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...this is my BackYard Buddy which was/were made in Niles, Ohio. Bought direct from the factory, had them load it right onto my 16ft car trailer with an overhead crane. I believe I paid $3600 for it back in '96. My garage ceiling is 9'8". I use mine mainly for storage though, don't use it for hardly any work.
I think the same lift would be my first choice. Unfortunately about $2,000 more these days.
Originally Posted by Paul Borowski
...this is my BackYard Buddy which was/were made in Niles, Ohio. Bought direct from the factory, had them load it right onto my 16ft car trailer with an overhead crane. I believe I paid $3600 for it back in '96. My garage ceiling is 9'8". I use mine mainly for storage though, don't use it for hardly any work.
sounds like a good deal. Let us know how you proceed. Although you might find comparable prices here in the states if you look at used.
After emailing back and forth for the last week, It turns out with shipping costs it is comparable with prices of companies in the US. If I lived near one of our seaports, I could save a couple of grand, but driving 2000 miles round trip hauling a trailer isn't going to be cheap.
At this point in time I have decided that I have gone this long without one, so I will continue on this path a while longer.
After emailing back and forth for the last week, It turns out with shipping costs it is comparable with prices of companies in the US. If I lived near one of our seaports, I could save a couple of grand, but driving 2000 miles round trip hauling a trailer isn't going to be cheap.
At this point in time I have decided that I have gone this long without one, so I will continue on this path a while longer.
I have a Direct-Lift from Derek Weaver, ATL certified. I've had both, a nice 2-poster and now the 4-poster. I believe the 4-poster is the better lift, by a large margin. Stability and the ability to actually move the lift with the car on it. I always used stabilizing posts on the car with the 2-poster, the 4-post is as stable as they come. I used my tractor to unload the unit from my trailer, put the large pieces on 4-wheel dollies, and assembled it totally by myself (and I'm 66).
Derek Weaver called last week and said my Direct Lift 8s had arrived. They recommended an installer who will deliver and install it and he has me scheduled for March 2nd. Did you bolt yours down to the floor? I don't want to in case I need to relocate it.
I’m wishing I had one now more than usual. I need to pull my tranny and doing it on the floor is a major pita!
If your pulling a 4-speed out of a C3 it's a pita no matter what! I learned how to do it in a C2 (1967) by trial and error. There was no Corvette Forum or YouTube at the time. That was long ago but I remember it vividly. I had a '70 a few years ago that needed a throw out bearing. I gladly paid my 'Corvette Guy' to do it.
I ordered the same one ( Triumph) and am having it delivered to my Arizona house next month. $3385 including tax and shipping which i feel is a good deal.
i hope you are happy with it as I am excited to get it. I do have a quicklift that i can use in conjunction with the 4 post and get the wheels off the ramp.
I used Greg Smith Equipment. I have had the lift since 2003. They have been great - even getting parts for it 15 years later.
Like others have said - get a bridge jack too!
be careful though....
eventually you will realize you need a bigger shop and a two post as well!!! cause you know you need one for the c2 project you are considering.....
oh, PS - make sure the lift you get uses 220!
110 lifts wheeze....
pp.ss.
get your garage door made into a high lift. where it rolls all the way up the outside wall before starting to traverse across the ceiling.
it will save you headaches later.
Derek Weaver called last week and said my Direct Lift 8s had arrived. They recommended an installer who will deliver and install it and he has me scheduled for March 2nd. Did you bolt yours down to the floor? I don't want to in case I need to relocate it.
I did not, I needed to be able to move it around with a car loaded. Although you could use drop-in anchors, then you could remove the bolts and move it around. I've had no issues with movement, it's not going to fall over.
I bought the Bendpak HD9WX Lift. I had considered the Atlas and the Wildfire. These three met my requirements for width, length, height, capacity and drive through for my F150. I was leaning towards the Wildfire but the final cost of the Bendpak was a little cheaper when delivery was included. Atlas never got back to me.
PRICE
I got the Bendpak for $5000 delivered through Wrenchers. Lowes offers Bendpak on-line and I waited for their 10% discount. Wrenchers matched that price. Not sure how I got to Wrenchers; I called Bendpak for information and thought I was talking to Bendpak. Wrenchers was knowledgeable so it was a good choice.
