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Brett Gibson JH5 20497 Member
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Hello, Well I went out and bought my second JH, a very Orange 74 with steel bumpers, I had planned on getting one to restore and this one definatly fits that bill. I will be putting in new rockers and floors, and to accomplish this I'm thinking of putting it on a home made rotisserie. My major concern is the car bending while the floors and rockers are off. I have already removed the fenders and doors. So would some of you share what you did when you went thru this process, I would greatly appreciate it, should I be concerned ?? The main center tunnel and the outrigger steel seem strong. Any Pictures would be great, I did go over to Mitch Ware's restoration page but couldn't pull up any of pict's, Mitch ??. Thanks Brett 1975 JH5 20497, 1974 JH 177??? should have wrote it down. :> |
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JodyFKerr Member 
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Brett, Now, I've not put a JH on a rotisserie yet (the one I'm working on now had all the body work already done). But I have done it with other cars. As long as you put the car up and only work on one side at a time you should be ok. I would not recommend cutting up both sides at the same time. If you're still worried about the body twisting you can generally rig some tube steel from end to end under the body. If you're good with a welder a cross body X tube steel rig is also possible. That being said I can't imagine the floors on yours can be more rotten than the JH I presently have in the driveway (I can almost pick up loose change off the ground through the bottom of the car as I'm driving. :). You should be fine without adding additional structural pieces, providing you do one piece at a time. Jody |
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Jensenman Member
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I did the rockers on 19015 and I too considered a rotisserie. For the same reasons you mentioned (bending and warping) I decided against it. If it had been a GT, I probably would have gone with the rotisserie, since the roof adds a lot of rigidity. The J-H depends on the center transmission tunnel and both rockers for rigidity in both the fore/aft and twist planes. If you remove any one piece and the rest of the car is not solidly supported, it will twist and this can be disastrous. I started my project by going to the local boneyard and buying 8 of those cheap scissors jacks, I paid $1 each IIRC. I looked for the ones which have a flat plate on top, they are much sturdier. I cut an 8x8 into 8 pieces about 12" long, one for each jack. I then used 4 of those tall, IIRC 3 ton jack stands to hold the car off the ground, I put them under the far ends of the frame rails, not the rear axle- I didn't want the body shell to move any more than absolutely neccessary. I then put the scissors jacks under the car at different points all the way from the front to the back, again under the frame rails, using the 8x8's to get them high enough. I jacked the car up with the scissors jacks until it was level both fore/aft and side/side so I would have a good reference point. I had to shim the big jackstands with chunks of 1/8" Masonite so they would hold the car level. Now I could start removing the rockers. I did one side at a time, that way I could refer to the other side. Measure and record before you cut! The scissors jacks allowed me to reposition sections of body as things were cut, for instance the front frame rails began to droop and all I had to do was crank up a little more on the jacks under those. I could also move them as needed to hold stuff in place as needed. The body was so 'flexy' with just one rocker removed that I was really happy I didn't try to use a rotisserie! If you look carefully at the rear of the transmission tunnel where it ends and the rear 'package shelf' starts, you'll probably see some cracks. If the rockers rust it puts a lot more stress on that point and that's where the cracks come from. I suggest repairing those before cutting away the rockers. You might want to check the firewall as well, it can develop the same cracks. |
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Art DeKneef Member
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As others have said, you'll need a firm stand to work on the floors and the rockers. When I started I dismantled everything and then put the car on a rotisserie I built and removed all the paint and stuff from the car. It made it easier to get too everything by spinning the car. The only bad part of the car was the driver's floor that was partly rusted through. The rest of the frame is in good condition. Depending on the condition of your car putting it on a rotisserie first may not be an option. I built a rolling stand that I put the body on while I worked on fixing the drivers floor pan and the front bumper mounts and front driver fender. It helped keep everything at a relative level position. And I could move it around to making it easier to work on. I just this weekend welded in the floor pan I built and took the body off the stand and mounted it on the rotisserie again. Makes welding and grinding on the bottom easier when it is in a vertical plane. |
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Mitch Ware Member 
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Sorry it took me so long to reply. I haven't been on the boards in a while. I changed ISPs and need to move my website over, just haven't had a chance to do it yet. I had no problem with warping, but for that reason I made sure that I only did one side at a time. There was some very slight sagging when measured at the tops of the door openings, but as I inverted the car, they changed back. I'm sure it really didn't flex any more than when the car is being driven. Mitch - #19670 |
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Brett Gibson JH5 20497 Member
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Thank you guy's for the great advise. Seem's the best way to go forward for me would be, not to do the rotisserie, but to lay some reinforcing steel along the ourigger metal on either side of the tunnel, and put about 3 pieces across the underneath with jack stands at the 6 points, remove one floor or rocker at a time and weld in the new ones. I'm thinking that will keep everything solid at true. The Vin# is 17731 with 26000 miles, must have been tough miles though judging with what I will need to do to bring it back, but hey I'd rather pay Delta than a shrink. Thanks again. Brett |
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JodyFKerr Member
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"I'd rather pay Delta than a shrink." Now that's a great line. :) When I get frustrated with the world I like to just drive up to Delta and bug Jim and talk about cars. He always has coffee, and sometimes there's donuts! Mind you, I never seem to escape the place without buying stuff. Plus, Delta's less than 5 minutes from the in-laws... so when I need to escape for a bit it's right there! |
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