body carts or table

anyone have any homeade body carts or tables they have built to put the body of your car inplace of a rotisery...tired of laying down to work on the rockers or lower fenders..and also i want to be able to get under the car body to work and paint before putting the back on the frame ...right now its still on the old frame..anyone have pics of what they have built ?..i was kinda thinkin 4x4 wood frame with wheels

 

I made a body cart out of two rails of 1-1/2 x 3 rectangular tubing about 3 feet apart, with 1-1/2 square tubes going sideways on top of those, with a hole at each end that lines up with the body mount holes. With some modifications, I used it for two different cars. It rolls on some polyurethane 5" diameter casters (swivel in front, non-swivel in back). Don't put swivels on all four corners or it's kind of hard to get it to go where you want when you're pushing it around on un-level ground.

To work on the underside of the floor, I made another thing that bolts to the floor that sticks out both sides using long feet.

 

I bought this one from Auto Twirler. I paid $400 for it new. I think by the time you buy all of the material and time invested, that something like this is a good choice. Its fully adjustable width wise, height and length. I love it!

 

Here's a clue...think scaffolding mat'ls. The casters, tubing, X brace, breaks down for easy storage, I had some pics but don't know where right now. 4x4s are kinda big and will get in the way. Bodies are heavy.

 

Morgue gurney's work great, they even have "drip trays" underneath...
A friend keeps his BBQ grills on a nice polished stainless one with the propane tanks underneath.
Hospital gurney's too, I have an engine/trans sitting on one in the driveway right now.
They are strong enough too, abd the wheels can either caster or be locked.

 

as a professional scrounge I am always on the lookout for free steel tubing. I have a shitload of free or cheap wheels in varying sizes and weight capacities. when I need a cart or something for a specific purpose I look at my scrap pile, then I look at my wheel pile.

then I cut some stuff up and weld it together until it looks like what I want. that's how I built my rotissiere. if I needed a body cart I'd do the same thing. don't think I'd do one out of wood....

 

I used an old set of industrial shelving that i cut down, and welded an old set of wheels and casters on the bottom. It bolts together and stores very nicely. It has had a pile of different bodies on it and it always works well.

Here is a shot with the 47 Body on it.

 

I use an old Railroad cart, it will hold a lot of weight.

 

how does the body connect or sit on those channeled pieces on top of the vertical posts?

 

Haha, my pop brought over to my garage a propane grill frame with some decent casters. He put a nice sheet of 3/4" ply on top and said here, use it for somehting. He's always into garbage finds and putting them to good use. He also made a bench grinder from a garage door motor with a stone on the shaft. Anyway, threw the Model A body I'm working on on it and it held up just fine. Rolls, and is at the perfect height for all the body work and paint. Plus it cost $0.

 

There are large holes drilled so you can bolt it to the angle iron pieces. I usually just use some heavy duty C-clamps. I love it!

 

I mde mine from 4x4's. I put castors on it also and it was high enough so the chassis could be rolled under it. I cant get the pic to upload(sorry) but if you look at page 2 of my Photobucket site you can see a pic of it. It worked out well for me.

Todd

 

My five-year-old son made one for tech week. Here's the link:

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=143110&highlight=tech+body+dolly

 

I have been using 4x4s because everyone around here charges way too much for steel tubing. Its alot easier to work on a body when its on a dollie, especially if you have a small shop.

Heres a few pics of mine...

 

dang this thread is old...but i still havent made one yet..so im glad it was brought back up ,,,maybe some more ideas

 

I used 4x4s and Lowes Home Improvement casters on my Chevelle. It was cheap to build and easy to cut up and throw away...

 

I've been lurking for a while, mainly because the 1969 Datsun truck I'm restoring isn't exactly HAMB material. A lot of the tech stuff I read here still applies, though, and there's a lot of knowledge and impressive craftsmanship on display. I finally registered when I saw this post, because a few weeks ago I built a dolly for my truck's cab, and it's worked out really well. Maybe $35 worth of steel, and some used casters. I know, you're thinking "That's fine for a dinky little tin can like a Datsun", but the same principles apply to bigger cars - it's well triangulated, and very rigid. The last photo, if it isn't clear, is where it attaches to the rearmost holes in the cab - it's just a coupler nut for allthread welded into the upright tube, with a washer tacked on top and a bolt coming in though the floor. It is so nice to have it up off the ground!

Andrew

Edit - Should I make the images attached files w/thumbnails? Right now they're on photobucket, and they're on the large side in the post. Is this frowned upon?

 

Well, I will post images of mine. My situation is like many - having limited space to work on your project. I have the body off the frame on my '47 Chevy Fleetline. I want to do frame work without the body getting in the way. Therefore, a body cart is needed. Instead of buying one, I decided to custom make one for my needs. So, after spending $100 on steel, $100 on 8x2" casters, and $50 on hardware, I knew I could have a heavy duty cart under $300. It's fully adjustable, granted you drill additional holes for the Grade 8 and 5 hardware to fit into. I also did set bolts to provide extra rigidity. Let the images tell the story:

Sketched this in a convention:




SolidWorks:







Materials:






Chop Chop:




Welding:





Assembly:







Completion:

 

larger images please?

i like the design on the last one posted, but i'd probly flip the legs side to side and put the wheels inboard of the body and give myself more room to work on the bottom sections of the quarters and rockers

 

Pretty damn clever. Is that 2" x 1/8" wall tubing, and does it flex much?

 

Thanks man. 2.5" x 1/8" wall - I recommend 1/4 thickness. The 2.5" sq tubing does not flex under load; only when I tighten the bolts does it flex together a bit. I would have liked a tighter fit but this is ok.