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When do you drop
paulmw - 10/8/07 at 07:21 AM

Sorry crappy tiltle.

As most builders I have my chassis on trestles. However, at what stage is it best to put the wheels on and continue building on the ground.

I have done the suspension, brakes, steering, diff and about to put the engine in.

I am desperate to get the wheels on and get wifey to push me up the road but dont want to get carried away and spend the rest of the build bending over

Cheers Paul


bigrich - 10/8/07 at 07:30 AM

sounds like its ready for the floor to me, and its much easier to lift the engine 2 feet over the side than 4 feet over the side and build stands.


Avoneer - 10/8/07 at 07:36 AM

You have done the floor haven't you?

Pat...


nick205 - 10/8/07 at 07:44 AM

you'll soon get used to crawling around on your hands and knees


BenB - 10/8/07 at 07:56 AM

Depends partially on how high your engine crane goes and how high your ceiling is!! IE you might have to get the chassis onto the floor to swing the engine + gearbox in.

I even first ran up the engine on stands. I only lowered it onto the floor for the first test drives....


chrsgrain - 10/8/07 at 08:47 AM

Mine came down off its stands 2 weeks ago, and its got SVA on Tuesday!

Only things that needed doing after it came down were things like suspension set up, wheel arches and final brake bleed. Does make everything easier having it at waist height, you only reaslise how much easier when its on the floor!

Chris


graememk - 10/8/07 at 09:18 AM

mine stayed on its stands untill the last day of build, didnt want a bad back.


zxrlocost - 10/8/07 at 09:19 AM

put the prop on before the engine

Id drop it down to put engine in then put something underneath and get it back in the air so much easier to work on


fesycresy - 10/8/07 at 09:26 AM

The defining moment for me was when the workmates started wobling


Bluemoon - 10/8/07 at 11:05 AM

I think fesycresy has the correct idea. Only keep it supported, when it's safe, i.e. under the working capacity of whatever you have it on. Having 500kg of car falling on your head is not a good thing.

Also you need to figure how to get it down safely, might not be so simple...

Dan


John.Taylor - 10/8/07 at 11:44 AM

Mines never been more than a foot off the garage floor. I put the floor on, turned it upside down and put the suspension and wheels on then dropped it.

Rather than stand up to work on it, I have a little stool to sit on and it's easier to climb over it than go around it in my garage.


paulmw - 10/8/07 at 11:57 AM

All good points. I suppose it comes down to personal preference.

I have put the ali floor in though But need to put the engine in first so that MK can measure for the prop.

I think excitment will get the better of me as my wheels turned up yesterday


Confused but excited. - 10/8/07 at 01:27 PM

quote:
Originally posted by paulmw
Sorry crappy tiltle.

As most builders I have my chassis on trestles. However, at what stage is it best to put the wheels on and continue building on the ground.

I have done the suspension, brakes, steering, diff and about to put the engine in.

I am desperate to get the wheels on and get wifey to push me up the road but dont want to get carried away and spend the rest of the build bending over

Cheers Paul


Get it on the ground before the engine/gearbox go in.
Wifey will be able to push you much faster!


caber - 10/8/07 at 04:53 PM

Mine went on the floor with wheels and no engine then I craned it back up to high trestles to fix that and do basic plumbing. It then went down again to get engine in since then it has sat on axle stands. I get it up and down off the stands with a trolly jack, start at the back to get the jack under then lift at the fire wall for the front stands. ATM balance point is about the middle of the gearbox thoug that will move a lot when i get in!

Caber


DarrenW - 14/8/07 at 05:35 PM

Building a car is like making love to a beautiful women. Youve got to keep it up as long as you can and only put her down when she puts a bit of weight on!!!

[Edited on 14/8/07 by DarrenW]