Car dolly build

[nsmall]

Stealing these ideas from Burdar

I don't have the money or time to build a rotisserie so I was going to use a dolly situation for my car.

Attached is my plan along with the 1400 pound rating 8 inch casters I bought which is probably totally Overkill but that's what I do sometimes.

The guy helping me tear the car apart and put it back together has built a lot of cars and he would prefer that I build a dolly out of the K frame foe the front.  He had a hard time putting the K frame back into a 69 Road Runner once and makes me a little paranoid about my current plan which is basically explained in the photos below.

Should I worry?  My painter doesn't have a perfectly smooth space where the car will be rolled in and out of the shop and into the yard where the car will be in and out of...basically there's some gravel...its not perfectly smooth that's what I'm trying to say.   Is there any chance of being out of alignment if I don't use the K frame for the front roller/dolly?  I'm planning on using the front bumper brackets for the front.



Thanks

[Cuda Cody]

There's always a few different ways to make it work.  I like to pick up the car from the closest point that mimic where the car rides.  So anything close to the factory K Frame mounts and rear leaf spring frame rail.

[RUNCHARGER]

Big wheels are good, nothing wrong with using the bumper mounts I don't think. One problem I ran into is the ones on my Challenger had slightly smaller wheels on the back. Rolling it on or off the trailer one of the rear wheels bit in to the trailer tailgate and I had to stop the guys pushing in a hurry as the rear spring attachment on the frame started to fold over. Bigger wheels will roll over stuff and not dig in and put that leverage on the mounting points.

[nsmall]

I was planning on cutting and Welding in a cross member support.  Should I have the car raised in the front with the 2 dollies installed on the bumper bracket area and then with no weight on the dollies weld in the crossmember bar?

Thanks

[anlauto]

The ones I build bolt to the front rear spring shackle location and the transmission crossmember. Been using the same design since 1993 with no issues....I have about 5-6 of them now...

[Burdar]

I like your wheels.  Large diameter and a thin layer of rubber/plastic for cushioning.  Mine have a thick layer of rubber/plastic and I noticed last week that the rubber cracked under the weight of the engine/suspension.  They are more than strong enough for just the body...not strong enough with the extra weight. 

I've had no issues with K-member installation.  I've installed mine a few different times.  If you're worried about it, just bolt a piece of angle iron across the frame rails using two of the K-member holes in the frame.

[RUNCHARGER]

I can see the advantage of Alan's though. That framework ties all the stress together rather than if a wheel hits an obstacle it will transfer that force to a single area of the car body with the other design. At least tie the fronts and the backs together, no problem if you're just moving it around the shop floor. If you are transporting on and off trailers to different locations I would go with Alan's design.

[nsmall]

@RUNCHARGER

@Burdar

Well gentleman, you have me unsure now.  My painter has dirt in his parking lot which means the casters may hit little stones. the car will be on and off a trailer, but its a nice car hauler trailer so not awkward by any means.  The painters parking lot concerns me as the car will be in and out of the shop.  I dont have a welder so the cross members across the caster set up and now adding something to the kframe as Burdar suggested will hopefully be enough?  I dont need problems when putting the car back together.  I also dont want to spend a bunch of money on building a roller set up, I like Alans, but thats going to be more complicated than the set up I want to set up.  This will hopefully be a one and done project so Im trying to keep my costs down.

Thanks

Neil

[anlauto]

Here's mine on a gravel parking lot...only downfall is that it's almost takes two people to move them.

[Burdar]

You aren't going to have any issues with the body flexing on those stands. My Challenger was way worse then your car is. My Challenger was on those stands when it was shipped from Iowa to Ohio and it was fine. My Dart was on those stands when it was hauled to and from the body shop. No problems.

The only issue you may run into is rolling the car across rocks in the parking lot. You'll have that issue with any type of dolly. Pneumatic wheel will roll across rocks the easiest.

[nsmall]

Thanks guys.  This ain't no hemi Cuda build.  Time to chill out.  Alan...Those are two  challengers.  You guys are good to me.   

[HUSTLESTUFF]

I like to use these on the rear  http://www.harborfreight.com/10-inch-pneumatic-rigid-caster-38943.html and these in the front http://www.harborfreight.com/10-inch-pneumatic-swivel-caster-38944.html.  If you are only doing one car they should last but after many years I went to Ace and bought 10" solid rubber wheels and tires and bolted them in place of the pneumatic ones.  I made mounts to the rear spring hangers and K-member attachments points with a crossbar.  I have only a gravel yard and they tackle the rocks just fine by myself.  Mike

[Cuda416]

The ones I build bolt to the front rear spring shackle location and the transmission crossmember. Been using the same design since 1993 with no issues....I have about 5-6 of them now...

Sorry to dig up an ancient thread, but do you have pictures of your body carts that show more detail? My 70 vert needs to sit on something and I like the way these will spread the load. How thick is the tubing wall? .120 or .180?

***Disregard, I was able to find pictures on your wed site.