Oh my! This story will really lift your spirits and your car as well. Peter had his Christmas gift sitting all bundled up in the garage of a few weeks now, and the time has come for him to pull the wrapping off, (or metal binders). This great Christmas gift that Sandy had presented Peter, if I understand correctly, was off loaded at a Baddeck building supplies via their forklift. The Package weighed in at something like 1600 lbs and for home delivery, it was a little difficult. The Gift was then delivered to Peters place using the same forklift. The length of this parcel is 13 feet long and it must have been something to see, having a forklift negotiating the streets of Baddeck with this wide parcel draped across it's forks. The parcel was very well packaged, bolted on both ends to a steel frame, now time to dismantle it. Oh man were the pieces heavy, and the two larger pieces had to be turned around to face the other direction. Doing this Don and I took great care not to nick Peter and Sandy's beautiful white Jag that is tucked nicely under the car cover beside the bundle. The pieces are all laid out now, and the once neatly packaged item, looks like it could be a hoist. Yes... A HOIST!

Instruction? Who needs instructions? Peter points out the finer details to us as we move along, the hoist is now taking shape. I have to say that the engineers who designed this did a hell of a job. Everything had a place and the simplicity of it all was amazing. In no time the hoist was assembled but the workings took a bit longer, again, instructions, who needs instructions as I ran the massive steel cables in the wrong direction. I know I look confident standing on the hoist but the truth be told, I didn't know what the  hell I was doing. Anyway, Don with the instructions, we figured out the correct route to run the cables and it made perfect sense.

Air had to be forced into the hydraulic ram to extend it, to be able to connect all the cables under the ramp. We assembled the ramp on the floor and had to use a crow bar and jack to raise the ramps to the first lock in order to access the hydraulic ram. Peter, a man of many talents, including reading instructions, deciphered the workings of the hydraulics.

A little later in the afternoon Ole buddy Barc shows up on site. Don't let the hands in his pockets fool you, he wasn't just milling about, this man's mind never stops. I am sure he was impressed with the finished result and I am also sure he knows exactly how this hoist operates. A little more later in the afternoon, Brian MacDonald drove by and thought to himself..... something was up. January 4th and Peters beautiful Jag was outside, covered, but outside all the same. Brian, being the owner of a very expensive and beautiful Jag knows this is blasphemy and he had to check it out. Again, don't let the hands in his pockets fool you, I am sure Brian is taking mental notes on size and displacement of the hoist, he even asked if there were drip trays, (This question is making me think that there could be a hoist is in Brian's future)........  Must be because Brian has a spitfire as well.  Jaguars don't leak, they are just marking their territory... and yes there is drip trays that rests in the space between the ramps.

I should have placed the pictures in a different order in this part of the story, good ole Peter was getting an itchy trigger finger but there were just a few more adjustments to be done before he could fire her up... wards. With a little mix up with the bolts for the lock release lever, Peter had to go to his stash of spare nuts and bolts bin to retrieve a nut, "the picture above", this taking his mind and finger off the trigger for now. A few more adjustments with the lock release and Peter started to bleed the hydraulics. The Hydraulic ram shimmered and shook as the air was bled through the system and then..... we had movement. Click .... click was heard as the new hoist passed each lock .. Hurray! It works. There was still some adjusting to do to the cables to make the hoist lift evenly, now we are ready for the test.

Now! The test! You would think that on the first lift we would use a lighter car like a Honda or a Volkswagen....... Nooo Peter wanted the 4000 lb Jaguar on for the maiden voyage. The tools were tucked away and the entrance ramps were set in place, man did the hoist look good, we all stood back and admired it for a moment before we tested it.

Mother Nature was kind today, there was no weather to worry about while Peter's Jaguar sat outside, covered of course. Brian gave Peter a hand unwrapping the bright red Jag and Peter lined her up. "Bright Red" yep.... look at the reflection on the ceiling. The walls and ceiling took on a brilliant red glow as the paint reflected off the wall. Peters smile also did a job of brightening up the garage as he drove his Jaguar on to the ramp... the only other colours to be seen was my green, with envy.... hoist envy as Dave Warr had put it. Not really... I was happy to be a part of the adventure. The picture of Peter and Sandy's two Jaguars, one atop another will have to wait until an adjustment to the roof trusses are made but what a eye popping photo it will be.

Alright, the 4000 lb Jag is resting on the hoist as Peters itchy trigger finger presses the button... and we have takeoff. It wasn't an even lift, a cable came off a pulley but that was quickly fixed and then the click, click of the locks passing by again were hear as the hoist went up. Perfect... and the bright red Jaguar sat proudly atop her new perch and I swear there was a moment of silence as we all stared at the sight before us .... we did it.

One final check as Peter examined each pulley and measured each lock, everything was in order. Now I am sure Peter will double and even triple check each bolt and pulley for days to come as he fiddles with his new toy. Also, I am sure the ceiling will have the alteration done before the leaves reappear on the trees this spring. My goodness that Jag looks good on the hoist, and I bet you all agree. We no sooner did the last test and Peter thanked us for the help when Sandy walked in to check on the progress of her generous gift, you can see by the smile that she was liking what she was looking at, all functional and with their great looking car sitting proud. Peter treated us to a great meal at the Village Restaurant for our help, and it was very much appreciated but this wasn't work, this was a fun day that exercised our minds and muscles, with great friends. What more could you ask for?

Again club members pulled together to help. We sure put together a great group here at the BCCCB, most everyone is willing to lend a hand to another when  needed. This type of attitude is what is needed to form a solid foundation to a great and growing club that will be around for years to come. This site is more then information for the BCCCB members, it's filled with stories and pictures of adventures that you can be a part of. So blow the dust off that old British car sitting in your garage and change the oil, fire her up and come along. What ever will we do next?

Thanks Peter... it was a great day.