Lifting Question

[DAH]

I was going to make a bar to attach to the front and back so I could use my engine hoist to lift with.Where should my attachment points be?
Thanks David

 

[Austin Healer]

I was going to make a bar to attach to the front and back so I could use my engine hoist to lift with.Where should my attachment points be?
Thanks David

the car, or the engine?? when I mount the car on a rotisserie I make a mount that uses both the bumper mount point and the jack point.... That way nothing is over stressed and nothing will bend. you could make a similar mount for an engine hoist. see attached pics

 

[Austin Healer]

Here's another mount that I made for the rear of the car. it slides into the jack holes and at the top there are holes for bolts into the bumper mounts. I used a couple of sacrificial 1/2 drive sockets as spacers. it's only possible to make this kind of a welded mount for the rear as the frame rails are parallel. The front frame rails are splayed making it impossible to have a welded mount. if the engine is out and I only need to lift the front of the body a little, I'll just bolt a chain across the frame at the motor mount bolt holes and lift it that way.

 

[DAH]

I'm wanting to lift the car.I don't have room for a rotisserie so I'm doing it the old fashion way, being short and skinny helps alot.Anyways thank you much for the info.I'm also still up for meeting up at end of the month I'll send you a PM one of these days on some of the stuff I need.
Thanks again David

 

[Austin Healer]

I'm wanting to lift the car.I don't have room for a rotisserie so I'm doing it the old fashion way, being short and skinny helps alot.Anyways thank you much for the info.I'm also still up for meeting up at end of the month I'll send you a PM one of these days on some of the stuff I need.
Thanks again David

if you have the rear springs out you can also rig a chain between the rear leaf spring bushings and lift there... I'll be in Seattle on the 28th for a Dr. appt.

 

[65beam]

Here's another mount that I made for the rear of the car. it slides into the jack holes and at the top there are holes for bolts into the bumper mounts. I used a couple of sacrificial 1/2 drive sockets as spacers. it's only possible to make this kind of a welded mount for the rear as the frame rails are parallel. The front frame rails are splayed making it impossible to have a welded mount. if the engine is out and I only need to lift the front of the body a little, I'll just bolt a chain across the frame at the motor mount bolt holes and lift it that way.View attachment 15516

The jack tubes are a thin wall square tube intended for use for a short time such as needed for changing a tire. I've seen the tubes bend or pull loose. The bumper mounting points are welded to the end of the frame rail and can also break loose. If not using a rack you'll find most shops run brackets under the car and mount the front using bolts to secure to where the cross member bolts on and do a similar set up bolted to where the rear springs mount to the frame rails. There was one car at SUNI in 2014 that had the right front bumper bracket break loose from the frame rail while parked. This rack is a good set up. It has brackets that bolt to where the crossmember bolts on and also the rear shock mounts. No chance of the car sagging. The rack can be rolled over for working on various locations of the body. This is one of my cars being restored at Tiger Auto.

 

[Austin Healer]

For structural repairs a rack or frame table are the only options, however, quite impossible to use that kind of set up as a fixture for painting. The car pictured on my rotisserie had it's structure completely rebuilt prior to being mounted. The jacking tubes on the Alpine and Tiger are nearly 8" deep and 1/8" thick. Used in conjunction with the bumper mounts they are more than adequate to support a STRUCTURALLY SOUND car. I've never had one distort or be damaged in 30 years of restoring them. Obviously, no car should be mounted if the mounting points are not structurally sound. Likewise, any car that would "sag" obviously has serious structural problems that need to be dealt with long before the car ever gets to the painting stage.

A bumper bracket falling off a parked car is indicative a either a very poor restoration, or serious rust or structural problems, and probably shouldn't have been driven at all.

 

[Tiger]

Considering the stripped-down body has been shed of all possible weight, both of these rack-styles appear adequate for support purposes. When it comes to finishing and painting however, I agree the body must be completely open, not caged. Wondering, any idea what a stripped shell weighs?

 

[DAH]

Thanks for all the good info.This is my first Sunbeam so I'm learning a lot

 

[Austin Healer]

Considering the stripped-down body has been shed of all possible weight, both of these rack-styles appear adequate for support purposes. When it comes to finishing and painting however, I agree the body must be completely open, not caged. Wondering, any idea what a stripped shell weighs?

