- My model of MX-5 is: '92 NA SE
- I’m based near: Barnstaple
- I’m looking for technical help or recommendations on: supporting the car for service work
I have a '92 SE that is about to undergo a fair bit of work. It’s parked in a barn and amongst other things is going to have the following done:
Loom removed and replaced
subframes & wishbones removed, cleaned, painted, rebushed
New shocks
New brakes and brake lines
Sills welded
So a fair bit of work. I’d like to put it up in the air a couple of feet to make it easier to work on and, as the suspension and subframes are coming off, and the sills need welding, I’m looking to find the best place to fit supports and considering the type of support. I have 4x 3ton stands which was what I was thinking of using but I’ve read you shouldn’t use 4 axle stands as it’s too unsteady.
I can’t afford a grand for some proper lifts so wondering what else might be a good option. I have plenty of lumber and concrete building blocks on site that I can use, but wondering where best to support the car to still give me access to all the areas I need.
Interested to see what others have used as there must be plenty of folks who’ve done long term projects like that.
Hmm, in the past I’ve seen where friends have created a “spit” for mounting a bare body to allow easy access to all the welding and painting underneath, and everywhere else for that matter.
The Mini is easiest because it has a couple of holes in exactly the right places, all that is needed is a scaffold pole between two tripod-frames and some bolt-up wooden collets to match the pole to the holes. This pic was taken in 2012 soon after it was finished.
The MGB was more difficult, but again with a bit of welding a grab frame was made. However, I’m trying to remember how this was done (twenty-some years ago). I’ve found a pic (from clement and boggis?) on google where someone else has done it similarly
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Knock up a trolley with your lumber and fit 4 heavy duty castors so you can move it about.
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That’s a good idea. I’d thought about that but I’d need really big casters as the barn has an uneven dirt floor. Thinking of just a non-moving frame to slide under the jar once it’s jacked up but with everything I’m taking off, wondering where the best support points would be.
@RichardFX that looks like a very neat turning setup, haven’t decided whether to take the vehicle all the way back to bare chassis yet, I’m hoping to be able to do enough to get it mobile and through and MOT. At some point though, it’s going to have to go back to the bare chassis if I’m to do a proper resto mod on it and keep it for the very long term. If I do that, it’ll probably get a rocketeer conversion and would have to really be properly sorted out at that point.
oooh, a rocketeer conversion <3 Must admit if I get my vehicle restored the way I’d like, I would love to put one of those in it.
I cheated and bought one already converted, saved me a year’s work though.
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ok, so a little update. Yesterday I poured a slab in the barn, I’ll be putting up a stud and plastic sheet wall around it to create an enclosed garage. The floor is (mostly) flat and smooth, at least as well as I could get it on my first go with a bull float. There’s a couple of ripples I attack with an angle grinder and then it’ll get a coat of epoxy floor paint.
So, a dolly makes more sense now. I’ve seen a sealey one that looks like it’ll do the job as the engine is coming out of the car so should be within the load rating of 900kg. Anyone used one of these
they’re £350 on amazon which, over the course of a couple of years working on the car sounds like a reasonable investment.
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Looks good.
I hope you’ve given yourself enough headroom for lifting engines etc.
I bought a house with a detached garage which featured a pit and a good strong lifting beam above it, BUT later discovered the pit was always flooded and the garage roof was a few inches too low for lifting a Jag engine unless we took the head off first (which is tricky with a Mk2 3.8 engine in-situ) or took a corrugated asbestos sheet off the garage roof (much easier, but as we were told later, more hazardous).
Building an extension to the house including a decent garage eliminated the headroom problem, but after that I could afford better condition cars and was happy to pay someone else to do any dirty work.
Hi Richard, yes that roof is about 9’ above the slab so plenty of room to either wheel an engine hoist in or add a couple of additional beams across and add a winch or lifting block
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I’ve now discovered CJ autos who have a couple of heavy duty axle stands https://cjautosheywood.co.uk/product/heavy-duty-mobile-axle-stand-cm05b/
and with a very handy looking tilting system https://cjautosheywood.co.uk/product/basic-car-roller-with-4-stud-ct01-4/
I think I’d probably need either the axle stands or both as the tilting unit, while very handy, would probably not do everything needed. The car will spend a lot of time without subframes or suspension arms taken off for renovation and rebuild.
Have you thought about making a rotisserie?
A couple of friends have used them for restorations and it makes working on a car so easy for access.
I did look at them but I think for now I’m going to go with the heavy duty axle stands, that should get me up high enough to work on it while sitting on a chair and allow me to move it around as needed. If I get further into it and discover that I need to more than expected, then I might reconsider, I can always sell the stands if needed.
