When I had my first Spitfire I remember having it lashed with ropes to the cross members of my garage roof. This worked real well. I barely used the hardtop and it kept it out of the way and protected. For my new Spitfire, I first tried to use some spare blocks and fittings from my sailboat to fashion a rig I could use to raise and almost never lower the top. Balancing the front and rear sections was a challenge, also my garage ceiling is finished so I needed to add hooks and eyelets to the underlining studs to rig the lines. This made it difficult to experiment. I finally bit the bullet and bought the Harken (sailing gear) Hoister (www.harken.com). It is self balancing and can be reused later for other project. May support lifting/holding panels and parts for painting etc. I think the engine would be too much, but with heavier lines and better bracing .... Here are the pictures. You can get one at Boat/US or West Marine. Around $90 ( boat dollars), but it works great. Look at how close to the ceiling I can raise it. The block is self locking, walk forward with the line, it allows you to lower. Release or walk back and it locks. Very nice. The cleat on the wall is not necessary, but I envisioned my teenage daughter and her friends playing.
