So, this is my crazy idea to store a bodyshell up by the roof of my garage...

"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228) 06/15/2016 at 08:02 • Filed to: Swallowtail Garage

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It’s fairly nuts, but it’s pretty space-efficient (moreso than a 2-post lift anyway). The plan is to build a frame to support a bodyshell then have a hoist lift it up to the ceiling using cables attached to the ceiling joists. At the left-hand side of the picture is the plan view of my garage To get enough drag on the single cable for it to be able to lower it all the way to the floor I need to double-back the rearmost cables which adde complexity, but shouldn’t be too bad.

In the centre of the picture is a side-view of the frame and cable arrangement. The cables will be looped down to a snatch-block and then connected to different ceiling joists to spread the load. By looping it down to the snatch-block, I halve the weight the hoist has to draw (essentially to lift 1000kg it just has to lift 500kg twice as far). This is good as high capacity hoists are bloody expensive...

For safety I’ll have a straight chain looped around another ceiling joist that will provide a failsafe in the ‘up’ position should the hoist brakes fail. Also, each individual part will be specced to be able to hold more than I’ll ever hold on this thing entirely by itself. As the vast majority of parts are duplicated, and any single parts will be beefier than that, it should be pretty safe. Oh, also, as per the far-right I’ll reinforce the corners of the wall where it meets the ceiling joists to stop the whole thing trying to pull the garage down.

All in all it should cost me £300-£350. About half of what a 2-post lift would cost second hand (with probably a reasonable amount of the functionality).

Thoughts? Ideas? Referrals to mental institutes?

fourvalleys > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 06/15/2016 at 08:14

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I feel like even though it’s half the space of a lift, it’s less than half of the functionality. The lift is probably safer, too.

I mean, you’re just storing a body shell? At least if you have a lift you could put the shell onto dollies and put your car up if you need to make repairs. Of course, I’m not sure why you’re storing a body shell, so the whole situation seems a tad confusing to me.

Quadradeuce > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 06/15/2016 at 08:25

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How do you plan on attaching your hardware to the joists? How long is the joist span? What’s above this garage?

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Quadradeuce 06/15/2016 at 08:34

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I originally planned on having screw-in eyes to the joists but I didn’t like the thought of up to 250kg hanging on 8 screws (although I’ve had 200kg hanging from 4 with no problems).

So now I’ve decided on looping chain up around the entirety of the ceiling joist and hooking the snatch blocks onto that. Much safer.

The span of the joists is ~4m and it's a freestanding building so nothing on top apart from steel roofing sheets.

Quadradeuce > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 06/15/2016 at 08:37

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I agree about staying away from those screw in eye bolts. Not only can they pull out, but you are also damaging your joists when screwing them into the bottom side. Never cut or drill a joist near the top or bottom sides.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > fourvalleys 06/15/2016 at 08:37

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Half the space (none of which is floor space) and half the price. Plus we’re not using the concrete floor as a structural member like a 2-post lift does.

The idea is that given different frames it could also be used as a lift and an engine hoist with minimal modification. However, it’s primary function would be storage.

The reason this comes to light is that I plan on doing a number of different restorations of primarily Spitfires throughout my life, and lack of storage for big items like bodyshells & chassis' has caused me to miss out on a number of great deals over the past year or two. This will alleviate that greatly.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Quadradeuce 06/15/2016 at 08:40

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Yeah I did think that would introduce a point of weakness. Plus, they wouldn't deal too well with the turning moments imparted by this setup so they're really not the right tool to use...

luvMeSome142 & some Lincoln! > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 06/15/2016 at 08:45

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Doesn’t sound nuts to me. What sort of hoist are you thinking?

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > luvMeSome142 & some Lincoln! 06/15/2016 at 09:12

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Good stuff!

I’ve found an 800kg hoist for £100 on ebay which is the best i’ve found for a reasonable price. Should be well in excess of what i need...

64Mali > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 06/15/2016 at 09:54

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Like this ?

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > 64Mali 06/15/2016 at 10:10

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Yes! Almost exactly, although much more convoluted and over-engineered as it’ll be taking a (potentially) much greater load.

I like that a lot :) is it hand-winched or electrical?

64Mali > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 06/15/2016 at 10:30

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It has a 2000lb electric winch attached to it since the body only weighs about 200lbs. you can see it on the top right of the picture if you follow the cables. Those metal uni-struts are actually through bolted to the main wood supports for the house. I believe the calculated loading for it is around 2000lb. I can get more details on it if you want.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > 64Mali 06/15/2016 at 10:42

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Ah I see :) I was advised against a winch for securing vertical loads due to their brake mechanisms. It’d be absolutely fine using 1/10th of the capacity, but as mine’s a bit more heavy duty and I want to give it as much functionality as possible I’ll go for a hoist.

Not sure about loading, but I should only need 500kg of hoist capacity to lift 1000kg, and given that my bodyshell & chassis weighs about 400-600kg I should be alright. Technically I should be able to string the whole complete car up there if I wanted!

64Mali > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 06/15/2016 at 11:00

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The winch is mounted so that it still effectively acts as a straight line pull. There is some binding with the pullys though.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > 64Mali 06/15/2016 at 11:02

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Interesting. That's how mine will be set up actually. I wonder if that makes a difference...

luvMeSome142 & some Lincoln! > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 06/15/2016 at 11:15

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Are we talking electric drive or hand crank?

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > luvMeSome142 & some Lincoln! 06/15/2016 at 11:18

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Definitely electric. Mainly because I can mount it up on the ceiling above the storage area out of the way. If it was manual I'd have to find a way of routing the cable to a place where I can reach it.