Hi guys,
I'm ready to change my English Cooper S back to Hydro and I need to lift the assembled body up off the old frames so that I can fit the new pipes etc before dropping it back down onto renovated frames. Has anybody done this before and any tips on lifting points etc. I was thinking of a beam through the rear side window openings and maybe to each gusset on the front bulkhead. I could then run a centre lifting beam front to back and pick up with the front and back connections. ????

Regards

Al

dunno about at the back, but that's what I use at the front when I lift a car off a subframe.... you'd expect the side windows to be OK for lifting a shell with no subframes

Hi Simon,
I was thinking of cutting some wooden pads to fit on the steel and pick up with both the seal flange and the flat of the opening.

champion idea.... I was thinking of a blanket and wrapping your strap around & through the car

if you made your wooden pads, you could put a bar underneath to stop any chance of the car getting skinnier.... but they're only lightweight

Why not do one end at a time? Much safer for the mini.
I would be vary cautious lifting an assembled car on a central pole (spit), How balanced is a mini really?

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Respect mine and I'll respect yours.

Run 2 pieces of dressed 4 x 2" softwood lengthways under the floor, near the sills. These need to 1200 mm long and you can further dress them with soft rags etc. Jack the car up, you'll want at least 500 mm from floor to floor, and support the body on 4 car stands, with the stands under the timbers.

Then remove the subframes with some timbers on your trolley jack.

These days, I just use the fork-lift with some timbers on the tynes.

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Both need to be out to run the new pipes through, they fit betwen the frames and the body.

Regards
Al

Hmmm, worth thinking about. It might be simpler from the top though, if I could get the balance right. Thanks for the idea.

Al

Fair enough, I just like the lowest risk. With the doors open or off, lifting the way you suggest the body is strong enough, no risk. However it will not balance too well and will tip about as you remove one subframe and then the other, same again when you install.

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My plan was to have the car lifted and sitting on blocks supporting the subframes, then lift the body off, leaving both frames sitting there complete.

Al

I like the idea of i) doing one at a time and ii) moving mohamad to (or from) the mountain rather than the other way - that is remove the subframe(s) from the body rather than the body from the subframes. Easier to control and watch over.

I've done it it both ways and IMO easier / safer to do it this way.

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