So my wife bought a car lift for me for my birthday (Sorry, this joke is in bad taste) .....

This is a single column lift with four very adjustable points to position somewhere under the car. I know what to do with jacks and jackstands, but the lift points on this lift are rubber pads about 6 inches in diameter, and I am not sure where to position them. I have high standards and don't want the car to fall off. Also, I reside near the San Andreas Fault.

I've got a '67 Mk2,

 

Why not place the rubber pads on the square jack tubes of the car ???

 

Old S type. Similar floorpan to Mk2.

As Jeff says. Place pads at the 4 jacking points where the body is suitably reinforced. It won't fall off unless the Andreas lets go in spectacular fashion & demolishes your house.










Single post lift.

 

The CoG is sufficiently behind the front jacking points to make using the four points safe in general. Even without the earth quake hazard, I'd be a bit wary about leaving a car on any lift other than one under the wheels for anything very long-term.

The other aspects of the issue relate to the car. Is the shell corroded? Back in the day, the first indication of rot in a Mk2 was when the owner tried to use the excellent King Dick jack provided with the car. The jack goes up, but the car stays in the same place as the jacking point collapses and the top of the jack disappears into the sill.

Be wary about the various rubber bits, if they've been on the car for many years. When the front wheels drop, you are relying on the bump stops to protect the metalastic bushes in the wishbones. Make sure they are still present - they tend to fall off. Both front and, more significantly, the rear subframes (for S type, XJ, etc) are hanging on their rubber subframe mounts - raise slowly and watch what's happening!

 

Thank you both for the experienced advice which I shall follow scrupulously. The photos are most helpful.
I thought to ask because I had some original concern the tubes might distort under load. But it's is only abut 800 lbs per point once I take the 500 kg of bitcoins out of the trunk.

 

Peter,
Thank you for the information. Fortunately my Mk2 is a San Diego CA car with no rust and all of the rubber is new. I will, however, be cautious when I raise it.

 

A San Diego car, you lucky man! Still, the newest of our cars are more than half a century old and the design must have been one of the earliest uni-bodies that the Pressed Steel Company produced. The jacking points and the rear spring hangers (Mk2 only) are fairly easy to inspect. The next critical point is the connection between the bottom of the A-post and the sill; it is hidden behind the front fender/wing. If the door fit looks wrong or changes a lot when jacking, it's likely that there's a problem there.

The front suspension bumps stop that I mentioned are actually more re-bound stops in that they prevent the front wheels dropping too far when the front wheels are off the ground. A lot of mechanics and restorers don't realise that there should be a big piece of rubber there. Since they also tend to forget the more usual (wheel up) bump stops, I guess it's not surprising.

I apologise if I seem over cautious, but the Mk2 family are wonderful, under appreciated cars that deserve care. In addition, they have a very heavy engine, sub-frames and suspension components none of which do you want to fall on any part of your body (or even a good floor). Since your wife has shown exceptional kindness and good taste, we don't want her to regret it later!

 

With compromised sills & outrigger jacking tubes like this car I guess you could always lift at the inner "chassis" rails. Trouble is that with this sort of rust damage the whole unibody structure is weakened until properly repaired.