tilting lifts

[RandyRT]

Hi John,

I couldn't find the ones you mentioned but I did buy a garage lift through eBay this year, if you search on...

"Strongman Clifton Mobile 3T Home Garage Car Lift" you'll find it.

It's a top quality bit of kit, over-engineered for what I needed as it will lift 3 tonnes, I use it for an Elan and a Plus 2. It folds down flat so I always have one of them parked on it when not in use.

Pic attached.

Happy to answer any questions on it.

Cheers
Iain

Iain, that looks tough. I'll be helping my upgrading his garage after we finished installing the brake kit and dually wheels on the current Superduty project. I'll let him check that one.

[NedK]

Hi all
I've been looking at the £400 tilting lift too. One question, hope you can help...
With my newly replaced stainless sill beams I've been wondering how to deal with the GRP that protrudes beyond the bottom of the sill. Would using a lift like this mean that the car would be resting on this, which sounds problematic.
Is the normal thing to fair back the GRP until it is flush with the metal sill which is sandwiched between? It's only a mm or two here and there.
Thanks
Ned

[mbell]

On my car the lip for the re-enforcement is above the floor level. So I lift the car via the floor, but very careful place a spreader that runs most the length between front wheel well wall and section sectionsjust in front of rear wheel as these are the strongest areas.

[stugilmour]

Hi all
I've been looking at the £400 tilting lift too. One question, hope you can help...
With my newly replaced stainless sill beams I've been wondering how to deal with the GRP that protrudes beyond the bottom of the sill. Would using a lift like this mean that the car would be resting on this, which sounds problematic.
Is the normal thing to fair back the GRP until it is flush with the metal sill which is sandwiched between? It's only a mm or two here and there.
Thanks
Ned

Ned, I had the same thought using my new QuickJack with the Plus 2. The QuickJack only allows the jacking pad/blocks to be placed 60” apart. The sill beams are slightly longer, and the jacking point tubes are approximately 63” apart.

I have made up two 2x8 boards that run the length of the sill beams. I cut down four carriage bolts to approximately 5 1/2” length and bolted them to the 2x8’s to provide four jacking pins that fit into the jacking point tubes. The 2x8 will rest securely on the QuickJack platform, and with the ~7” width the hope is there will be no tendency for the car to rock or bend the rocker area.

I used something similar to remove and reinstall the body on the frame. Then I used ~2” square aluminum tubing for the length of the rockers. That approach worked, but the tubing was not stable enough and I was concerned that the fibreglass rockers would crack.

Car is in the air on blocks right now, so I have not tried this new approach yet. Pretty sure it will work OK though.

A word of caution. The Plus 2 can be lifted from the floor, but be very careful. The fibreglass is very thin, and if the lifting force is close to any vertical bulkheads they can easily crack in compression. After suffering some damage with other jacking methods, I did lift the car with conventional jacks in this way using four approximately 12” square plywood pads to spread the load over the thin floor, but never really liked the setup.

When I damaged the shell, the issue was uneven lifting side to side or over the length of the car. My cautionary advice, no matter how you intend to lift the car, is to make sure it is raised and lowered evenly. The QuickJack or similar make this easier for sure, but watch out for the details. In particular the QuickJack has a lever actuated stop at about half way up. In my case one side locked while the other side kept moving. The uneven lifting force caused extensive damage that I have just finished repairing. Totally my fault and embarrassed to mention it, but hopefully helps someone else out.

I have attached a pretty lousy picture of the 2x8’s. They are kind of inaccessible right now as we enjoy a Polar Vortex and -40 degree weather. Hopefully good enough to get the idea. The plywood pads on the bottom are intended to keep them securely located in the QuickJack platform. The 3/8” carriage bolt nuts are a combination of a coupling nut and a Nyloc, which perfectly spaces the 2x8 off of the sill fibreglass. The boards are marked left and right, as in my case the jacking point spacing differed by about a 1/4”.

Just some ideas. Grinding down the ~1/4” intermittent fibreglass lip so a 2x8 or similar board rests on the steel should work OK as well. Mbell’s method sounds OK as well.

For reference, here is a link to the QuickJack site. Although some of the other lifts differ, I think the issues involving lifting the Plus 2 are pretty similar.

https://www.quickjack.com/

HTH

[NedK]

Really helpful advice! Many thanks. I will do exactly as you suggest on the sill boards with the pins locating in the jacking points. Great idea!
Best regards
Ned

[mbell]

Photo of my spreader is at:
viewtopic.php?t=45397&f=43&start=0#p324282

and other photos at:
viewtopic.php?t=35238&p=240248

[alanr]

The QuickJack only allows the jacking pad/blocks to be placed 60” apart. The sill beams are slightly longer, and the jacking point tubes are approximately 63” apart.

I have made up two 2x8 boards that run the length of the sill beams. I cut down four carriage bolts to approximately 5 1/2” length and bolted them to the 2x8’s to provide four jacking pins that fit into the jacking point tubes. The 2x8 will rest securely on the QuickJack platform, and with the ~7” width the hope is there will be no tendency for the car to rock or bend the rocker area.

