Jig construction for chassis blasting!?!

[browny]

Depends on the car I guess. A lot of the early Holdens when stripped down are only ~200ish kg. So with adequate care it doesn't appear to cause a problem.

I know of at least two high quality show cars that have been done this way (both been in SM).

[mirage]

Well there you go...I would still feel a bit squeemish about pushing my car over on its side

[browny]

Same.

[edo]

Stupid question.
Say you had 2 engine stands, & you made up 2 bars with brackets (that were surprisingly like bumper bar brackets, & bolted to the body/chassis on these points) & that fixed to the bit of the engine stand that the engine bolts to would this be strong enough?

[browny]

I've seen that done as well.

eg http://www.ponypics.com/spitfire/rotisserie.html

[browny]

also, what I was going to add before being rudely interrupted by work.

I'm not sure if the engine stand method stacks up for me. Once you have bought some decent stands and other bits and pieces it could add up to $200 odd. They will need some modifying to get it work, and at the end of it you probably wont be able to go fully vertical unless you do more mods to the stands.

A full on rotisserie like the one in the link has lots of in/out/up/down adjustment and plenty of ground clearance, and its going to end up around $400 ($300-$350ish for the steel cut to size). Probably a lot more substantial steel in it than a cheapo engine stand too. Only problem is that you have to do your own fabrication, which shouldn't be a big deal if you are doing a full body resto anyway. So its an extra $200odd (probably less for a simpler design like mirages) for what I'd consider is a much better result. Also, if the project involves this sort of effort then a couple of hundred extra is probably the least of your worries too.

[BigMuz]

Stupid question.
Say you had 2 engine stands, & you made up 2 bars with brackets (that were surprisingly like bumper bar brackets, & bolted to the body/chassis on these points) & that fixed to the bit of the engine stand that the engine bolts to would this be strong enough?

That would be allright for a teeny tiny car, but the width of the run of the mill engine stand would be marginal I reckon. It is a bit of a pain if the whole deal falls over when you try and move/ rotate the car.

Also a wider base will mean you can rotate it on your own. Good for guys with slack mates like oxy.

Muz :D

[Tirlista]

The matress idea is pretty much out, as my mate is so keen on the whole car being prepped and the blaster will only do the underside if the car is on a jig.

It looks like the cabin floor pan is going to be cut out and replaced, so having the full rotisserie would be very handy.

Our boiler maker mate has access to metal and all of equipment, so it shouldn't be too bad to fix up.

[smee]

Similar to above.
Engine stands etc.
Was able to be pulled onto a tray and transported to the sand blasting place.
Returned all splinky.
Rear Engine stand in 20545 was from Super cheap on sale. It was height adjustable.
I had some squar steel tubing which I added some bracing to and used the bumper mounts.
You can usually find old engine stands in the paper. Just don't butcher the mount itself. One of mine now has an engine on it, but could be reverted back to a rotis.

[Tirlista]

update: Speaking to my mate tonight, it appears he has got a deal with two companies to sort out the paint stripping and prepping of the body for a full respray.

One company, a professional blasting group will do the body crevices and majority of the panel work prep and priming.

A local panel beater will do the front end panels in the desired colour 2 pack paint and then deal with the under carriage and chassis spray and will conduct the final paint and panel.

Jig construction on my mates side is now no longer needed.

Car will be done in a midnight blue 2 pack paint.

A worked 308 with 400rwhp will be fitted with nine inch and drag spec 350 box. Ladder bars are going on the rear leaves. Upto 200hp shot of NOS will be used for drag application.

I'll post some pics and vids when the project comes to completion.

Thanks for the input and pics fellas! It was very much appreciated to give us an idea on possible solutions to the situation.

[Tirlista]

Smee: That looks great! What model car is that?