Lift Types—Help Me Decide

[SunnyS]

Yes 6

Dang - nice! Is that a real 427 Biscayne? '68?

Yes a 69 numbers matching one of 77 427/425 HP cars. Have owned it for 18 years

 

[EricG]

Yes 6

Yes a 69 numbers matching one of 77 427/425 HP cars. Have owned it for 18 years

Super awesome car - congrats! What's real-life ownership of a solid-lifter motor like? Gas issues, ever have to set the lifters?

 

[SunnyS]

Super awesome car - congrats! What's real-life ownership of a solid-lifter motor like? Gas issues, ever have to set the lifters?

Really do not put that many miles on it. Has a hidden MSD ignition box and lifters are set and do not change with a good set of poly-locks installed. Gas is Cam two racing fuel at ten dollars a gallon.. Very fast car would say a mid 12 second 1/4 mile with the 3:73 gear in it. Have a friend that races a 68 with 4:56 gears and he is a solid 11 second car. Car is all original with exception of headers and a Hurst shifter. Always brings a nice crowd at the cruise ins.

 

[Magnified]

Having owned both style of lifts(two post,Four post) they both teeter a little most of the four posts are made to move so not bolted to the floor. I have had two two post lifts and I just cut a two foot by 8 foot section of my garage out and poured 6 inch thick slab there for the lift. The second one was a new garage so the whole floor was 6 inches thick. I used to live in Arizona and the house next door had a four post outside on his driveway.Only worked on cars at night out there. Way to hot

Exposed to the elements? Not for me. Most of that stuff is made in china. Rain, snow, dust, freeze, direct sun atent going to do the lift alot of good in my opinion.

 

[Jimmy N.]

Exposed to the elements? Not for me. Most of that stuff is made in china. Rain, snow, dust, freeze, direct sun atent going to do the lift alot of good in my opinion.

Maybe it doesn't do it any good, but my cheap 4-post has been outside for some six years now.

Says it can't be exposed to weather, but I keep the motor (rain/snow) and the plastic fluid tank (brutal UV) covered. So far so good, even though the paint has indeed faded.
And I do spray some lube on the turning/moving things every couple of years or so.

 

[Prange]

Another option is the MakJak very nice lift for a low celling garage and if you have a stable 4 inch slab it works great. I had one

Interesting. I went to their website and all I could find were those industrial lifting bags. Those fascinate me.

 

[SunnyS]

Interesting. I went to their website and all I could find were those industrial lifting bags. Those fascinate me.

Sorry I had a misspell It is MaxJax lifts

 

[Prange]

Sorry I had a misspell It is MaxJax lifts

No worries. I do like the lift bags.

 

[Stormtrooper1320]

Maybe it doesn't do it any good, but my cheap 4-post has been outside for some six years now.

Says it can't be exposed to weather, but I keep the motor (rain/snow) and the plastic fluid tank (brutal UV) covered. So far so good, even though the paint has indeed faded.
And I do spray some lube on the turning/moving things every couple of years or so.

Yep, lots of auto repair businesses in SoCal have outdoor lifts.

 

[Slows2k]

if you want a storage lift and change some oil, get a 4 post. If yo want to do any repairs past that, a 2 post.

 

[Jimmy N.]

Any repairs in particular that require a 2-post?
I know I do a lot of things wrong, but please don't add too much more to the list.

 

[Slows2k]

Anything with the wheels, brakes, suspension, subframes are all terrible with a 4 post lift. There is a reason 2 post lifts are in every shop.

 

[Hickster]

Yepper,, the 2 post is threading the bottle a bit thin.

 

[Hickster]

MTSU,, lost alot of vergins from Central High Chattanooga,, from there.

 

[gotswap]

Anything with the wheels, brakes, suspension, subframes are all terrible with a 4 post lift. There is a reason 2 post lifts are in every shop.

Not quite true, very easy to get all the corners up in the air. Have 2 scissor jacks that will lift anything that I can get on it. That and a 4 post is significantly more stable.

 

[Slows2k]

I‘ve worked on post lifts for 20 years as career, a drive on 4 post is fine for a hobby. They are terrible for being efficient making repairs.

 

[gotswap]

I‘ve worked on post lifts for 20 years as career, a drive on 4 post is fine for a hobby. They are terrible for being efficient making repairs.

Agree to disagree. When I was in the industry, I rarely used a 2 post and is why I have a 4 post in my shop.

 

[Stormtrooper1320]

I think they each have their advantages and disadvantages, and it comes down to personal preference. If I were getting a lift for my house, I would get a 4 post since it has the added benefit of being able to use it for storage easily. Just drive on and off....done.

.02

 

[Jimmy N.]

I‘ve worked on post lifts for 20 years as career, a drive on 4 post is fine for a hobby. They are terrible for being efficient making repairs.

Thankfully, vehicles are a hobby for me these days. So my repairs don't have to be efficient, just very good.
Besides, I do mostly maintenance - that way there's not much need for repairs.

 

[parttimer]

I had the quick jack setup for a while. Upgraded to a portable drive over lift, much happier. They now have them in 9k lifting which I wish they had when I got mine!