MGA Forum

Made these myself. Cost around $100. 16" clearance.

Yikes - they look like they'll hold up a '59 Caddy. I'm torn on these kind of car-holder-uppers. Exhaust work, yes. Suspension, tire brakes, no.

The real problem is, where do they go when not in use? For some of us, outdoor storage is a deal breaker.

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The Flat Earth Society has members from all corners of the globe.

'30 Model A Ford Town Sedan
'48 MGTC Q Special
'53 XK120SE OTS
'58 MGA roadster
'66 Series 1, 4.2 Jag E-Type OTS

You're right, they are not good for all applications, but I made them to be able to change the oil and filter, grease the fittings, tighten nuts & bolts, fix u-joints, take care of the differential, yada yada yada. Oh yes, they are only 13 feet long so they fit neatly stored in one side of the garage.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2017-10-16 06:32 PM by imsicodis.

That's a nice idea

What size wood did you use and do you like it? 2x8? 2x10"?
Thanks,
Joe Mulqueen
'56 MGA

If you can stomach the price, Race Ramps are wonderful for getting the entire car off the ground, and break down for easy storage. And they are so light it's scary, except that they're strong enough to hold several MGBs. Good product for those willing to pay up.

I used 2x10's. Plenty wide enough for the tire profile. I do have my wife guide me up and onto it though to make sure I keep it straight. There's plenty of room under it now to do stuff. I tried jacks and stands, but while being under the car, I felt like a spelunker in a cave, very clostrophobic.

My car hoist is too wide to safely negotiate day to day parking. So I ended up building similar ramp. Works fine.

Steve

Your ramps look very well made and functional. I have seen several versions of your ramps on the site PINTREST. They are like yours but each side is in 3 pieces and the center section of each ramp is made to slide out after the car is in place. That gives you more access underneath the car from the side as well. I am considering making a set of ramps similar to yours.
Good job!

I like em... in theory. Almost did something similar. I think it depends a lot on what type of work you want to do i.e. oil changes, undercar maint, etc - or - brakes/suspension/wheels. In my case, I'm pretty cramped for space and have learned the hard way not to buy/build something until I know where I'm going to store it. And if breakdown and storage is very involved - I'm lazy - I get to the point where I won't pull it out and use it. Not unlike the floor-jack-4-jack-stand dance. I'm just not good at all the getting up and down on the floor for set up any more.

So I bought an EZCar Lift. Cost about 25 times what you invested, so there is that. But I like it. Little over 2 feet of clearance underneath - can do anything I want to the cars - including exhaust and suspension. Easily roll a creeper around anywhere. And no hydraulics - uses an acme thread screw like my pipe clamps - simple and safe. Just lives under one car. Easily pulled out and moved to another.

Again, I do like what you did - and almost went the same route. I just thought a lot about what kind of work I wanted to do, and tried to be realistic with myself about my work habits. Finally bit the bullet on the price. Glad I did.

Pretty work though. And nice looking "pedestal" to display a beautiful coupe.
Thanks for sharing.

Thanks,
Braxton

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" You know - I love this thing. She's got a few leaks, but it's only the engine, gearbox, and the diff - so not too bad....."

Nice work, Larry. Envious.

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Chip Long
Charlotte, NC

I bought one of these.

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Gil

Gil is yours the drill powered model... Who made it.

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Gary

Murphy's law

Tell a man there are 300 billion stars in the universe, and he'll believe you. Tell him a bench has wet paint on it, and he'll have to touch it to be sure.

Gil

I wish I had bought that style of hoist. So much better for access than mine. I fully admit that I made the wrong choice. Although it works effortlessly on my air compressor it takes time to adjust the lifting arms before use. Then, when fully raised there is still a lot of metal work (hydraulic ram and trapezium struts etc) that restricts free movement. The only benefit of mine is for suspension work as it lifts the chassis instead of the wheels.

Steve

Gil's lift looks like the EZ Lift; powered by most types of hand drills & currently on sale (I've been looking at this unit as well):

http://ezcarlift.com/index.html