I can tell you that I loaded the painted shell to take it to be dipped with two people... we carried it about 20 feet and slid it on my trailer!! I unloaded it myself, just pulling it off the trailer (2X6 wood deck) and onto a rolling cart.. and I've had 8 back surgeries and am fused at three levels!!! so it can't be all that heavy!

It'll go on the rotisserie for epoxy primer as soon as I get the Mini in the background painted.

I did brace the door openings prior to having it dipped as the solutions that they use are very thick and heavy.

 

[65beam]

For structural repairs a rack or frame table are the only options, however, quite impossible to use that kind of set up as a fixture for painting. The car pictured on my rotisserie had it's structure completely rebuilt prior to being mounted. The jacking tubes on the Alpine and Tiger are nearly 8" deep and 1/8" thick. Used in conjunction with the bumper mounts they are more than adequate to support a STRUCTURALLY SOUND car. I've never had one distort or be damaged in 30 years of restoring them. Obviously, no car should be mounted if the mounting points are not structurally sound. Likewise, any car that would "sag" obviously has serious structural problems that need to be dealt with long before the car ever gets to the painting stage.

A bumper bracket falling off a parked car is indicative a either a very poor restoration, or serious rust or structural problems, and probably shouldn't have been driven at all.

It sounds like you've never worked on a car from anywhere but the west coast. As far as getting painted check these out. Notice what the car is set on after the underside is painted. The white car in the paint booth is on a different rack for moving the car.

 

[Austin Healer]

You'd be wrong. I'm in the midst of restoring my third car sourced from Ontario, Canada... you know what assume means, right?

 

[65beam]

You'd be wrong. I'm in the midst of restoring my third car sourced from Ontario, Canada... you know what assume means, right?

Is Ontario part of the U.S. rust belt?

 

[Austin Healer]

CANADA..... Ontario has just about the rustiest cars on the planet outside of Ohio.... Geez.....

 

[65beam]

CANADA..... Ontario has just about the rustiest cars on the planet outside of Ohio.... Geez.....

My point is the way someone in business thinks. "What If? " If something let loose and there is damage would an owner cause a problem for you? In today's world with some vultures looking for a reason it's a matter of CYA. Take all precautions you can. Even if it means change.

 

[Austin Healer]

This IS my business. I always approach every car I restore the same way. Structural integrity is the single most important aspect of any restoration. If the car is too far gone, I simply tell the owner it cannot be done, period. After that it's brakes and suspension.. Paint and interior, while the most visible, is the least important aspect of the restoration.

All I do are restorations for clients, I have a small group of clients that I have done restoration work for, for the last 40 years. Everything else is referrals from those clients. I don't advertise as I have never needed to. I don't buy and sell cars and I never build cars with an eye to sell them on.

 

[65beam]

This IS my business. I always approach every car I restore the same way. Structural integrity is the single most important aspect of any restoration. If the car is too far gone, I simply tell the owner it cannot be done, period. After that it's brakes and suspension.. Paint and interior, while the most visible, is the least important aspect of the restoration.

All I do are restorations for clients, I have a small group of clients that I have done restoration work for, for the last 40 years. Everything else is referrals from those clients. I don't advertise as I have never needed to. I don't buy and sell cars and I never build cars with an eye to sell them on.

It all comes down to whether you want to tackle tough restorations. I understand that some don't. We had one Alpine back in 93 that wasn't worth saving. It would have broken if put on a rotisserie. Doug said to find him another car. The wife and I drove to California and picked up a car at Rick's house and hauled it back to Ohio. It didn't even require being in the rack shown in previous photos. It did go on another rack to pull a bent frame rail from a crash back in the 70's. Rust free makes for good work. This is that car. It was finished in 1995. The plan is to have it at the United in Ontario this fall.

 

[michael-king]

Wow.... Amazing how a question of the best way to lift and work on the car kept morphing into someoens bio.... Maybe mods can edit the posts back to the useful information?

 

[Theorangetiger]

Wow.... Amazing how a question of the best way to lift and work on the car kept morphing into someoens bio.... Maybe mods can edit the posts back to the useful information?

It really has turned into a pissing match.