Chassis Dolly

[Xusia]

Hi Pete (again! LOL),

Thanks! How long is 2x2 #1?

Oh, and where did you get your lateral links? It seems the forward ones (left & right) are polished, and the rearward ones are black, but adjustable.

BTW - I really appreciate this thread. Thank you.

[AZPete]

The #1 2x2 is 4 inches. If your engine is turbo then the same piece on the right side should be about 2".

The front lateral links are from my 06 WRX donor - aluminum, polished on a wire wheel and then I replaced the bushings.
The black rear adjustable lateral links are freebies from FFR. They sent these out with a note that said the OE rear lateral links didn't offer enough toe adjustment. I think, but not sure, that FFR may make some change in the frame to account for this and these black ones may be only for the first kits. Save all donor lateral links and mounting bolts until you know for sure.

This is a good example that FFR takes care of us. We all run into problems, both our own and theirs, but FFR will help with instructions, fixes and parts when needed. It may not be as soon as we'd like (NOW!) but once a problem is verified they will act. Thousands of roadster builders have seen this.
Pete

[Xusia]

Thanks, Pete. Saving my existing lateral links is not an option - they were destroyed in the accident. I need new ones, hence my reason for asking.

[Silvertop]

Well, Pete -- I finished mine. For some reason, I can't seem to upload a picture. Looks pretty much like yours. I think it's a good design, so I didn't mess with it too much. I did make a few changes, though. I did buy one standard 2 X 8 from the lumberyard because I just preferred to have a single 6-foot board rather than three short ones attached to the dolly's spine. Not necessary, I'm sure, but it just seemed like it would be stronger to me. The components of the spine (which consists of two of the oddball 3 X 4's used to hold the AJW crate lids together plus the aforementioned 2 X 8) are held together with through-bolts, long lag screws, and supplemented with a lot of Gorilla Glue. It's not gonna come apart.

I did go one layer higher, to gain about 2 more inches of clearance beneath the car. Each set of pads has a piece of non-skid shelf liner stapled to the top. And although my height adjustment pads are still essentially removable, they are each secured by one long woodscrew coming in from the sidepanels which sandwich them -- except for topmost pad, which have screws coming in from both sides. They are still easily removable -- but they are not likely to remove themselves at an inopportune time, which is important to me -- since my build dolly will also be used to transport my 818 from Stewart's Truck to my garage by way of a 60-yard long dirt road.

I used three swivel casters with brake-locks (two of them outboard at the front and one in the center at the rear), one regular swivel caster (center front), and two non-swivel casters (outboard rear).

I did design in a high-technology towing system (two eyebolts and a length of half-inch rope). Haven't figured out the cup-holders yet.

[Xusia]

I followed Pete's design (Thanks Pete!!), with only some minor differences, and had some feedback to share with those planning to build a similar chassis dolly. Here's a pic of my dolly almost finished:

IMAG0439.jpg

As you can see, I only used 4 of the Harbor Freight wheels (Pete used 6). Load rating is 450 lbs each, for a total of 1800 pounds. I went with only 4 for 2 primary reasons:

1. I plan to have it on wheels before I reach 1800 total pounds.
2. If 450 lbs each is the advertised rating, they will probably hold more (If for some reason, #1 doesn't happen).

It feels perfectly stable and fine, and I have no worries at this point.

Moving on, I was pretty exacting in my measurements, and consequently the rear 1.5" blocks were just a tad tight and the frame didn't settle in easily. I wasn't sure how much room I had in either direction when building mine, but as you can see from the pic below, there is plenty of room for some adjustment. My suggestion is to increase the spacing between the 1.5" pieces (vs. the measurements Pete provided) by moving the circled pieces 1/8" further from the other piece. As can be seen, there is plenty of room to move that piece in the other direction as well.

chassis dolly update.jpg

That's all for now. I'm happy to answer any questions anyone may have.

Thanks again to Pete for a great design.

[Bob_n_Cincy]

As you can see, I only used 4 of the Harbor Freight wheels (Pete used 6). Load rating is 450 lbs each,

If 450 lbs each is the advertised rating, they will probably hold more

You got this all wrong. All harbor freight ratings have to be divided by 2.41237. It says that on the back of the receipt.
Of course you saved the receipt, because they don't honor warranties without them.
ASK ME HOW I KNOW.
Bob

I don't work on cars for a living, so I buy cheapo tools. usually 2-3 times.

[Xusia]

So far, I have saved every receipt for every item I have bought for this project. So I should have it. FINDING it would be a challenge though!

