I've had quite a bit of interest in my new mini-lift after I posted this picture of it in another thread, so I thought it might be worth starting this post (in case some are still looking for pressie ideas 
)
I got it from CJ Autos: http://www.cjautos.site90.net/3in1.htmland it’s listed at £450 +£65 delivery + vat, making it nearly £600 . However,I got mine cheaper at a show and I paid about £425 in total. There is a less expensive fixed width version, but I don't think that would be suitable for a Stag.
The makerssuggest lifting under the sills which I was a bit nervous about although, as they point out, the load is spread over about 3 foot on each side and, having seen one in action at the NEC, I was reassured. However, the bottom seam on the sill of a Stag is not straight and not level – furthermore, the outriggers sit as low as the sill edge it and I don’t want to damage them.
So, my thoughts turned to the chassis legs, which are both flat and even and also reach right back to the rear outrigger so this is where I positioned the lift and it’s almost tailor made for that !! In fact, with the car raised, the doors closed easily which is better than I’ve found with many far newer cars when they’ve been on lifts !
This all works fine for lifting the front of the car, but if you look at the maker’s website, you’ll see that, once the car is lifted at one end then you can raise the other end of the car by hand so it’s all raised and level – provided that you’ve got the lift at the centre of the car’s weight distribution. Unfortunately, the chassis rails are not the balance point of the car and there is no leeway to move the lift forwards or backwardsfrom there. So, what I plan to do later is to get some wood and cut a groove in the top that will sit just under the sill edge as well as cut outs for the outriggers. I will then need to widen the lift (This model can adjust to different widths) and lift it under the sills and position the lift at the balance point.
I am still experimenting with mine at the moment and I’ve still got to do quite a bit before I can confidently use it easily and regularly but, once I’ve conquered it then I think it will be invaluable. I'm very impressed with it and pleased with the price I paid but, as I said on the other post, snow prevented play and so, I've still not fully mastered it yet !
My thanks to Drew for his thoughts on this when we met up and viewed one of these at a show near here a month ago and I would certainly welcome any thoughts or advice that anyone might want to offer.
Cheers
Julian
)I got it from CJ Autos: http://www.cjautos.site90.net/3in1.htmland it’s listed at £450 +£65 delivery + vat, making it nearly £600 . However,I got mine cheaper at a show and I paid about £425 in total. There is a less expensive fixed width version, but I don't think that would be suitable for a Stag.
The makerssuggest lifting under the sills which I was a bit nervous about although, as they point out, the load is spread over about 3 foot on each side and, having seen one in action at the NEC, I was reassured. However, the bottom seam on the sill of a Stag is not straight and not level – furthermore, the outriggers sit as low as the sill edge it and I don’t want to damage them.
So, my thoughts turned to the chassis legs, which are both flat and even and also reach right back to the rear outrigger so this is where I positioned the lift and it’s almost tailor made for that !! In fact, with the car raised, the doors closed easily which is better than I’ve found with many far newer cars when they’ve been on lifts !
This all works fine for lifting the front of the car, but if you look at the maker’s website, you’ll see that, once the car is lifted at one end then you can raise the other end of the car by hand so it’s all raised and level – provided that you’ve got the lift at the centre of the car’s weight distribution. Unfortunately, the chassis rails are not the balance point of the car and there is no leeway to move the lift forwards or backwardsfrom there. So, what I plan to do later is to get some wood and cut a groove in the top that will sit just under the sill edge as well as cut outs for the outriggers. I will then need to widen the lift (This model can adjust to different widths) and lift it under the sills and position the lift at the balance point.
I am still experimenting with mine at the moment and I’ve still got to do quite a bit before I can confidently use it easily and regularly but, once I’ve conquered it then I think it will be invaluable. I'm very impressed with it and pleased with the price I paid but, as I said on the other post, snow prevented play and so, I've still not fully mastered it yet !
My thanks to Drew for his thoughts on this when we met up and viewed one of these at a show near here a month ago and I would certainly welcome any thoughts or advice that anyone might want to offer.
Cheers
Julian
!!!!!
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