MG-Cars.net

Welcome to our resource for MG Car Information.

Recommendations

Parts

MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG MGA - jack pad

My mga is too low to fit an original shelley type jack and i use either a very low scissors jack on the road or a shallow trolley jack at home. The lack of clearance means that i cannot use a piece of wood between the jack and the chassis so as to prevent damage to the paintwork.
Does anyone know of a commercially made pastic pad that i can fit on the lifting part of the jack or of anything suitably strong enough to make one out of.
thanks
colyn
( if i had a correct shelley jack for the car i could probably trade it in for a fully hydraulic car lifting unit! )
colyn firth

Colyn, here in the US we can buy a thin round plastic disc to put under the side stand of a heavy motorcycle (like a Harley-Davidson) when its parked on soft ground. It keeps the side stand from sinking into the ground and the bike falling over. Seems like these pads are about 1/4 inch thick, about 5-6 inch diameter. I'm sure they would be available in the UK, quite cheap also.

George
G Goeppner

Colyn,

Just a thought, here in the Colonies we have hard white plastic cutting boards for sale at most grocery and variety stores that are easy to cut up and very stiff. I have used them for a variety of applications and it may work for you in this instance. They are soft enough not to scratch the paint but firm enough they won't compress or deform much. Fortunately, they are pretty cheap so you won't be out much if it doesn't work, but it might be worth a try.

Regards,
Larry
L Wheeler

Colyn

Plenty of good commercial 'low' trolley jacks for garage use. I use a Machine Mart Racing Jack that has a large rubber pad. I never have problems marking the chassis.

Steve


Steve Gyles

I would strongly suggest going for a professional quality trolley jack (the type with a twist handle and a long lever to operate) rather than the cheap ones available from the motor stores. They do not cost a a huge amount more, have a much greater lifting range, are much more stable, and are much easier to use to raise and lower the car in a controlled fashion. I only use my cheap one for holding the gearbox up when doing engine swaps, or for compressing the front suspension when changing something up front - so it doesn't get a lot of use any more. Even the standard ones are low enough to get under a standard MGA chassis no trouble. Only trick is to make sure that the handle is always parallel to the floor when lowering the car.
dominic clancy

Seems the edit function dies if you spend too long on the rewrite - so here's the updated version

I would strongly suggest going for a professional quality trolley jack (the type with a twist handle and a long lever to operate) rather than the cheap ones available from the motor stores. They do not cost a a huge amount more, have a much greater lifting range, are much more stable, and are much easier to use to raise and lower the car in a controlled fashion.

The greater lift brings the car much higher of the floor to do work underneath it, which makes life a lot more comfortable. I also add the reminder to never work under a car only supported by a jack (even a pro trolley jack) so a set of stands is also pretty much compulsory.

Having the professional jack (I paid about $100 for it here in Switzerland, so they are probably much cheaper in the UK) I only use my cheap jack for holding the gearbox up when doing engine swaps, or for compressing the front suspension when changing something up front - so it doesn't get a lot of use any more. I certainly wouldn't buy another one if it died -and I did replace the pro one recently when the seals gave out after 15 years of regular use (it was cheaper to buy a new one than buy the seals!)

Even the standard pro jacks are low enough to get under a standard MGA chassis no trouble. The only trick is to make sure that the handle is always parallel to the floor when lowering the car.
dominic clancy

A nice cheap pad for your jack can be had for the price of a rubber floor mat for your car. Go to the salvage yard and you can get it cheaper yet. I use one on top of my hydraulic jack and never scratch anything.
Mike Parker

Colyn

The Frost Restoration Catalogue lists a purpose made jack pad albeit a bit pricey at £26.

Pete
Pete Jevons

One thing I find useful sometimes is a hockey puck. I bought a whole bag of "practice pucks" for not very much at the local sporting goods store. Not sure if that would be too thick for this application. Another thing I have, along the same lines as the floor mat, is a tractor-trailer mud flap. It is much heavier than a floor mat. I found mine by the side of the road.

-Steve Trovato
strovato@optonline.net
Steve Trovato

Thanks guys, some really good suggestions there, this forum is amazing, i will let you know how i get on with them.
cheers
colyn
colyn firth

Colyn,

Just remembered where I am. Should I have said an articulated lorry mud flap?

-Steve
Steve Trovato

No worries Steve, we're multinational here!
Neil McGurk

This thread was discussed between 30/09/2009 and 03/10/2009

MG MGA index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG MGA BBS is active now.