vehicle transport

[morgan]

Has anyone ever transported a non rolling chassis -no wheels,no front suspension,no engine,no transmision- before? It would be going about 140 miles + a 2 hour ferry ride. It would also be crossing the Canada,U.S. border going north. Any idea what this costs or what the best way to do it is?
Morgan
brightyellowmatrix@yahoo.com

[efeinsmith]

These are dolly's specifically designed to move a chassis around when working on it, when there is no suspension parts. I would guess that you would need to get the unit (dolly and chassis) onto a truck or flatbed trailer for transport though.

[TimW]

You'll definitely need a flatbed. A hitch-tow type U-haul flatbed trailer would probably be fine. A true tow-truck flat bed would probably be expensive. Fortunately with all the stuff you mentioned off the car, you might just be able to [don't laugh] get away with four to six guys lifting it on/off of the flatbed. You'd be surprised just how light a 914 is with all those parts off. (Practice first to make sure you don't end up with a trailer and a car too heavy to load onto it). With all the parts off my '70, a buddy and I could lift and move around the whole frame. All we really additional have off more than you is the hood's, trunk lid, doors, interior, and misc. parts. If it's still too heavy, you can pull off the doors & hoods to loose a lot of weight quickly.

Alternatively, again, because the car is much lighter with all those parts off, and at your own risk, you could rig up your own dolly for rolling onto an incline-load trailer. I just did that with $30 worth of castors from Home Depot and two 2x4's (one 2x4 bolted through the engine mounts area (mounts were removed), and another up front). Hey, stop your laughing, it works great for moving my frame with no suspension around .

I would not recommend putting wheels on the back, jacking up the front end, and towing it that way. While the rear hubs are in pretty solid, they are pressure fit, and without the half-shafts going through the hub to hold them to the bearing/trailing arm, technically there is nothing holding them in. You can get away with no half-shafts if it's just sitting around, but I wouldn't transport one that way.

Good luck, and remember, this is suppose to be FUN!

[morgan]

Thanks for the quick replies. I just called u-haul to see what it costs to rent a truck and trailer to move the car with. From seattle to victoria bc, it's 139$US for the truck and 208$US for the trailer. Not to be a cheap skate(the CAN. dollar is weak weak) but, I was wondering if you think it would be reasonable to load the chassis into a u-haul moving truck. I checked the dimensions and it would easily fit into the " 17' mover ". The car I want to get is mike nugent's 914 Lite.So,stripped, it should be pretty lite. Ever tried this?
morgan
brightyellowmatrix@yahoo.com

[chris914]

A buddy and I just got back from a 300 mile one-way trip with a '57 Oval window bug. We used the big U-haul and blocked the car in with 2x4's screwed into the deck. A little mud in the screw holes and no one is the wiser. It can be done!

[TimW]

I’ve never personally done it before, but it seems reasonable. Weight might be an issue. Not for the truck, but can you get enough guys to lift a 914 to the 3-4’? truck deck height? Ideally an incline or a loading dock to back up too would work.

I’ve also seen movers load a car onto a flatbed, back it up to a truck, and drive the car from the flatbed into the truck (removal is reverse of installation ). Works great if you have flatbeds/loading docks on both ends of the trip.

Another options might be to beg and plead with someone who has a trailer hitch on there truck/van that you can borrow. You’d at least save on the truck rental. It probably needs a class III, but with the ~relatively~ light weight of pulling a trailer, it can probably be done with, dare I say, even a 6cyl mini-van. I did that with a 914, tow-dolly, and a mini-van; had no problems what so ever as far as towing capacity goes.

Hey Chris, how did you get the ‘57 bug into and out of the truck?

[DDS]

For unloading, take a look around back in a nearby industrial plaza. Many places have big ramps and dock level loading. Chances are that a smaller shop would be sympathetic to your plight. Try a metal fab shop. Maybe the seller can do the same for loading.
BTW That looks a really interesting 914, congrats.
I wince when I get US invoices too. The CDN dollar is indeed a killer. (more like a victim)
Dave

[morgan]

thanks, I haven't bought it yet though. Dr Nugent has yet to reply to my email.=)
morgan

[Bob Jones]

The cost of the U-Haul and a their trailer on the Anacortes to Sidney, BC ferry would be about $99.00US for a 30 to under 40 foot truck and trailer. I have hauled my 914 with the smallest U-haul truck and their trailer and it just squeaks by under 40-feet at the Anacortes ferry terminal. The next size up in trucks will run $123.75US

hth

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[morgan]

I think I'm going to take two of my most ingenious friends with me down to Seattle(if I buy the car of course) and we're going to figure out how to get the thing into the u-haul 17' truck. Its bed is only 32" high and it has a built in ramp.Any guesses on what a completely stripped 914 tips the scale at? I'm guessing 800 lbs maybe
(only guessing)
Chris,I'm really interested in knowing how you got the bug in. It was a whole bug?
Tim, could your 2x4 castor setup be made with wheels close enough together to get up the ramp in the picture on the following url http://www.uhaul.com/advantages/lowestdecks.html
no stop laughing, Im serious =)

[chris914]

It was a whole bug. We had four guys at the scene. We rolled the car up to the bed on doubled 2x10's with jackstands for support. Anytime the car wasn't straight we lifted it up and straightened it up. As for unloading, we constructed a ramp with the same boards and tied them together with drywall screws and 2x4's supported with car ramps, blocks and jackstands. My buddy drove the car out with a little push. Piece of cake unloading. A little harder to load. Maybe because the guys helping were under the influence. Hope this helps. I am not sure if it is legal though. I was a passenger for the most part.

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Chris

[Dale L Jensen]

I have a chassis rotissire for sale it would work good for this type of move and be nice when you get it to your destination

[TimW]

While the castors could be placed close enough together on the 2x4 to fit the ramp, I think the danger of the 914 tipping off one side or the other would be too great.

I'd be much more in favor of Chris's idea of using 2x10's as ramps. Since you have no suspension and would likely need to use some sort of castor setup, I would suggest nailing up a "channel" (with 2x2's) on the 2x10's to run the castors in. That way you can minimize the chance of the castors falling off the 2x10's.

Did I understand you right that only the front suspension is gone? Is the back still there?

How about this? Use 3 or 4 castors across a 2x4, one or two in the middle that would ride on the truck ramp, and two on the outer ends that would ride on 2x10's? That would give you plenty of support, and would keep the car from "tipping".

If that solves the ramp problem, I would then suggest using a winch or pulley system to pull the car up the ramps and into the truck. With a winch providing the muscle, the guys you have along could spend there time making sure the car is riding up the ramps correctly.

BTW: If you didn't know, a 914 is about 6 feet wide and 13 feet long. You might want to be sure the bed of the truck is 17', and not the bed plus the 4' of "granny" space above the cab.

As for the weight of a stripped 914, this one, can be lifted by two average guys. I don't know how much an average guy can lift, but if two guys can lift the frame, it can't be more than 400-500lbs (a total guess)? So I would think 4 guys would have no problem what so ever. But there again, there is a difference between dead lifting the frame to impress the wives, and lifting one into the back of a truck .

Tim


[This message has been edited by TimW (edited 01-05-2001).]