Time has come for the body to go to the paint shop for a full spray. I would like to mount the car on a rotisserie WITH the engine frames installed. Anyone have experience (and photo’s) mounting an OTS in this fashion?
Jaguar must have used some sort of rotisserie to paint the cars with the engine frames installed because frame hardware was originally painted. If anyone has any pictures (S3 production line) showing how Jaguar painted the cars posting to this forum would be most appreciated. I also understand Jaguar mounted the doors and boot lid prior to painting. I’m not sure if the bonnet was removed and painted separately. If anyone has knowledge of this please share.
I’ve fabricated a plate that will mount to the front of the frames (picture frame/bonnet support removed) but am concerned about frame strength when the car is rotated on its side. Hope others have blazed this trail before me.
Thanks for all those who contribute to keeping these wonderful cars on the road.
Looks like no responders for a series 3 so if you are interested let me know and I can send you some pics of my series 1 mounted on a rotisserie with attached frames.
Dick;
I would think that if you mounted the picture to the front of the side rails, the front of the rotisserie could be mounted to the bolts, or longer ones if need be and everything would be supported well. The side frames should be strong enough if they are in good shape, if they don’t support it well you needed new ones anyway !! The plate you fabricated to take the place of the picture frame should do well if it is bolted securely. Now remember I have never looked at a series 3 carefully.
I would be tempted to mount to the lower control arm mounting points in the front. Most people use the license plate area in the rear - sandwich it between two metal plates in the license plate location.
Hi Geoff,
I would be most grateful to see pictures of your E-type rotisserie mounted. I’ll take some pic’s of the front plate I’ve made to bolt up to the two frame fronts (picture frame removed). It should work just fine but wanted to see if anyone had already blazed this trail for a Series 3 OTS. Just have to figure a way to determine where the rotational CG will be then go from there. Thanks
Ray, Appreciate your input. I considered that approach and I’ve made the rear plate as you described. The S3 has a large bumper support structure bolted to the rear so no problem with the rear mount. I’m just concerned with the firewall frame mount points stress when the car is turned 90-degrees for underside painting. Those points should be sufficiently strong, I’m just over cautious sticking my toes into an “unknown” area…
Joel,
Mid November is the latest “guesstimate” the company has given me regarding powder coating. Their workforce is still at about 50%. Your original S2 mounts, while not mountable to the S3 have given me ideas. It will all come together in time… Ha Ha. When it does I’ll post photos.
The forces created by the weight of the empty tub and frames are a tiny fraction of the forces they see when the car is cornering hard, hitting bumps, etc. The frames, and the firewall mounting points, are MORE than capable of handling it, regardless of the orientation of the tub.
Sorry for the delay Dick. These are photos of my series one rotisserie. The car that is mounted is an OTS and is slightly bottom heavy mounted as the measurements show. Doors and trunk lid are removed . Adding them on would likely balance it or possibly make it a bit top heavy but I have not reached that stage yet. The frames have been shortened to provide just enough clearance for the outer sills. I cross braced the frames but it would not have been necessary in retrospect. Using the picture frame as a template to make up a 2 layer mount of 3/4 inch plywood on the unshortened frames would have been perfectly adequate.
It’s hard to tell but it looks like Jaguar used the lower frame or tie plate mounting points in front when they mounted the bodies on Tip Trolleys for painting. In they rear it looks like they used the rear suspension mounting points.
I mounted the rear by bolting a beam across the suspension mounts then onto an ‘A’ frame thing-a-ma-jig. It didn’t spin all the way around but enough to allow easy access. The ‘A’ frame gizmo was bolted to the floor with BIG concrete anchors.
Dick;
So the rear of the S3 is also different then the S2? I had been under the impression they were the same, especially the 2+2 as mine is. If I am correct (fat chance), mount the rear piece on your car and measure the distance from the floor to the center of the rotisserie spindle, if you will put the spindle at that point in front your car should rotate with no problem, attached to the picture frame or the plate you have made. My suggestion only and worth what you paid for it, the suggestion not shipping.
Thanks to all who gave me thoughts and suggestions along with some great photos. Andrew, from the UK, restored his Series 3 OTS using a rotisserie. The design for the front mount used a feature unique to to S3 cars. That feature is a removable crossbar on top of the picture frame. Jaguar did that to make removing that huge V12 motor/transmission a bit easier. Using those same points in addition to the front shock mount points provides an effective and simple way to mount the tub with engine frames installed.
