DW's obsession with vintage trolley jacks...

[TurboDieselWeasel]

This thread will contain a lot of text to read - I suggest you try to Despite my obvious lack in correct grammar and possibly weird choice of words. Bear with me...

For about 10 years I did any job on my cars with a tiny 20e trolley jack - you know, those smal ones you can virtually buy anywhere. It's never let me down. But for many things it was - too smal. During all those years, it - and I kid you not - never appeared to me to just buy a bigger jack. Until - a few months ago, when I got aware of a big, obviously very old and very cool looking trolley jack in a garage I frequent.

It was time to buy a bigger trolley jack. It was time to tackle the rear suspension on my W124. No way would I do this with that tiny thing... It was nigh on impossible to install a differential with this - not to think about the whole rear axle.

This was how a found the first of my vintage trolley jacks. Well, strickly speaking it was more of a hand lift.

I collected this in the middle of the deepest Black Forrest - 'cause, you all know - buying tools to work on cars is the next best thing to buying cars to work on with tools And since I'm not going to buy any car any time soon - I bought me this tool. Which just like a car has four rubber wheels with ball bearings.

And since the shortest distance between two points is a curvy back road - I took the direct way to pick it up. Which was across the Black Forrest on some VERY twisty, very smal roads. And then I had to stop to step (and pee ) on actual, natural occuring SNOW for the first time this winter. And as you can see, the fun taking this route was a little spoiled by my attachement - the trailer.



It was a very enjoyable trip nevertheless - the engine is totaler wansinn for towing heavy loads - the low end grunt helps on hills. Since I didn't trust my skills in strapping down heavy loads, I took it slowly on the way back - and took a prolonged break to enjoy a very warm, very blue and very spring-ish day - and this panoramic view:



It was only 60km one way - still it took me 4 hours One hand for the steering wheel, one hand for the coke can, one eye for the road ahead and one eye on the trailer in the rear view mirror. And one hand for the camera, of course



The car behaved flawless, all went good - but I realy don't want to know the actuall fuel consumption of that day Which was offset by the fact I only payed 45€ for that thing - a bargain! I don't know how old it is, but I guess at least 40-50 years. It's a bit leaky - but still working well.



This was a random impulse buy - but it fired up my desire to buy a "real" trolley jack, a big one! Like the one I saw. After watching ebay and other places for a bit, one showed up on the radar. I put a bid on it - and won it.

This bid took us on a 1100km trip through blooming and dusty germany, to capture the beast.



Though the majority of the miles was done with a very modern car which wasn't even run in when we started. And here's the other tool helping the new one out of the boot...



It's a antique hydraulic jack, made by the company "Steinbock" from bavaria. Steinbock translates into capricorn And reliefes my little 2t jack from duty. Not completely, but the main work will be done with this by now. The lift thingy is a capricorn too.



It may look like it can lift a Tiger tank - actually it may "only" lift 1250 kilogrammes but it can lift all of them 90cm high! Enough, to change both wheels on either side at once



It's probably more than 50 years old, but still works very well. I greased all nipples (yes!), cleaned the roller's needle bearings (yes!), regreased them and prserved the patina with a bit of linseed oil. I gave it a quick service and light restoration, basically.

[TurboDieselWeasel]

First of - jacked it up. Just like a car.



I have no pictures of the steering roller's bearings, but they'r in good condition (basically a shaft on the roller, and a lot of needles surrounding it with a bearing washer on top in the arms holding the rollers). i cleaned them, re-cut a thread for the grease nipple and they could go back.

Speaking of grease nipples; this thing has fifteen(!) grease nipples! Six of which were sheared off. I replaced them by hamering in a torx bit to wind them out. Then I re-cut the thread with a greased fluted tap to clear out all the curse word. And then installed a new grease nipple where neccesary. The old nipples, if present, I cleaned and re-used.









The lovely signs of use have been preserved and the bare metal protected with a coat of raw, cold-pressed linseed oil. It gives a lovely patinated look and protects everything. And smells nice. But needs a week or so to fully dry/polymerize. And that's it. A very light resto - everything is in goo order and nothing needs replacing. Looks like this Capricorn had a good previous owner who at least gave it a service every now and then.

[TurboDieselWeasel]

The first real use for this, for both of them, was the overhaul of the rear suspension, for which I dropped the rear axle.









All went well, puttingthe car on axle jacks is childrens play with a trolley jack of this caliber! I'm not yet used to it, but I'm liking this very much. Why have I waited with this for soo long...

[gavs1]

Looks so cool, kinder think its needs some brass accent pieces?? Awesome bittA kit

[grumpy]

God thats a lovely thing . so nice using old stuff that can be repaired and reused instead of chucking it .

[stevecrx]

Very Cool...

[TurboDieselWeasel]

I have since sold the platform lift thing on. And putting the big jack to work revelead one down side of a long trolley jack; you need a bit more space aroundthe car - and lifting things like an exhaust into position is - difficult. You just can't reach the lever... But fuled by the experience I just bought three more of those things, to have one for any occassion.

