Mobile Cart?

[PNWTim]

Since I have ordered my kit I have been kicking around a lot of different ideas for my shop area. I have always thought I wanted a two post lift but I really don't want one of the posts essentially in the center of the floor. My shop/garage is 24 wide by 36 deep with scissored trusses. 13' tall in the center so I don't really have a height problem just an aversion to the one post. I have also looked at MaxJax as well as various types of flat floor lifts. All are somewhat expensive and take up valuable floor space.

One thing I keep coming back to though is the idea of building a rolling shop cart the frame would simply sit on. Since my understanding is the bottom of the frame is flat, I could construct it to put the car at a comfortable working height. I could feasibly make the footprint small enough to provide access to a significant portion of the frame while building and if I did run into interference I could simply lift it off as needed. This would obviously be used only until the build had progressed to engine installation at which point I would put the shoes on and place the car on my two by four cribbing. I would probably use fairly large rubber or urethane shod casters to enable spinning the car, rolling outside, etc. Mostly wondering if anyone else has attempted this and what the results were. Thanks in advance.

[Jim1855]

A friend building a Gen 3 Coupe has a tubular cart on wheels. We've rolled it in/out of the garage and into a trailer. No problems. His is about 16" high.
Jim

[Jphoenix]

I built mine out of steel tube with a couple of 2x6 board for the frame to sit on, plus a strip of velcro used as a padding material. I bought wheels large enough to allow my engine hoist to fit under the dolly. Works for either the 289 or the Coupe.

204696

[PNWTim]

Thanks! Being a woodworker I was automatically leaning towards that construction method but I do have a welder - just not the requisite skill as yet.

[F500guy]

Just remember you have to get it off at some point with significant weight added!

[PNWTim]

Yeah, that thought had crossed my mind. My idea was the cart would only be tall enough so the chassis was at a decent working height. I am not sure what that height would be as I haven't decided if the axles should be at sitting height or standing height but that would determine how easy it would be to remove. Pretty certain regardless of how I do it, I could pick it up with my engine hoist from the side to lower it down. All of this is working on the assumption the engine is not installed.

[lance corsi]

My roll around building cart is 30” high, which makes for a good access all around the vehicle. As far as urethane casters, I wouldn’t recommend them, as mine have all deteriorated during the course of my build. As the car grows in weight, the urethane casters begin to resist rolling, and ultimately the urethane peeled off, leaving only the naked hubs, which didn’t want to roll.

[Peter Ross]

My shop has a steep paved driveway on one end, soft horrible gravel other end. I need wheels that roll and change direction easily. Lower center of gravity to eliminate toppling over if one wheel suddenly stops.
I wanted something that could be repurposed when the car is done. Remove the casters, add legs and it's a 4x8 table.
Very basic: 3/4" 4x8 ac plywood, 4 8'2x6's, 4 6" Tractor Supply casters, 3" and 1 1/2" screws no glue.
The chassis with body rolled effortlessly. I did not build the car on the cart however, Mike Everson built the car in his shop. I do use it for another Coupe. It is low. Chairs, foam pads for kneeling a must. Plenty of room to put the car on jack stands on the cart to gain some height.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/X4CSF4QVKtHHV8Gm9

[PNWTim]

My roll around building cart is 30” high, which makes for a good access all around the vehicle. As far as urethane casters, I wouldn’t recommend them, as mine have all deteriorated during the course of my build. As the car grows in weight, the urethane casters begin to resist rolling, and ultimately the urethane peeled off, leaving only the naked hubs, which didn’t want to roll.

Interesting, I would think the urethane would be bonded and not so susceptible to failure. Back in the day, skate board wheels were made from urethane (maybe they still are) and they were tough as hell. Good to know though, thanks.

