How to move a car/shell w/ no wheels etc.
12-21-2008, 01:18 PM
#1
Drifting
Thread Starter
How to move a car/shell w/ no wheels etc.
UPDATE w/pics on Post 17...
As you may know I'm parting out a 1989 S2.
I have sold the front hubs & spindles as well as the front calipers and so the car is not driveable.
It is currently sitting on my 2 post lift but i will need to use the lift shortly after Christmas as my son is getting new upgraded sway bars for his Mazda 6 from Santa!
So my dilema is how can I move the car around the garage without hubs & rotors?
Is there some kind of dolly readily available or is there something I should build?
I can't be the first one with this dilema.
Thanks.
As you may know I'm parting out a 1989 S2.
I have sold the front hubs & spindles as well as the front calipers and so the car is not driveable.
It is currently sitting on my 2 post lift but i will need to use the lift shortly after Christmas as my son is getting new upgraded sway bars for his Mazda 6 from Santa!
So my dilema is how can I move the car around the garage without hubs & rotors?
Is there some kind of dolly readily available or is there something I should build?
I can't be the first one with this dilema.
Thanks.
Last edited by smlporsche; 12-28-2008 at 11:49 AM.
12-21-2008, 01:22 PM
#2
Rainman
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
harbor freight sells dollies for cars that are designed to go under the wheels but i imagine would be fine sitting under the unibody. a board over the top would be great.
they have iron wheels though which are somewhat difficult to move but if you lube them up and if the car isn't too heavy they should work great.
they have iron wheels though which are somewhat difficult to move but if you lube them up and if the car isn't too heavy they should work great.
12-21-2008, 01:22 PM
#3
Race Car
A big jack under the crossmember. I got 3 cars right now with no rear diffs so I know your pain. The other option is a sawsall. This is one part of parting a car that most people never experience until they do it.
12-21-2008, 01:50 PM
#4
Rennlist Member
is the rear axle still on the car? If you pull that off, you could probably get the shell to the point where it's light enough to lower the car onto a cheap-o garage creeper...you might want to head down to autozone or somewhere like that and see what their cheap creepers can support.
alternatively, you could get some chains and try to get creative with an engine hoist
alternatively, you could get some chains and try to get creative with an engine hoist
12-21-2008, 02:14 PM
#5
Rocket Scientist
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Rennlist Member
A creeper would never support that weight.
For something easy and cheap you can use two jacks, one front and one rear. Two people and move and guide it in such a way.
For something easy and cheap you can use two jacks, one front and one rear. Two people and move and guide it in such a way.
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12-21-2008, 02:38 PM
#8
Herr Unmöglich
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So as Darren mentioned, here's how we moved my old parts car once it had no suspension bits.
I bought two 4-wheeled furniture dollies from HF. Also picked up a couple 4x4x8' boards, and cut them down to 4' lengths. With the car up on 4 jackstands we positioned the dollies underneath, one just aft of the front wheel area, the other just underneath the rear seats. We put the 4x4's down running across the car so that when lowered the frame rails would sit on them.
You have to lower the car gently, but once down you should be able to roll the chassis around no problem. We just needed to push it out of the garage and down the driveway, where the junk guy had parked the tilt bed tow truck. He just hooked up the winch and dragged the car onto the flat bed.
Of course, that chassis was going to the scrapyard so we didn't care. But it should work just fine for moving the thing around the garage.
I bought two 4-wheeled furniture dollies from HF. Also picked up a couple 4x4x8' boards, and cut them down to 4' lengths. With the car up on 4 jackstands we positioned the dollies underneath, one just aft of the front wheel area, the other just underneath the rear seats. We put the 4x4's down running across the car so that when lowered the frame rails would sit on them.
You have to lower the car gently, but once down you should be able to roll the chassis around no problem. We just needed to push it out of the garage and down the driveway, where the junk guy had parked the tilt bed tow truck. He just hooked up the winch and dragged the car onto the flat bed.
Of course, that chassis was going to the scrapyard so we didn't care. But it should work just fine for moving the thing around the garage.
12-21-2008, 03:10 PM
#9
Drifting
Thread Starter
The engine / tranny is still in the car so I would guess it still weighs 2000 - 2500#'s
I was thinking of 2 four wheeled furniture dollies that Schwank mentioned but was unsure if it would support that much weight.
Schwank, did you have to pay the junk guy to haul it off or did he pay you? Anything special you had to do?
As for the forklift... I guess I could use my skid steer or backhoe but I'd have to get it off the jobsites and then bring them back and they're a PITA to move around for 30 seconds of work...
I was thinking of 2 four wheeled furniture dollies that Schwank mentioned but was unsure if it would support that much weight.
