Type 3 body cart

[ataraxia]

Few years ago when I took my 65 apart, I built a body stand for it. This image is the first mock up of that stand. I later changed the caster wheels for larger units and leveled out the body.

Flash forward to current day...I need to know - from those who've built one in the past - Did anyone jot down dimensions of what they built? I have to drive 70 miles to pick up the body for this car and the stand is long gone. Because I built it in the garage with the body readily available, I retained zero dimensions.

I'd like to put one together before I go get the body.

[Clatter]

I can go measure mine if you want?

Not sure it will help you, though..

Do you want to be able to store your pan under the body?
That's the big advantage of a cart like yours, with the perimeter frame.

Mine, under-body storage of the pan wasn't a consideration.

It will, however, work for both the body and floor-pan,
And it's well out of the way when you are working around either on the cart.
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[Bobnotch]

[ataraxia]

[Bobnotch]

[ataraxia]

[ataraxia]

I wound up building a cart that's larger than necessary for transport. I built it to be adjusted on site to fit the body since I don't have the exact dimensions.

I'll modify it once I get the body back to the house and then put casters on the bottom to move it around.

When it's finished, I'll post up dimensions so that anyone needing to know will have access to them.

[ataraxia]

My first run at building the cart using the completely assembled car was way off so I went with what I knew and decided to make adjustments when I arrived at the shop to pick up the body. It was close enough that I didn't have any real issues during pick up. I transported the bare body so it wasn't too heavy but this cart will need to support the body, pan, all glass installed, seats, etc. so it's got to be rather sturdy.

Flash forward to today when I made the modifications and I completely forgot to take photos of the cart and the dimensions. I scratched up a drawing of the major pieces on the back of something I'd printed out.

My high school drafting teacher would be horrified at how poorly I illustrated this thing...

Here's the cart (upside down) right after I finished putting it back together. It was super hot/humid and I was racing a clock to get this done so I didn't take many photos.

This cart is 69" wide - made that way because I had to get the pan installed on the body while it was on the cart. If you don't need to install the pan while the body is on the cart, you can reduce the width by 12" and probably the height by 6", front and rear.

Most of this cart was made using random scraps of wood I had inexplicably squirreled away in my garage/yard. I didn't measure the diagonal supports for a specific length - just squared the uprights and cut accordingly.

I spent about $35 on the SPAX lags, caster wheels and four pieces of wood...I imagine it would cost about $65-$75 to build if all of the parts are bought vs. scrounged from scrap wood.

Material list:
* Two 4"x4"x66" (horizontal support) - also possible to use four 2"x4"x66" if preferred.
* Four 2"x4"x16" (front upright)
* Four 2"x4"x20" (rear upright)
* Two 2"x6"x69" (bottom support/mount for wheels)
* One 2"x4"x66" (bottom middle support)
* Two 2"x4"x102" (side stringers)
* Eight 2"x4" diagonal supports - I'll get dimensions in the near future and post them
* 3" SPAX Lags (I bought a box of 50) - used these specifically because they won't split the wood
* Four 5" swivel caster wheels - in hindsight, I'd probably upgrade to a 6" wheel for maneuverability

Assembly:
1. Screw the uprights together - used SPAX 3" screws because lags are overkill
2. Screw the uprights to the side stringers (pay attention to front/rear so you don't put two fronts on one side stringer)
3. Screw the horizontal supports to the uprights - if you're attaching the pan, you'll have to notch the bottom of the 4x4 for the front beam bit that sticks out. I didn't realize this until I tried to attach the pan.
4. Flip the whole thing over and attach the bottom supports
5. Screw in the wheels (make sure to use the 3 mounting holes that will have the lags go into the adjoining pieces)
6. Flip it over onto the wheels
7. Attach the center support at, well, the center - front to rear
8. Measure and cut the 8 diagonal supports to keep the uprights square

Took me a long time to build because I basically had to build it and take it apart twice to get the measurements correct (keeping the body relatively straight, front to rear) and I was trying to use up the random pile of wood I had on hand. With dimensions and all of the materials it should take about 90 minutes to build.

Photos to follow

[ataraxia]

Left Front:

Left Rear:

[axeman569]

I will be doing this in the next month or so. Thanks for posting it.

[MonT3]

Ataraxia, great post man. Would make a great Sticky to reference for folks wanting to build their carts. People could post their samples of carts built to meet a variety for different space issues. My thought anyway.
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[ataraxia]

[EverettB]

[ataraxia]

[supersuk]

Sorry I couldn't get you any information on it. I tried looking, but couldn't find anything about the measurements. I had sold my body cart to a local enthusiast a while ago, but couldn't find his number and forgot his name.
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[ataraxia]

[axeman569]

Does your cart line up with the front beam mount holes and the rear body mount holes? If so, what is that distance? I am coming up with 102 inches. A notchback would have the same dimensions correct?

[ataraxia]

[JonL]

Here's another option for the sticky:
I made this, but it's long gone, so I do not have measurements, but use the others above for reference.
I needed the pan to roll under it too for space reasons, and I would recommend decent casters as well, it helped a lot.

[ataraxia]

With the dimensions above, the pan will roll underneath. If in doubt, wooden the cart by another 6-9"