[PNWTim]

My shop has a steep paved driveway on one end, soft horrible gravel other end. I need wheels that roll and change direction easily. Lower center of gravity to eliminate toppling over if one wheel suddenly stops.
I wanted something that could be repurposed when the car is done. Remove the casters, add legs and it's a 4x8 table.
Very basic: 3/4" 4x8 ac plywood, 4 8'2x6's, 4 6" Tractor Supply casters, 3" and 1 1/2" screws no glue.
The chassis with body rolled effortlessly. I did not build the car on the cart however, Mike Everson built the car in his shop. I do use it for another Coupe. It is low. Chairs, foam pads for kneeling a must. Plenty of room to put the car on jack stands on the cart to gain some height.


https://photos.app.goo.gl/X4CSF4QVKtHHV8Gm9 (https://photos.app.goo.gl/X4CSF4QVKtHHV8Gm9)

Thanks for the response and photos. I am envisioning something a little taller with a bit less footprint, probably 42" X 60" or so. Either way, your response helps me envision the functionality.

[ggunter]

Find the best spot in your garage and go for the twin post lift. It may be a little bit of a hassle to work around sometimes but you will never regret putting it in.

[afd660]

I'm not sure how often you would need to move the frame/car around while you're building it, but I have a set of quickjack 5000 I use to keep weight off tires when storing and when I have to work on it. Theres only 2 heights it can lock at, the 1st one is high enough for me to work on. I can sit on a shop stool and work on the brakes/ball joints. Can get in and out of the car also, and working on the engine is alot more comfortable. At the 2nd(highest) height, it may be better ergonomically, but with the hood open it will hit the trusses. If I have to work underneath the car, the stands are too close together to be able to get under it, so I bought a set of 8inch raceramp wheel cribs. Looking back I'd have gotten the 10in or 12in high cribs. But even with the 8in high cribs, it does allow me just enough room to access to the center of the car on a rolling creeper. I hope the pictures help. I wish I had room and height for a proper 2 post lift, but the quickjacks have been great. Only complaint is the customer service, nothing ever shipped for about 2 months. I had to get my credit card involved to get a refund. I finally ordered the lift from homedepot instead of the official quickjack website and saved even more $$ on the lift. My garage is 25x25x10(ish). 204782204783204784

[PNWTim]

I'm not sure how often you would need to move the frame/car around while you're building it, but I have a set of quickjack 5000 I use to keep weight off tires when storing and when I have to work on it. Theres only 2 heights it can lock at, the 1st one is high enough for me to work on. I can sit on a shop stool and work on the brakes/ball joints. Can get in and out of the car also, and working on the engine is alot more comfortable. At the 2nd(highest) height, it may be better ergonomically, but with the hood open it will hit the trusses. If I have to work underneath the car, the stands are too close together to be able to get under it, so I bought a set of 8inch raceramp wheel cribs. Looking back I'd have gotten the 10in or 12in high cribs. But even with the 8in high cribs, it does allow me just enough room to access to the center of the car on a rolling creeper. I hope the pictures help. I wish I had room and height for a proper 2 post lift, but the quickjacks have been great. Only complaint is the customer service, nothing ever shipped for about 2 months. I had to get my credit card involved to get a refund. I finally ordered the lift from homedepot instead of the official quickjack website and saved even more $$ on the lift. My garage is 25x25x10(ish). 204782204783204784

Thanks for the info and pictures. I have looked at all manner of lifts including this one (which is pretty slick). I am still contemplating a 2 post as I do have room and 13' ceilings, just concerned about foot print. Everyone who has one swears you'll never go back but we'll see. I have a couple of months to figure it out and who knows, maybe if Bendpak has a Xmas sale there could be one under the tree?

[jpschramek]

This is something I've been thinking alot about as part of planning for my build. My thought was to use Quickjacks that I already have because they do have the ability to adjust the height and then build a dolly/cart that would fit in between the quickjacks that I could lower it onto if I needed to move it anywhere without having to put wheels on the actual frame.

[cob427sc]

I have had both 2 and 4 post lifts along with no lift to build various cars. 2 post was my favorite but I currently have a 4 post. Pros/cons both ways but the 4 post has caster which allows you to move it around in the shop.