Lifting a Mini

Ivan ( snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.co.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

I doubt there's much more than a couple of hundred kilo on the back end - a Mini's about 600kg all-in, and all the mechanicals are up front.

It's about a 60/40 weight distribution towards the front.

But to lift the back up you'd certainly need to be stronger than average, especially with people in the back. Two or three people can roll a Mini on its side (I've done this in a scrapyard, with the scrapyard owner's assistance, in order to get access to the front subframe, don't do it on your own Mini).

Some of the events in the 2007 World's Strongest Man competition involved running around carrying Citroen AXs, with the engines removed.

They used to roll their minis onto its side to sit on an old mattress without damage. The trick was to jack one side up as far as possible, then with a little help it would just gently roll the rest of the way itself.

The works rally team of the '60's used to roll them over onto a layer of tyres in order to work on the underside.

I drove a Mini Cooper S in some rallies in the early 70's. My navigator was considerable beefier than I am. We used to practice fast wheel changes; the strategy we developed for rear wheel punctures involved me extending the jack to a pre-marked point whilst my navigator stood with his back to the car and lifted under the rear arch. I would then push the jack under. It saved valuable time, and he didn't seem to find it too difficult to get a rear wheel clear of the ground.

Possibly the best use for an AX I've ever heard of...

Chris

Interesting, you'd think all the fluids and things would run into places they weren't meant to be.

I don't approve of turning bicycles upside down to work on them, let alone cars!

Those were the days.

Ben C ( snipped-for-privacy@spam.eggs) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

They're mostly fairly well contained - think about how they're going to slop about, especially in competition use. Yes, it'll smoke a bit on starting, but...

Why on earth not...?

[...]

It causes scuffs on the seat and handlbars, cracks the computer and/or its mounting, and can damage the brake levers. Those are the main reasons. Getting the wheels on and off is easier with the bike the right way up, and the gears don't work quite the same upside-down, so adjusting them like that is a bad idea.

Cos he's suffering from "jobst is a guru" syndrome?

I don't work on bikesupside down, but that's because as with any bikeshop I've got a workstand.

[...]

LOL, actually I didn't hear this idea first from Jobst, although perhaps the meme originated with him.

It's fine, but given most of us don't have computers, don't have brakes that moght be damaged & don'y have a workstand would appear to be a red herring.

Ding. My bike gets turned upside down cos there's no other way of supporting it. Who needs computers and who gets worried about a scuff on the saddle?

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember Ben C saying something like:

Or do it onto a mattress. We used to do it to Minis to get access to the underside for welding, etc.

A pal with a garage business had some gadgets that bolted on to the hubs on one side of the car. The car was then lowered on to these devices. They were curved, and enabled two people to easily roll the car onto its side. The gadgets prevented the side of the car hitting the floor.

They were really effective, and made welding repairs a piece of cake.

The guy that had them was really clever; I don't know if they were proprietary or he had made them himself. He was certainly capable of coming up with the idea. He made a fair bit of money after designing an easy replacement for the water pump on Lotus Twin Cam engines as used in the Cortina.

He also designed and made the first forked tool to enable the replacement of valve stem oil seals on Ford Pinto engines. He sold the rights to one of the big tool companies. I still have the prototype in my garage.

Chris

Chris Whelan ( snipped-for-privacy@prejudicentlworld.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

I don't know when he came up with it, but one of the Moggy Thou specialists has been selling 'em for years, and there's a German (IIRC) company usually at most of the classic car shows with 'em, too.

Some bolt onto the hub, others bolt onto the bumper mounts.