Advice wanted - how to roll a car on its side

Post by **rayofleamington** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 3:16 pm

I've just bought a second hand Grumpy's car roller frame (probably for the same price as a new one...)

I am wondering how many people are required to roll a car!! (I'd guess at least 6 big blokes)
Any other tips would be extremely useful (eg whether you can really get away without draining the engine oil - what to do about the brake fluid reservoir etc... As the car should only be on its side for ~1 week)

Are there any differences between rolling a saloon and a traveller that I should know about?

Post by **Cam** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 3:26 pm

Drain fuel tank, drain engine oil, seal brake reservoir cap. Take battery off.

I don't think you'd need 6 big blokes to roll it over...... 4 maybe? Depends on the weight distribution on the frame...... perhaps you could get away with 2?

Are you sure you need to roll Evelin over to do the repairs?

Post by **rayofleamington** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 3:30 pm

Are you sure you need to roll Evelin over to do the repairs?

I don't 'need' to as I've done spring hangars from underneath but
1) I would like to get some practice at using the frame
2) Evelyn is covered in that disgusting black sticky undertseal which prevents MIG welding from working and just creates blobs of metal to land on the bloke underneath the car....

Oh yeah - removing the battery would be sensible

I might have overlooked that if I would be am as tired as I feel today.

Post by **Cam** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 3:34 pm

Yuk. That black sticky stuff is horrible and there's no point in 'spreading it around' with the grinder...... Best thing I have used is a screwdriver/chisel combo to get the rough off, then the wire-brush attachment for the grinder then finally a good wipe down (scrub really) with meths/white spirit and a clean rag.

Post by **Chris Morley** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 7:06 pm

I would guess at least 4 big blokes (as you would raise the car up partially with a jack).

What about draining the diff oil as well?

Post by **bigginger** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 7:16 pm

"After lifting the side of the car as far as posssible with a jack, four men can lift it..."
Haynes Restoration Manual

Might be helpful.

Post by **fweddy** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 8:18 pm

My brother and I flipped his mini up onto its point of balance the other day to see what work was needed on the underside, but its totally stripped.

If the frame has any thing to help hold it steady and assist the roll over I'd imagine you should be ok with 2 and some ingenuity or at max 4. Once you get it up to about 35 degrees it should be pretty easy.

I'd love to see a pic of the frame, esp in use.

Post by **bigginger** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 9:13 pm

If it's an LCV you're rolling, fwed, you can do the job (if the back's off - save damage to it) with an engine crane and a tow rope tied around a chassis rail , then prop the thing on a stout wooden frame. Sounds daft, but it works, and fine as long as you make sure the frame's strong enough for safety.

PS 4 guys can lift a Mini - it used to be a sport on the way home from the pub many years ago - or was it just us?

Post by **rayofleamington** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 10:36 pm

Grumpy's recommendation is 4 people, and they suggest to use MORE people the first time as it takes some 'confidence'.
I have a good block and tackle, but unfortunately I have no sky hooks

So I guess it'll be 6 people as any more people wouldn't find anywhere to hold on to!!

Good point regarding rear axle. It would not hurt to change the eaxle oil anyway as it may have been in there for 50 years!

Post by **fweddy** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 1:23 am

If it's an LCV you're rolling, fwed, you can do the job

Yeah - I'm not planning on rolling anything at present. Just courious really When doing my ute I had the cab off so just carried the chassis round and flipped it what ever way I wanted and the cab sits up on its back nicely to work on.

Post by **lowedb** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 7:59 am

I know the powertrain and chassis bits add a fair bit of weight, but a bodyshell isn't that light, and 1 person can do that with relative ease (on a frame). I wouldn't have thought you'd need more than three or four!

Post by **rayofleamington** » Mon Mar 28, 2005 12:12 am

I'd love to see a pic of the frame, esp in use.

your wish is my command

I was a bit impatient, so rather than wait for a few people to turn up we did it with 4.
It was fairly heavy but as 2 of the 4 blokes were only 18 and I have a desk job I guess we did ok

I'd seen the jacks used between the car and frame, but didn't know why before - without the jacks the car rocks about adding higher stresses to the hubs. The jacks relieve some stress and also stop virtually all the hub flexing / car rocking.

Car was rolled at 4pm on Saturday - I went to my mums for Easter service this morning but got the work done finished this evening - I'm looking forward to having my baby back on its wheels - it doesn't feel right having it like that.

However it has given me a lot of inspiration for fixing the raymobile.....

Just need to get Dotty finished first (no rush there then)

Post by **bigginger** » Mon Mar 28, 2005 12:21 am

Very nice, I'm jealous! So now you can burn your legs and belly instead of your chest and head while welding the underside

Post by **rayofleamington** » Mon Mar 28, 2005 12:24 am

So now you can burn your legs and belly instead of your chest and head while welding the underside

Underneath a car, I have burnt nearly every part of my body so it was nice to weld in a very relaxed position with the added advantage of not asking molten metal to defy gravity.

ps - anyone welding under a car please protect your ears - molten metal in the ear is not only painful but also very dangerous (pardon - I hear you say).

Post by **bigginger** » Mon Mar 28, 2005 12:57 am

Sounds wise to me, though the most painful I had was on the side of my shin, despite wearing a boiler suit/jeans tucked into steel cap boots. I still want to know how it got to skin without leaving a hole in the clothes... That was working (sitting cross legged) on a rolled over car, could've been worse - sitting cross legged there's an awful lot of other bits very close to the bottom of you leg