"Redneck" Gantry Hoist

[70spider]

I built this with just a hand saw and drill, it may be ugly but it works. Unfortunately, I do not think it will be tall enough to clear the car's front end so I will have to build a platform. Oh by the way the motor and trans are from a Toyota Altezza which my son is going to try to put in his '73 Toyota Celica .

[joelittel]

Nice work.

[DieselSpider]

Looks good. Only suggestion I have on the frame would be to change from scabs bracing the a-frames to some 5/8 or 3/4 inch plywood that covers the complete triangle in a full sandwich using exterior grade construction adhesive in addition to mechanical fasteners. I was a mill carpenter and had to do similar on numerous occasions and sometimes had to laminate up to six 2" X 12"s together sandwiched with 2 layers of plywood to make up 8" X 24" beams to carry some of the heavier loads.

If the chain fall is hanging off one side I would consider steel yoke plates that attach to both sides of the trolley to center the load on the main carrier and use 4 wheels.

This trolley though for an I beam could have taller side plates for use on a wooden beam which for a 1/4 ton gantry would probably only need 1/4" steel to make up if using axles hafts that go completely through from one side to another:


These minor tweaks would add a bit more to the safety factor.

[Tobi]

Looks good and it is not as redneck as I did years ago. I attached eye bolts to the steal garage door at my shop and used that for pulling a Motor.

[bobplyler]

Years ago I used an oak tree to pull an in/out engine from a boat. The neighbors just shook their heads.

[RRoller123]

+1 on using some triangular pieces of plywood at the upper corners as braces. They can be attached by drywall screws but these are somewhat brittle, so if you use them, space about every 3 inches or so.

[70spider]

+1 on using some triangular pieces of plywood at the upper corners as braces

Thanks for the suggestion. You can't tell from the photo but I used 3 2x4's for the verticals, leaving the center one 6" taller, then sandwiched two 2x6's for the cross beam and bolted them in place. I then put 1.5" angle iron on the top of the beams and using a Golds gym curl bar to span the gap, wrapped a chain around it and then hung the hoist from the chain. This way I can slide the hoist from side to side if necessary. I think I over killed it on the size of the hoist, we got a 1 ton when a 1/2 ton would have worked.

[RRoller123]

Well that ought to do it! Great job.