Need help building a hoist for the hardtop on my 57

[dan1520]

I'm thinking about building a manual hoist in my garage for the hardtop on my 57 Bird so I can pull it up & hang it from the garage ceiling. I can buy one for $189.00 from ebay but when looking at the system, it seems like one can be built from scratch using Home Depot materials.

Anyone built one? If so, I'd appreciate any advice, plans, pictures, etc.

Thanks

Dan

[WVIncagold]

i built mine for very little using harbor freight winch. the biggest part is you need to make sure the fulcrum point balances correct otherwise your back end is going to tilt like lead on one side of a scale. the way i rigged the straps was to place the lid on the ground. then attached all four straps, use a aluminum or wood circle and thread the straps through four holes and a hook in the center. and what i did is i kept moving the strap lengths holding them in place with vice grips until i got a good balance. now it rises straight up with no dipping. i just used tie down straps and then had the wife sew them as loop.

[dan1520]

Your design sounds interesting. You memtion a "wood or aluminum circle". I'm trying to picture that and drawing a blank. Could you perhaps send pictures of the setup both hanging and on or close to the car so I can get an idea of the design.

Please send to:

dan1520@live.com

Thanks

[WVIncagold]

better yet here is the blue print. i made the f hole straight and just a little larger than the tie down straps. top hoist
i don't have a picture and the birds are in storage until summer so next best thing.

[dan1520]

Thank You. It will help.

D