Mid rise lift

[Royal]

About 45 years ago I hurt my back.  Now, after “toughing it out” for all this time, I have to admit that my hobby of fixing old cars is in jeopardy.  I am unable to bend over for any period of time (more than a couple of minutes).  I have been wondering about buying a mid rise lift (don’t have the ceiling height for a 2 or 4 post full lift).  

     My MiGi with her rear engine VW is about as accessible as engines get.  Am wondering about one of these:  

http://www.harborfreight.com/6000-lb-capacity-scissor-lift-91315.html

Any comments?  Experience?  

If any of you know of a used one in NC/GA/Va, I would be interested.  My budget doesn’t really have the ceiling height for a $1,000+ one.  

PMOSSBERG2013-02-05 12:39:23

[Paul Mossberg]

Roy,

 

If I didn’t like you, I’d say go for it!

 

However…

 

I would run as fast as I was able from a lift sold by Harbor Freight. It’s not directly related, but I have seen many people report bad experiences with HF’s hydraulic jacks. If those are a problem, there is no way I would get under one of their a scissor lifts.

 

I strongly recommend you want a lift certified by the Automotive Lift Institute. Wander around their web site a bit:

 

http://www.autolift.org/

 

In particular, read the “Purchasing a Lift” FAQ and Buyer Beware sections. And then go to the Directory of Certified Lifts.

 

Paul Mossberg
Former Owner of a 1981 Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess (VW)
2005 Intermeccanica Roadster

If you own a TDr and are not in the Registry, please go to https://tdreplica.com/forums/topic/mg-td-replica-registry/ and register (you need to copy and paste the link)

[edward ericson]

Seven-inches minimum height gives me pause too. Good luck, Roy. Pain sucks.

[Paul Mossberg]

Roy,

 

Something I didn’t think of before…

 

Whatever you buy, look closely at the lifting points. I suspect most scissor lifts will contact the chassis at points close to the original VW jack points.

 

Once the VW Beetle body is removed, the VW jacking points are NOT strong enough to lift your car.

 

At least on a single point jack, if you try to lift from the jacking points on the VW floor pan, you will see the pan flex, and likely crack the fiberglass if you keep going. Whenever I jack up my car, I lift from the front or rear torsion tubes.

 

I don’t know how this would translate to a scissor jack contacting the VW pan at four points.

 

 

 

PMOSSBERG2013-02-05 16:29:40

Paul Mossberg
Former Owner of a 1981 Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess (VW)
2005 Intermeccanica Roadster

If you own a TDr and are not in the Registry, please go to https://tdreplica.com/forums/topic/mg-td-replica-registry/ and register (you need to copy and paste the link)

[Marc Lipsius]

The reviews of that seem OK. but unless there was some sort of sure-fire locking mechanism, I wouldn’t get under that. You have to rely on more than just the hydraulic cylinders.
It says it’s only 7′ long and 57″ wide – is that wide enough so the supports under the car can reach out to the side rails and/or to something solid at the front and rear, so it doesn’t punch through the floor pan?
If the car fits, it might be OK for the TD but I would be hesitant to use it on anything much bigger.

[greg press]

My brother inlaw dug a pit in his garage with a backhoe framed it up with cement blocks put a heater, a couch, and a chair with a fridge and tv.He says this is where goes to work on cars.     

[billnparts]

I have a customer who worked off the floor with jacks for years. There was no height to install a lift. Two years ago he poured a new floor in the shop and sunk two boxes in the floor containing mid rise lifts. He engineered a lip on the edge of the box to install metal plates to cover the lifts, resulting in a flush floor.
Another customer with a mid rise on the floor gets around the tall minimum clearance with a plank laid against the outside rails of the lift to drive on.
There should be locks on the lift as a safety backup. No one would trust the cylinders alone.
The mid rise lift would be ideal for the VW chassis as there is no drivetrain or exhaust system to be interfered with.
Go for it.

Bill Ascheman
Fiberfab Ford
Modified 5.0, 5sp., 4:11
Autocross & Hillclimb
"Drive Happy"

[Paul Mossberg]

mrlmd mentioned the “side rails” of the VW pan…..

There really is no such thing. The pan has inverted u-channels formed along the perimeter.
But I do not believe they are strong enough to lift the car after the additional strength of the Beetle body has been removed.

I tried to lift one corner, once, using a floor jack under the original jack point. Like I wrote earlier, the pan started to flex, way before the tire on that side was anywhere near moving.

Paul Mossberg
Former Owner of a 1981 Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess (VW)
2005 Intermeccanica Roadster

If you own a TDr and are not in the Registry, please go to https://tdreplica.com/forums/topic/mg-td-replica-registry/ and register (you need to copy and paste the link)

[newkitman]

Paul you are correct. Without the body on the Beetle there will be nothing to prevent flexing of the floor pan.

Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The Shack

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