Since I'm planning some work on the car's underside (I have to be able to take off the exhaust easily) I was hoping to find something that I can drive the car on to, instead of putting it up jack stands or having to go to the local workshop every time.

So... does anybody have any advice on which ramps to buy? Or... I do have some OSB wood lying around from the flooring in our house, maybe I could make this:



But any ideas are welcome, as I will have to have easy access to the center of the car (cat). These don't lift the rear of the car and might even get in the way of crawling under there from the side (can always drive it up those ramps in reverse though).

I have considered these in the past, though the cost seems excessive... http://www.restorationramps.co.uk/phdi/p1.nsf/supppages/ramps?opendocument&part=2

you can get some tip-up ramps; I'll have a look.

They look nice Neil - but expensive. I'm pretty sure you can buy a second hand 2 or 4 pillar lift for about £1k.

The problem you are going to have Kayjey is that the lowered coupe will scuff on the front bumper when you drive on most wedge type ramps. You definately need to try before you buy.

like these:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/mobile-lift-ramp-t...=item4cf53c8b2e

Dig a hole in your driveway & makean inspection pit! When it rains tell the neighbours its a jacuzzi......

Mr Barnacle does not like the look of that one. Mr Barnacle has been under a car when a screw-thread failed...

Try these.
I have a set, works brilliantly



http://www.fiatcoupeclub.org/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=858204&page=1

I think I'm going to go the wood-way, but do them in two parts. I'll make the drive-on bit detacheable (but lockable) so it's easy to get under the car from the side.



Requirements:
1/ be high enough
2/ be steep enough (using longer / shorter pieces of wood for the driving-on bit) so I don't get on the thing with the rear wheels



Anyone any insights like "oh no, don't do it, because..."?

They could end up being fairly heavy?

They will in fact, but they'll just sit in the garage so I wouldn't mind.

Another vote for the 1 piece extended ramps that 124coupe suggested, these work fine on my lowered Coupe (but without front lips: I don't have any so couldn't check) although they are sooooo long I sometimes wonder if I'm about to drive off the end since the end-stop is a bit puny.

If you're going to make your own out of wood, make sure they are solid bits of high-density wood. I like the detachable bit though, good idea!

But if you just want the rear of the car up in the air, won't normal (steep) ramps do the job OK?

Well I need the front in the air, as the cat ends let's say a good foot or two from the front tyres. Well to be honest, a good two beach slippers, as we don't do feet here in Belgium so I took one of my beach slippers.

What about one of these

I can see some one ending up with two very large vertical dents down there car!

Get some drive on metal ramps and some ramp extenders. You can then drive all but the lowest of coops on. Even then you just need to remove the front bumper.

The trouble with the ramp "extenders" is that they're usually not man enough for the job and will bend the first time you try to use them. If you're happy to remove the front bumper then you might find that normal steep ramps would be OK (never tried it myself)

I've been pondering this problem and I'm personally leaning towards a high lift trolley jack.

That's maybe because I already have ramps that I can't use.

Then I can just jack the whole car up as high as I want in about a minute, put the ramps in underneath and drop the car onto them.

I would of said scaffold boards but if you have some meaty wood
already, use that. The design doesnt look bad. The detach latches would have to be strong (decent bolts and a meaty catch).

These guys have a similar design with a wheel chock ...

http://www.opelgt.com/forums/opel-tips-tricks/13199-d-i-y-ramps.html

and or with built in lighting (being silly now) -
http://corvettec3.ca/ramps.htm

personally the solid build seems best, for me its all about feeling
absolutely safe while under there.

Also for a laugh check out the 'mulaz' pic in this link,
big risk to save a few pennies ...
http://www.imoc.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=138005

I've been looking at the wood I have available and it's too thin too use - I'll just need to many meters of it to make. (It's only 2 cm thick). Also I was asking myself what the height is I should get the car to. Using a rise that is safe on the Coupe (with a margin of 2-3 cm, probably more), I would get to 30-40 cm on the distance between the wheels. Which is just rising the front wheels.

Can anyone who has some of these drive-on ramps tell me what height they get up to and if it's enough to (comfortably) work on the cat section when you drive the front wheels onto them?

http://corvettec3.ca/ramps.htm

> was more or less what I was planning on when rethinking the ramp, but I'll need something else than the OSB I have lying around.

love the ones with the lights fitted, cracking idea

I've been looking at the ones from this thread for a while and I'm going to get a set. I've got the normal ones with extenders but they're well dodgy to drive on to

You will not regret it.
A bit on the dear side but worth it for safety and ease of use

Standard ramps work with an NA, but not with a turbo as the oil coooler pipes are in the way

Thanks for confirming that!

I have these, it is my old Cerbera in the last but one picture of the 'Happy Customers'. What is especially good is the width of the ramps and the solidity of them. I imagine it is quite difficult to drive up some of these 'tyre width' ramps. The Coupe drives up easily without touching the front and they are the right height for my open garage door to not hit the roof as you go up the ramps or when you level them. The cross beam with the scissor jacks is very good too, so nice to work on the brakes while standing up!

The only potential problem is storage, luckily mine are in a double garage and there is always one car parked on them.