what's a decent price for a used rotisserie these days. specifically a whirrygig. I've been looking at them and autotwirlers and have found a used unit. trying to figure out if the asking price is in line for if I'm just REALLY CHEAP. comes with the big inflatable wheels and attachments for camaro/nova, it's the model with the jack and balance leveling capabilities.
I did a chicken on the BBQ with one..helped a lot. Lol.. I'm sure one for a car is worth the money... someone may have one for u to borrow..if you Dont take too long with it..if not..Dont skimp on one... Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
That model probably cost 1800 or more new so anything around 1000 or less would be a good price. If your doing a full body restoration you won't regret paying the price.
My father purchased the one we used at a swap meet for $400 about 15-20 years ago. It looks like a homemade item. He was only planning to use it on a 32 roaster he was building at the time. We have had about 6 cars on it since and it has worked well. Frames and fiberglass bodies are fine, but larger steel bodies like in your avatar or my Cadillac need to be braced on the back side when rotating on their sides. It just doesn't have the strength to hold/lock it in place when rotating on their sides. I recommend the larger wheels, the small solid wheels on ours makes it hard to move around by myself. Also, I've done business with Scott at Autotwirler for years, IMO his products are top self and worth the investment if you are going to be restoring many vehicles in the coming years.
Inexpensive is definitely good, but I have seen some cheap rotisseries actually collapse under the weight of a large car body. I'd look into spending a bit more, with an eye on the quality of the unit rather than solely low price. Just my 2 cents here. ---John
thanks guys. all my "loaners" have cars on them right now. I've been looking at them for a while but I haven't had a car that really required pulling the trigger up till now. I have an OT 76 El Camino in the shop (I know--don't ask) that needs some floor work, and a 65 mustang and 55 t-bird on deck and in the hole, as it were. Could probably do them all without one, but I think it'd make life a lot easier. I've been looking really closely at the auto twirler, but the one that I've found is a whirlygig or something VERY similar. I've got pics of it (can't get them to load--in slide show format) and it looks well made and he included pics of his camaro on it for what that's worth. just trying to decide what dollar figure is worth the 2 hours drive each way or if I just wait until charlotte in 2 weeks.
The secret to a good quality rotisserie is the balance function so the body / chassis can turn through 360 degrees without too much physical effort. Getting the centre of gravity correct and not having a pendulum affect makes life easy. www.accessiblesystems.com makes a better type than others IMHO. Mine is home built and based on their design.
I've got 10 years of experience with www.accessiblesystems.com units (3) and a few months with a whirlygig. I was glad when that one left the shop. It was a few years old and brought $1100.
Built my own for $500. Makes body work so much easier. Make sure you have enough body strength before you put it on the rotisserie.
I designed (Mechanical Engineer by trade) and built this one back in 2008 for about $500 (again, 2008 steel prices). With a chop saw, welder, and drill press you can build it easily in a weekend. It worked very well for my not so small 1962 Mercury Monterey Wagon. I have the plans in pdf form. PM me and I can send them to you.
My Autotwirler was 1300 new a few years ago. THE BEST INVESTMENT I EVER MADE!!!! Even if you only do one car. BUY ONE!. It's downright stupid to do a full restoration without one.
We almost bought one at Turkey Run last year but passed at the last minute. It was something like $ 1300. Looking back, we should have gotten it. My Son Dan is going to build one very similar to the one FrozenMerc showed. That is a nice piece. He is waiting until he has the cage done in his Mustang that way it will be rigid enough to flip upside down and on it's side. He is going to do it the same way, with hydraulic jacks to get the balance point dialed in. I would post some pictures when it is done, but it won't be holding a HAMB friendly car. Don
I picked up a used one for $600, has the hydraulic cylinders on both ends. I cant remember the brand but it has been a great tool to have.
I Love the way you dropped the center of gravity with that angle at the end where the caster attaches. that's a great idea.
