Northern Tool Crank Rotisserie and 73 Camaro

Documenting the process of mounting my 73 Camaro on my Northern Tool Crank Rotisserie.  I am doing something different this time in trying to better adjust the center of gravity.  There were several rotisseries to choose from, but Northern Tool gave me free shipping and the rotisserie was already painted, so I went with that unit.  When I had it balanced at first, then the cranking got harder as the car turned sideways, so this is my attempt to improve that.

The front jack stands are placed under the firewall on both sides.  The height is dictated by the height of the jack and jack stands to the highest possible position:IMG_1452

The rear jack stands are under the rear frame rails on both sides:

IMG_1453

All four jack stands: IMG_1454

The rotisserie arms are bolted to the sub frame mounts using the bolts from the sub frame:IMG_1455

There is a cage nut inside that the bolts are fastened to:IMG_1457

Rear shackle brackets are from accessible systems and there is a bushing inside the rear leaf spring mounting point:IMG_1459

Pic of rear end:IMG_1461

I also tried to center the mounting ends so the car is centered to the rotisserie:IMG_1462

Same with the front:IMG_1463

Now to adjust the mounting points on the side closest to the car which adjusts the center of gravity:IMG_1464

and the back:IMG_1465

I jacked the car up using the rotisserie, added some bricks and boards under the jack stands and lowered the car on the higher jack stands to release the weight on the rotisserie.  Now this requires a second pair of hands as I held the arm attached to the car while my buddy adjusted the rotisserie jack to the next set of holes which improved the center of gravity:IMG_1466

Rotation is much easier now:IMG_1467

For reference for the better center of gravity:IMG_1468

Back:IMG_1469

Hein-Werner End Lift Jack (Bumper Jack)

Picked up an antique Hein-Werner 1.5 ton bumper jack.  Hope to use this to get the Camaro higher on blocks before mounting on the Rotisserie.  I have removed the Hydraulic Jack to do some work on it.  Might need to be rebuilt.  Found a seal-kit for it here: http://www.hcrcnow.com/shop/seal-kits/hein-werner/1144

Picked the jack up for $25, but had to drive 4-5 hours round-trip to get it.  For a reference on size – not the orange cylinder off to the side – will need to work on that.

Will take more pics and video later as I do more work on it.  I will be checking the hydraulic oil level first before ordering the seal-kit.
IMG_1309
00E0E_2HgTZZn9mRC_600x450 00g0g_b0tvVBEIac9_600x450 00h0h_gQHQQ2sonPZ_600x450 00K0K_eTSo4jhi1GW_600x450

It says it goes 55″ high, but the bumper portion is about half of that.  Note the arms do extend outward…

00L0L_f22nfmE1IDG_600x450 00S0S_2pENgAJ89tI_600x450 00V0V_6O1tIJaACqQ_600x450 00Y0Y_iKGkl0obYon_600x450

Doug Bratton's Personal Blog