Chassis jig project

[Willem Fick]

Hey guys,

I am working (long term!) on a 911T, but things became difficult when I realized I needed a proper chassis jig to continue my project.

Celette's are available locally, but for a princely sum, which means that those who have them want to charge equally princely sums to put you car on them, and then insist on doing the bodywork as part of the deal. Not my sort of deal, so for long I have been hankering after building a proper jig. Unfortunately blueprints and chassis measurements were not the easiest to come by either, but after a substantial amount of effort I came across an original set of 911 blueprints that I could use as input into my design.

From the moment I got the blueprints, things evolved quite a bit from a design perspective, but after an extended period of design I came up with a final product rendering that looked like this:


The design work was basically free, but to have it made still needed money I didn't quite have lying around. In stepped a good friend who has a few Porsche's to restore, including a 356 Cabriolet "D", who was prepared to fund the lot, as he too is skeptical of just any old body-shop working on his cars.

With funding in hand I then contracted the manufacture out to a local engineering shop, and a few weeks and roughly US$2000 later, this is what we have:





Key features include retractable leg assemblies that allow the jig to be leveled, and removable castor wheels that can be used to move the jig around when the legs are fully retracted.

In addition the jig is re-configurable so that the drive-train can be installed or removed with the chassis mounted in place.

A further design feature is that is has been made a generic as possible, which means that we can now whenever we need just design a couple of posts, bolt them on, and then extend the capability of the jig to include other Porsche's, notably a 356 Cabriolet "D" that is awaiting restoration!

With the jig now done a and dusted (short of painting it in a Martini livery), I have now moved on to my next Porsche related fixture, namely the daddy of all rotisseries:



It features a rolling hoop type mechanism, but as s the case with the jig, allows for it to be reconfigured for other Porsche's.

[Doug_B_928]

Very cool, and it seems like a nice price for what you're getting. Your rotisserie plan reminds me of the space travel machine from the movie 'Contact'

[seafeye]

Nice. I just sprung $12k for the Blackhawk jig��. I'd be interested if you can design a fixture for the jig that would locate the door posts. Below the A pillar.
And fixtures to locate the rockers like the celette.
I guess once you have the jig set up you can put a straight car on it and line everything up.

Nice stuff

[CalvinC4S]

Really cool project, almost as cool as that bathroom!

[Willem Fick]

Originally Posted by seafeye

Nice. I just sprung $12k for the Blackhawk jig��. I'd be interested if you can design a fixture for the jig that would locate the door posts. Below the A pillar.
And fixtures to locate the rockers like the Celette.
I guess once you have the jig set up you can put a straight car on it and line everything up.

Nice stuff

Actually busy CAD'ing the door post tooling at this very moment. Looking at building something that will not only locate the door post, but also provide a reference for the lock striker mechanism mounting points.

Looking at the rocker alignment tool next, followed by tooling for the shock towers as well as an alignment jig for the inner fenders, but am first being sidetracked by the rotisserie project, which we really need to get into the Cabriolet "D". Picked up all the lasercut components yesterday, and hope to have the square tubing for it in my driveway by tomorrow.

The idea with the jig is not just to be able to put straight cars on it, but to also be able to straighten them, hence the substantial over-engineering in . Our vision is to turn both the jig and the rotisserie into multi-application tools for restoring a wide variety of Porsche models, so the number of fixtures will certainly evolve. The nice thing about doing it yourself is that you really aren't limited in the type of fixture as anything that can be CAD'ed can be made!

[Willem Fick]

Oh, and I must add that I was really surprised by how price competitive our local industry is. I was blown away that a jig as complex and accurate as that (my leveling mechanism is very involved) can be made for that sort of money we spent. The rotisserie is even better. I have made a few small design changes, and still am in for US$400 only all in.

[seafeye]

I'd be interested in some additional fixtures. Or even if I can purchase some CNC plans from you. I think I could use the door jam and door post fixtures. Have you seen the Porsche fixtures that outline the windows and door frames?
I noticed your jig didn't have the front shock tower locating parts. Are you making those as well?
I was thinking of making a level that can be placed around the rocker area. Used as a zero plane bar. Making it easy to use a laser to extend the zero mark.

[Willem Fick]

Front and rear shock towers will come, but the door alignment fixtures are priority right now. I have see the outline frames, but have no need for them yet. Doesn't stop me from designing them though...

As for the level - nice idea, though I considered to incorporate this into a fixture I'll be doing for accurately locating the inner fenders and slam panel. Happy to exchange schetches though an design something specifically for you.

Shopping parts may add a lot to cost, but happy to investigate. The alternative of CAD files is most definitely possible too - can do the design and provide you with .stp files and technical drawings.

PM me and we can take it further!

[seafeye]

How did it go with the door fixtures? I've gotten behind. But hopefully picking up my jig this week.
Then the fun begins.

[Puma]

This is amazing. I want one just for my living room.

[seafeye]

Getting mine set up today...

[78-911SC]

Do they have to stand on the ceiling to work on it? Sorry I just had to.

[Willem Fick]

Originally Posted by seafeye

How did it go with the door fixtures? I've gotten behind. But hopefully picking up my jig this week.
Then the fun begins.

Between my work on the rotisserie, and moving house I'm afraid the door fixture have been sidelined a bit I'm afraid. Hope to post pics of the completed rotisserie real soon though

[Willem Fick]

Here's the rotisserie so far:

[Willem Fick]

And the first of the rolling rings:

[seafeye]

Don't think doing a torsion tube is possible without a jig. So far it's saved weeks making the car straight.

[andytat]

William, did you ever get the rotisserie finished? I'd love to see it
with a car on it.

Cheers

Andy

[Joscarlang]

Originally Posted by andytat

William, did you ever get the rotisserie finished? I'd love to see it
with a car on it.

Cheers

Andy

I second this! LETS SEE IT!!!

[Willem Fick]

Thanks for all the interest folks! Yep, rotisserie is done, but had to dissasemble it and move it into storage while re-doing my garage. Will probably bring it back to my shop in the next couple of months and then post pictures.

[PaulieD]

Such an interesting article, I would really appreciate having a further discussion on this topic?