19 replies to this topic

[CBJ805T]

Hi all, I'm currently designing a split to put the mini on and hope a few people out there who had tried it before might be able to help.

I know that there are several posts on the subject already but Im still unsure of best position of the 'skewer' going though the mini. I'm assuming the best place to take it through the bulkhead is the centre binnacle hole but wheres the best place to take it though the back seat? I want to achieve a balanced car once it's on the spit and mounting it to the parcel shelf doesn't look like it will gIve me that. If anyone has any dimensions (front and back) for pole heights that would be great.

Any other tips on the design welcome too

Thanks, chris

[Guess-Works.com]

I have a spit, but does not have then central pole... attaches to the shell at strategic points. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/150924921826

In earlier minis mk1/2/3 there was a hole in the back seat panel which allowed the spit pole to travel through thus maintaining correct rotation and balance..

[skoughi]

with my one i simply drilled a hole in the back seat panel for the pole. I admit its a bit cowboyish but the panel will be hidden and i can weld it back up if i want. It made for a simple spit design and through a complete fluke is well balanced!

[Andi-p]

with my one i simply drilled a hole in the back seat panel for the pole. I admit its a bit cowboyish but the panel will be hidden and i can weld it back up if i want. It made for a simple spit design and through a complete fluke is well balanced!

Do you have a pic of the hole in the seat back with rough measurements as you seem to of found the centre of gravity. This information will also help me to design and build a spit for my project.

[CBJ805T]

with my one i simply drilled a hole in the back seat panel for the pole. I admit its a bit cowboyish but the panel will be hidden and i can weld it back up if i want. It made for a simple spit design and through a complete fluke is well balanced!

I was thinking the same as mine is mk3. If you have some measurement then that would be a great help.

[CBJ805T]

I have a spit, but does not have then central pole... attaches to the shell at strategic points. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/150924921826

In earlier minis mk1/2/3 there was a hole in the back seat panel which allowed the spit pole to travel through thus maintaining correct rotation and balance..

Thanks, I've seen this link before but I'm a bit too mean to pay 300quid, plus a little unsure about the design. As both ends of the spit are not connected, it uses the cars body as a toque tube. If I remove the floor etc I'd be worried about twisting the shell, even with bracing. ???

[skoughi]

If you go on my build thread "my fixerupper" then you'll see pics. I made it so it would fit through a clubman front panel, if you have a roundnose then obviously my arrangement won't work.Also I made it from whatever I could scran from work, scaffold poles and clips. Basically keep the center pole as low as possible. Level the shell with a spirit level along the sill then when you put your center pole through the front bulkhead you keep that level as well so that the shell turns fine.

[skoughi]

Here's a couple of pics of how I joined mine to the body.

 017.JPG   204.17K   57 downloads  spit1.jpg   132.6K   46 downloads
 spit2.jpg   114.58K   49 downloads  spit3.jpg   133.03K   41 downloads
 019 (2).JPG   240.59K   53 downloads

Edited by skoughi, 21 October 2012 - 03:39 PM.

[Dylanscar]

Found these dimensions on line after a search. I am going to add some casters so that I can move it around easily and also make sure to add the locking nut at either end so the car can't fall off.


Hope they help??

Attached Files

•  1.JPG   20.73K   97 downloads
•  1c.JPG   14.39K   67 downloads
•  2.JPG   23.46K   70 downloads
•  3.JPG   17.1K   52 downloads

[CBJ805T]

Thanks for this. I'm going to go for castors too. Once I get it drawn up I'll post the drawing so you can have a look

[skoughi]

Looks nice and simple. Mine was cobbled together with what ever I could lay my hands on and kinda "developed" as I made it! I would say that if the center pole cannot be lowered then make two shorter poles at each end like mine and fix them on the underside of the main pole so that they're closer to the bottom of the bodyshell. This will transfer more of the bodyshell mass to the upside of the pole thus making it easier to turn. I'm currently welding on the second wing/a-panel and have the door bolted on for reference. With this extra weight it's making it slightly more difficult to turn. So if you can make these short poles lower than the ones I have then it should be a little better.

[skoughi]

Get some rubber wheeled castors with locks. I got mine off ebay, I had to get two sets of four, two basic and two braked ones. Cost about £18

[Carlos W]

There's some pics of my spit in my rebuild thread! The only thing I'd change about mine is the way it locks in positions

[CBJ805T]

Thanks Carlos. Does yours lock into posiion using a welded nut a bolt to clamp the inner tube? What problems do yopu have?

So...people seem to attach it to the front bulk head using the front sub mount holes and the rear of the car using the rear damper mount holes. I've got to replace the complete inner wheel arch on my project and so I'm wondering how else I could attached it at the rear - any ideas? Is the back of the seat string enough?

[SolarB]

Hi CBJ805T.

My spit used a single scaffold pole just a little longer than the whole car (well, it was actually two shorter poles butt welded together). The pole was mounted as low as possible through the speedo housing hole and centred in the middle of the rear seat hole (Mk III) to keep the shell level. With these mounting points the bare shell was a little bottom heavy but perfectly manageable by one person. With both subframes and a few bits 'n bobs added it became progressively bottom heavy but with a couple of good swings I could get it upside down and lock it in that position. The whole spit was only 6" longer than the shell as I have a pretty small garage. This was workable but an extra foot on the length would have been nice.



The scaffold pole rotated in scaffold clamps on top of the A frames and allowed the body to be locked at any angle. Locking one clamp was enough to hold the shell at an angle, locking both was sensible if I was working underneath. The A frames were stainless steel frames from work and came with the locking castors. A couple of roof joists completed the spit. Front bulkhead body to pole brackets used the speedo shroud mounting holes (six) for attachment. The rear pole/body bracket used the four holes around the rear seat aperture. The front and rear bulkheads took the weight of the shell, subframes and me without any problems.

I carried out stripping, fitting new panels, prep, painting, wiring, fuel pipes, brake pipes, polishing, head lining, rust proofing, in fact pretty much everything except engine fitting while the body was on the spit.

Edited by SolarB, 25 October 2012 - 02:53 PM.