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Re: Inverter/Dolly and Rollover Frame

To: pixelsmith@gerardsgarage.com, RobertDuquette@Sympatico.ca, spridgets@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: Inverter/Dolly and Rollover Frame
Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2000 07:12:25 EST
In a message dated 3/30/2000 1:55:26 AM Eastern Standard Time, 
pixelsmith@gerardsgarage.com writes:

<< It doesn't sound like
 much but it's a little scary having the car that high when you see it. I
 think I used some upside-down 5 gallon bucket to support the car the first
 18" as it was going up. It's possible for one person to flip the car over
 (completely stripped), but I recommend, for safety sake you have a second
 person there too. One side is heavier than the other on the pivot and you
 wouldn't want to lose control of it while it's going over. >>

I looked at both styles of rollover frame, including a couple of others, and 
decided on the Gibbons structure because it gave me the safety and freedom 
that the others didn't.  And it is really easy to build with simple 
woodworking skills.  With the Gibbons frame, the frame is actually brought to 
the car and placed on the shell, instead of having to suspend the car and 
bring it to the frame.  Once surrounded by the wood frame, the car is free to 
roll around anywhere--I frequently roll it outside on nice days to work.  I 
even rolled it onto a trailer and took the whole thing to auto body class at 
the local vocational school once.  Also flipping it is truly a 1-man job, 
with no threat of losing control, and even if you do, it simply rolls on over 
a notch further than intended--you just roll it back where you want it.

As far as installing sills--two things:  First, I installed both outer sills 
and the A-Post, total flooring, both rear bulkheads, and the lower metal all 
around the driver's and passenger's footwells with the car strapped in the 
Gibbons frame.  Secondly, with the car upside down inthe frame, it actually 
provides a "spreading" force on the door frame, which helps keep it from 
"closing up" when the supports are cut out.  This does not negate the 
sensibility of welding in door frame supports, but it does reduce the chances 
of the door frame moving closer together when you cut out the sills and/or 
a-posts.  

I did like the other frame--started to build it.  I  talked by e-mail with 
John Nelson (Psychodad), the builder of that frame, then Ray mentioned his 
rollover frame one day.  I showed interest and Ray snail-mailed me copies of 
his drawings.  After a couple of correspondences with Ray about a couple of 
questions, I knew his design would give me the measure of portability, 
safety, and utility, as well as ease of construction, that I was after.

Good Luck, Robert.

--David C.

 

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