Lifitng car

ok....I looked everywhere on this site for info but can't find any. I appologize if this is old.
First off I have an SPF MKI. Are the quick jack lift points functional or just asthetic? If they aren't functional....where are the good points to lift the car? If they are functional where do i get the proper lift for it?
What about jack stand locations?

any help would be great.....I don't want to damage anything under there.

Thanks alot!

Hi.

The quicklift points are usable, but use both in each end at the same time. I think Olthoff sells a usable device, and I think I have seen the dravings for one on the forum if you want to make it yourself.

Personally I have used a normal (but ultra low) garage-jack and placed it in the corner on the bottom panel just back of the front tire and just in front of the rear tire. I have a thin metal plate (2mm) that is appx. 7"x7" between the jack and the car. This works fine.

Trond

I use the jack points on my SPF...I put a 4X4 piece of wood in them with a courner of the wood in the notches of the jack points and then used a hydraulic jack to lift placed in the middle of the wood - this worked just fine.

awesome thanks.

Here are some pics of a floor jack fixture I made to lift my car.

This has been discussed before on this forum.

I don't recall all of the details but it was recommended that the car be lifted at, basically, the four corners of the central steel structural tub as using the quick-jacks at the ends of the car --- being O.K. for a quick tire change in the pit at LeMans on a car designed only to last a season's racing --- could stress the welds between the central tub and the chassis components fore and aft that have the quick-jack brackets. If the welds stress-crack and water starts working in the cracks, eventually you could have a catastrophic chassis failure. Don't know if this has happened, but it's been observed or invisioned (not by me, but by the race car constructor/restorer in, I think, the U.K. which brought up the issue in the thread).

I would hunt down that discussion for specifics.

The front subframe is designed to support the radiator, front clip and provide a jack point. It is triangulated and attaches to the monocoque above the upper a-arm and just below the shelf at the base of the windscreen that houses the fluid reservoirs and the fuel fills. It is most definitely strong enough to support the front weight of the car.
The rear subframe is also triangulated and is designed to support the rear clip and provide a jack point. It is bolted to the rear of the monocoque at the top and bottom of the gearbox/suspension mount surround. Do not be affraid to use the quick jack points at the front or rear of the car as long as they are used together. (Meaning to use both front or both rear together and not just one corner)

Thanks for the info and photos Rick. Would you mind providing the size of material you used to build your lift? I assume you used tube not bar stock, correct? If its not asking to much, measurements? :shy:

Team Jeff said:

Thanks for the info and photos Rick. Would you mind providing the size of material you used to build your lift? I assume you used tube not bar stock, correct? If its not asking to much, measurements? :shy:

Click to expand...

I'll second that. It looks like a very practical little welding project. Nice, simple design.

Does anyone know where to get the jacks used in the pits at the races tha rolled up to the car & in a quick pull the front/rear of the car was off the ground.

DW,

Olthoff made mine (exact copy of the original)

Steve P2125

Re: Lifitng the car

DW
I saw two new ones at the Olthoff shop several weeks ago. You need a good 10 feet or more in front/back of the car if you are in a building to operate these original lifting devices.
Grady

On a GTD.

The one Dennis sells for the MK2 will only work on the front of the MK1, I was at Mike Trusty's garage and we lifted my front but the spacing is wrong for the rear. There might be a different one for the MK1. It was a very handy tool!

David Morton said:

On a GTD.

Click to expand...

And I better solution, I think. At one time I had thought to make some of the cantalevers, or whatever you call them, for my race car. But then I saw how much room they take to operate and store and decided they were not the ticket. That handy little jack tool, that seems like the ticket.

This Weber Trolley Jack is great as it's a very low profile and can get under every part of my car. The rubber pad on the end lifts out and the
quicklift stainless bar( beside the jack in the picture) simply slots in and the 'fences' on either end inhibit the bar from moving laterally and, if fact,
locate the whole thing centrally. My quicklift was made by Henry Atherton,
who has now left the UK. He now has a fabrication shop in France - in a small town called Tanus. Watch that space as it was Henry who fabricated most of the Safirs in High Wycombe at Adams Mcall Engineering.
If you ask him, no two Safirs were made the same. Why ? - because he felt like it.

Costco do a nice, very low jack for about £70. That'll be $10 in your money.
Tony

Right now, Kragen/Checker/Shuck/O'Reilly's auto parts has a sale on their website. Two-ton trolly jack, two jackstands and a rolling creeper for $49.99!

I love America. :laugh:

Garage In A Box

You have to enter your ZIP code to find local availability. You order and pay for the thing online, print out the coupon, then waltz into your local auto parts store, hand the coupon over and walk out with the kit.

Here's the link to the general website:

Online Auto Parts and Auto Accessories Store at PartsAmerica.com

You can save around 30% off many parts if you order them online and pick it up at your closest store, even for stuff on the shelves (air filters, fuel filters) that you’d normally grab yourself. Lots of times the guys at the store are even amazed at what you pay on the paperwork you bring in vs. what shows in their computer for Joe off the street.

Well, it's even better now. There is a place when you order online to enter a coupon code. When you see it, enter:

ONLINESAVE15

If applicable, you’ll get an additional 15% off when you check out to pay.

As an example, I just got a $13.95 Fram fuel filter that the guy walked over and picked off the rack for $9 out the door. If I had walked in it would have cost me almost $16 after taxes.

So if you are going to go to Kragen, go online first.

Did I mention that I love America? :laugh:

Mike and others,
The jacks you show are a great bargain. BUT, a word of caution. The lift power is there, but the height of the lift isn't. Those jacks are good for getting the tires off the ground IF you can get it under the car. Remember the adage about getting what you pay for? I don't want to throw cold water on your ideas. I have an aluminum racing jack from Harbor Freight that is just that. It slides under the front of my car with room to spare. The little trolley jack I have won't. If I use the trolley jack on the rear, it barely will clear the tires because it won't lift very far. I have on occasion used a 4x4 on the ball to lift a little higher when the other jack was occupied, but of course I wouldn't go under the car with it that way. A good set of jack stands are worth their weight in gold and most are built to good standards. I think you will be a little disappointed with a trolley jack and trying to do any work on your 40s unless you have a spare 2x4 laying around to get the front of the car up high enough to get the jack under it.
Shopping for the online bargains is the only way to go even with Harbor Freight. They pass on bargains to those on the mailing list that the stores will never have.

Bill

Jack Stand Location

Where are the best locations to put four jack stands. Can't really tell from the thread. Are the locations the four spots on the frame just behind the front wheels and just in front of the rear wheels?

Thanx
Mark