow OR twist!

Reply to
The Hurdy Gurdy Man

Reply to
Mustang_66

I have a set of plans for a rotisserie I used on my '66 convertible.

The only change you would have to make is the mounting points. The link bar that holds the two ends keeps the car from flexing too bad.

I did a hardtop before and used the universale dorr braces from accesible systems without any problem.

If you want the file just e-mail me.

Patrick '66 vert in progress

Reply to
NUPRO FGP

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.