Trying to avoid hijacking the tools thread. I am building a garage in the next year and have been trying to decide between a pit or a lift.

Does that outweigh the benefit of storing the vette over the daily driver?

Pros and cons for a 2 vs. 4 post lift?

 

I think a 4-post lift is the way to go if you want to store a vehicle up high because the car rests on it's tires and you can put drip plates in to protect the lower car. I think a 2-post lift is best for actually working on a car because there are no ramps to impede your access (including suspension) and you can roll a toolbox right up to your work area (as opposed to a pit). A pit probably has its own advantages, like you cite, but unless you cover it with plates, it's a hazard whenever a car isn't parked over it.

 

Is there a compromise between the 2 and 4 post lift that is good for working on the car and for storage?

 

Local codes might prohibit pits. Not to mention they are difficult to construct.

I have a 2-post and absolutely love it. Best investment we ever made. As for storage... Last winter my fathers Porsche 997 slept under the vette. Yea, it may not be the "best" thing for the suspension, but I have yet to see any adverse affects. Hell... the burnouts I pull probably do more damage.

You'll surely be happy in whatever you choose.

 

I wanted a pit when my house was built, but local code wouldn't allow it. The reason is that at the bottom of the pit you need a drain. It was pretty common practice for guys to just drain their fluids into the pit drain. The other problem I was told was fire hazard. As fluids, lie or build up, fire can be an issue. Now, if you built it like Jiffy Lube you might have a chance. Theirs is like a basment underneath with any opening in the ceiling basically. I always thought that would be real slick storage too!

 

As well as a pet hazard, wife hazard, toddler hazard, snake collection point, etc. 2 or 4 post lift is best in my opinion. Recently saw a 1 post lift and I don't think I'd like that. With the car in the air the whole lift portion of the lift (and the car) were quivering with about a 3 to 4 inch swing at the bumper as the lift topped out. It just didn't look like something I would want to work under....

My .02....

kdlp

 

Wouldn't have a pit. They were the worst thing to work in. And in when it rained it filled up with water. Yes it was in a garage.

 

I started in this hobby back in the 60's working with a pit. I thought it was the cats meow. We kept it covered with 2X10's when not in use for safety, (almost never) but it does have it's limits. As mentioned vapors tend to collect there and you do need to be careful. I had to leave the pit quickly on more than one occasion. And of course you do have that big hole in the floor!

A lift on the other hand requires height to take full advantage of it. With a 12' ceiling there is little you can't do or accommodate on a lift. A 2-post is much handier for working on a car underneath. It can be used for storage, but does generally require additional concrete depending on the lift you use and it's weight limits.

A standard 4-post on the other hand works well on your typical 4" of concrete. They do inhibit your ability to work on suspension, but with a judicious use of stands and jack bridges you can do anything you'll want to do with it. It does have somewhat of an advantage over the 2-post when it comes to storage and ease of installation.

Since you're building your garage, you're in a perfect situation to accommodate almost any of the modifications necessary for a lift or pit. If you do go with a lift, be sure to specify that the door needs to hug the ceiling. Mine is less than 12" from the ceiling (12') and allows me maximum use of the lift. It is much cheaper to install it that way than to come back later and modify it.

To sum up, if you want it primarily to do mechanical work, you'll probably be happier with a 2-post lift. If it will primarily see duty as additional storage, you'll probably be happier with a 4-post. In any case you'll be happy you have one.... mine is a 4-post Double Park.

GUSTO

 

I researched 3 options when I built my "man cave" garage last year:
Pit, 2-post lift, or 4-post lift.

I chose a good 4-post lift and I'm glad I did.

I like having the whole underside of the car open from front to back. I have two moveable/removable platforms that go between the ramps. One is on rollers and the other doesn't. I also have an air jack that I can hoist from anywhere under the car and use jack stands under the frame on the ramps if I want to take the wheels off. I also like the option of using the space under the car when I'm not working under there.

