Paul Garside suggests metal hoops so one can roll a car over to work on
it. Commercial units are available, but it's hard to justify the cost for
one car. From my british car mags, I deduce that the bespoke way of
cheaply rolling a car in GB is to tip the car over on old tires or
mattresses with the help of a case of beer and some (tipsy?) friends.
Given the difficulty of repairing even slight damage, this had little
appeal for me. Also, I could not imagine getting everything done without
repeated capsizing of the car, so the beer cost could get pretty high.
I spent one wonderful weekend under my bugeye, removing undercoating and
30 years of grunge with a propane torch and scraper (while my spouse, now
ex-spouse, kept asking, "having fun, are you?") and then decided that the
time spent engineering and constructing a rollover frame was time well
spent. The bugeye is light, so I did not need any of the channel iron
monstrosities. I cut a 4'x4' piece of 3/4 inch plywood into 4 strips, cut
the corners at 45 degrees, made notches for the fenders, and made 4
"rocking chair" rockers. These were connected through the axle openings
with 2x4 (1-1/2 inch x 3-1/2 inch timbers for you brits). The whole
business was lashed together and to the car with framing brackets, bolts,
and screws.
My slip of a daughter and I could roll the bare tub over on its top
with no damage and with no strain, or the car could be left at any 45
degree increment between 0 and 180. Then, I could block the assembly up
and remove the rollover frame if it was in the way of the work to be done.
It was a lifesaver. For example, I have heard that it is impossible to
get all the sand out of a car if you sandblast any of the body. I did not
have a problem. Elizabeth and I just rolled the car over and over one
afternoon, repeatedly blasting body cavities with a leaf blower, and got
all the sand out. No need to store the assembly between cars; give it
away or burn it. A friend has since used the frame for his 68 Sprite.
My neighbor, who is restoring a 28 foot 1936 Cris Craft cruiser liked the
idea; he made a larger version (circular with a double layer of plywood)
for the boat. Three or 4 people rolled over a 28 foot wooden boat in a 24
x 32 garage by rolling a bit, dragging a bit, etc.
I'd never do a ground up on a car without a convenient way of rolling it
over. Rough measurements of my plywood wonder for spridgets available by
surface mail upon request. (Send SSAE and allow 3 weeks for S&H.) I have
a cheap engine stand that I got for $30 at one of those hotel truckload
sale thingies. It has occurred to me that another of those, some angle
iron, and a little ingenuity, and I could have a pretty nice spit
arrangement for the next car, should I suffer another attack of insanity.
Dr. Ray Gibbons
UVM Research
55A South Park Dr.
Colchester, VT 05446-2500
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