Rolling my XJ on it's side...purposely

[BIGSLVRXJ]

Hey guys,

Some of you that know me well know that I have another XJ besides my Yellow one. It is the reason I'm on this forum and why my username is what it is. Anyway, at the moment it is stripped down to a bare shell sitting on the unibody rails in my Grandma's garage. I want to do a lot of extensive prep/paint work on the underside of the Jeep. What I would love is one of the auto rotisseries, but I cannot afford one. If I was somehow able to pad it's landing, could I push (lower) it over on one side or the other without damaging it? I was thinking I could either use very large mattresses or those padded gym mats. If this is completely nuts put me in my place, I just thought the convenience level would be great. Let me know what you guys think.

Thanks,
Collin

 

[kastein]

yeah, been there done that. Actually we just (last fall around october) rolled a parts XJ a friend parked in my yard onto its side on somewhat soft soil, the mirror dug in and then supported the whole thing pretty easily without denting any doors or blowing out any glass. I'd put some decent padding down where the rockers and lower body will contact the floor, then use a block and tackle or chainfall hoist on the roof rack and some helpers to tip it over without actually fully resting its weight on the ground.

Sure made pulling the axles and gas tank a lot easier! All we'd pulled at that point was the drivetrain.

 

[XJ&CHZ4ME]

since it is just a shell, I would think that if you had plenty of padding down and did a slow controlled roll, it would be OK. I would use a pulley system of sorts to get it over nice and slow and then make sure you have it supported and strapped into the side position.

 

[altrocker1]

if you need help rollin it over just let me know i can borrow a couple of chainfall hoists from a place where i work if you want

 

[XJosh95]

Oh, this is brilliant! The only thing that I could think of was to use a boat load of old couch cushions. It seems like they're easy to come by.

Good luck, Collin! Take pics. This is a great idea. I'm so on board. :thumbup:

 

[BIGSLVRXJ]

Thanks for the crafty ideas fellas. This is my first XJ, and a non-wheeler, so I'm all about doing it right and not damaging it if possible. I'm going to go mattress shopping at the local yard sale and see what kind of nasty padded objects I can drag out. I just really don't feel like spending that much time under an XJ, I already do that enough with yellow uke:.