TC OEM Jack question

[Certified Lotus]

Can someone show me a picture of an OEM car jack and handle for a TC?

[Lou Drozdowski]

Glen, Go to R&D's web page and find it in the parts manual under tools...ld

[Certified Lotus]

Thanks Lou. I saw that but wanted an actual picture so I could scale what a real one looks like. Found one one eBay, want to make sure it's the real thing.

[BDA]

Here's a picture I took of my OEM jack with a yardstick. When saving it, I found I had already taken some pictures of my jack so you get them all!

[EuropaTC]

Mine was different but I don't know if that's because my car is a UK one or not.  About half way down the page....

http://www.lotuseuropa.org/LotusForum/index.php?topic=917.msg7238#msg7238

If you want measurements I can do that tomorrow, I would get WW3 if I ventured out into the workshop at this time on a Saturday.... 

Brian

[jbcollier]

Brian,

Yours is the early Jack for S1 and S2 Europas.  TC/s had the jacks pictured above.

[Certified Lotus]

BDA, thanks for the photos and measurement! Know I know I'm on the right track. JB thanks for pointing out the difference of the two types of jacks and EuropaTC I appreciate your photo so I now know what an earlier jack looks like.

[Certified Lotus]

What are these "worth" on the open market? I'm in the midst of trying to buy one without a handle. Anyone have a suggested value? Even better, anyone have one for sale?

[Lou Drozdowski]

Clearly it's up to the buyer, there is one for auction listed on ebay...just the jack, that will end today. The current bid is $125...I can't see spending that for a 45 year old hunk of metal. You can get a brand new scissor type  for about $25...I understand about having original equipment, that's always better...but...you have to draw the line somewhere.         

[EuropaTC]

Yeah, I'm with Lou on this one. I've seen jacks like mine go for hundreds on Ebay, I suspect it's the fact that there were similar ones used on Jags that drives the prices up.  Original tool rolls are the same, lousy screwdrivers that you'd throw away and replace with a proper one but people are paying well over the odds just to have the original look.

If you want the later scissor type then I'd do what Lou suggests, buy a modern one, strip it down, weld on the custom parts, paint it in something like the OEM colours and then leave it outside in the rain for a month or so to collect "patina"   

Brian

(clearly not your average concours participant.....)

[Certified Lotus]

I went to $125 n the eBay jack, but it sold for $229. Didn't want it that much, plus it was missing the handle.

I happen to like having all the OEM equipment that came with the car, so I'll be looking. But I'm fairly conservative on what I will pay.