I don't work on cars much either, so like you, I tend to buy cheap tools. They get me by...

[svanlare]

Crates from AJW arrived Friday so this weekend I put together another "AZPete"-style chassis dolly. I didn't make any improvements in the dolly, but with some of the other left over lumber built a place for folks to sit and have a cold one.





-Steve

[DodgyTim]

Great idea for the seat, but rate of progress is now reduced by 50%

[AZPete]

That's the BEST upgrade! Now you can have consultants! Don't look at it as slowing progress but extending the fun.

[Burner1]

I make my own dolly and rotisserie. I can build them from steel in about the time it takes to build them from wood:

http://www.rc-tech.net/pantera1/roto/roto.htm


cutnbuff.jpg

[Xusia]

Great idea for the seat, but rate of progress is now reduced by 50%

That's the BEST upgrade! Now you can have consultants! Don't look at it as slowing progress but extending the fun.

Excellent laugh factor here!

[FFRSpec72]

Thoughts of why not just using jack stands (these could be bordered by some 2x2 to keep them from moving) on the 2x8 so one can raise/lower height as needed ?

[bompus]

I believe the idea is that you can raise/lower height by taking out single pieces inside of the border. If you had jackstands there, you would be limited on how low you could take it down.

[Xusia]

The key reason is to be able to move it around. You could put mover's dollies under jack stands, but a chassis dolly is a bit more stable. Also, many movers dollies are rated for the weight of the 818.

After building my dolly, I've hardly used it. If I were to do this again, I would probably forgo making one.

[wleehendrick]

After building my dolly, I've hardly used it. If I were to do this again, I would probably forgo making one.

My build has been completely on 4 jack stands. In tight conditions I could see the benefit of a dolly to move the frame around, but I've had no problems with building in one spot. I'm almost ready to put wheels on, so at that point, it's moot.

[AZPete]

I agree that if you put wheels on early to make a roller ASAP, then jack stands may be best for you. Jerome had his 818 on the street in less than 2 months! My build is much slower so I like the dolly because I don't want to buy wheels & tires until needed and like the extra height. Wheels & tires are expensive and the tires age so, like I did with my roadster, I'll get the everything done and the engine running before I add tires and go-kart. A good idea I saw here was using 4 HB furniture dollies for the wheels. Steve, are you adding seat belts to the consultant's seats? Think of the liability. :-)

[svanlare]

I'm sure the seats will slow down the build, I've just been getting the garage set up and I've had plenty of visitors already. Beer with the neighbors is a good thing though and I definitely look at that part as "extending the fun". I also envision it will get plenty of use when reaching those times where you just need to sit and stare at the project figuring out what to do next.

At to why the chassis dolly... I am building in a tight space, and moving to the driveway on nice days or shuffling the garage around is a very nice option. We'll see if that pans out during the build, but since the wood was free seemed like a no brainer to start that way.

[svanlare]

As for jack stands on the on the dolly itself, just didn't think about it.

[Brando]

I really enjoy being able to spin my 818 around at will. I build in a 2 car garage and wifey takes one of those spots. Having the flexibility to spin the car to the middle of the garage in a few seconds has been huge for me. I just sat the car on the wheels for the first time, it took a mere 30 minutes to get it off the dolly.

[FFRSpec72]

I really enjoy being able to spin my 818 around at will. I build in a 2 car garage and wifey takes one of those spots. Having the flexibility to spin the car to the middle of the garage in a few seconds has been huge for me. I just sat the car on the wheels for the first time, it took a mere 30 minutes to get it off the dolly.

yea my wife tells me to sit on my Challenge car and spin, now she will be able to do this with the 818

[FFRSpec72]

The key reason is to be able to move it around. You could put mover's dollies under jack stands, but a chassis dolly is a bit more stable. Also, many movers dollies are rated for the weight of the 818.

I was going to build the I frame as described in this thread and just use jack stands instead of the blocks

[DruOdil]

I used wheel dollies with plywood to make it level. Then I put on a jack stand. It worked on my donor and is completely adjustable. I did use a tie down to hold it in place. Harbor freight special.

[Xusia]

I agree that if you put wheels on early to make a roller ASAP, then jack stands may be best for you.

That was pretty much what happened. This car is so easy to get to a roller, it's ridiculous. I did a few things out of order (i.e. skipped the front firewall), and got to a roller in pretty much a weekend. If you have all the suspension parts ready to go, it's a bolt together affair...

