Rotisserie

johnr9q@yahoo.com

johnr9q@yahoo.com

Senior Member
I am getting ready to work on my body so want to use a rotisserie. Mine is a fordor but it is a 31 so has a frame of steel not wood. After searching herein I am concerned about distorting things. I see people talking about reinforcing areas. What are your thoughts?
 
The model A bodies, in general, are sturdy enough in good condition so it really depends on condition of all the main structural members. You may find that there is flex in the body structure even if it has steel subrails. Every part of the structure helps hold it in shape. Even removing the fuel tank will reduce the structure. The wood in earlier Fordors can be strong enough to hold shape just as well if solid enough.

I've never used a rotating support frame on a model A since my stuff pretty much had to be taken apart to bare bones for cleaning and repair. After it was all back together, (Sport Coupe), then I propped it up on it's cowl and did the underside first. A Fordor is heavier and less well balanced so it could be done in sections. Maybe someone else can give you further advice about this subject. I'm sure there will be a learning curve to it to make it work out well.

I just don't like welding in a lot of supports. It further complicates repairs and isn't worth the trouble to me. The chassis is the main structural support so I get it aligned first then fit the bare bones body back to it.
 
rotowrench: you said "so it could be done in sections" I'm not sure what you mean. It is just the body I will be working on. I would remove the fuel tank and any thing else than can be removed. The body is in excellent structural shape, no rust. How could I take apart the body "in sections"?
 
I built a rigid steel rolling frame from 2”x2” square tubing, with 1”x1” diagonal braces at each corner. Used additional 2”x2” square tubing across the top of the frame to bolt the body to. Once I got the body off the car frame and bolted to this shop frame I was delighted to see that all the doors lined up perfectly. So with a square and true car frame to assemble to I should be golden with little shimming needed.

I have not really felt the lack of a rotisserie. It’s not like a Model A has a full floor pan that you need to access.
 
Very careful ! I had my 31 Tudor in pieces that nothing was to large that I couldn’t put over my shoulder and carry. Cowl was separated quarter panels separated rear panel separated floor separated. All of my pieces to the body hauled to a metal stripper and cleaned of rust and paint, he said wow I’ve never seen a model A that far apart you’ll be happy with my cleaning. I don’t recommend you do this it was labor intensive and it took way to many years to get it back on the road ! No internet few books no one helping me and a lot of lost sleep thinking about how to proceed . I did kill all of the rust from the A setting in a metal shed with a gravel floor rusting the bottom side from steam cleaning the grease oil paint ! I didn’t think of that happening . You could hang the body from rafters through the rear quarter windows and through the door openings and work from underneath cleaning, rust removal, painting, etc ! Then set the body on saw horses or home made body Dolly as I did, started to finish for a point car then I said to myself you want a driver driving the A’s is what’s fun for me , fix things when I have to .
 
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Who needs a rotisserie....just flip it on its roof:

582366


582367


Brad in Maryland



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I like Jay Jay's method of reinforcing the body before rotating it. That way everything is kept in alignment.
 
JayJay, so you did all that reinforcing just so you could roll it around? I currently have the body off and I placed it on a wooden frame with wheels. I didn't do any reinforcing. It isn't supported al the way to the ends but the supports are about 5' apart and centered. I hope I am not distorting anything? To late to change anything anyway.
 
johnr9q@yahoo.com said:
JayJay, so you did all that reinforcing just so you could roll it around? I currently have the body off and I placed it on a wooden frame with wheels. I didn't do any reinforcing. It isn't supported al the way to the ends but the supports are about 5' apart and centered. I hope I am not distorting anything? To late to change anything anyway.
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I didn't reinforce the body, I made a rolling stand maybe six feet long and three feet wide, sits about two feet off the floor, that the body bolts to. I have a small shop and need to move the body out of the way sometimes. Having the roll-around stand makes it easy.

Probably overkill, but like my son says (he may get it from his old man), there's no such thing as overdesigned, just an extra margin of safety.
 
Ford did some weird stuff to sell cars back in the day. All of us know how sturdy these bodies are above the belt line. They weren't built like the old Dodge brothers cars were in the 20s. It's mostly wood and sheet metal up top if they have a roof. There isn't much support above the belt line.

What I meant about doing under floor work was to support in several places then work the reachable areas. Move the supports and finish it out. I took my Sport Coupe body apart because I had to. It needed sub frame repairs and there was no good way to do that other than complete disassembly. Even the lower quarters got the repair they needed. I put it all back together on the straightened chassis to get best fit of everything. I used clecos, bolts, screws, and clamps to fit everything before riveting things. It was a process but it worked for me.

Coupes and Roadsters are easier than Fordors and Tudors. If riveted panels have no signs of corrosion, the body can stay together for cleaning but a person is relying on 90+ year old assembly to be in a condition for prime & finishing. If it's good then that will work. If questionable then it's harder to say. It all depends on condition.
 
A guy i know strapped the doors closed real tight with ratchet straps, Put down two bed matress an went to work.Dont know if he had troubles or not
 
I am thinking maybe the best way to do it would be to have a rigid support under the entire body. Do you think this would be big time overkill? Picture one would not allow the body to stress at all, I don't think. Picture two, the structure of the body is handling all the load and this might stress the body.
 

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It would be better to support the body only in two places so, if the rigid support bends, it won't cause the body to bend.
 

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