Odd question but here it is:

Has anyone used a car rotissier with a W123 chassis? Will the bolts that hold the front and rear bumper hold the weight of the car without causing any body damage or issues ? I am talking about the 3 "bolts" on each side that hold up the bumpers. The car is going to be completely stripped down to just the shell. Does anyone have an idea what the weight will be for the shell ? I will need to do this so that after the car is stripped, it can be painted 360 degrees. Thanks in advance.

I don't know how heavy my W123 saloon shell is - I have it stripped down to nothing at the moment and I still can't pick up one end of the car... maybe I should try harder? It feels a lot heaver than an OM617 block.

The mounting points on the front of the W123 just shown here on the left hand edge of this picture...



...give me the impression that they would be strong enough but at the rear end of the car it is just sheet metal work. There are no reinforced parts until you get to the beam that holds the diff mount in place. From this point back it is just "crumple zone"

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

I talked to the whirly jig guys at a swap meet a few months ago and they cautioned against using their product on a unibody car.

I've never heard of that before. What's the advantage to using one of those?

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" We have nothing to fear but the main stream media itself . . . ."- Adapted from Franklin D Roosevelt for the 21st century

OBK #55

1998 Lincoln Continental - Sold
Max 1984 300TD 285,000 miles - Sold
The Dee8gonator 1987 560SEC 196,000 miles - Sold
Orgasmatron - 2006 CLS500 90,000 miles
2002 C320 Wagon 122,000 miles
2016 AMG GTS 12,000 miles

The advantage is primarily being able to get the car body in the best position to do work to it - mainly body work.

I'm fitting/welding/grinding on my car overhead right now - not fun. Would be so much easier to be able to spin the body to the optimum orientation for the work at hand.

Eric

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Eric

1985 300SD

It also makes it easier to find a level spot to place your beer!

Oh, I was really thinking more about painting. I guess that would be an advantage. Optimum beer placement is also a critical concern . . .

__________________
" We have nothing to fear but the main stream media itself . . . ."- Adapted from Franklin D Roosevelt for the 21st century

OBK #55

1998 Lincoln Continental - Sold
Max 1984 300TD 285,000 miles - Sold
The Dee8gonator 1987 560SEC 196,000 miles - Sold
Orgasmatron - 2006 CLS500 90,000 miles
2002 C320 Wagon 122,000 miles
2016 AMG GTS 12,000 miles

X3 on the beer positioning - it moves on to the saying about the perfect woman with the flat head...

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

Dare I say, or big rack.

I have a W126 on a rotisserie that moment and i can advise that the diff should be removed to make it easier to roll over .

So you've got it mounted at the back at the diff mount?

And at the front on the ... ?

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

No,it is suspended on the rear bumper brackets and on the front ,there is a U shaped frame which supports it via the engine mounts . i use a rottisserie every day in my work . But this is the type of thing that home based project person would be better off buying ( or building) .
BASIC ROLLER |C J AUTOS | Garage equipment for the Classic Car Enthusiast

Yeah right nearly 700 quid for some bent tubing - I'd make one if I thought it would help.

I don't fancy hanging the car on W123 rear bumper mounts...

...but then I over engineer like no other. Do you think they would be strong enough?



I'd be happier mounting that sort of contraption to say the inboard LCA mounts on the (front of a) W123 and then some how or other clamping onto that beam where the diff mounts.

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

I have a 1/2' thick bracket ,4" wide which bolts to the bumper holes .This is bolted to the rottisserie and spreads the load out. Because the body is only a shell it doesn't bend or twist anywhere . With a engine or diff in place,the weight might make things more interesting.

Ahhh - without the engine...

...that would indeed make a difference...

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!