If you are talking whirlyjig instead of whirligig, I brought one many years ago and love mine. I brought the professional model(blue) instead of the home based one(orange). I got most options on it like the big wheel kit so it rolls easy outside, tongue, so I can pull it in or out with a truck (very useful when I had my wrecker on it), extra stabilizer arms so you can do convertibles without them twisting. Only thing I brought separate was the 3 heavy duty pipes to hold it together. 2 for the bottom and the top one for doing convertables. I brought these separate because I was able to get heavier pipes cheaper from my parent's business supplier than what they offered. I brought it many years ago and picked it up at a local show. I think I paid $1900 new for it for the base model(remember the pro model not the cheap home model). I also brought the big wheel kit at that time, not sure how much that was. Then brought the convertible option and had them deliver it to the same show a year later. again can't remember how much for that. Would I sell mine? never What is it worth used? Not really sure.
I could be mistaken, but aren't the jacks only used to lift and lower the car? In order to be able to fine-tune the balance, there needs to be adjustment between the pivot and the attachment points at the car. And it looks to me that it could be made to do that...by using multiple bolt holes to change the attachment location between the pivot and rotating portion of the frame...but it has nothing to do with the jacks.
I don't think that changes the center of gravity either. It's just for ease of keeping the pivot and raising/lowering mechanism separate. Again, correct me if I'm wrong.
You could be right on that. Dan was explaining how he was going to make his and I asked him how you move the pivot point so that the car isn't top heavy, and I thought he said with the jacks. But those could be for just getting the car high enough so it will clear when on it's side. I really like the one FrozenMerc pictured, if it holds that humungous Merc wagon it should hold anything. We figure it will be really nice to have one for lots of reasons, like putting a body into a good position for welding and detailing underneath, as well as painting it. Oh wait, it just came to me what he said about changing the pivot points to balance the car. He said he is going to add two industrial threaded rods so you can turn them and move the pivot point up and down. Those won't be the typical threaded rod you get at hardware stores, they will be about an inch in diameter and the kind used on screwjacks. Now it makes sense that I have remembered him saying that. Don
You can see on mine that the bar that holds the car can slide up and down in the tube welded to the end of the pivot tube. That allows the work object to be balanced correctly. That wagon body weighs in excess of 1500 lbs with the doors and glass in it, and I could easily spin it 360 deg. by myself. You could easily modify the design with a couple of screws to allow for easier balancing. It is very important that the rotisserie is strong and stiff enough for the load. Putting that much weight between 2 Harbor Fright engine stands would have resulted in a very bad day.
I wouldn't bother with a screw type adjustment, Don. (or anyone else building one). Mine came with one and it didn't work at all. I adjust mine with tall jack stands under the arms, and use the hydraulic rams to adjust the carriage. Takes maybe two or three minuets on each end. You also get pretty good at guessing the right setting while mounting the car.
Yes, and you want the rotating/pivot height the same on both ends of the vehicle. On the one FrozenMerc built (awesome looking, btw) the balance is achieved at the 3 bolts forward of the pivot point. If bottom heavy, you raise it, top heavy, drop it. Same at the rear. So, if the rear attaches to a lower or higher point than the front it's okay. The pivots are kept at the same height and the balance is tuned in between the pivots and car body. Pictured is an Accessible System rotisserie with a (gasp!) 67 GTX on it.
Dropping the center bar allows more over head clearance. The car can rotate closer to the floor and hopefully clear a low ceiling. Bad side to it is rolling it over your feet. Been there, done that, cut it up and raised it.
I have a WhirlyJig pro model and the screw adjusters work great on mine. Moves the yoke up or down on the pivot to change the center of gravity. It's important to get the pivot points at each end at the same height as well as the yokes equally adjusted so as not to bind the body when rotating. Once it is set, it's effortless to rotate. Once you get used to having a rotisserie, you won't want to be without one.
this is a great looking unit and I appreciate the offer for plans, but it was an issue of time versus money and I opted to spend the time on the project rather than the tool. acceibility systems unit was delivered today. Hopefully I'll get to test it ou in the next little bit.
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