Breeze blocks/wood... what else?

[Dan Willis]

Hi all,

I'm prepping to remove my frame and I'm going to give the subject above a go.

So, breeze blocks is simple (they're cheap enough). What about wood? Any dimensions/builders types I should be using/avoiding? It's not much weight, but I'd rather avoid having to listen for an avoidable cracking noise as it settles

[Chris P]

For anything that is taking a lot of weight wood is actually safer than blocks, as blocks can shatter, ( you look around in a boatyard) however a Delorean underbody is not very heavy and blocks would probably be much more stable because of their weight.

[Dan Willis]

Thanks Chris. I'm going to use bricks, stacked - thinking of the bridge between them too. I've seen wood and steel now - I think wood is probably the better bet though.

[Rissy]

Keep us abreast of your progress Dan. I for one would like to hear of your experience in doing this job.

I'm being forced down the same route now. I'm currently looking at starting to do a chassis off job next year with my car.

I think wood is ok, but I think you need sleeper type sizes. I'm not sure of the weight of the body, but you need to span enough width with the beams and the bricks to allow for the chassis to roll away from underneath the body once it's raised out of the way.

[Dan Willis]

Yes, that's one of my worries but I just about have space to do it. I may sit the chassis on dollies rather than her wheels when the engine is out to ease things. We'll see. Need materials first!
I'll photograph everything and post it here for those interested.

[Dangermouse]

We did this with a friends car a few years ago, using solid concrete blocks and pairs of 2x4" lumbar duct taped together ( a single 4x4 would have been better imho, but that's what he had handy)

The blocks are 8x16x4", which is a US standard size. We had to raise it all up a further 4" from what's shown in the photo to be able to pull the frame out the back.

Of course, safety first, YMMV, don't try this at home, etc, etc

[Rissy]

I'm trying to understand if my mates garage where I'm planning to do my chassis off job in, is big enough. Length and breadth aren't a problem, but height could be.

I advised him, roughly as an estimate, that the roof of the garage would need to accommodate about 80 inches of clearance. This was based on my estimation of 45 inches from ground to roof of the car, plus 35 inches from ground to top of engine, to allow for the chassis to roll away from underneath the jacked up body tub. (This should give a couple of inches or so clearance between the two due to me taking into account the ground clearance of the car twice.)

Are my estimations about right? Does anyone have a hard number required? My mate says his garage will accommodate 80 inches, just, but only if the car is reversed in. Of course it means the doors etc will have to remain shut until the body is lowered down on to the chassis again.

[Dan Willis]

I've Googled the hell out of "clearance" and it's basically 900mm - or a square 1m to be safe. There are things you can do, like remove the radiator, shift knob and hell, even the top of the engine, to clear it better, but a 1m should do it.

With that, I should be fine. I'll get my bits and go from there - wondering whether several 3 ton jacks (and some luck) or two engine hoists will work better (or both...).

[Rissy]

Measured between what two points?

[Chris Williams]

I think sleepers would be a bit overkill, plus they are very, very heavy. I would have though floor joist size (perhaps doubled up to stop them tipping would be more than enough.
Chris

[Dan Willis]

Rissy Wrote:Measured between what two points?

In height? The floor and the top of the engine. I've also scoured DMCNEWS and DMCTALK and various other threads going back a decade to get information and measured various points myself with my own car. It's not rocket science, just a pig to get right I also cross referenced this with 2 and 4 post lifts (with a central gap to leave the chassis on the floor) and used that too.

But you know what? I'm going to have to do it, measure it as I go and report back. I just hope it's put to good use since no one appears to make those measurements as they go.

[Rissy]

Okay. So it seems as though my estimate isn't far off at all. It's obviously gonna be between 80 and 84 inches (which also includes the ground clearance of the car) so if the ground clearance of the car from bottom of tub to the floor is less about 4 inches, then I'll definitely be able to get the car up in my mates garage (by the skin of my teeth if it's 1m rather than 900mm from floor the top of engine)

I've just measured from the floor to the engine cover height on the tub, which we all know allows the height of the engine, and it comes in at 88cm (who'd have thought it eh? It's like that number seems to be the temporal junction point for the entire universe....either that or it's just an amazing coincidence). My car is on a slope right now though, so my measurements could be a little off.

[Dangermouse]

If you look at the photo I posted, along with the block dimensions, you could see that the blocks are 28" plus 4" for the wood = 32" (ignore my comment about the extra 4" wood; he was short a block and replaced it by wood). Then just measure from the bottom of the tub to the top of the car (or subtract the ride height from the 44.9" roof height in the manual)

Note that we pulled the frame out for the rear so we only had to clear the radiator, and not the engine.

[Rissy]

That's the difficulty in gonna have. My mate has said the car will only fit, and be able to be jacked up to the necessary height, if it's reversed in. Which means the chassis has to be rolled out forwards, with the engine being necessary to clear the entire length of the tub!

[Dan Willis]

Rissy Wrote:That's the difficulty in gonna have. My mate has said the car will only fit, and be able to be jacked up to the necessary height, if it's reversed in. Which means the chassis has to be rolled out forwards, with the engine being necessary to clear the entire length of the tub!

I'll put mine in forward (it's reversed in currently). But.. remember, you could/can remove parts of the engine like the air-conditioning pump, or inlet. Ways and means etc. Depends on what you're trying to achieve. I'm expecting to refurbish the engine, so it can be partly dismantled in place.