This lead to another day on the german autobahn - a very, very, very long day.



The first and smallest I collected in the suburbans of cologne. It was too big (wtf? ) for the guys Spitfire, so he sold it on after it had stood in his garage for years. He could not belive someone would put this to use, like I told him I would. So I put the hting in the boot and continued to head north.



I was early, so I stopped at a lake and enjoyed the view, wondering why there was such a huge parking area which was totaly grown over and empty. I was the only person there, not even traces of trash.





Some more kilomters and I arrived at the second stage of my buck safari. This time I loaded something a bit bigger - which I will from now on call the Crabb, as I preferes to move sideways - and frankly it looks like a crab and not like a capricorn



And on I went, further to the north - when the skys decided to dump sh!tloads of water and a storm broke lose. Awesome, just what I needed to strap another trolley jack to the roof.



Luckily the seller had abig roof so I could strp it to the roof in the dry. With the last jack loaded I headed back south.



right into the middle of the storm which had just scraped me before. Standing water on the autobahn, hail, storm and lightning. I was flying blind, traffic halted and I spent crawling 2h through a huge traffic jam.



On the way back I took a break and fuel the car up with some diesel - and myself with espresso & pizza. I started at 7°° in the morning, and arrived at 3³°: the other morning, having done just shy of 1070km.



And now the garage looks like this:

[TurboDieselWeasel]

Going a bit into detail with the next post. The big jacks are a type H1.2/80A and H0.8/80. 'A' conotes a model chnage/update.



Bottom: the H1.2 which can lift 1250kg/1.25t. The top one is more fragile (if compared) and is rated at 800kg. Weirdly, the 800kg model is much more frequent found for sale. I guess cars were just a lot lighter back in the 30's/40's/50's

Anyway, the newly accuired H0.8 is in awefull condition, it was not a good buy... The castor wheels are fvcked, the frame is bent (overloaded)...



Since it's impossible to get spares for these, I'm a bit undecided what to do with it. I can't use it for spares for the big one (bigger hydraulic cylinder, bigger frame etc.) I will either sell it in parts or restore it at one point. For now it's stored away. It realy is in very, very bad condition.

[TurboDieselWeasel]

Turning the attention to the smalest of the herd. This is H1.6/38. Rated to lift 1600kg and lifts them bout 40cm high. It's the most compact model made by the manufacturer.



One castor wheel is very good, the other slightly bent - which has a big influence on the maneuverability of those jacks! Which is often underestimated! Unfortunately, the better castor wheel is seized solid and doesn't turn anymore.



It's ben dragged over the ground for a while it seems. curse word... The shafts are welded in.



I found out the castor wheels are identical to those of the H0.8 and H1.2 - so I took the better wheel of the H0.8 and put it on the H1.6. Which made it operational:



This will be handy to lift the car inside the carport form the side, mount exhaust etc. - smaller jobs that require lifting assistance.

[chairchild]

once I get my workshop (oh look, is that a pig flying overhead?) I *need* something of that size and beauty...

Not only do I adore the style of both jacks, but I love the amount of grease points on it - the sign it was built to last, not to a strict budget. Any more info on the tank-like "crabb" jack?

[TurboDieselWeasel]

And to replace the very first lifting thing I bought, I got the Crab. a type "GA". It's mechanical, has 4 castor wheels and is desigend for one-man gearbox changes.



It can lift 750kg - it's mainly designed for use with trucks and busses. It has a big ratchet at the back which turns a spindle to wind it up & down. For heavy loads, a bar can be inserted - which sadly is missing.



All wheels were seized - I oiled them, cleaned them, regreased them - and now the crab moves. Just never in the direction you want it to move





It's all in OK to good condition given it's age. I too conserved this with a lick of linseed oil...



It'll preserve the patina and prevent it from rusting any more.

I don't have any real use for this right now, but since it was en route, I took it with me. I'm sure it will come in handy some day.

And this is now my herd of working capricorns, ready for any work a car might throw at me





I love tose things and I have plans to buy more of them - as donors for spare parts. since, as mentioned, you can't get any spares. I'm lucky I have three in good conditon with OK castor wheels - but the H0.8 shows how worn out they can be. They'r made to last - but without care they don't. I bought them to aid my hobby - they'r now a second hobby

[composimmonite]

This has started me off drooling over old trolley jacks In fact after reading I went straight to eBay and am bidding on an old garage item to restore. Don't know why as don't need another. I suppose it's like my association with cream cakes - you can never have enough !
Over they years I find myself drawn to screw bottle jacks and have 5 of them. Best is a tiny little version from 1920/30's and from an Austin 7. They are surprisingly useful - think of them as an adjustable axle stand.
When I first started driving in early 70's Halfords was one place that used to get part of my weekly wages - you have to be around to appreciate how different things were - they were one of the few accessory shops around here and were far better than todays version. Trolley jacks for DIY were unheard of and the best alternative was something I lusted over during my weekly trip to Halfords - a big screw jack with wheels at one end.

