After looking at the pic of Bill Levin's cradle dolly on the yahoo 3800SC swap group, I thought this is just what I need for my own project. Bill's dolly can be seen at this link (it's a very long link, but should take you right to the pic)
http://photos.groups.yahoo.com/group/3800v6superchargedfieros/vwp?.dir=/Bill+Levin/Cradle+Dolly&.src=gr&.dnm=Cradle+Dolly+3.jpg&.view=t&.done=http%3a//photos.groups.yahoo.com/group /3800v6superchargedfieros/lst%3f%26.dir=/Bill%2bLevin/Cradle%2bDolly%26.src=gr%26.view=t

Now that's a long link!

In addition, I figured that this would be a great way to learn to use the MIG welder that I had purchased (who said that at age 59 that you're too old to learn to weld?)

At first, I was just going to copy Bill's design, but then I realized that this structure would be a problem for me to store when not in use. My shop is my garage, and my wife likes to park her car there also, especially in our Canadian winters. So, storage space is limited, a common problem.

So, I got on my computer and made some layouts and detail CAD drawings of a design that can be disassembled and stowed away. There was still quite a bit of welding to do, as well as jig-drilling all the holes with minimum clearance. Before you put it together, it looks like this:

There are 8 lineal members that bolt together to make a very rigid stucture. The base is a simple frame on casters as shown below:

Then, the 4 vertical posts go on, which support the cradle. The trick here was to get a very rigid and strong joint. I did not want diagonal braces which would be in the way. Here's what it looks like with the vertical posts bolted in place. Note the 8" long 1"X2" channel supports at each corner.

I was fortunate that jelly2m8 loaned me one of his '88 cradles as well as a Getrag, so I can work out a lot of the details of the swap before pulling the 2.8 out of my Fiero. Here's what the dolly looks like with the cradle bolted in place:

All in all, not a big deal, but it is a useful product. I don't enjoy bending down and working on the floor as much as I used to 30 years ago. After all the time I spent practicing with the welder, then doing the real welds, drilling holes and painting everything, I thought I would share this with you.

Now will come the fun part of lifting the 3800SC/Getrag into position on the cradle, installing the SLP roller rockers, 3.25" SC pulley, headers, etc.... Yes!!!

...Rickker

Man, that's nice. Do you have a hoist? Your dolly is much better than mine.

Of course, Mine took all of 30 minutes to build and I used scraps from work.
http://web2.airmail.net/jsavage1/formula/dolly.jpg http://web2.airmail.net/jsavage1/formula/onthecradle.jpg

JazzMan

Hey! that's really nice work!

Dang that's really really nice ....... how much to build one for me ??? Or could you send me a set of blue prints for a fee ???

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www.cfogi.org

[This message has been edited by 2M4 Dale (edited 06-04-2003).]

i bet you could sell these, some folks who do a lot of engine swapping, or work on their own engine, would get one of these in a heart beat. Make it afordable and even I would buy one from ya.

Rob

Wow, that looks good! And to think, all I have are some 2x4's to make one with tomorrow... And with dirt as a floor, I'd need some off-road pneumatic dolly wheels too! LOL Wish I had a garage I could use one of those in, that thing is sweet!

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Bob Williams
Multi-colored '87 Mutt, a work in progress! (Got my 3800SC, installation in progress. It now starts and runs!!!)

WOW, that looks great Rick! A job well done!

Just 1 question though.

So that thing isn't going to come crashing to the floor if I lean against it now?

Now the real fun begins Rick, I'm gonna take some time of work when you start the swap!

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1988GT T-Tops, 5spd, Loaded

looks great, i woulda put some sort of brake on it so your not wrenching on the engine , and getting pissed off because its not staying still ya know??

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Rich
white 86 se, 2" drop, coil overs, KYB's. CRX intake, ported manifolds

Gold 86 se, Built 355, 4:10 adjustable Koni's, Eibach's,polly. and lots more!!

SOLD the Mitsu.

JazzMan - I agree that mine looks better than yours, but I probably spent closer to 30 hours than your 30 minutes!

....Rickker

drool!. . . So where do you send the check?

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Get the Wallpapers here!

really! is this gonna avialble in the mall?!

For those asking how much this cost, it was about $150 for steel, casters and fasteners, and a lot of hours of labor. It could be done cheaper of course, if you could find used square bars instead of using new ones like I did. This design would be way too expensive for me to build to sell to somebody else. It is really an ideal project to do yourself, especially if you can weld or have a friend with a welder. You can buy all the square bars cut to the proper length. I even had the steel supplier cut the U-shaped pieces out of square bar stock on his band saw. This way I had nice square ends on all pieces, and mainly just had to do the welding and drilling. Of course, there are lots of other ways to make this kind of thing.

....Rickker

So how 'bout you make like one off those ebay guys and sell us the 'design' for yours? Ya know, bar lenths, demensions,etc.

To put the cradle in the car then you hoist it off that dolly, take off the uprights and then lower it back on the dolly, right?

sweeet!
I built mine out of scrap wood.
With 4 extra pieces of scrap, The cradle is 8 1/2 inches above the ground.

I have 2x6s under the front wheels (so the nose doesnt scrape). With a 4x4 running across the jack points (use jack stands when idle), you can raise the car enough to slide the dolly/engine through the wheel well. Lower the car till you can put the front cradle bolts in. Lower it a little more so that you can put the back ones in. jack up the 4x4, and put jack stands under the cradle.

This is basically what I did to test fit my 4.9. I can do a test fit in about 10 minutes this way (with help from tom).
-john

Very sweet cradle, very well thought out, I wish I had one so I could move my 3800 setup out of the way as I keep banging my shins on the a-arms every time I squeeze between the bench and cradle. I would be interested in buying one if you decide to make them or I would also be interested in the "blue prints". Good job, HoHo

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"I don't enjoy bending down and working on the floor as much as I used to 30 years ago"

Amen, Amen.

Any chance of getting a copy of your cad file?

David Breeze

A number of you have asked about getting the specs and drawings for the cradle dolly. I will be happy to provide these to anyone with a serious interest in building one. But please be patient! Some of my drawings are not quite up to date, and I want to check everything very closely before sending it out.

Please note that this design is for an '88 cradle. I think it could easily be adapted to the earlier ones, but don't have a '84-'87 cradle around to check this out.

For those that are interested, please send me an email at the following address:

ukauff@nbnet.nb.ca

I will keep a list of interested parties and send the stuff to everybody at the same time. All the material will be sent as jpg images, which everybody should be able to open.

....Rickker

If you were to send me some sketches I could put them into AutoCad for you.
John

I don't think having the drawings on AutoCad would make much difference. Most Forum members don't have AutoCad on their computers, I would think. We just need an electronic way to send the specs to those who are interested. I figured that the jpg format would be the most common.
...Rickker

Bump!