The arrival of winter is immanent and it is time to get the frame out of the way so the cars can occupy the garage. We will be hanging it from the ceiling for the winter.
I lag bolted four cleats into the ceiling and cut cross beams from some laminated plywood 2×4’s that I glued up for some reason and never used. These would be lag bolted across the ceiling cleats and the frame hung from eye bolts.
It was also a last chance to do some fabrication. I wanted to make brackets to attach the back of the frame to the eye bolts. The round tube slides into the open tube that the roll bar plates attach to and the frame hangs from the open hole.
The frame has gone up a few weight classes, it now tips the scales at 140 lbs.. Before hanging it up I checked to make sure that the whole arrangement wouldn’t come tumbling down by swinging from each of the eye bolts on a sturdy rope. Then I used the rope over the cross beam to hold the front of the frame and stood it on end. The front was attached from the suspension brackets using a short length of chain and some spring loaded clips (rated for 350 lbs.).
The back end was more work. With Erik assisting and the rope over the cross beam we swung the frame up as high as we could. We then pushed it higher, propping it up with a couple 2×4’s. A final push with one of the 2x4s lifted it to the ceiling. At that point it was held by the rope and I was able to scurry up the ladder and attach the clips. Sorry no work in progress pictures our hands were full!
The garage has a high ceiling so there is still 8 feet of headroom under the frame, even Erik won’t hit his head. With the new paint job the frame looks great hanging there, even Joanne likes it!
Both cars in the garage for the first time since April and none too soon!
It has been a fun getting the blog up and running. Over a years worth of pictures and build to get through! I have learned my lesson and will be blogging regularly as progress is made on the car.
I have work to do in the basement getting the shop set up and lots of family/house stuff to get done for Christmas. Look for the next post early in the new year!
Have a Great Holiday!
