Starting a magazine story on rotisseries... mainly, my take on it is this: I'm thinking about buying one, because I'm about to start a complete build on a '73 Duster. (yeah, I know: O/T, but I also have a '54 Buick and two Tri-5 Chevys that could end up seeing it used). I've got a list of questions in my head that I'm taking into account, or a list of Pros and Cons, if you will: Quality, ease of use, do I need one with its own hydraulic rams, how do I store it when not in use, what kinds of bells and whistles do I need, how much space around it do I need in my garage, will it even fit in my garage, build your own versus buy one, what kind of wheels are best, does the usefulness justify the initial cost, etc. I'm writing the article from that perspective--I figure a lot of people ask themselves the same questions, so it'd make for a good article. So to the guys here who have one, or are thinking about getting one, what information and questions went into your decision making process, and why did you buy the one you did? I'd appreciate any of your insight, -Brad
I built a set of "third legs" for moving the ends around the shop/taking up less room. All the adjustment holes were spaced at 3" apart, and the pivot piece on the right in the next picture has the hole offset one inch from centerline so you could rotate for more adjustability. Easily balanced. http://s5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/rmccartney/Rotisserie Fabrication/?start=all I didn't install hydraulic lifts because I use engine hoists to lift the car. I made my own because I had seen a "manufactured" one with a 57 Chevy on it, and the fit was so sloppy the body support arms were drooping. Downside to my "overkill" of .22 wall thickness is extra weight, extra $$, and need to grind out internal welds for sliding pieces. (see album link) I included standoffs on the body support arms to have much less obstruction for sandblasting/painting/whatever. One end uses a hitch pin on the pivot to be able to lock at 90 degree increments (inside pipe drilled at 90's), the other end uses a set screw to accomodate other rotational settings. All the holes drilled at 25/32, The hitch pins are 3/4 diameter, the set screws are 3/4-10, but I feel safe with someone else's car on it.
Brad, I've got one...........my 47 Chevy body is on it now. It's the Body Twirler that they display at the Goodguys Shows and I saw them using one on 2 Guys Garage the other day. Seems fine to me, and when not in use(????) will collapse down quite a bit. I wanted one to put the body on to do the small floorpan repairs and replace the entire trunk floor. I'd rather do that standing up with it in fromt of me, than be crouched in the trunk or laying under it. It's also a great place to store the body while working on the frame and suspension (that's where mine is stalled right now). Bill
Funny you should ask; I just took my 66 Nova down after it lived on the rotisserie for the last 4 years! It's a homebuilt contraption I bought from a guy that also did a Nova on it. Here's a pic to give some idea how it was built: To answer some of your questions, first off, I'm trying to sell it now that I'm done with it...I hate storing stuff like that. The jacks at either end are semi trailer jacks, and are pretty heavy and awkward (especially with casters under them). They would take up about a 5' x 3' hunk of floor. Then you have the square tube connectors that are maybe 12' long or so. My personal pros and cons: 1. Couldn't have done the project without it. I put quarter skins on, patched holes in the floors, made subframe connectors, added a 6-point rollbar, sandblasted the whole underside and primered it with epoxy, on and on. All that stuff would have absolutely ****ed without the rotisserie. 2. The center of gravity of the car needs to be close to the pivot point of the rotis. Mine was built with the pivot about 8" to 12" too high, so it took a lot of grunting to get the car up on its side. Then I had to use a prop to hold it there. The "locking devices" on the pivots were basically useless due to poor design...3/4" allthread rod that you tighten up against the face of a trailer hub. If the car were balanced, they would've been OK. 3. The wheels are 3" steel casters, with a 3/8" nut welded over a hole in the side of the caster and a bolt that runs through the nut and locks the wheel. Simple, worked well. I had to load the whole mess on and off a trailer twice during the project, and all it took was me and a come-a-long. 4. With the car mounted, it didn't take up any more space than an ***embled car would. Actually, when I needed a little more room in the garage, I would tilt the car up on its side and gain quite a bit. 5. It was nice to be able to raise and lower the car with the semi jacks. I got it high enough to allow me to squat under it to install the rearend and leafs. And don't forget, if any of you guys need one and can pick it up in Omaha, IT'S FOR SALE!!! Cheap!!
made my own out of s**** to do my 49 chevy, then accidentally put a 65 Mustang on it. oh what a mistake that was.
I have one from foothills fabrication in travelersrest s.c., it has worm drives on each end to raise and lower and stays right where you put it. ( the hydrolic ones use china made rams and leak down and the ones with a trailer winch will get away with you and break something, an arm or worse drop a customers body ) mine has 2 runners end to end very stable, i can break it down and store it in a 5 x 5 square when not in use. if i had it to do again i would get the larger casters (and may yet) it would make it a lot more easy to move it out side (sand blasting etc.) and across more than a flat smooth floor. the only draw back to one with 10 inch tires they tend to also leak down after a period of time.(if you check the pressure's more than every six months, no problems) i can and have mounted everything from a mazda rx 7 to a 47 sedan delivery and rotated it with no problem by my self a full 360 degrees. paid 1150.00 8 years ago, figured by the time i engineered it and built it i could have billed hours to pay for it many times and no i'm not a salesman for foothills.
My buddy has one,I'm not sure of the make but I have never seen another like it.It has the usual ends for rotating but the unique thing about it is it has two rails that run end to end and the rails have adjustable arms to bolt on all the body mounts,so it supports the whole body.I think this would be better than the ones that bolt just on the ends of body especially for weak/rusted body's.
Here's one that's simple to build and it works great. I've built over 20 of them so far. I'd build 3 of them at a time and before I knew it, I'd sell them. Build 3 more and sell them, too. http://www.2002tii-restoration.org/tools/rotisserie.pdf I've got 3 of them in use right now. Kudos to Jeff Lilly for sharing with the rest of the world!
I have an Auto Twirler, bought it at GoodGuys and Diego a few years ago. For the price it wasn't worth my time to build one. Didn't buy the hydraulics, didn't figure they were worth the extra money and my friend who got his with says sometimes the pumps seem to be in the way and you have to keep them covered when painting and primering. I have used it for a 57 Chevy, 37 Chevy, 70 Duster, and a 57 Ranch Wagon. Here the 57 is coming back from Santini's paint shop on the rotisserie riding on a roll back! (We've done that a few times, even sent a 40 Ford to the blaster this way)
There's a company that makes a non-standard rotisserie that can flip a fully ***embled car. Just take off the wheels and it bolts directly to the wheel lugs. Called a tilt a wirl or something. The thing tilts to the side, actually it rolls. I'll see what I can find.
the guy who sells them at swap meets around here handed out a flyer with a nice line drawing of the rotissieire. so I went home and held it up next to my s**** pile and figured I already had 90% of it, so I built it. if you are going to build one just remember you have to make it adjustable so you can find the center so you can balance the car. I lucked out and got some real nice wheels for cheap or free somewhere. if you are going to spend some money, spend it on wheels. rotissiieriies are evil. just be careful what kinds of cars are in your shop with one of these around. no telling what might end up on it.
I built my own to do my '55 Merc wagon. Easy to build. Cost was almost nada as I had most ot the stuff in the s**** pile. http://www.glennsplace.com/rotisserie.htm http://www.glennsplace.com/on_the_rotiss.htm Just get the pivot in the center of the weight and your fine. I could spin the car by myself with NO EFFORT. Since I'm done with it, its for sale if anyone wants it.
this one is down and dirty, I built it with some 2 inch sq. tube and a truck air brake slack adjuster, I use my 1/2 in impact to turn the adjuster screw which rotates the car.
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