TheSamba.com :: View topic

Thu Aug 22, 2019 6:42 pm

I have seen a number of nice body dollys in the forums, but I am not much of a woodworker and I am not comfortable with corner brackets, etc.

I do trust triangles (or my ability to use them)...

So I thought about making one based on the HD Saw Horse brackets.
They say they are good to 400 LBS. yeah I was shocked.
So a 400lb body on two of them should be safe.

Then the question... How High?

After some research I found when I jack up the body from the front the shocks reach up to about 28 inches. The stick shift is about 30 inches above ground and the top of the engine is at 37 inches

Here are the materials I used for a 37 inch high dolly to support the car by the heater channels (my most notable issues are in front of the pedals...)

2 - 2x4x96
2 - 4x4x96
2 - 2x6x96
2 - Saw Horse Brackets

The above was from Home Depot, their 4inch wheels were expensive so I got those at Harbor Freigt

4 - 4inch wheels

Assembly

I cut the 2x4s into 2ft sections
I cut the 2x6 to 75 inches (you may want to go wider)
I cut the 4x4 to 80 inches

You need to make sure the brackets are spaced the same on the 2x6 so things line up square.

I used the scrap to support the 4x4 wheels facing down...
That scrap may comein handy jacking things up...

The finished product, still not screwed together

I attached the front saw horse and we will left the body and roll it back,
then we can lift the rear and put the rear saw horse in place and screw in.

I'll report back how it goes... a video could be funny :)

Tom

Fri Aug 23, 2019 3:15 am

I would not trust those stamp steel brackets to hold up my vw.

Fri Aug 23, 2019 4:03 am

calvinater wrote: I would not trust those stamp steel brackets to hold up my vw.

Ok, I see your point (and checked the reviews better)

Thank You!

I am going rework them getting rid of the brackets, a 2x4 I Beam looks to be a viable choice.

Tom

Fri Aug 23, 2019 4:27 am

I used those stamped steel pieces for holding my body up, it's actually still sitting on them. My front saw horse I braced the legs to the body in case I bump into that saw horse with stuff as I work on it.

Fri Aug 23, 2019 5:59 am

Those steel brackets are fine if you make sure all the wood parts are inserted completely and they are screwed on. They can handle the weight just fine, but can fail under a big side load. A couple of diagonal braces can fix that.

Fri Aug 23, 2019 6:59 am

Do yourself a favor and put some end plates on your sawhorses. It will make them more rigid and strengthen up that junction against side loads. Just some triangular pieces of 1/2 inch plywood will work.

Sat Aug 24, 2019 9:46 am

this is what I used for my 71 SB, I used ratchet straps to hold the body to the dolly.

Sun Aug 25, 2019 5:59 am

Thanks for the constructive criticism, I rebuilt the saw horses and they are much stronger.

Works well... only miscalculation...

the body can't roll out of the garage.
I realized it when I was starting to lift the body and decided to live with it.

Tom

Sun Aug 25, 2019 6:31 am

this is what I worry about, I need to build a frame for the body that will let me roll the pan out from under it but also roll the frame outside if I need to but the garage door is not that high. how high is your body sitting now?

Sun Aug 25, 2019 3:54 pm

I have a 69 Sedan stock everything

From the garage floor (maybe 1/2" higher than driveway) to the bottom of the opened door is 80"
From the bottom of the heater channels to the highest point of the roof is 48-49"

80-49 leaves 31" spare

You need to lift the body this high to clear things

Front shocks 28"
Shifter 31" (mine is Hurst, not sure if stock is different)
Engine 38"

So it looks like I can get the body out if I drop the engine and remove the shifter.

The shifter has to come off because whatever is supporting the car will be a few inches thick mine is 7"

Doing the math I may have a problem... maybe it would be better to use a 4x4

I also measured the rear with the engine removed... 24"

I may have to let some air out of the tires...

All this is measurements I made on my car and unproven theory.
You mileage may vary

Correction Welcome
Tom

Mon Aug 26, 2019 3:56 am

This is how I made mine. It clears my garage with about 2 or 3 inches to spare, which I believe my garage is 80" opening as well.

I used two 8 foot 4x4's, for width i used two 6 foot 4x4's. I can measure the upright posts when I get home, but if I recall correctly they are 28" 4x4's. It also has 4" caster wheels.

Fri Sep 13, 2019 1:38 pm

I updated my design a bit.

By changing the Saw Horse from an I beam to a T I was able to make it fit out the garage and have the frame roll under it.

The Heater channels are supported at 32 inches above the floor.

The 4inch wheels make it easy to move, but I needed to lift each wheel up to the floor level on the way in.
Maybe a ramp in in order...

tom

Mon Oct 21, 2019 2:47 pm

I like this! I will be removing my body soon and this kind of project is EXACTLY what I need to do next.

