Hi all - i have heard that a c3 body that is off (perhaps other gens) cannot be on a rotisserie because it is too soft - instead, i am told, it must be on a dollie of some sort (wood/steel), and that the nose must separately be supported - is this true? if dollies are necessary, is there a good plan for a steel dolly build (thinking the most simple possible - angle iron, few channels) - many thanks!
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Re: 70 LT1 - Frame Off - dollies
Ideally, the body dolly will catch all eight body mount locations, and will support the radiator support in the front. That makes for a long dolly.
Body dolly designs are as many, and as different, as the people who do restorations. I have seen dolly designs in magazines (The Corvette Restorer?), but I don't know where to find one without researching.
There is no elegant way to support the front of your 70, but it has to be done. I eventually built a 2" X 12" center main dolly on castors. This dolly worked with either the frame under the body, or with the body supported on the dolly at the body mount locations. The Number 4 body mounts and the front fenders are supported off the main dolly by fabricated square steel tube supports that eliminates the need for the radiator support. -
Re: 70 LT1 - Frame Off - dollies
Chuck - many thanks - as a complete ameteur that has never done a frame off restoration, let alone a c3 restoration, you have given me some valuable information - if i got it correctly: (1) support 8 body mount locations and (2) support the radiator support - alternatively, if the #4 body mounts and the front fenders are supported, there is no need to support the front at the radiator support - if I have this correctly - thank you!! - if not, perhaps I could trouble you to clarify - as for researching...that will be my job - if I find a good plan, I will post it - thanks again! - stephenComment
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Re: 70 LT1 - Frame Off - dollies
The eight body mount locations are (1) just in front of the firewall, (2) inside the hinge support column area behind the kick panels, (3) at the front of the rear wheel wells behind cover plates, and (4) visible at the rear of the rear wheel well. To support the front end, I used the holes in the front bulkhead for the header bar reinforcement/supports.
This approach was necessary because I made the dolly too short without planning ahead to support the front end. There are other ways to do it; I toyed with the idea of supporting the inner fenders with a simple 2X board through the suspension seal flap cutouts, but decided it wasn't stable or accurate enough. Removing the radiator support for restoration might also be risky with that setup, but let me quickly add that removal of the radiator support is not required unless you need to weld on it.
You will see two bolt heads at the front of each front wheel well. I fabricated the supports to fit the angled plane of the bulkhead inside the fender...a 1/4" flat plate welded to the end of the square tube fits flat against the bulkhead, and longer bolts attach the support end plate and retain the header bar reinforcement. The other end of the square tube support bolts to the dolly. Your fabrication angles have to be accurate; otherwise, you could crack fiberglass and/or pull your frontend out of position.Comment
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Re: 70 LT1 - Frame Off - dollies
thanks chuck...one day and i already owe you a beer...jeez!Comment
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