2 post lift for 69 OTS

hello all
carbs have been shipped to Rhys so Dad and i dove into brakes this past weekend. i have a 2 post lift that i use constantly on my pontiacs. i would love to get the jag in the air but do not see a simple way to do so.
anyone have experience in how to safely lift the car with a 2 post lift?

thanks

I use the rear arms to the body side of the IRS reaction arms (under the large bushing/bolt) and the fronts under the aft mounting point of the lower A arms. Balances well until you remove the engine or IRS.

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I agree with Doug, that is where I lift the E on my BendPak. I use hockey pucks to preserve the soft lifting pads. A useful tip, I have mounted a Stanley parking aid laser on the upper crossbar. When the laser hits the shifter I know I am on center and correct position.
Glenn

I made some wooden block adapters for the front arms. Rear on the arms with wooden blocks as mentioned. I have since the pictures, thickened up the front blocks with another layer of wood so as not to have to use the hockey puks. Don’t forget the holes to help locate the blocks and not push the carpet anchors back up. My lift is a Bend Pak

I have the same lift, an excellent piece of work!!

I pick up my lift from the manufacturer this week. I guess I’d better get busy making some lifting appliances.

I do not own a lift.

But since you used the word “safely”, do consider the strength of the bond of the rubber and metal in the IRS mounts. I would want the weight of the IRS to be well-supported and not dependent on 50-year-old bonds. The bonds may be fine on the ground in compression, but that tells you little about them under tension when they car is on the hoist. The positioning of the rear lift arms under the IRS trailing arms may or may not provide the necessary support and assurance.

Lift considerations, I went overboard with my BendPak. It is a 10K lbs capacity asymmetrical. It has two width settings, because of the HD design is wider than the normal lifts. Have it on the narrowest position and even then the E has to be positioned just right for the front arms to reach rear wishbone mounts at the front suspension.
For safety at the rear I considered installing four cables as safety straps for rubber mounts,
just never got around to doing it. When working under car I will position a screw type support jack under the rear suspension.
FWIW check the torque of lifts mounting nuts once a year, in my case 90 ft/lbs.
Glenn

Posted before but illustrates the point:

Looks like the propshaft may be all that is holding the IRS up.

Maybe someone misunderstood the recent Carolina Squat fad wherein one drops the rear below stock?

I made a couple of supports to place under the car while it’s on the lift and I’m under it. The black one I made from a repurposed floor support screw jack. The red one is hydraulic; essentially a really long bottle jack. The black one goes under the picture frame with a block of wood, the red one goes under the IRS with another wood block.

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Is that trust but certify John :joy::joy:

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That’s trying not to become a red flapjack if the lift fails. :rofl:

Hello All. I’ve never posted anything on Jag Lovers before although I’ve referred to the site for ideas here and there.
John, I see in the picture of your garage that you have the newer M6K MaxJax. I just received mine M6K this week and just visited the site to see where the safest four points are to lift an E-type which will help me determine where to mount the columns to the garage floor. I have a 68 OTS. The most obvious rear locations are the usual radius arm body mounts to the IRS but the front location seems to have many differing opinions. The rear pivot point of the A arms was my first guess but that location seems to be too far in for the symmetrical arms to reach. I also didn’t even consider the fifty three year old rubber IRS mount giving way. I used to put jack stands under the shock mounts of he IRS when working on the floor underneath it so that problem was never an issue.
My question is, how far away from each other did you mount your posts to the floor? They say 105" to 135’ to the outside of the base plates. Any input would be appreciated.

Hello and welcome, Jim.

When I got my lift I was told it would be a life changing tool, and indeed it is. Everything from small jobs like tire rotations and oil changes to major work becomes much easier. You’ll love it.

I set mine at 121 inches. That allows me to use the lift with my widest vehicle.

I use tall screw adjustable jack stands under the IRS tie plate and picture frame when I have the car on the lift. Life is too short for easily preventable accidents.

Hi John,
Which screw jacks do you use and where did you get them?

I had two heavy duty adjustable post jacks left over from when we remodeled our old house. I cut them to the height I needed bought some steel pipe for the tripod stabilizing legs fired up the welder and created my own. The left one is at it’s lowest position the middle one at it’s highest. I also made a 3 ton hydraulic one that goes up to 48".

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Thanks for the info on the lift spacing, John. I’m looking forward to having an easier time getting in and out from under the car. It was always an aggravation when you realized that you didn’t have the tool you needed after you got under the car.
I also have a house pole jack left over from a project and a welder so thanks for that tip as well!
Jim

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Hi John I’ve got two mounting points for my Maxjax. The one I use for my E Type positions the inside of the posts 86.5 inches apart. So no confusion this is measured about a foot down from the top - it is just the posts, the lifting mechanism with the arms is not included here. This permits me to use the lower rear control arm mounting point for lifting. This is a part of and directly under the engine mount system so it’s a equitable point for lifting. It also allows me to lift the car under the ball joints if I want to have more space under the car to work on the engine.

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Thanks for that, Terry. My lift measures 102-1/2" there. I eyeballed it last night and guess if I moved one of the posts 10" toward the other I could lift by the big end of the radius arms and the back A arm mounting point. But for right now I’m leaving things as they are. I can do everything I currently need to do with the lift set up the way it is.