3500 capacity enough?

[Dreamcar]

I can pick up a 3500 lbs capacity rotisserie for a decent price. Since my charger has no engine or transmission, will 3500 capacity be enough..? Would the diff need to come out for sure before going on the rotisserie because of weight?

[69 OUR/TEA]

3,500 is plenty,you don't put them on the rotiss fully assembled,in fact the en/tranny should be out of the car when doing so.I'd even have the rear out as well.

[Ghoste]

And the interior stripped, its basically the shell you are putting up there.

[Dreamcar]

Yeah, the engine trans, an interior are already out. The diff and k member are all that's left.

[cdr]

they say the shell is about 650 lbs 

[Baldwinvette77]

Do you really need a rotisserie?    that car looked fairly mint in person 

[Moparheaven]

More than enough. Post some pics as you are working one it!!

MH

[fy469rtse]

Good that your taking the diff out , there's a lot of weight hanging just in the shell without having the diff hanging like a counter weight , you have got to try and balance your shell as well so you can turn it over easy

[fy469rtse]

Sorry mention to mention , look at build threads on other members car early on with them on rotisserie, and look at the pivot points , and you will get the idea

[Dreamcar]

Do you really need a rotisserie?    that car looked fairly mint in person 

Hey Baldwinvette...I know you've known my car longer than I have

I want to check for squareness, weld in my subframe connectors, weld in torque boxes, do some rocker panel work, replace the front floor pan, and undercoat the floor...all of that I don't want to do on my back if I can avoid it for a decent price 

[Troy]

Yes, it's more than enough. Having the rear and k-frame in the car will likely prohibit you from flipping it over as it will be very bottom heavy. Heck, even the steering column and heater were enough to throw off the balance on mine! The completed car likely weighs less than 4,000 pounds (unless it's a Hemi). Depending on options, the engine is 550-750 lbs, transmission 150-200 lbs, wheels/tires 150-200 lbs, seats/carpet 150 lbs, fenders/hood/grill/lights/bumpers 200+ lbs, and doors 150 lbs. Assuming you also pull the dash, console, and other interior pieces you'll save another 200 pounds. Rear axle, springs, brakes, and shocks will be 300+ lbs and the front suspension, steering, brakes and k-frame about the same (steering box alone is 35!).

FYI - you can drop the entire front suspension - including torsion bars - at the same time. Disconnect the upper control arms, upper shock nut, steering column coupler, and brake lines. Loosen the torsion bar adjusters on the lower control arms all the way down and pull the retaining clips off the torsion bars (or yank really hard until they pop off like I did). Put a jack or dolly underneath the k-frame (it will be back heavy!) and loosen the four large bolts. Jack up the car and roll the assembly out of the way. I did it this way because if you have the car on jack stands and drop all that weight off the front it could tilt off the back of the stands. The rear comes off in one big chunk (springs and all) as well.

I believe you'll want to install the subframe connectors and torque boxes *before* you put it on the rotisserie. You really want the car flat and sitting on it's suspension so that you "lock" it in place. Unless you have a frame table or other fixture to make it perfectly straight you could end up "tweaking" the car a little on the rotisserie. I didn't think there'd be much difference but I had my Challenger on the rotisserie when replacing the rear floor pans and it moved enough to bind my saw and break a cutting wheel. I dropped it back down on jack stands and measured to make sure it was straight before continuing.

Troy

[Dreamcar]

Yes, it's more than enough. Having the rear and k-frame in the car will likely prohibit you from flipping it over as it will be very bottom heavy. Heck, even the steering column and heater were enough to throw off the balance on mine!

FYI - you can drop the entire front suspension - including torsion bars - at the same time. Disconnect the upper control arms, upper shock nut, steering column coupler, and brake lines. Loosen the torsion bar adjusters on the lower control arms all the way down and pull the retaining clips off the torsion bars (or yank really hard until they pop off like I did). Put a jack or dolly underneath the k-frame (it will be back heavy!) and loosen the four large bolts. Jack up the car and roll the assembly out of the way. I did it this way because if you have the car on jack stands and drop all that weight off the front it could tilt off the back of the stands. The rear comes off in one big chunk (springs and all) as well.

I believe you'll want to install the subframe connectors and torque boxes *before* you put it on the rotisserie. You really want the car flat and sitting on it's suspension so that you "lock" it in place. Unless you have a frame table or other fixture to make it perfectly straight you could end up "tweaking" the car a little on the rotisserie. I didn't think there'd be much difference but I had my Challenger on the rotisserie when replacing the rear floor pans and it moved enough to bind my saw and break a cutting wheel. I dropped it back down on jack stands and measured to make sure it was straight before continuing.

Troy

Thanks. I was thinking of tacking the connectors and torque boxes in place while the car was level on stands and finish weld once on the rotissery (the car doesn't have a suspension to speak of...bad springs and no shocks). However, I need to figure out some frame dimensions first...I posted this question yesterday so any help is appreciated:

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,108504.0.html

[70 sublime]

You want to try and measure the car to see if it is flat but how are you going to know if you garage floor (I assume) is flat ?

Would not take much for the cement to be 1/2" different from place to place

[Dreamcar]

You want to try and measure the car to see if it is flat but how are you going to know if you garage floor (I assume) is flat ?

Would not take much for the cement to be 1/2" different from place to place

I plan on getting the stands and rotisserie level before putting the car on. For example, adding steel plates under the stands to micro adjust the height and compensate for the floor.