Hi guys, I was wondering if any of you have ever had to move your project car around or in/out of the garage with no rear cradle in order to work on something else. I might have this issue and need to move my fiero that is on my lift in my garage with no rear cradle in it. How did you do it? With dollys? Not sure of the safest way. ANy help would be appreciated. Thanks.
OTC used to (still?) make a large adjustable bar with two very large caster wheels, you would bolt it to the rear most subframe mounts and it would give you a rolling chassis harbor freight or a farm and fleet type store might sell large caster wheels you could bolt to the rear subframe mounts
Might be cheaper to buy a pallet jack. You could stack a few pallets under the car to get the height you want and use the pallet jack to move the car around.
I use engine hoist/cherry picker hooked to rear hood latch. I have also used $9 wooden mover's dollys from harbor freight under jacking points. If the floor is smooth they work good and are cheap. They usually are rated around 1000 lbs each.
I use engine hoist/cherry picker hooked to rear hood latch. I have also used $9 wooden mover's dollys from harbor freight under jacking points. If the floor is smooth they work good and are cheap. They usually are rated around 1000 lbs each.
I rolled an entire space frame out of my garage into the driveway on one furniture dolly. You should be able to place one under the rear floor or under the trunk (if it doesn't crunch in) and accomplish what you want, if the floor is smooth enough.
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Wouldn't recommend moving the car with the hoist attached to the hood latch. I've seen a few cases where it broke and the car came crashing down. It wasn't designed to take the weight. Better off to attach to the strut towers.
Not the best pic, but this is a bar made from an old bed rail
[This message has been edited by NetCam (edited 01-17-2014).]
Reallybig had a nice set up that he built to move his car around. If you have a welder, check it out...about 2/3 of the way down the first page of his build post:
I use engine hoist/cherry picker hooked to rear hood latch. I have also used $9 wooden mover's dollys from harbor freight under jacking points. If the floor is smooth they work good and are cheap. They usually are rated around 1000 lbs each.
You really shouldn't use the rear latch to lift the car. It is an accident waiting to happen...possible with deadly results. There are many posts talking about the better ways to lift it (e.g. bumper with the molding off, bar across the strut mounts, or 4x4 with a jack under car just forward of cradle mounts...all safe methods). Do a quick search and then do it safely. The latch is not designed for anywhere near the weight!
Just build a 2x4 structure under the frame rails, with side supports and then rest it on a cheap centered furniture dolly. The rear frame isn't that heavy.
I either use my gantry to roll it around. If it's being used I used two of the Harbor Freight dollies cross connected together with 2x4's then built an A shaped vertical on each with a stud on top that goes up into the rear cradle bolt holes. Cost around $25 total if you get the dollies on sale.
About 3/4 of the way down on page 1 you'll find my solution to moving a fiero around w/o a cradle. If you get to the clutch pictures, you've gone too far. //www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum2/HTML/122389.html
Was faced with this same situation recently. I happened to have an old scrap cradle from an 86 laying around (rusted to sh**t) and a pair of rear hubs that were beyond practical use. Took two "T" pipe fittings (I believe they were around an inch I.D.) and welded them to the cradle in the right spot, used an old bar from a weight set (barbell) and after seperating the hubs from the bearings, fitted them to the bar through the pipe fittings. Basically a "trailing axle" set up. Went to this much bother because I wanted to have something I could use again, and mostly cause I already had everything. Wouldn't be practical if you had to buy the stuff to make it. If you wanted to go one further and put bearings in the pipe fittings, it could probably be used to tow with as well, but I just wanted something I could roll around to move the car.
It also occurred to me that if you had one of those single wheel trailer set ups, the ones that are mounted on the tounge of a trailer that is used to move it around when not being used, it wouldn't be too hard to adapt something to bolt it to the frame on a Fiero and would accomplish the same thing. HAGO!
Sorry, I should have specified I have only lifted the rear of the car by the latch with the motor/trans and cradle out. I wouldnt try it with the guts still in. I assumed motor was also out. I didnt mean to suggest something distructive.
Sorry, I should have specified I have only lifted the rear of the car by the latch with the motor/trans and cradle out. I wouldnt try it with the guts still in. I assumed motor was also out. I didnt mean to suggest something distructive.
Sorry, I should have specified I have only lifted the rear of the car by the latch with the motor/trans and cradle out. I wouldnt try it with the guts still in. I assumed motor was also out. I didnt mean to suggest something distructive.
That was assumed...but the latch is not designed for that load (i.e. rear end even without engine). You risk it ripping out and the car dropping. If this happens, you risk injury or major damage to the car or engine. It's not worth it, when there are many better ways to lift the car.