I used something similar to remove and reinstall the body on the frame. Then I used ~2” square aluminum tubing for the length of the rockers. That approach worked, but the tubing was not stable enough and I was concerned that the fibreglass rockers would crack.

Car is in the air on blocks right now, so I have not tried this new approach yet. Pretty sure it will work OK though.

A word of caution. The Plus 2 can be lifted from the floor, but be very careful. The fibreglass is very thin, and if the lifting force is close to any vertical bulkheads they can easily crack in compression. After suffering some damage with other jacking methods, I did lift the car with conventional jacks in this way using four approximately 12” square plywood pads to spread the load over the thin floor, but never really liked the setup.

When I damaged the shell, the issue was uneven lifting side to side or over the length of the car. My cautionary advice, no matter how you intend to lift the car, is to make sure it is raised and lowered evenly. The QuickJack or similar make this easier for sure, but watch out for the details. In particular the QuickJack has a lever actuated stop at about half way up. In my case one side locked while the other side kept moving. The uneven lifting force caused extensive damage that I have just finished repairing. Totally my fault and embarrassed to mention it, but hopefully helps someone else out.

I have attached a pretty lousy picture of the 2x8’s. They are kind of inaccessible right now as we enjoy a Polar Vortex and -40 degree weather. Hopefully good enough to get the idea. The plywood pads on the bottom are intended to keep them securely located in the QuickJack platform. The 3/8” carriage bolt nuts are a combination of a coupling nut and a Nyloc, which perfectly spaces the 2x8 off of the sill fibreglass. The boards are marked left and right, as in my case the jacking point spacing differed by about a 1/4”.



HTH

Hi Stu,

After some considerable time considering all options on different lifts and still not made a decision for various reasons I am currently now thinking again about the Quickjack 5000 SLX and your post on this is interesting to me.
I do like your idea of lifting on the jacking points however as you say the max liftpad placement of the Quickjack is 60inches and the +2 jacking points are 63inches.
I have a concern though....
Your idea of lifting pins fitted in a 2x8 plank presumably at 63inches apart this obviously puts them over the ends of the frame which maybe isn't a problem I don't know, but having read the Quickjack manual it specifically says not to use the actual frame part of the Quickjack for lifting? Are you aware of this?
Will this be a problem do you think?
Maybe your plywood underneath the 2x8 needs to be thicker so that this plank with the jacking pins is not actually sitting on the frame at all? Problem is that then puts the 2x8 plank in suspension above the Quickjack platform frame which maybe is of concern seeing as the jacking points are longer that the Quickjack maximum lifting spread?

Perhaps I am overthinking this however safety is always my main thought with lifts/jacks etc.

Alan.

[mbell]

Quick Jack now offer an extender that can be placed on the bl5000.

https://www.quickjack.com/slx-frame-extensions/

I had similar issues which is why I made my spreader with is a few inches longer that the lift, securely located via 2*4 into the frames lifting points.

[alanr]

Thanks for the Extender info however I think it will make the platforms too long to fit in between the wheelbase?

I understand that you lift on the body corners and I guess you consider that is the best approach to using the Quickjack but can I ask did you ever consider lifting on the jacking points?...Or was it obvious that wasn't the best option?

Thanks,

Alan.

[mbell]

I am not sure on the length of the extender haven't checked. You have a little extra room by positioning the front of the lift right up to the front wheel, which is need to get the lift to pick up the front wheel arch corner.

I didn't seriously consider using the Jack points as need the spreader to work with other cars, like my daily. I think it's a reasonable idea, my main concerns appart from it only working with +2, is it's probably sightly trickier to use due to needing engage the Jack points and what happens if there is a failure of the bolt in the woods or Jack point.

My spreader sits under nearly the full length of the sill. I am careful to make sure I pick up the front corner and the box structure infront of the rear wheel. As these are the strong areas, but the full sill structure is in contact with the spreader. I am not lifting it on just flat sections of the floor further in.

The car has spent months up on the lift like that with no signs of issues. It is very solid and highly unlikely to come down, with out a massive structural issue in the body imo.

[Mike+2]

This is a variation on the theme.

https://www.kwik-lift.com/

I have used this lift for years with my Spitfire and now currently with my TR4A. If you just need to get under the car, this is quick and easy. Less than 5 minutes I can be on it, raise it, and get under the car.

I am a Lotus +2 new owner and have not run the +2 up on it yet as the car isn’t running properly yet, but reading all the posts on jacking an Elan, this will ideal for me to get under the car, especially if I don’t need to remove a wheel.

However, if you do need to remove a wheel, this lift was actually designed by a British car owner. The importance of that is you can purchase a ‘bridge’ that spans between the two sides for jacking or Jack stands. If you are interested at all, ask for the shorter length bridge.

I can post a pic if needed.

