First Ever Classic Car With Automatic Wheelchair Lift - Jaguar Mark IX Project

[Guest RestingSRides]

Hey everyone, first time poster here on these forums, but longtime lurker. I wanted to share with you an ongoing project I have been working on and will be working on for quite some time. I'm currently building what I believe to be the first classic car with an automatic wheelchair lift that will allow me to lock in, be lifted up, and operate the vehicle directly from my wheelchair! I'm very excited about this project because it will be built around the body of a Jaguar Mark IX, but will feature up-to-date internals. This gives me the best of both worlds because I can have a classic car aesthetic, but with powerful performance! I'm very excited to share this project with you guys and I have been, and will continue to document the build progress of this car over on my YouTube channel! This series highlights the progress I have made thus far on the car and I will continue to put out episodes until it is finished. Thanks for checking it out and leave a comment if you have any suggestions on ways I can improve this car or things you would like to see added. 

 

The Jaguar Mark IX Project - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOjMlQzaXfY

 

 

[TerryB]

Wow! Not what I was expecting at all!  Quite a hot rod you will have there.  I'm a paraplegic and amputee so this project is very interesting to me. I've never seen the Bruno lift you describe so that was new info.  I have a Dodge van with a wheelchair ramp to get around but I am not able to drive it as it's not set up for hand controls.  My wife is the driver so I'm not as independent as I would like to be.  Your setup would solve that!  Can't wait to see the finished project.

 

Terry

[oily rag]

There is a guy in southern NV that built a 1954 (?) Ford panel truck with modern front wheel drive and an automatic lift in the rear. He can lock his wheel chair in and drive anywhere.

 

[Guest RestingSRides]

@TerryB Thanks so much I appreciate the kind words. We are modifying a Bruno lift in order to have the option to use a standard chair or lock a wheelchair into it like I described. I currently also have a Dodge van, but they are just so bulky and not fun to drive I decided I had to build this dream car! The next episode of the series should show off the lift in action so stay tuned!

[Guest RestingSRides]

@oily rag That sounds like an awesome car I would love to see that! This Jaguar I'm building will have the lift right on the drivers side so it should be different from anything you've ever seen.

[JACK M]

I had a friend that broke his neck and was a quadriplegic.

He asked me to build him a fishing boat.

I made it out of a 24 ft. pontoon boat.

I built a huge console that he could be strapped down in front of.

I took all of the friction out of the remote shifter/throttle mechanism and he could work that.

I then designed a hydraulic steering system that had a control box that attached to the arm rest on his wheel chair.

The trailer had a scissor affair on the axels that would set the boat on the ground so that he could ramp up onto the thing.

He was really stoked when his dad fixed him up with an electric reel.

He is gone now but we sure had some fun on that boat.

[oily rag]

Resting

I probably won't run into him till at least next spring.

I should have taken photos, the truck looks stock until the back opens up.

[Guest RestingSRides]

@JACK M Thanks for sharing. You should like a friend everyone wishes they had! 

[Guest RestingSRides]

@oily rag That is very cool, I think it's even cooler that it actually looks stock! 

[West Peterson]

RestingSRides

Welcome to the forum. A couple of years ago while attending a concours in Michigan, one of the cars on display was a 1950s Rolls-Royce that had this procedure done. The whole driver's side of the car was basically removed and modified. When all closed up, you could hardly tell something was different even if you were a Rolls expert.

[Guest RestingSRides]

@West Peterson Wow that sounds really neat, especially on a Rolls Royce! 

[West Peterson]

I guess it was a Bentley (what's the difference?):

[Guest RestingSRides]

@West Peterson Both are luxury cars so you weren't far off! Oh wow that looks incredible! I'm excited for my car to be done and operate like this! 

[West Peterson]

The gentleman for which this was done also did an operation on a 1938 Lincoln Zephyr. Here's the link:

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2015/10/larry-labutes-wheelchair-accessible-lincoln-zephyr-bentley-mk-vi-restomods/

[padgett]

"I guess it was a Bentley (what's the difference?):" - AFAIR, in the late 50s a different radiator grille and $200 cheaper.

[jeff_a]

Thanks for joining the forum and describing your Jaguar Mark IX. I guess not everyone wants use a boxy Chevy van for their lift vehicle. There's a Russian billionaire with a 1927 Peerless, a 6-80 Sedan, converted with a wheelchair lift. The previous owners were a limousine service and David Monteith of Niagara Falls, Ontario, before a shop there did the conversion about 8 years ago. ....Jeff

Edited December 19, 2016 by jeff_a (see edit history)