The nice thing about a 4-post is that you don't have to anchor it in the concrete. I can move mine around the garage if I want to, and I will need to when I coat my floor some day.

I chose a Backyard Buddy because they are the best made home lift.

http://www.backyardbuddy.com/

As you can tell, I have room in my garage for the extra high 7000#model. (Yes, I know my car looks dusty in this picture. This picture was taken before I installed a VBP front monospring and longer rear spring bolts to lower it 2 inches.

[IMG][/IMG]

 

I have the same lift. Beware of buying from Backyard Buddy. I have a leak from the hydralic ram when the lift is 54inches high and I lower it to lock in the arms. Backyard Buddy refuses to send out someone to fix it. The only thing that they would do is send me the O-rings to fix it myself. The lift is of great design but the manager is an Idiot who told me that if I defamed their company that they would sue me. The bad part is they use a picture of my cars on their website and in Corvette Fever magazine.
Good Luck
Steve

 

MN80Vette,
What type of air jack are you using?

 

I am using a dual diaphragm "pancake" type jack:

[IMG][/IMG]

 

I have a 2-post & love it. Full access for work. When building the garage decide where the lift will be, have a 6' wide section the full width of the garage set at 6" deep instead of 4". Have some extra rebar thrown into that area and pour the whole floor with 6000psi concrete. It won't cost that much more, but it will be a lot stronger. Mine has been in over 4 years & not even the usual concrete cracks have shown up. I think I used 3/4" wedge anchors (4 per post). It won't move.

 

It is true that lift,s are limited to how much a lift can pick up, but a pit can,t pick up sh*t

 

Moast all old school Corvette owners prefer the pit is because it,s like a long look under a womans skirt

 

http://www.eastwoodco.com/jump.jsp?i...emType=PRODUCT This is a small but very strong, stable lift that takes up almost no room. It will lift 6000 pounds up to 48 inches. One of the body shops here uses one of these, and had a 56 Cadillac on it. A Vette will be no problem.

 

We built a pit in my dad's garage over 25 years ago. I agree, it is the great setup if you are only one guy changing an engine. You can hook up the hoist, begin to lift, and if you left something connected, you drop into the pit and remove it. No crawling on the floor to get under the car.

The guy who says they flood, well, that tells me your whole garage floods. Sounds like a garage problem, not a pit problem. Unless your water table is only 5 foot down.

You can have one in any garage, without the need of a 10 ft or 12 ft wall.

The idea situation is both a pit and a lift, not in the same bay. Lifts are very helpful in suspension and brake work. They are also helpful with lifting the body on and off for restoration.

Drive on lifts are best if all you do are oil changes but need extra storage.

As to the danger of a pit, I'd much rather fall into a 6 foot hole than have a 3500 lb car fall on me. And the cheap lifts do fail. But in all the time of the pit in my dad's garage, no one has fallen in. And there have been little kids around. There were dogs around. They weren't dumb enough to fall in, either.

Cars do fall off lifts. They don't fall off pits.
http://www.i-car.com/html_pages/tech...6/010906.shtml



We had someone on here looking for a nose for a '73, I think, not long ago because he was doing work on the lift and the car nosed over and hit the ground.



See more: http://www.my914-6.com/crap/



Here is a truck in a garage falling off. Goofy video.

http://www.zippyvideos.com/213303800...lon_ohio_oops/

 

The pictures of the 2-post warning labels and the cars that fell off a 2-post lift are a good argument for a 4-post lift with ramps.

Most places won't grant permits for a garage with a pit because of the drainage requirements and the chance of what chemicals might go down that drain. Check your local building codes.

 

Where can I get one or two of these?

 

You do need some basic intelligence to use a lift. If all the weight is in one end then extra care must be taken. I have tube supports that I bought from Northern Tool that I can put under each end of a vehicle. Each is rated for 5000lbs. If I put a truck up then I use these. The Vette is about 50/50 & it sits on my lift like it was bolted to it. If I put it on the lift with the engine out I would use the tube support on the rear. Like I said basic intelligence is required.