Mike

[alanr]

Yes the Kwiklift or a version of it is certainly worthy of consideration being reassuringly safe and solid looking being drive on. Takes up quite a bit of garage space though. Only problem is that it is very expensive at £1600 here in the UK.
The Quickjack BL5000SLX by comparison is £1099 at Costco at the moment.

Alan

[stugilmour]

Hi Stu,

I have a concern though....
Your idea of lifting pins fitted in a 2x8 plank presumably at 63inches apart this obviously puts them over the ends of the frame which maybe isn't a problem I don't know, but having read the Quickjack manual it specifically says not to use the actual frame part of the Quickjack for lifting? Are you aware of this?
Will this be a problem do you think?
Maybe your plywood underneath the 2x8 needs to be thicker so that this plank with the jacking pins is not actually sitting on the frame at all? Problem is that then puts the 2x8 plank in suspension above the Quickjack platform frame which maybe is of concern seeing as the jacking points are longer that the Quickjack maximum lifting spread?

Perhaps I am overthinking this however safety is always my main thought with lifts/jacks etc.

Alan.

Yes, bolts are 63” and 62 3/4” apart respectively. Strange they are different side to side. Not sure of the rocker rail brand used as the PO installed them.

I did see that in the manual.

You are correct the plywood pads are too shallow to engage the heavy steel platforms that they recommend using for the supplied rubber spacer blocks. The reason I did it this way is stupidly simple; I ran out of plywood!

Anyway, the steel frame is very robust, made of ~1 1/4” square tubing that is welded to the steel plates, forming a kind of well. The welds make it a bit more difficult to size a second set of pads; they will need to be say 1/4” smaller than the first pads, which fit snug to the tubing.

I can’t see a problem taking the weight on the frame, but will see when I carefully raise the car for the first time. I think what the QuickJack folks are concerned about is someone stacking a bunch of blocks on the frames with no way to prevent movement or slippage.

One thing I didn’t appreciate with this type of lift is the top platform moves for and aft a lot as the thing is raised. At least on my Plus 2, the rear is sitting considerably higher than the front, particularly without a ton of stuff in the boot. Truth be known I would adjust the rear ride height down quite a bit if I had adjustable perches. I think the safety issue for QuickJack is if blocks are placed directly on the frames they could move as the platform rises and engages with the car unevenly.

I agree with you the extenders will not fit within the Plus 2 wheelbase. It is even more apparent when you take into account the ~ 6” that the platform moves before contacting the car (6” is a guess; I will actually measure when I raise the car).

Note regarding the bolt lengths. From memory the QuickJack platforms are about 2” or 3” high on the floor. Add in the 1 1/2” thickness of the 2x8 and we are getting close to the front ride height. I have done some sums and think the boards will fit with the car on the garage floor, but that has not been tested yet as the car is presently resting on its tires on four large blocks. Mitigation if things don’t fit is to use a floor jack to temporarily raise the front of the car on the crossmember or place my tire jack roller skates to get the car up an inch or two. Hopefully everything fits though, as that is a fair pain. Anyway, if making any kind of pad board you will have to tailor it to your car’s ride height.

Thinking MBell is also resting his pad board on the frames but not sure.

All a bit of a work in progress. Will post an update when I get it sorted.

The platforms are very heavy, which is a good thing but makes them awkward to handle.

I really like the Kwiklift. Had not seen that one before I bought. Pictures on the Plus 2 would be cool when available. Not sure how low the crossbar goes though; worried the exhaust will be in the way of that? But I do like the idea of the car resting on four tires for jobs that might get a bit argy bargy, like removing the engine and transmission.

Decisions Decisions I guess. Suppose we can all get whatever to work though.

Cheers! Interesting discussion.

[mbell]

Thinking MBell is also resting his pad board on the frames but not sure.

Not quite. I used two 2*4" for the spreaders and joined them together using pieces of 2*4 that sit tightly into the lifting pad positions. This ensures the spreader are securely located and apply weight in the correct locations.

The 2*4 hold the spreader probably 1/4" above the frame.

The other advantage is it raises the top of the lift closer to the car which makes it easier to position, especially as only raising it to the cars floor.

The other thing I've done to it is to add some roller balls to the arms. These allow me to roll them around when flat but as fitted to the arms they come of the ground as soon as it lifts so they can no longer move.

[stugilmour]

MBell, thanks for confirmation on the fitment.

Plus 1 on MBell’s idea of the roller slides. I also did that after he posted on a similar thread. Way easier to move them around. The other end already has a couple of rollers, but they don’t steer. The roller ball allow one end to be guided into place.

When engaged with the jacking points the board sits about 1/2” or so below the floor. Ideally the plywood pad spacing would be pretty close to the frames though; I don’t want the board tipping over and causing weird side force on the rails and fibreglass rockers. I also added some heat shrink to tighten the fit in the jacking point holes.

I am going to try it out the way I have it, and add a plywood pad or two if required. Will let you know how it goes. Considerably warmer here today so may be able to get back in the garage shortly.