OPTIONS
The only option I bought were the trays. I got them for ½ price; $84 for 4 trays. I would not buy the trays again. I would cut up 2x12s and place them between the rails. The trays are cheap and will not support anything.
The 2x12’s will allow me to store things on them and would prevent a car from falling too far if it is driving off the runway.
I did not buy the casters. These can only be used when the lift is down with no weight on the lift. Bendpak recommends bolting the lift to the floor. The lift really looks unstable when it is not bolted to the floor (Four posts with no tie between them at the bottom, when a car is in the air) so the casters can only be used to move an empty lift out of the way after unbolting. Not much use to me.
Quality
Excellent. Everything fit like a glove. Welds were of exceptional quality. As discussed below, I shoe-horned the lift into my garage due to limited space. To save space I take the ramps off after the vehicle is on the lift. To install the ramps, I lay the ramp on the runway and insert the pin. The pin always fits without even touching or wriggling the ramp.
Installation
It came in a box truck with a lift gate. I picked up one end with my backhoe and we moved it to the lift gate with my backhoe on one end and the portable forklift on the other. We lowered the backhoe and tailgate simultaneously. I think I could have gotten it off with my engine lift instead of the backhoe if neessary. Save yourself some time by putting blocks under the Bendpak lift since their temporary supports are not high enough to get the engine lift under the Bendpak.
I installed this myself with the engine lift. I watched two YouTube videos on the installation. Both had the same complaints. These complaints were addressed in the revised instructions. One suggestion: the instructions have you installing the cable from the bottom of the runway up to the top of the post. I found it easier to drop the cable down from the top. The cable has stiff sections on either end, but the end that connects to the cylinder is shorter and can be weaved through the locks a lot easier.
Cable adjustment was not covered well in my instructions. I adjusted the cables so that the locks hit almost simultaneously with my heaviest vehicle on the lift.
The block that connects the cable to the cylinder came with Teflon sliders that don’t contact anything. I had several conversations with Bendpak before they determined that the sliders were not needed. I am guessing the block is used on several lifts and the sliders are required on some of the others.
Dislikes
The only dislike so far is the air release for the locks. I am a hobbyist and seldom use this lift. To use it, I have to run an air line halfway across my garage and pump up the air compressor.
What I did Differently
I did not have the room that this lift required. I installed the lift so that the runways miss the inner supports of my garage door by 2”. This requires me to take the ramps off the lift to open or close the door.
I installed the lift so that the ramp side triangular section of the cross support was just inside the door frame. This is the first thing the tires would hit on the edge of the ramp. In hindsight, this is too close to the frame. I did not account for the fenders and the mirrors. I should have moved the Bendpak out a few inches. Clearnce btwn garage door and post Van on lift with corvette underneath. Corvette just makes it heightwise. Yep it is that close on either end.
Nice work
You can’t have enough room all around a lift
my garage is 24 feet to the back wall so the lift is back far enough to leave the ramps on and close the door. I remove the ramps when I raise the lift so I don’t bump my head on them. With my 10 foot ceiling I can walk under the car to inspect/work on things. Wish I had built the garage with a 12 foot ceiling. I did go to a wall mount opener after I almost scraped the cars hood with the standard opener. Best investment for me because I do most of my own work. I recommend the hydraulic jack as well worth the price. I replaced the plastic drip trays with 1/2” plywood
I Like your setup a lot
I also have the Bend Pak. I ordered the casters. The lift can be moved with a car on the lift. The only difference, is that two people make the job easier. With all cable driven lifts, keep an eye on the cables and the pulleys during operation. If the cable comes off the pulley, the lift can bind and cause big problems. Jerry
There are a few ways. Best and most expensive way would be to get a bridge jack made for the lift. It will lift the entire front or back of the car and safely lock it in place. I use a jack plate and a 3 bag hydraulic air jack on the lift to lift a side at a time. I have used jack stands and a jack plate to raise the either the rear or front of the car. The bridge jack will cost about $1.5K to $2K. A jack plate and air bag jack cost me under $200. My son and I have done suspension work on his C-5 with no problems. I also changed out my trailing arms on my 66, again, easy peasy. Jerry