Schwank, did you have to pay the junk guy to haul it off or did he pay you? Anything special you had to do?
As for the forklift... I guess I could use my skid steer or backhoe but I'd have to get it off the jobsites and then bring them back and they're a PITA to move around for 30 seconds of work...
12-21-2008, 03:43 PM
#10
Herr Unmöglich
Rennlist Member
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In my case Wipeout and I had pulled the engine, and Andy1212 came over and helped yank the transmission out, so I had a pretty light, stripped chassis. No doors, windshield, hatch, hood, engine, trans, or suspension. So ours was a bit lighter for sure.
Because a lot of the body metal had been stripped, the guy just took the car even up. The money he got for the shell probably paid not much more than the gas to haul it. But that was fine by me, I just wanted the thing out of my yard. I just signed him over the title and that was that.
Because a lot of the body metal had been stripped, the guy just took the car even up. The money he got for the shell probably paid not much more than the gas to haul it. But that was fine by me, I just wanted the thing out of my yard. I just signed him over the title and that was that.
12-21-2008, 04:30 PM
#11
Rainman
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well once the engine and tranny is out you and a few guys should be able to move it 
i could pick up the whole front end of my car when there wasn't an engine or suspension on it lol
i could pick up the whole front end of my car when there wasn't an engine or suspension on it lol
12-21-2008, 07:02 PM
#13
Herr Unmöglich
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
OK enough people have mentioned it that I have to ask the question.
If it was YOUR car, and it was not a junker but a nice daily driver or even track car that you were merely trying to move around the garage for space...
Would you HONESTLY trust two floor jacks holding the car (with engine, trans, etc) in the air while you attempt to jerk on the handles and roll it around the garage? With only two points of contact forming a nice pivot point for the chassis to rotate on?
To me this sounds patently insane (and unsafe) if you care about the car, or your health for that matter. Yes it COULD work, but whether you SHOULD do it is another matter. I barely trust the jack alone to hold the car in the air while I rotate track tires front to back. I sure as hell would not trust the entire car lifted on two rolling jacks. But that is just me. I wasn't willing to drop a chassis I knew was going to the dump. The thought of my racer crashing down is.... not good.
If it was YOUR car, and it was not a junker but a nice daily driver or even track car that you were merely trying to move around the garage for space...
Would you HONESTLY trust two floor jacks holding the car (with engine, trans, etc) in the air while you attempt to jerk on the handles and roll it around the garage? With only two points of contact forming a nice pivot point for the chassis to rotate on?
To me this sounds patently insane (and unsafe) if you care about the car, or your health for that matter. Yes it COULD work, but whether you SHOULD do it is another matter. I barely trust the jack alone to hold the car in the air while I rotate track tires front to back. I sure as hell would not trust the entire car lifted on two rolling jacks. But that is just me. I wasn't willing to drop a chassis I knew was going to the dump. The thought of my racer crashing down is.... not good.
12-21-2008, 08:59 PM
#14
Drifting
Thread Starter
OK enough people have mentioned it that I have to ask the question.
If it was YOUR car, and it was not a junker but a nice daily driver or even track car that you were merely trying to move around the garage for space...
Would you HONESTLY trust two floor jacks holding the car (with engine, trans, etc) in the air while you attempt to jerk on the handles and roll it around the garage? With only two points of contact forming a nice pivot point for the chassis to rotate on?
To me this sounds patently insane (and unsafe) if you care about the car, or your health for that matter. Yes it COULD work, but whether you SHOULD do it is another matter. I barely trust the jack alone to hold the car in the air while I rotate track tires front to back. I sure as hell would not trust the entire car lifted on two rolling jacks. But that is just me. I wasn't willing to drop a chassis I knew was going to the dump. The thought of my racer crashing down is.... not good.
If it was YOUR car, and it was not a junker but a nice daily driver or even track car that you were merely trying to move around the garage for space...
Would you HONESTLY trust two floor jacks holding the car (with engine, trans, etc) in the air while you attempt to jerk on the handles and roll it around the garage? With only two points of contact forming a nice pivot point for the chassis to rotate on?
To me this sounds patently insane (and unsafe) if you care about the car, or your health for that matter. Yes it COULD work, but whether you SHOULD do it is another matter. I barely trust the jack alone to hold the car in the air while I rotate track tires front to back. I sure as hell would not trust the entire car lifted on two rolling jacks. But that is just me. I wasn't willing to drop a chassis I knew was going to the dump. The thought of my racer crashing down is.... not good.
12-21-2008, 10:03 PM
#15
Nordschleife Master
You can pick up a couple dollies from Sears, they are about $50 each, one of them can support around 1000lbs im pretty sure. Depending how far down the car is stripped, you can probably get away with using two of them.