How do you tip a car on its side?

[Peter C]

I want to do this to my W123:

 

 

I can sort out an old mattress or two and I have a wide driveway to work on.

 

How do I tip the car on its side?

 

Obviously engine oil would need to be drained, as would the coolant. Can the gearbox oil and brake fluid stay in?

 

Any advice guys?

 

Peter

[whitevanman]

ALL fluids need to be removed, with the possible exception of the axle, you can just plug the breather up....the way I have done it before was to get 6 off us, with three long bits of 9x3 timber underneath the chassis and lift....once its off the ground just keep lifting and going further down the planks until it passes the point of no return

[pogweasel]

3 or 4 blokes and some brute force/ignorance will do it.

[whitevanman]

A Capri no less?

[whitevanman]

OH...and remove the door mirrors...

[Peter C]

What about getting the car back on its wheels?

[trigger]

Just use one of your dining room chairs.

 

[bigstraight6]

3 or 4 blokes and some brute force/ignorance will do it.

Yep, done that about 25 years ago! car in question was a mates MK1 Escort estate that needed some weldage to it's undercarriage, can't remember us draining any fluids though

[HillmanImp]

My Imp is on its side. Rolled it onto wood with cardboard on top of it.

 

 

Also handy for keeping more than 1 car in the garage......

 

If you are welding it DO NOT use a mattress. They are flammable. The cardboard has caught a couple of times but is very easy to put out and is nearly impossible to light if you dampen it first. In hindsight i think old tyres would have been the best option.

 

I stripped the Imp down to a shell first mind. 3 of us rolled it in about 10 seconds.

 

 

Done all the welding on the floor now and have painted it so am rolling it back in a couple of weeks. Will tell you if there is any damage to the side i rolled it onto. Hopefully nowt i cant touch up.

[Des]

Done this lots, take out battery, run fuel low and lift the car so filler is uppermost, keep an eye on any breathers. Tip out washer bottles to save working in a puddle, cling film or polythene over brake / clutch reservoir necks, and put caps back, (if it has deep level sender then an easibleed cap) I've never drained any oils and not had any leaks, other than rear axle hub seals seeping if I've left the car on it's side for a week or so.

[garbaldy]

yup easy with some helpers ive never drained any fluids out either just been lucky they have never leaked out.i got some complaints from the neighbours once so i did the next one around the back off an estate but then got a lecture from the polis mans,now i am older and wiser and have a garage i use a home made tilter spit thingy and use an engine crane to lift it on

[j-j]

I wanna do this with the 2cv to carry out a wee bit of welding - I HATE welding underneath!! so I want it over on its side.Even less people needed to flip a deuche!I'm always concerned that any car getting this treatment might continue to roll right over onto its roof after it gets past the point of no return..Even with a mattress, won't the bodywork take a bit of a bending on one side?

[garethj]

Mini mechanics used to do this in the 60s with the works rally cars - take the spare wheel out of the boot (with tyre!) and put it normal way up at the side of the car, level with the B post.The tyre should be 90 degrees to all the other wheels on the car, because when a couple of mates heave it onto its side you can wheel the spare forwards or back so the car is just past its balance point.Keep a camera handy, it's £250 on you've been framed if it goes wrong

[Richard]

I think somebody flipped Louise2cv's car for a jolly jape once, you could ask her what kind of effect it had.Most cars would roll right over if you let them but I don't think the 2CV would, it's pretty slab-sided.

[dieselnutjob]

when I was a student a mate had a Dyanehe came out of the pud one evening and it was lying on it's sidesome idiots had turned it over for laughsit hadn't gone all the way upside down but stopped on it's side

[dollywobbler]

My old 2CV specialist in Brum used to tip 2CVs onto their sides for chassis work. He and a friend would tip them over onto a pile of tyres. Never heard of one of ending up on its roof!I had a 2CV tipped on its side by arseholes one night in Brum. Dented rear wing, front wing and a lost door mirror ... and a bit of petrol loss. Amazed the police by checking that the battery was still secure and then just driving home as was.

[j-j]

Dudes! I know the 2cv won't roll onto its roof! No I was thinking more about other cars - might wanna flip the CX some time you see.I've seen a guy once had made up a rig out of scaffolding tubes with a wheel hub at each end and some form of fastening to the car at either end. He raised it up and just rolled it over - even then, dunno how it stopped flying all the way upside down.Might go nick me some scaffold!

[nigel bickle]

I use piles of tyres (-esp for welding) -less chance of fire.As I'm usually alone, i tend to attach my engine hoist to the front suspension at its lowest point. And raise it. Trolley jack at the rear,will get it to its tipping point.

[lovejoy]

" As I'm usually alone" ........ Poor ole Nigel !! we'll have to fix you up with an attentive companion to help you make it thru the day (sorry to hear of all your woes on Ebay Tat thread, Brian spotted the green R12 break and alerted me: shall I bring some of my Vegas boys round when I return ?? )