Mon Oct 21, 2019 3:17 pm

Q-Dog wrote: Those steel brackets are fine if you make sure all the wood parts are inserted completely and they are screwed on. They can handle the weight just fine, but can fail under a big side load. A couple of diagonal braces can fix that.

This ^^^^^.

Timber is extremely strong in compression and you don't need to overdo the sizes of the timber supports. What you DO want to do is to make sure you triangulate the corners and brace properly. A good array of 1X1's should be able to hold up a VW body, but will fail if side loads are imposed. That is why bracing and noggins are added to house frames to prevent the bending of the studs.

Given that people will generally be pulling the chassis out from underneath or rolling the body around on the dolly, this is the time you may impose side loads.

So don't overthink the sizes of the timbers, just remember to brace, brace, brace.

The only other thing I don't like about some of the dollies is that if the body is going to be suspended for a long time at both wheel wells, will the body sag causing alignment issues later when trying to get door gaps etc? I added support underneath the heater channels as well.

Tue Oct 22, 2019 10:32 am

viiking wrote: The only other thing I don't like about some of the dollies is that if the body is going to be suspended for a long time at both wheel wells, will the body sag causing alignment issues later when trying to get door gaps etc? I added support underneath the heater channels as well.

There are door braces you can buy that are custom built by Bug Stuff (their site is down but they will answer the phone).

From what I understand only the convertibles need this...your roof should be plenty to hold the body in place without it flexing...but that assumes it is all in good shape (no rust in the supporting structure). If you want to be sure it can't hurt to have the bracing. The braces are steel triangles and they screw into place where your doors fasten to the body (replacing the doors).

When I got mine only one of the two sides fit...but I know mine has been hit in the rear before so that may just be my personal situation. I got one of the two in place and that's enough for me right now (I don't have the body off yet though...and my support rails and heater channels are solid already).

$100 (plus shipping) for good peace of mind...probably worth it. :)

Tue Oct 22, 2019 12:14 pm

I would be hesitant to use those saw horse connectors. I have had a Bug fall, while pulling on a panel. The repairs to bring it back to life were beyond worth it, after it fell. I had one of the channels out and was chiseling out the front bulkhead remnant when it gave up the ghost! It hit the floor hard! I was head in the head and suffered a decent laceration. Looking back, should have done things differently. That was 20 years ago!

Now, I build a framing system out of 2x4s. It is wide enough to roll the pan in and out from underneath the body. The body supports are attached to little floor dollies. The connections for diagonal braces (very important) are made by Simpson. Everything is screwed together, pre drilled holes, so nothing is weak. Plus if I crawl under it, I place some decent supports - just in case shit happens!

I always brace the car, at the interior. I use 3/4 angle iron, welded to the body. Across the opening so the door can be used and across the body to keep the distance correct. Then diagonals to keep the body from racking.

Now, you may think that is a lot, but on my current project, I thought that the drivers side heater channel was in decent enough shape, to allow me to lift the body and support it on the saw horses while I removed and replaced the pans. Well, one morning walking into the garage, I noticed that the gap at the top of the door to the roof had grown a decent amount. I immediately started looking for the issue. Found that the HC was completely rotten and was buckling. I then got to weld in some adjusters and twist the body back into shape. No F’n fun!

Take your time and weld in braces!

Current project up in the air. 54.

I screwed some small dollies to make the whole thing easy to roll around the garage.

The bracing. Typically solid but I had to weld in the adjusters. Damn it!

Tue Oct 22, 2019 12:44 pm

Very good advice

No matter how solid you think your car is, when you start digging into a new area take some time to consider what bad stuff could happen if the so called solid area it totally rusted out..

Tom

Tue Oct 22, 2019 5:08 pm

Here is my set up. I used the bumper mounts to mount my brackets. Everything is bolt on easy on easy off and a solid mount to lift from. Keeps everything right to allow for easy moving around the car.

Wed Oct 23, 2019 8:19 am

VW_Jimbo wrote:

Now, I build a framing system out of 2x4s. It is wide enough to roll the pan in and out from underneath the body. The body supports are attached to little floor dollies. The connections for diagonal braces (very important) are made by Simpson. Everything is screwed together, pre drilled holes, so nothing is weak. Plus if I crawl under it, I place some decent supports - just in case shit happens!
I screwed some small dollies to make the whole thing easy to roll around the garage.

I like your system for support! I need to support my '71 super just like that, ie, with supports under the aprons/fender area NOT under the channels. I have seen a few made from 2x2" steel, some made out of 3/4" black pipe, 4x4" timber, and now yours with the "simpson" supports. Can I ask from where you got those supports?
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