Rotisserie Concerns

[ToXIc]

After spending some time searching and reading up previous threads I still have a few rotisserie concerns.

1: Will it warp the frame. (having the rear hatch; doors; fenders; basically down to the body itself) my S30 is very straight doors; hood; hatch closes with ease and lines up perfectly.

2: Do i really need a bar connecting the 2 sides. ( i'm thinking about modding 2 engine stands)

3: From reading the previous threads it seems the easiest places to bolt up the rotisserie to the body are the factory bumper locations... Anyone out there contradicts this claim?

4: any advice is greatly appreciated..

[jmortensen]

After spending some time searching and reading up previous threads I still have a few rotisserie concerns.

1: Will it warp the frame. (having the rear hatch; doors; fenders; basically down to the body itself) my S30 is very straight doors; hood; hatch closes with ease and lines up perfectly.

2: Do i really need a bar connecting the 2 sides. ( i'm thinking about modding 2 engine stands)

3: From reading the previous threads it seems the easiest places to bolt up the rotisserie to the body are the factory bumper locations... Anyone out there contradicts this claim?

4: any advice is greatly appreciated..

1. Don't think so, never heard anyone complain about warped chassis after having their car on the rotisserie. I think there is more stress on the chassis sitting on its wheels with the drivetrain in than there will be on a gutted shell hanging on the rotisserie. When you start welding on the chassis you'll have a lot more likelihood of warping sheetmetal and possibly affecting things. If you're just fixing floor rust and stuff like that I'd say no.

2. No. I don't have a bar connecting the two ends. My garage floor is not totally flat so one of my stands wants to back off the car. After fighting that for a while I welded a piece of tube on the backside so that the mount that bolts to the car can't pull out of the mast. I made my rotisserie from 3 engine stands. If you do two engine stands you won't be able to spin the car all the way upside down, as the roof will hit the ground. I bought a third and cut the main mast up and spliced it in to make the masts about 1' taller than they originally were. You also need to make the masts straight instead of having them lean back.

3. I've got mine attached to the bumper locations in the back and the bumper locations and horn mounts in the front. Working fine that way for a couple years.

Some pics/info here:

http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=104151&page=2

http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=105319

http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=121912

The one thing I would do differently is make the masts a bit taller. As it is the fenders just barely clear the legs of the engine stands. Tip for getting the car on the engine stand: use a cherry picker on each end of the car with a load leveler. The first time I put my car on the spit I jacked up the car, then put it on jackstands, put wood on top of the jack, jacked it up further, wood under the jackstands, etc until it was high enough to plug into the rotisserie. When I got to my new house I said F it and went and bought a second cherry picker and load leveler. MUCH SAFER AND LESS STRESSFUL.

[geezer]

I followed the same plan as Jon, buying 3 engine stands in order to get enough material to gain the height needed to clear the spreader bar which connects both ends. The measurements you need to know are:

-Distance from rotational center to top of spreader bar = 39" (mine is 37" and a little close to the bar)

-Rotation center of front bracket is 3" above front bumper bracket mounting holes

-Rotational center of rear bracket is even with rear bumper mounting holes

These are the only measurements that matter, everything else is personal preference. You will need to buy a few more pieces of square tubing also, unless you have some steel laying around. In my third pic you can see I built mine on an old cart base and just cut it in half.

If you are concerned about things bending out of shape, take and record some preliminary measurements you can refer to. Also if you are replacing floors and supports, just do one side at a time. I have a spreader/tie bar that goes from the A post to the B post but it's not nessesary on a Z, I dont think. The biggest danger (although I never had a problem) would be rotation twist, but not likely if you are working on one side at a time.

[ToXIc]

awesome.. thanks guys...

my maintenance manager said he'll help me or give me one of his guys, to help me make the rotisserie....

its easier to make one than i was thinking..

[Six_Shooter]

Speaking of rotisserie....

::

How's the project coming? Back to full steam again after the set back earlier this year?

[geezer]

its easier to make one than i was thinking..

What made it easy for me was this site and the Hybrid Z site. Mostly I studied Jon's and I got some balance point advice from Will, but when I bought the three engine stands, I cheaped out and bought the $34.99 ones because I had the old cart with great wheels and some square tubing on hand. Doing it this way allowed me to piece together the unused pieces from the engine stands to make the spreader bar to connect both ends. Also they didn't have the leaned back mast to deal with. All you need is a good cutoff saw, angle grinder and a good welder. Good luck with yours!

Six_Shooter - You got a PM.