14 replies to this topic

[warning634]

Hi guys

Can any one recommend a wheel jack for my mini rally car, or do most people stick with the standard one?

Thanks

Kevin

[HarrysMini]

Not a scissor jack, they are lethal. 

A good quality bottle jack is ideal for keeping in the car and a good quality trolley for the workshop.

[GraemeC]

I find that bottle jacks tend to be a bit high though.
What's your issue with scissor jacks? I run a nice lightweight alloy one in my rally car and have never had a problem.

In an ideal world I'd weld tubes into the sill for a Bilstein jack, but its a bit of work and the jacks tend to be very expensive these days.

[rally1380]

I had a car fall off a scissor jack on perfectly flat concrete...they are ok as they are light, but the better option is the sill style one.  Didn't the original mini jacks hook into the sill anyway?

 

Welding tubes intot he sill is the best option.

[rally515]

Not a scissor jack, they are lethal. 

A good quality bottle jack is ideal for keeping in the car and a good quality trolley for the workshop.

 

Harry's is spot on, found out to my own cost not too many weeks ago on a focus, jacked the back up on the subby to do the handbrake cables and as i was just raising the toothed plinth of the axle stand i saaw the car rocking side to side, next thing i know the drum is sat on my knee so i yanked my leg out of hobbled away to the freezer, got off quite lightly although at the time it wasn't exactly a minor injury and my knee's still bulged up and have pain sometimes so i advise anyone and everyone NOT to buy a scissor jack when you can spend the same ammount on something like a bottle jack which is steady and supported evenly.

 

Cliff

[GraemeC]

Hang on, what are we calling a scissor jack here? The daft one sided thing that modern cars come with, or a proper old school scissor jack that's symmetrical, has a nice flat base and, if used properly, is quite stable?
Like this:
http://www.screwfix....ssor-jack/97595

[rally515]

Hang on, what are we calling a scissor jack here? The daft one sided thing that modern cars come with, or a proper old school scissor jack that's symmetrical, has a nice flat base and, if used properly, is quite stable?
Like this:
http://www.screwfix....ssor-jack/97595

 

Yes thats the type, if you could alter the bottom platform to a wider footed piece then it would be MORE stable but even then still not 100% proof on even normal mini use, granted the mini is low and doesn't need to be jaked that high (as  road going mini anyway) but even so the jack design is still naturaly un-stable, more so the higher it goes.

 

Have you seen "Ex-rally car" project thread (thinh thats the title), he has the sill stands like the WRC cars and looks impressive, although having said that you might not want to take a cutter to your mini quite so much considering the ammount of time you plan to be on the trials/tracks

 

hope i make sense at this time haha

[minisi35]

In my rally car I have a scissor jack with a wheel nut welded on it so I can use a "zip" gun on it. Its ok for wheel changes but wouldn't work underneath it unless you put the spare wheel underneath just incase it drops off the jack

[Ivor Badger]

Find an old Beetle Bilstien jack and modify it to take the mini sill fitting. That's the quickest, lightest  and easiest to use on a rally car.

 

That also begs the question. How you going to get a bottle jack under a mini with a puncture, or even without one?

[keefr22]

In my rally car I have a scissor jack with a wheel nut welded on it so I can use a "zip" gun on it. Its ok for wheel changes but wouldn't work underneath it unless you put the spare wheel underneath just incase it drops off the jack

After having a trolley jack fail under one of my rally Escorts many years ago, I've always made it a point not to work under a car using any type of jack without axle stands, a couple of wheels or something similar under it...!!

[Cooperman]

I've always used the standard side jack and carry a wooden rectangular block 1" thick x 6" square in case the ground is soft.

Back 'in the days' I used to rally a lot in a Mini with my best buddy, Bill. We worked together and used to practice wheel changes. The record for a wheel change, admittedly under ideal conditions, was 1 minute 42 seconds. That was timed from coming to a stop to being back in the car and moving again.

I always weld a 1/8" thick reinforcing plate onto the sill around the jacking point on all rally Minis. We used two wheel-braces, one in the navigator's side pocket, so the nav grabbed the torch and the wheel-brace, got out and undid the wheel nuts, the driver grabbed the jack, shoved it under and jacked it up, the nav, got the spare an d shoved it on and started the nuts, the driver was then letting the jack down. The driver stowed the punctured wheel in the boot with the jack whilst the nav tightened the wheel nuts.

Mind you, we were 21-years old then and at 72 I don't think I could do it  .

[johnnyblaze]

cooperman youd probably show up some of us young buggers still mate   

[warning634]

Cool, thanks for all the advice.

Looks like a standard one will suffice then. Just need to locate a place to sucure it with the folding wheel brace.

Cheers

Kev

[mingy]

Cool, thanks for all the advice.

Looks like a standard one will suffice then. Just need to locate a place to sucure it with the folding wheel brace.

Cheers

Kev

Perhaps in the boot..............

[rally1380]

Cool, thanks for all the advice.

Looks like a standard one will suffice then. Just need to locate a place to sucure it with the folding wheel brace.

Cheers

Kev

 

Easiest place is to chuck it in the boot under the ratchet strap that will be securing the spare wheel.