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My son wanted to change the oil in his car, he asked me for help and in my usual fashion I went over board. We needed to jack the car high enough to be able to get under it, without causing any damage.

Like most modern cars the chassis is built into the body with 4 jacking points close to each wheel. The challenge is to raise the car without damaging the welded seam running down either side. Many times my car has been to the local mechanic and had been returned with parts of the seam bent. Not good but that's life.

The solution was to make some adaptors to fit on top of the stands that replicated the top of a scissor jack designed specifically for the job. The jacking points can be located by running your finger along the underside of the floor, on the inside of the seam, and search for a low spot normally about 40-50mm long. It's only the inside top (one side) of the adaptor that takes the weight of the car, the slot is only to locate it, and is deep enough to provide clearance for the seam. I also made two adaptors for the trolley jack as the cup was too deep and was threatening to cause damage when lifting. After finishing the adaptors we changed the oil and not a mark was left on the car.