Still look out for one even now but never found one for sale.
It was 1981 until I got my first trolley jack - which I still got. It was a Draper and cost me £40 but with inflation that relates to £130 today yet is just a little better than the small trolley jack I bought new for the boot of the car for £9.99 !

Paul H

[Deleted]

Interesting collection, i recently rescued a trolley jack from a garage clearout. Nothing fancy just seemed a shame to see it go to scrap when all it needed was a new split pin.

[TurboDieselWeasel]

Hi!

Continuin with the H1,6/38B; it required a big service since it was full of fine sand. So I separated the chassis from the lift unit and then dismantled the pump mechanismn. Everything got cleaned, the shafts polished with 800 grid sanding paper and everything got a good smear of grease.





and then I found a excellent use for the Crab; it makes for a very nice stool



Cleaning, polishing and re-greasing and ll went together again.





Next up was an oil change. The manufacturer recommends one every half year - this probably never got one. Good call to chnage the oil - it was thick like honey and basically - black.



And now this is ready for service again!



Interesstingly, this one got only two grease nipples, whilst the big H1,2 has 13(!) of them! I guess this H1,6 was more aimed at privateers, whilst the big one was marketed for garages. This was another reason for dissassembling it; to get to any shaft for a good grease.

[TurboDieselWeasel]

Sooo - I've done a bit more on the big H1,2. First, it too got an oil chnage with some oil leak stop additive.



If it doesn't stop to leak, it'll need a hydraulic cylinder rebuild kit - one of the very few spares available.

Next issue; an extremely worn release cam:



This makes lowering the jack under load a bit nerv wrecking... So I took a bit of flat steel and got the angle grinder out.



Removed the remains of the old cam and welded on the new cam. Dressed up - all good.





Then scrapped a bit of soot from the exhaust of the Merc and mixed it with linseed oil. And applied it on the new cam.



And if you wouldn't know, you'd probably only spot the re-made cam on close inspection. From a bit away it's basically - invisible. Grease, dirt and time will make it completely invisible



The new cam made a 100% improvement!

[TurboDieselWeasel]

So - continuing with the H0.8/80A - it's turned out to be in better condition than I assumed.

First question; do you even lift, bro? It lifts! Actzually more than 800kg!


(at this height it ran out of oil...)

Next step: strip the beast... And inspect every part.



The load wheels are in very good conditon, as are the needle rollers and axle shafts. The latter are hard to replace, since they'r welded into the frame very rigidly.





The shafts holding the pump lever & load arm are in good condition too, but the pump shaft has signs of fretting. Nothing to worry though. The return spring cup however is cracked. Should be fixable.



Onto the hydraulic bit... Eeewww...



Er - aaawww! Both cylinder and pump rod are in excellent condition, not the slightest sign of scoring or rust!





The only big problem are the links that keep the load head upright. They'r bent and not just slightly. Also the lever is bent... And the allready mentioned castor wheels that are FUBARd... Those 4 parts are the most troublesome. I need to either restore them, replicate them or find other parts. The latter will probaly be the hardest way.



Which shows that the cylinder is capable of lifiting more than the frame can keep up with! Here's a comparison with the cylinder from the H1.6/38B - which is mostly identical to the H1.2/80As cylinder. 40mm vs. 50mm dia:



Two choices now: break it up for parts - since none are available I probably can get my money back. Or: restore it. If I restore it; I have no real use for it since I have the big H1.2/80A which is much stronger at the same size. For smaler jobs I have the H1.6 and for "light" stuff like differentials or gearboxes I have the Crab which is much better at handling these.

Decisions, decisions...

Cheers,
Jan

[chairchild]

use the cylinder to turn it into a press of some sorts? And I'd probably use the chassis, to make an extra-large crossbow

[TurboDieselWeasel]

I don't think it's got enough Ooomph to work as a press... At the moment I'm leaning towards fixing it. The hardest part will be to remake the castor wheels. But I found a supplier who sells almost identical cast wheels. Well, I think there's my next project

[TurboDieselWeasel]

Sooooo... I cleaned up everything, and what I found I'm very pleased with. With all the muck and grease removed it starts to lok half decent.



Even the wheels are still painted!



However - these are the broken parts. Sadly the castor wheels will be very hard to restore. Also the link bars. I will try to get them under a press to get them back into shape without loosing the patina. Based on the success of this I will decide if I repaint it or if I keep the patina. And for the castor wheels - I'm still undecided yet. Either I find some good used ones or I need to cut & reweld them. Finding good used ones will be a bit impossible though.



Cheers,
Jan

[Patpend]

Some interesting trolley jacks there!

When I moved to Germany back in the 1980's I swapped the springs on the back of my MGB at an airfield near Celle. The trolley jack was a weird affair working by means of a complicated selection of chains, like on a motorbike. The chains were locked into position to hold up the pan (if that's the correct term). I didn't think anything of it until I saw a film about the Second World War and there was the same trolley jack, in the service of the Wehrmacht! There are some fascinating old tools out there, I often wonder what happened to it and whether anyone recognised it for its real historical value.

See you,

Mike