Lotus Europa Community
Lotus Europa Forums => Garage => Topic started by: FourLoti on Friday,April 28, 2023, 07:40:36 AM
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Hi: I'm picking up my Lagoon Blue TC next week and am thinking ahead about setting up the work space. I have a QJ 5000 and have done a search here. Only seems to be one mention in a 2019 JBCollier post showing the need for wood supports. Glad I saw that, but has anyone else use one of these with their Europa? Any additional tips re: getting these cars up on the stands?
I think I ran across mention elsewhere about putting the lifts crosswise instead of longitudinally. Anyone tried that?
Thanks,
Ron
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Might work, you'd have to try it. There are two lengths of Quick jack. The longer one won't fit between the wheels. Might work sideways, though.
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Four Loti,
Just my two cents and probably the reason I don't have a lift is because I would like one that lifts the car and I can put another under it . Dual purpose lifts , either to lift parts up and drive a car under is my utopia. Lifting by the frame and not the wheels where most work would be done is just my dream.
Dakazman
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Worked great - no issues. Thanks again to whoever suggested the 2x6's in an older thread!
Ron
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Worked great - no issues. Thanks again to whoever suggested the 2x6's in an older thread!
Ron
That is just the cat's meow! Nice.
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Now that's nifty. That might even be useful for working on the engine topside, rather than leaning over (on) the rear fender to work on something at knee height. The Europa is the only car I've ever serviced where a day of tinkering with the engine leaves my ribs bruised and sore.
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Good idea Bainford, I have the same "side" effects.
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You realize of course, that you are hanging the frame, engine, etc. all by those few bolts that hold the body on the frame?? I had mine in a shop once that had lifts like that in the floor, and the amount of cracking noise that resulted really concerned me, I never went back. A friend had his S2 on something similar w/o windshield and it warped the front posts permanently.
just sayin......
Jerry Rude
4005R
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Interesting point. I keep forgetting how different S1s are from the later Europas. S1s have massive sills. In fact the jacking points are in the sill. None of those silly sheet metal seatbelt mounts, the S1 seatbelt mount/jacking point is made of welded up 3/16 plate.
Still, he is spreading the load across the entire sill. If it doesn't creak going up, I suspect it is just fine.
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Yeah, in the case of the S2, the upper and lower body sections just use ally pop rivets along the sill area. Is it the same for the TC/TCS?
I wouldn't be surprised if that area complained on the way up.
I have a length of 1/2 inch thick ribbed/treaded conveyer belt material. I wonder if four pads under the jacking points might offer some confidence, if nothing else.
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You realize of course, that you are hanging the frame, engine, etc. all by those few bolts that hold the body on the frame?? I had mine in a shop once that had lifts like that in the floor, and the amount of cracking noise that resulted really concerned me, I never went back. A friend had his S2 on something similar w/o windshield and it warped the front posts permanently.
just sayin......
Jerry Rude
4005R
Thanks for this input. I've been thinking about asking for advice on the setup. I assumed there were jacking points along there somewhere, but looking from below, it is all glass. There was no creaking but I haven't had it up in the air since then. I may try adding two boards crosswise at either end for some sort frame support. Probably won't interfere with that much under car work. Or maybe I'll go back to jack stands and just use the lift sparingly for set up/take down.
Ron
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Similar to a two post lift, I wouldn't use it for long term storage. I suggest after lifting the car up set wood cribbing under the four wheels and let the cars weight rest on the cribbing. You can leave the QJ in place if you need to.
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An improved setup, I think. The lift comes with large rubber blocks that are able to pick up the ends of the trailing arms when the wheels are removed. The 2x6 in the front is not touching the body - there is another block in the center supporting the backbone. Slightly bowed, so a fabricated metal cross beam would be the ultimate, but as is it's really very stable as is.
Having to remove/replace wheels means some of the Quick Jack convenience for general maintenance is hampered, but for stationery resto (demo) work at this stage, it's great. I removed the carbs and throttle body this weekend and raising & lowering the work height was nice.
Ron
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I think you have the car better balanced as 80% of the mass (sans occupants) is behind the rear window. I'm a little bit nervous about using the trailing arms as they are actually constructed of quite thin sheet metal. And, yes, I have seen bent and kinked arms from jacking on the arms. Europas really are a pain in the a** regarding jacking and hoists.
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Interesting point. I keep forgetting how different S1s are from the later Europas. S1s have massive sills. In fact the jacking points are in the sill. None of those silly sheet metal seatbelt mounts, the S1 seatbelt mount/jacking point is made of welded up 3/16 plate.
Still, he is spreading the load across the entire sill. If it doesn't creak going up, I suspect it is just fine.
John, I think you missed my point. I'm not concerned about the sills or the spreading out across under the sills, but the fiberglass bosses that the body bolts tighten against. There are what, 8 bolts that bolt the body to the frame on an S2 or TC/TCS? 3/8 inch diameter or 7/16 inch? Those are designed to locate the body and the frame supports the body along its length. But when you reverse the forces by lifting the body, now those bosses have to resist a vertical force of the weight of the frame, wheels, drivetrain, etc. and the body isn't a structural member. If a DPO left a few of those bolts off during a rebuild, then things could get dicey. And the creaking I heard was kind of a popping noise, as in individual glass fibers snapping.
Jerry Rude
4005R
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An improved setup, I think. [...]
I like it.
And while JB makes a good point, I wonder if turning the QuickJack to face the other way (hydraulic hoses to the rear) might not get the car's CG dead nuts in the middle as well.