Stp94

As stated, looking for a lift to store my Z through the cold
months going forward. Preferably under $2k. Any suggestions appreciated.

7LitreC5

I have a Direct Lift 4-post. I've had it for about 6 years and it has performed flawlessly.

jcthorne

Looked at a lot of lifts before I bought mine. I wanted reliable and high quality without breaking the bank. In the end it was a conversation I had with a service tech from the local equipment company that was working on the lifts at my local car dealer service bay that made my mind.

I bought from the local equipment company for less than I could order online once shipping and installation costs were considered. Since there was no shipping charges through them. Full service install and 1 year on site service after the sale.

Love my Bendpak HD9XW. Same as the 24 lifts at the dealer and many other commercial outlets. High quality, ANSI certified and USA made.

bearphoto

Under $2k you may end up with a chinese steel model like the Eagle but if you want a quality one its either backyard buddy or advantage.

I have an Advantage which appears to be designed similar to the Backyard Buddy.

My prior house was a Perfect Park 7000 which I don't believe is made anymore.

Fat Mike

I have an Advantage lift but paid more than $2k for it. I'm not sure I would be excited about a cheaper new lift - maybe a used lift at that price but not a new one.

one of the reasons I chose Advantage was because the motor operates on 120volts. I didn't have a 240 volt outlet in my garage.

Stp94

Good info gentlemen, thanks! Looks like I'm gonna have to bump my price point a bit.

JoesC5

I have two of the Autolifters(no longer in business) 4-post lifts that are similar in construction to the Backyard Buddy and the Advantage lifts. My lifts are rated at 6,000 pounds. 15-16 years in service and no problems.

If I were looking for a another lift I would look at the Advantage SS9000. It is about 50% over built for our 3,500 pound Corvettes, but that doesn't hurt anything(other than the cost).

My lifts are 6,000 lb lifts(not based on structural capacity but the size/horsepower of the hydraulic power pack. My 110VAC outlets in the garage are 15 amp(14AWG) circuits, but I was able to get a 3/4 HP electric motor for the hydraulic unit that will run at 13.8 amps. All the lower HP motor does is add a little more time to lift the car(lowering is done by gravity).

My columns are 4" square tubing with more than enough strength for the application.

It appears that Advantage took the design of the Autolifters/Backyard Buddy lifts and just increased the size of the structural components and rates it at 9,000 pounds.

VooDooRob

Direct Lift, 8 years old and zero issues. Runs off 110 and I also bought the sliding jacks for lifting the car. Can't tell you how much time and aggravation the lift has saved me, let alone $ saved on repairs/maintenance.

Borntorun04/17

What is the minimum height for ceiling needed with 4 post lift with C7 on lift up all the way ?

DFA

I have a Stinger Lift. I've had it over 19 years with absolutely no problems.
DFA

Z06 1of38

137 inches for mine.

Borntorun04/17

Thanks , I'm adding on to garage and trying to plan for the future.

jcp911s

Measure the height of the car you are going to park under the lift and the car you are going to park on the lift and add about 10 inches for the deck.

The big problem is using an overhead garage door. You need to provide clearance for this.

UKnowWho18

I bought the BendPak HD-9XW this past summer. The service from the dealer in Socal and install by the guy from central OR were top notch. I couldn't be happier. It's very sturdy and easy to operate. My wife's 4Runner fits under my vette with plenty of room to spare.

UKnowWho18

Is that a '57 on the left? My next buy!

Richard Ames

Found a used chain lift as opposed to cable at $1800 installed. Lot of good quality used ones for sale.

Z06 1of38

Dump the centre trolley and opener. Get a jack shaft opener installed and raise the tracks as high as possible.

My top car now goes between the two raised tracks and I can put the lift all the way up and still open and close the overhead door.

JoesC5

'56. Not many left around. NCRS estimated maybe 750 56's survived.

I saw my first Corvette in 1953(yes a '53) but they really didn't click with me until our local dealer got a '56. I was 15 and I fell in love with that 56 Corvette. A couple of times a week, after school, I would stop by the dealer and sit in the '56 on the showroom floor.

I made a promise to myself that one day I would own a '56 exactly like the one I would sit in when I was 15.

Finally realized my dream when I was 59 years old and it's the color combination as the 56 I sat in back in 1956.

Venetian Red with Shoreline Beige coves and the red interior.

One thing that is notable is the removable hardtop on my car. Very rare as the '56 and some early 57's had a hardtop that was visually different from the hardtops used afterwards. The majority of 56's and 57's you see nowadays will have a hardtop off of a 58 to 60, as 56/early 57 hardtops are very hard to locate.

JoesC5

My ceiling height is 126 inches and as my photo shows, my 64(1.5" taller than a C7) is on top with the lift at maximum height. Actually, I could lower my ceiling by 4" and still raise the lift to the top with my C6 Z06 on the lift(but I don't think that that would be a wise use on my money to lower my ceiling. LOL).

As the different brands/models have different locking heights and corner post heights, you need to calculate the required ceiling height based on the particular brand/model lift you plan to purchase. Each brand will have the dimensions of their lifts, etc on their websites.

As for the garage door opener, you can see that, in my case, it's not a problem as it's between the lifts. I did raise my door tracks closer to the ceiling(and of course, the opener was raised the same amount. The local garage door repairman charged me $100 to raise the tracks/drive. Probably run $200 today.

Oh, and the depth of your garage also enters into the math. The longer your garage(and the farther back you can position the lift) means you might not have to raise the door tracks/drive. My garage is 24' deep, so if the lift is at the back of the garage and you allow 16' for the length of the car, means that you have 8' for the garage door to retract before it would interfere with your car. Also, as you can see with my 56, the lower hood line also gives you more clearance for the garage door.

ersatz928

Backyard Buddy : I have had mine for about 20 years.....no problems.

12 foot ceiling height. I can park a "regular" car underneath. The open garage door has about 2 inches of clearance to the top of the C5 hood.