2 post lifts (hoists)

[Garrym]

Is there a potential problem using a 2 post hoist for an E Type?

[kingzetts]

The main issue is the security of the rear suspension cage.

The IRS cage is attached to the body by the 4 rubber block vee mounts. If you raise the car with the IRS unsupported, which would be the usual situation with a 2 post lift, then effectively, the IRS is supported by the integrity of the rubber-metal bonds in those vee mounts.

These have been known to separate. If that happens then the IRS will drop until caught by the prop shaft catching the bottom of the tunnel. At best its likely the radius arm to body mounting points will be distorted, at worst the IRS will fall on top of you especially if you have just disconnected the prop shaft.

This can be overcome by using suitable supports under the IRS while the car is in the air - long axle stands or transmission jacks - before venturing underneath.

I have seen some of the best-respected specialists using 2 post lifts on E types with no support for the IRS, however.

[Garrym]

Can't you position the lifting pads under the IRS?

[kingzetts]

Up to a point probably yes. But, they'd not be as far apart widthwise as you'd ideally want due to the wheels being in the way of the arms, so the rear end could be unstable if the body rocks side to side.

I'm by no means saying you can't use a 2-poster - you asked for issues and I was just mentioning one which has had some air time on here before. Personally I'd happily have a 2-poster in the workshop if I had the funds and the headroom, but I would buy a transmission jack to stand under the IRS when the E was on it.

[Tony]

I am thinking of a 2 post lift as they can be tidied away better and leave more floor space. Does it do any harm to the suspension leaving them dangling for long periods say over winter, as it would leave handy floor space if the car is left up there, plus if the fuses are pulled the car would be more secure in the unlikely event of theft. I note most of the car restoration firms seem to use them a lot

[abowie]

My current resto project spent 12 months stored on a 2 post hoist with another car stored under it. The car was supported with the pads on the floorpan at the front and the radius arm mounts at the rear. The IRS didn't fall off despite having 50 year old mounts. While all things are possible, I suspect that it's a non issue.

[JEP41]

I prefer a 4 poster and I purchased one several years ago from the Netherlands. It was delivered and is exactly as described. Over the past five years it has been invaluable and trouble free, I have a normal height ceiling in my current garage but can get my c-type on the ramp and my e-type underneath converting my double garage into a triple. I have added a Transmission jack, mot style Pit jack and very useful 12vdc winch which is mounted forward on the ramp cross beam. This allows me to remove a non runner from the ramp to the outside which slopes downward slightly and winch it back onto the ramp when ever necessary :D

[PeterCrespin]

My current resto project spent 12 months stored on a 2 post hoist with another car stored under it. The car was supported with the pads on the floorpan at the front and the radius arm mounts at the rear. The IRS didn't fall off despite having 50 year old mounts. While all things are possible, I suspect that it's a non issue.

I've certainly seen failed mounts - albeit twice on mid-Seventies / Eighties XJ6 not E-type. I think your insurers might take a dim view of damage to any car sustained through storage under an unsupported IRS. I knew a guy in Chester whose IRS mounts delaminated in the early 70s, so that can't have been an old E-type.

Tony, if you get a pair of large alloy channels made up (or steel if you're feeling strong) you can put those across the arms each side and drive the car onto them via low ramps as if it was going onto a four-poster, then lift it up as normal. Very secure.

Pete

[christopher storey]

There are other snags to 2 post lifts with Es . The point of balance of an E is much further back than meets the eye particularly if you have the bonnet off and even more so if the engine is out . The snag arises when any weight is removed from either end of the car , and it is possible for the car then to topple. I would not use a 2 poster with an E under any circumstances . Similarly, Tony's idea of leaving an E long term in the air is very dangerous : the bonding on the IRS mounts can and does fail - ask me how I know . Even in the short term I do not like it unless the IRS is supported, because it only takes one of the 4 mounts to fail and the whole lot can then go in sequence as the load on the remainder reaches unacceptable levels