[mrprgrmr]

moving to the driveway on nice days

This sounds like the absolute best reason for building a dolly.

[metros]

Hey Pete,
I'm picking up my kit this weekend and double checking all my plans to make sure transport and unloading goes smoothly. I saw you had the rear posts 15" apart to catch the rear frame, but the frame extends beyond that 15". Do you have a rough estimate of how far past 15" the frame pick up points extend in the rear? My 2 rear posts are 18" apart and I want to make sure it's going to have plenty of frame to support while still being steady.

Thanks

[AZPete]

Metros, does this photo help?


To get your 818 into the garage it does not have to be precisely in place on the dolly. On the front the floor is wide and flat so you can place support blocks about anywhere and then line up the rear blocks to the frame. Once you have time you can shift it to exactly where you like and anchor it with the little wooden 2x2 blocks. Tip the driver if he deserves it ($50 is common), have beer or champagne ready to toast your new baby. You are also required to sit in it while making "vroom-vroom" sounds. Good luck trying to sleep before Santa arrives!

Edit: I just noticed you are picking up your kit so delete the tip and Santa. I picture you sitting in the 818 on an open trailer as someone else drives . . . vroom, vroom. Bring goggles. :-)

2nd edit: scratch the goggles. FFR mounts the windshield on the kit.

[svanlare]

metros and pete

Car is supposed to show up Friday, beer is in the fridge and I am indeed pacing like a kid getting ready for Christmas... Hoping to send the obligatory "vroom-vroom" photo next week when I start my build post.

:-)

[metros]

Thanks Pete! That a to d measurement clears it up. I should have plenty of wiggle room with my current build trolley.

I have a weird feeling that Monday morning I'll be under the weather and need to stay home from work. Ffr should produce a tshirt "giving reasons to play hooky since 19xx".

[FFRSpec72]

So still confused, and I'm slow so please help me out here, so the length is 72" and width of each end is 48" wide. The front blocks will sit under the steel floor panel and thus can be almost any stable distance apart, like 40" and should be about 5" tall. The rear I'm not quite sure about, so what is the approx. placement for the rear block for turbo?

[AZPete]

Tony, see post #19 for a close-up of the rear with my 2.5 turbo. The best thing to do is leave the little 2x2 blocks off at first - see svanlare's photo in post #48 - and then once your kit is in your garage and you've got time, screw on the 2x2 blocks to hold the rear of the frame from sliding around (post #19). Once the rear is secured from sliding the front will stay wherever it is. The 2 rear blocks are 1 inch higher than the front to insure the frame is level. Does that help?

[FFRSpec72]

That helps, thanks, I got some 8" 1000lb per wheel casters for $12 each so that should be enough to hold this thing

DollyWheels.jpg

[AZPete]

I'm glad to help. Better wheels than mine so 4 will be plenty. Have fun!

[DodgyTim]

Here is my dolly made from recycled steel and cut up cheapie car stands
IMG_0395.jpg
IMG_0396.jpg
Just as well I didn't design the 818, it would have become the 1818

[FFRSpec72]

Here is my dolly made from recycled steel and cut up cheapie car stands

I like it, as it serves as extra frame parts as needed.

[FFRSpec72]

I finished my dolly tonight

Inventory of parts used:

(2) 2x8x8
(1) 2x6x8
(1) 2x2x4
(4) Swivel Plate Caster with brakes and with 8" x 2" Polyurethane Wheel 1000# each (ebay)
(16) 3/8 inch by 2" stove bolts (for caster)
(16) 3/8 washers
(16) 3/8 nuts
(8) 3/8 by 3.5" bolts
(8) 3/8 washers
(8) 3/8 nuts
(1) Sheet of 1/4" thick rubber gasket material (non slip)

Cost was around $80, ($55 in the wheels) but boy they are nice and move effortlessly and quietly. I made mine 82" long and 48" wide, as I wanted to make sure that the front support was on the front lower frame and not just on the floor pan.

[sponaugle]

Quick question that I didn't seem to spot the answer to:



What is the yellow/red dimension?

[Jaime]

There's a lot of room for error there. The pads go under the plate under the foot box. I made mine with the red dimension 48 inches, but shorter would be fine.

[sponaugle]

There's a lot of room for error there. The pads go under the plate under the foot box. I made mine with the red dimension 48 inches, but shorter would be fine.

Ah yes.. I should have noticed that in the pic! Thanks!!

Jeff

[ruckus racing]

Gunna have to do this