TR2/3/3A rotisserie on a tr3

[sp53]

I saw a post awhile back about using a rotisserie on a tr3 body tub and felt that is the way to go. My problem is I spent my misguided youth as carpenter and have only sheet metal and wood skills, not welding. It occurred to me that I could perhaps go to Harbor Fright and buy a couple of engine stands and attach them at each end. Hopefully some one out there has an idea on how to attach them to the tub. Perhaps I need to span the distance between the two stands with some angle iron or channel stock. If anyone has a done this before I would sure like to learn from their mistakes.
Regards sp53

 

[Greg_Blake]

That might have been my post you saw. I did not know how to weld until I bought a little wire feed welder a few years back. It is very easy to learn and this is a great project (lots of welds required) to hone your skills. I had two engine stands collecting dust so I used the stands as donors for the project. I guess you could build it with out welding, but I recommend learning to weld, it is very useful. You will also need to fabricate interior body tub braces (door braces) to make sure the tub does not fold up on itself. With the door braces installed, the tub is surprisingly rigid. Once I mounted the tub on the rotisserie, I test fit the doors and the gaps had not changed.

If I had started from scratch, buying engine stands would have been a waste of money in my opinion since I really only used them to avoid having to notch a rectangular tube to fit a round pipe. For the $50 you’ll spend on the stands you can buy all the steel required from a scrap yard for the whole assembly. The other problem with trying to use engine stands is they are too short if you want to be able to rotate the tube completely over. The distance between the highest point of the base of the rotisserie and the center of rotation of the needs to be approximately ½ the width of the tube + 6”. This ensures the tube clears as it rotates through vertical.

I have attached a few photos of the assemblies and the tub mounted. I had planned on attaching the two pieces together at their bases but have found it not required. If I were to try and load this on a trailer to move it a long distance I would go ahead connect the two ends.

The reason I have used angle and wide flange shapes is I had the material laying around. If you are buying all the steel, just use 2.5”x2.5”x3/16” square tubing for the base construction.

 

[sp53]

Hi Greg yes that is it, and thanks for your pics and advice. At first I was going to just lay the tub on its side in this makeshift barn I made and blast it with 70 grit silica, but then I thought well I want to paint this whole tub body color, and that would be so much easier on the rotisserie. Thank you for your encouragement on welding. I have been putting that off for some reason (30 years). Anyways did you use one of those 120 volt systems? I have been out banging around on the tub for a couple of months, and I am probably going to make my own floor, trunk, fender patch, battery tray patch pans….The budget I am using is small and I kinda want to do it all myself anyway. I do have the frame done and the suspension and engine in there all new and running, so I am kinda motivated. However, it is still a good quality hobby. What I have been doing with the tub is just putting those blue tarps down and around and catching the sand and reusing it. I guess I am off to Home Depot to see how much a welder is
Thanks again
sp53

 

[DNK]

The system I was going to show you uses wood as a support. Don't think there is any welding.

 

[cyaker]

Well, I had just spent most of my evening looking at rotisseries at various sites, wishing. I have finished the frame for my 6 and the body is on wooden frame on wheels. But I keep looking at how uncomfortable it is going to be going underneath to strip it. I had gotten a low cost flux wire welder at Harbor Freight and down some frame repairs and would reccommend it for the price and runs on a regular 110 outlet. (Current sale price $119) I would like more guidance as to how to approach the pivot hub. I would think I could get by with holds at 90 degrees in each direction. I did see one site that sold a kit with the hub pieces and multi-position stops, but it was about $350 plus the cost of support tubes.

 

[John Loftus]

Hey guys,

For my Healey restoration I made a wood 'rotisserie' to support the frame/superstructure on all four sides. It came in handy and was an easy half day job and no more than $50 in materials. It required two people (hey neighbor!) to flip it over safely. Anyway, I have a picture of my 2x4 contraption here:

wood rotisserie

Cheers,
John

 

[Greg_Blake]

The hubs I made are just 2" pipe inside of 2.5" pipe. The holds are infinite because I simply drilled a hole in the outer hub piece and welded a nut to it. I thread a bolt throught the outer hub to hold the innner hub in the position I need. A simple set screw set up.

I was $16 of wled wire, $40 in casters, and $40 in steel I had to purchase, the majority of the steel was scrap I had from a job.

Greg

 

[Greg_Blake]

And yes it is a cheapo 110V system from Sears.