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Lift for Healeys

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Jack T, Since I am serious about getting a MaxJax, I would be curious how far you spaced your towers for the Healey? Did you have to drill additional anchor holes for your daily drivers?
 
Scot said:
Jack T, Since I am serious about getting a MaxJax, I would be curious how far you spaced your towers for the Healey? Did you have to drill additional anchor holes for your daily drivers?
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Yes on the additional holes. Am heading out to the garage later and will get some dimensions and maybe pictures.
 
I use the Quikjack, ceiling is about 7' so very limited lift space. Works well in garage. It does move car rearward as it lifts with the rams rising an angle. IMG_3772.jpgIMG_3772.jpg
 
Very nice Randy, how far back does the car move once raised to max height?
 
I like the scissor lifts also but they give you no room to work underneath the car.
 
Scot said:
Jack T, Since I am serious about getting a MaxJax, I would be curious how far you spaced your towers for the Healey? Did you have to drill additional anchor holes for your daily drivers?
Click to expand...

Scot,

The dimension from inside of base plate to inside of base plate is 81" for the Jag and Healey, + 16-1/2" for my everyday cars. I arrived at the 81" primarily for the Jag since I had to reach lift points that are behind the front wheels. I have lifted both cars with the posts at the wider dimension but it leaves a lot of weight forward of the front arms. I like having the front arms as far forward as possible. I use allen-head set screws in the anchors I'm not using to keep the threads clean.

One caveat with the Healey is that I have to use my floor jack in order to get the left side lift arms in position because of the exhaust. Minor inconvenience. The pads end up on the outriggers in the rear and on the frame rails just behind the motor mount gussets in the front.
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You can determine for yourself where you would like to set the posts. With the MaxJax you can move it around and experiment where the arms will reach before drilling any holes.

Good luck.
 
I've been a bit distracted by recent events, but I'm still researching lifts. I called the '800' number for Greg Smith lifts, and talked a guy that (I think) was a distributor in Riverside, CA. I mentioned I would prefer an American-made lift and he let slip--or was just being forthright, I can't say for sure--that all lifts save Mohawk brand were made in China (probably, they are made in China in one or a few factories but are distributed under various brands; the Greg Smith site cites a 'Texas company;' check it out for some 'dirt' on lifts). I'd not heard of Mohawk but, of course, I immediately stated googlin'. The Mohawk site has issues, but has some, er, 'interesting' information (see here:


https://mohawkliftpics.com/product-pictures/2-post-lifts/a-7/


... and look, in particular, under 'Comparison Photo Galleries'


One option is for 4 wheel cradles that effectively turn the lift into a 4-post. I really like this idea.


The Mohawk site doesn't list any prices, so it's one of those 'if you have to ask' things. But, I'm OK buying a cheap made-in-China tool from Harbor Freight that probably will leak air but I might use 6 times in my lifetime, but getting under a lift with plastic wheels and cables, and welds that break makes me nervous.


Just passing what I've learned along. This is a significant investment for me, and I'm inclined to spend extra up front for peace of mind.
 
Bob, I did the same type of research when I bought my lift. And found that there were only 3 companies that made lifts in US. Canā€™t remember each but Mohawk was one of them. All the US made lifts were 3 times the price of off-shore lifts. Youā€™ll notice that many commercial garages have off-shore lifts such as BenPac, DanMar, Rotory, etc. I finally decided to narrow down my search by accepting only ā€˜Certifiedā€™ lifts. I figured if they pass certification they would be all right. Another reason I would only use a certified lift is because of liability and insurance reasons since I work on other peopleā€™s cars on occasion.
 
Bob, Greg Smith is a distributor that has been around for quite awhile. I ended up with a dealer in Connecticut canā€™t remember why. They all offer incentives or accessories to get your business. All the lifts ship from California.
 
Or you could buy a ā€œmade in Canada lift ā€œ like mine . You have to speak canuck to it tho:eagerness:
 
vette said:
Bob, Greg Smith is a distributor that has been around for quite awhile. I ended up with a dealer in Connecticut canā€™t remember why. They all offer incentives or accessories to get your business. All the lifts ship from California.
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I will called mine from their warehouse in Milwaukie, Oregon. It was about 8 miles from my home.


'57 on lift -lr.jpg
 
got mine from their warehouse in Delaware. could go pick it up and save any freight... which is a lot on mine. i think each side weighed about 700 lbs. i also purchased cross bars w/feet so i could get cars with narrow frames on the lift.
if i had known i was going to get this type of lift, i would have set the floor down under it about 4 inches so it would be flush. i may cut the floor out and do that at some point. right now i have to use 2x12's on the floor so the car will not hit on the bottom. on the Healey i have to also jack the front end up a little to get the bars/feet under the frame.
fullsizeoutput_1b7.jpg


also makes a nice table... and i have them set close enough i can get my mower across them when it needs work done on it.
fullsizeoutput_177.jpg


still, if i had more room or my garage door was on the side of the garage, i would have gone with a two-post lift.
 
I have a 4 post lift from Greg Smith Equip. I bought 2 of the sliding jacks with it as a package. I can position the jacks under the suspension front and rear and remove all four wheels. Works for all our cars including a 30 Chevy and the Bugeye ( just need to be careful of the narrow track width). I'm not a fan of lifting 50+ year old cars with the 2 post type on the frame rails. I'd rather lift using the parts taht support the weight of the car under normal conditions.
 
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