Please help me lift and support the rear of my Elan

[MrBonus]

Yes, I have a two seater! Sorry for the lack of clarification; I think I'm going to build one of those two wood post things and then support it with jack stands where the frame and body bolt together in the center.

Or I may just gamble on the A-Arms with a nice length of wood.

Why is this so difficult? I've never given so much thought to jacking up a car.

[vincereynard]

Or I may just gamble on the A-Arms with a nice length of wood.

Why is this so difficult? I've never given so much thought to jacking up a car.

I believe that the A frame support "plate" can have a groove to clear the brake disc.
Why is it so difficult? You will find yourself thinking that regularly.
Mr Chapman's No1 design priority - cheap!

[JonB]

Mr Chapman's No1 design priority - cheap!

..and yet, here we are, tooling about in 50 year old cars. He must have got something right...

[richardcox_lotus]

There are 2 schools of thought about where to place the u-shaped exhaust straddle when lifting a 2 seater:

1) I have seen them lifted under the part of the chassis that is under the diff between the forward and aft rear wishbone bolts. The advantage of this method is that it?s not too far for the jack to have to travel. I?ve never used this location - perhaps someone else can comment on how much the chassis flex?s here.

2)Personally I lift mine under the chassis where the rear of the body is bolted. If you look at the early Workshop manual, you will see that it is a recognised support area for a non-assembled body unit. I use this location as I just think it?s more solid. You will need a low long reach jack to get to it. I also channelled out some cutouts in the wood to cover the body chassis bolts.

If I get the chance I?ll post pictures later this week.

Regards
Richard

[MarkDa]

I jack at the very rear of the chassis because:
It's not that far in for a reasonable trolley jack.
There are tubes running back to the turrets to provide stiffening
It doesn't distort the chassis restricting diff removal.

The rear of an elan really isn't that heavy any way.

[MrBonus]

There are 2 schools of thought about where to place the u-shaped exhaust straddle when lifting a 2 seater:

1) I have seen them lifted under the part of the chassis that is under the diff between the forward and aft rear wishbone bolts. The advantage of this method is that it?s not too far for the jack to have to travel. I?ve never used this location - perhaps someone else can comment on how much the chassis flex?s here.

2)Personally I lift mine under the chassis where the rear of the body is bolted. If you look at the early Workshop manual, you will see that it is a recognised support area for a non-assembled body unit. I use this location as I just think it?s more solid. You will need a low long reach jack to get to it. I also channelled out some cutouts in the wood to cover the body chassis bolts.

If I get the chance I?ll post pictures later this week.

Regards
Richard

I jack at the very rear of the chassis because:
It's not that far in for a reasonable trolley jack.
There are tubes running back to the turrets to provide stiffening
It doesn't distort the chassis restricting diff removal.

The rear of an elan really isn't that heavy any way.

Richard and Mark,

Where do you put your jack stands? Thanks!

Ian

[richardcox_lotus]

Depends what you?re doing. If you?re not taking apart the rear suspension then you can rest the hub screw on a jack stand each side.

If you do need to tackle rear hubs etc then jack stands under each rear sill corner, with some wood or similar to spread the load. Watch out for the narrow elongated bolt pushing through. It?ll be ok here, as it?s where a 2 post lift rear arm would sit.

Pain the a*se isn?t it ?

[MarkDa]

Agreed.
Or you can put 2x2 between hub and disc if you want to work on brakes and be able to turn them.
Sometimes I just put car on 4 wheel ramps so it's less bending over to get into engine bay or work on doors.

I do have a pit as well which can be handy.
I have met colleagues on here with high traditional construction garages who have put in hyduaulic 4 post lifts! Apparently they aren't desperately expensive.

[MrBonus]

Depends what you?re doing. If you?re not taking apart the rear suspension then you can rest the hub screw on a jack stand each side.

If you do need to tackle rear hubs etc then jack stands under each rear sill corner, with some wood or similar to spread the load. Watch out for the narrow elongated bolt pushing through. It?ll be ok here, as it?s where a 2 post lift rear arm would sit.

Pain the a*se isn?t it ?

Nice. And yes, this is a pain. Seems like such a silly item but given the fragile nature of every exterior component, it's one I want to give consideration before diving in and making a costly error.

I have the wide rubber head Esco jackstands so I'm wondering if they can already spread the load without adding in a board.

[MarkDa]

I would think they are big enough.
If you get tight in the corner the body is pretty stiff there.
The key issue is getting a square load rather than on the edge of the stand.
So I more often than not lift both ends.
So if I was workin at the rear I would first put the from end on ramps, then jack the rear and then support.
On occasion I will use ramps with a pack under the sill.

N my picture earlier in the thread the car is already on ramps all round.

[MrBonus]

Good news, guys. My QuickJack (which doesn't fit in between the wheels) can be used length-wise underneath the car, so I plan to use it to lift at all four door sill corners.

http://www.quickjack.com/why-quickjack/ ... rsatility/

Well that was much ado about nothing (assuming the sills don't crack).

[MarkDa]

That's a smart bit of kit - I think you've just been teasing us bodgers all along!

[MrBonus]

That's a smart bit of kit - I think you've just been teasing us bodgers all along!

When I first tried to use it, I was deflated to see the frames fitting under the tires. The original instructions say not to use them longitudinally but someone on another forum told me the engineers approved this method.

I hope this thread proves useful for others just entering the world of quirky old Lotii like me!

[MrBonus]

I had to use the boards to allow the front to clear the exhaust but it went up, no problem, no scary creaks.

[SENC]

Excellent! Don't forget not to leave the rear suspension at full droop for long if you still have rubber donuts.