Crane for body lift off chassis?

[Digger89L]

Has anyone on the forum modified one of these portable cranes in order to lift the body off a Beetle (or other small car)? I don't have five strong guys in my area who can do the heavy lifting for me. I do have an engine lift crane, and it would likely do the job, but the way they have those long legs that roll under the chassis prevent the chassis from being rolled away once the body is lifted clear. If one of these truck-mount cranes could be bolted to a concrete floor, and extended to the proper height, it looks like it might do the job. Comments, suggestions? (I also don't have a half-ton truck to mount one in ..)

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[calvinater]

What is the ceiling like in your shop?
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[Digger89L]

My shop has a 10 foot ceiling, but the ceiling is not strong enough to support a block and tackle, or electric winch.
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[viiking]

I personally haven't modified one, but I would think it all comes down to the breaking capacity of the wire and winch. It should be printed on the winch. Note it also doesn't lift directly up but at an angle, so there is some friction on the wire developed.

The beetle body is not very heavy and in the factory they used to suspend the whole body albeit without windows I think, by the outer edges of the four mudguards.

You should be able to just get a small lifting winch or block and tackle and just reinforce the ceiling joist on either side of the car with an a-frame of 4x2's or whatever you have lying around, reinforce the ceiling joist horizontally (if needed) and lift the body straight up. Of course you would not want the body to wildly swing when lifting to ensure the weight is bearing directly down so as to not dislodge the a-frame. Once finished you can just pull it down and use the timber for something else or wait until the body needs to be reinstalled and rebuild it.

If you modify the lifter you are contemplating, you would want to be sure that the attachment to the floor is very well planned. I assume you have concrete, so you would need to make sure the concrete bolts are very sturdy as the weight of the car will not be acting directly down on the steel support upright, but will tend to lean over and exert pressure on the outside concrete bolts. They get away with it on the back of the truck because they can have reinforcement plates above and below the truck bed with through bolts joining the two.

I would think that your engine type stand would work if it is tall enough. Just slide the body away from the chassis or vice versa carefully. Wouldn't it?

[ZEKE65]

I think most people who don't have a hydraulic car lift use the floor jack and saw horse method. Which is what I did.
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1965 VW Sedan, 1968 C10 Step BB, 99 C5

[Digger89L]

The hoist in the photo is sold by Harbor Freight for $149 USD. Checking into it a little further, it has 1000 lbs lifting capacity with the arm not extended, and 500 lbs with it fully extended, so lifting a stripped VW body should be no problem at all. However, not sure if the main post is extendable ...
The ceiling in my shop is finished, so I can't simple hook onto one of the rafters or joists. I've toyed with the idea of building a wooden gantry crane setup ...but that is expensive too.
Just doing some 'blue-skying' on this matter .....and may just end up the tried and true 'hydraulic jack and sawhorse' method.
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"If you can't fix it with pop rivets, crazy glue and duct tape, or hold it together with zip ties, velcro or magnets, it REALLY is broken."

[67rustavenger]

I have a finished garage. There is a 2'X2' opening for storage above. There's allot of VW parts up there.
I hang a chain fall for lifting engines from my engine stand to dollies and visa versa.

If your garage has a access panel to the storage above. You can use a 4"X4"X8' to span a couple of joists for the chain fall to be suspended from to lift the 300lb stripped body of your VW.

Good Luck.
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[andk5591]

before I had the lift, I did it in my storage garage (pole building) What to do is lay a couple 4x4s across several rafters so it distributes the load. I then just use 3 or 4 come-alongs to raise the body. The body is not that heavy and as long as you got all the bolts loose (use jacks to make sure the body is completely free of the pan) you wont have that much stress on your rafters.
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Rosie 65 bug - My mostly stock daily driver.
Woodie 69 VW woodie (Hot VWs 7/12).
"John's car" 64 VW woodie - The first ever
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Max - 73 standard Beetle hearse project - For sale
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There's more, but not keeping them...

[Digger89L]

Unfortunately, the access panel in the ceiling of my shop is not in the centre of the room ....its way over to one side, about a foot away from a wall. Cutting in a new access panel above the car is really not an option I want to pursue. A gantry crane (like the one Hannah built: www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXdqjG39JTM ) would certainly do the job, although I think her's is way over-built for a 300 lb lift. I also have a 65 Bug waiting in the wings, so I could justify the cost (ever priced out lumber lately? Wow!) ...and it could be taken apart and stored between projects. (BTW ...whatever happened to Hannah??)
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"If you can't fix it with pop rivets, crazy glue and duct tape, or hold it together with zip ties, velcro or magnets, it REALLY is broken."

[Eric&Barb]

If lumber is that expensive, search CL to see if someone is selling good used stuff for a lot less or even free. Also keep an eye out for any old heavy duty swing sets being dumped, and if you have any scrap yard out your way you might buy steel for just a bit more than scrap price they sell to their buyers.
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In Stereo, Where Available!

[parker007]

what i did in my garage is put 4x4 across several rafters and cut 2" hole in sheetrock and ran strap through hole. after that you just hook your lifting device from below. I was surprised how much i use my hanging strap.

[TDCTDI]

That Harbor freight boom will not work for lifting your bug body. It is not tall enough unless it's mounted to a truck, If it is mounted to a truck, now you have to worry about the body of the truck & the bug intermingling, it is not long enough to reach over the side of the bed AND reach the center of the roof of the body shell which is necessary for balancing it.

Also, if it's mounted to the truck, you will be cantilevering all of the weight of the shell off the side of the truck, which is designed to bear the load in the center of the bed, over both wheels. While the boom has a steel plate to mount in the bed, you are bolting it to corrugated sheet metal & there is no brace to attach to the bed rail. The bed floor WILL bend & tear. I had one & immediately saw the necessity for a 2' triangulated brace to the bed rail

You would do better to buy a self supporting engine hoist/"Cherry picker" & modify it to work. The vertical upright needs to be extended 1'-2' for the boom to clear the drip rail as the body is raised.
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Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it.

[Redlines]

[TryToBeOriginal]

I use the engine hoist, lift it up pretty high and slide some saw horses under the bumper brackets then I remove the engine hoist and roll the chassis out I can do it by myself in about 15 or 20 minutes and with help in about 10.

[joey1320]

This badass teen built her own gantry crane and lifted her body and engine. Copy her idea.


Link

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**1971 Super Project
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...mp;start=0

[Digger89L]

To Joey1320: I just love it when people pay attention, and read the previous posts before they chime in. Nice work.
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"If you can't fix it with pop rivets, crazy glue and duct tape, or hold it together with zip ties, velcro or magnets, it REALLY is broken."

[joey1320]

[oldmanmark]

I bought a Harbor Freight hydraulic engine lift . You know the king that rolls across the floor with the extended arm like the picture in the pickup.. Not the thing to use. If i do it again i would get the ceiling mounted chain hoist. i have done it all by hand too. Lifting one end of body onto sawhorse then the other end and roll the chassis out underneath. It only cost a week of pain and a cortisone shot in the elbow.
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its all up to you and me to make it better...

[calvinater]

Check out Unistrut, they make several different kinds of overhead trolley systems. Lagbolted to several ceiling joists may be just what you need.
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"Albatross"!

[theastronaut]

I used four come-alongs attached to the ceiling joist. Seemed like a better idea spreading the weight out over a larger area with four pickup points.

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