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eldogg
08-12-2005, 06:51 AM
i need to buy a rotissorie and was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on who makes a good one or some has some plans. it needs to be real adjustable for all types of cars.
thanks
eldogg

Camaro Zach
08-12-2005, 01:47 PM
if i were you i'd keep the money and invest it into a welder and the materials needed for the rotissorie. Then you could break even or spend a bit more and still have a welder when your done with it

kmcanally
08-12-2005, 01:53 PM
I agree with Zach....they are available but much cheaper to build yourself....here is a pic of my Mustang on one with some large pneumatic tires to make it easy to roll around

kmcanally
08-12-2005, 04:35 PM
Ya know I was thinking about this.....I think I would prefer a rigid rack like this https://www.pro-touring.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=4227 over a rotissorie for my next project. Its high enough to do the bottom but it can also serve as a fixture for chassis modifications and determining ride height....depending upon what your doing this might be something to consider

phaseshift
08-13-2005, 04:15 AM
I am with whoever said make your own. For little green, you can buy the steel and have the minimal machine work done, then weld it up on your own.

awr68
08-15-2005, 09:28 PM
Here's the one (http://www.mgbexperience.com/article/rotator/) I as well as a few others here have built and used. It went together nicely and is very adjustable. I added rams at either end for ease of lifting and lowering the car as well as a huge bonus in the safety department...they can be found for a fair price at Harbour Freight (http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=36396) or on Ebay. BTW, considering the price of steel these days I have $400 or so into mine but that includes the rams and casters too...still at least half the price of what you can buy them for on ebay!! :icon996:

ProdigyCustoms
08-16-2005, 03:27 AM
The rigid rack is fantastic for chassis mods. In our case, with Prodigy, we cut it so far down to nothing, we welded the rockers to the jig holding enerything nice and square and level. Assumeing the floor is level where it is parked. We have specific palces in the shop we know are level use when working on level sensitive stuff.

However, the rigid rack is no substitute for the rotisserie. Prodigy went on the rotisserie when it came off the rigid rack for welding under side, sandblasting, painting and detailing. We have it set up where we can put the rigid rack on the rotisserie, and have the best of both worlds. However I rarely use this set up.

myclone
08-16-2005, 03:36 AM
I added rams at either end for ease of lifting and lowering the car as well as a huge bonus in the safety department...they can be found for a fair price at Harbour Freight (http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=36396) or on Ebay.

To add another option to the above rams harbor freight sells fairly cheap (~$20) hand cranked winches like what is used on boat trailers which would cut the cost down some but still give you adjustability. I like the hydraulic set up personally but if youre pinching pennies then mounting the winches in the rams place would cut the cost some.

I also agree with building your own rather than buying which is easily accomplished with above average skill and a few weekends work. I did my first car on a rotissorie a while back and wouldnt even think of doing another without one.

eldogg
08-16-2005, 04:53 AM
thanks everybody for all the great info. i had planned on building it my self but i would to find some plans. that would give some where to start or modify form. its treads like this is the reason i'm a member here.
thanks everyone,
eldogg

JoshStratton
08-16-2005, 05:06 AM
I will be the 'mother voice' on this one. If you don't trust your welding skills find someone else who can weld to do it, or just buy one. You dont want to be standing next to it when a weld snaps.

TBART70
09-06-2005, 02:29 PM
accessiblesystems.com great products

Mean 69
09-08-2005, 07:57 AM
I bought the "Auto Twirler" at a local Good Guys show. I had planned on building one myself, but seeing their's, and getting a $200 break on the price for the show special (always ask), I left with it on the back of my truck. It is solid, not hard to make, but I figured it would take many hours to build one, and I just don't have free time to do so these days. Now that we have one, I can't imagine doing a car correctly without one.

If you have free time, it'd be easy to build one. But, you should use your time building a cool car instead!!
M

race-rodz-inc
09-18-2005, 02:03 AM
i built mine... made it so it takes "modular" attachments for different cars, i also used a cut down slack adjuster off a big rig air brake set up... its used for the "rotation".... the way it works internaly is perfect... turning the crank will rotate the car... but you cant force it to rotate from the other end. (hope that makes sense) got the idea from my grand father who is a truck mechanic... he uses the slack adjuster on his engine stand for rebuilding cummins... i would think the cummins would outweigh just about every car you would wanna put on the rotissorie.

i made it out of 2x2x.250, set it up high enough for an A body +about a foot to rotate freely. i have used it on pick-up cabs to mustangs, its home to a 66 gto at the moment. i basically have 2 ends that mount the whatever, and i weld in temp "braces" out of whatever is layin around so the length works on whatever i want.

i built it a couple years ago.... and i think it cost about $250 for steel and 2 days to engineer and fab it up. good luck