Any experience with a mid-rise scissor type lift?

[Greg Scallon]

Hello all,
I'm contemplating purchasing a mid-rise scissor lift for my garage and am wondering if any of you have experience with such a setup for a 356. I'm leaning toward the Bendpak MD-6XP which will raise the car up to about 48 inches and can be stored under the car when not being used. Does anyone have any negative experience with one? Any positive? Any general thoughts? Although I may have to drive up on 2x12 planks, I believe it should fit under my speedster width wise without issue. Anyone know differently?

And while I'll appreciate comments about two post and four post lifts as well, please note that I'm limited by a very low ceiling height in my garage/workshop so those options aren't available to me right now. Someday, definitely, but just not right now.

I'd appreciate any thoughts folks have.

Thanks in advance,
-Greg

[Ron Delmendo]

Greg-

I have an older BendPak lift that I got off CraigsList several years ago. I can't make the model number out but is is very similar in appearance to the LR-60. I do think my lift goes higher than 26" but I could be wrong. Regardless, it is plenty high for me to easily R&R engine and tranny.

I park the Roadster on top of the lift. No clearance problems at all. What I really like about the ramp type lifts is that I can put just the front two or rear two wheels on the lift or the whole car. When I lift the car, I place 2x6's on the ramps along the entire longitudinals of both sides. No denting and very stable with all four wheels free.

[Ernie Puskas]

Greg,

I have the Harbor Freight scissor lift and find it quite good for most work, good placement of car for engine and trans removal.
Also makes a good platform on which to place a board to make a large, variable height work surface, and for lifting riding mowers
for work. I did need 2x12 planks to clear by B-T5, and I used shorter 2x12 all the way across the bottom between the lift pads and
the pan to lift the car (probably not necessary but I felt it was more stable and less likely to damage the car). In my new shop I
made a recessed ( about 3-4") pit for the scissor lift and this has made it necessary to take the lift out of the pit to use it for
engine and trans removal. It is wonderful for wheel & brake work, but does not give full access to the bottom. I also have a four
post lift which I now wish was a two post lift, for clearer access to the bottom and less blockage of the floor area when not in
use. The four post is easier to load, and I am more likely to use it for simple things, even lifting the cars to check tire
pressures (really hate bending over for any extended length of time) sometimes.

Ernie Puskas
========================================================

I'm contemplating purchasing a mid-rise scissor lift for my
garage and am wondering if any of you have experience with
such a setup for a 356. I'm leaning toward the Bendpak MD-6XP
which will raise the car up to about 48 inches and can be
stored under the car when not being used. Does anyone have any
negative experience with one? Any positive? Any general
thoughts? Although I may have to drive up on 2x12 planks, I
believe it should fit under my speedster width wise without
issue. Anyone know differently?

And while I'll appreciate comments about two post and four
post lifts as well, please note that I'm limited by a very low
ceiling height in my garage/workshop so those options aren't
available to me right now. Someday, definitely, but just not
right now.

I'd appreciate any thoughts folks have.

Thanks in advance,
-Greg

Post generated using Mail2Forum via email.

[Norm Miller]

Greg,

I had one but it seemed like it was always in the way.
It wasn't friendly while trying to roll around under car on a creeper.
Worked fine for brake work.
I'd prefer a 4 or 2 post and you can jackhammer a section of your floor and create a semi pit about 2" deep to facilitate the lower ceiling.

Norm

[Norm Miller]

The pit under the lift should read 2 feet deep. Sorry,
Norm

Post generated using Mail2Forum via email.

[FREDRICH GLOCKLER]

Greg,
Here are links to EZ Car Lift. 26" lift, operates with an electric drill, 165 lbs assembled. disassembled with removal of 8 nuts into 4 pieces that can be carried in your trunk. Mine
slides under whichever car isn't in use. Boytcho is a great guy and you can save a bit on the group buy list if you aren't in a hurry.

http://www.ezcarlift.com/EZ%20Product%20a.html

http://www.gotogroupbuy.com/488/EZ-Carlift.aspx

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ag1IcZON ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCWGxpmP ... re=related

Maybe not your cup of tea but I like mine.

Regards,

[Erik Thomas]

About 20 years ago, I got a center column lift out of a gas station that was being converted to self serve. Paid a few hundred for it.

I installed it the floor of the new shop I was building at the time. When the lift is down, It fits into a 2 inch recess in the floor, about 18" x 36" so the whole affair is almost flush with the floor when down.

This lift makes it very easy to remove engines, I used a wooden crate to set the engine on. Good for brakes, but not the best for exhaust work or transmission work on front engined cars.. but who wants to work on them anyway.. right?

Where the center column lift really shines is bodywork, as there are no posts in the way, and the car can be raised to just the right height for sanding.

Also works great as a welding work bench, as it is all metal.

[Mike Wilson]

I saw a flyer for such a lift at the recent North Meets South in San Luis Obispo, California. It supports the pan leaving the front and rear of the car open for work. Ed Rutherford of Klasse 356 would be a contact. No affiliation (or commission; just passing along the info.

Mike Wilson
Lomita, CA
'63 B coupe

[Greg Scallon]

Thank you all for your experiences and thoughts on mid-rise lifts. (Including Ken D. who posted in a separate thread) The feedback I've received has only reinforced the notion that a mid-rise lift is going to work well for me in my current situation. I'm afraid that digging a pit at this location isn't going to work, and I don't want to re-pour concrete for a MaxJax-type short two post. I'm currently oscillating between the BendPak which seems very well built but still fairly low priced, and a Snap-On unit which has a solid steel table top which would be nice for using as a raisable work surface. I'm going to do some more research on costs and keep my eyes out on Craigs List, hoping to find a good deal.

Thanks again, and if anyone else has feedback, feel free to share.

Regards,
-Greg
ps: Here are some photos that Ken D. shared with me and mentioned I could post to the thread. It's a lower rise lift than I'm looking for but is sure looks nice. (along with the D)

[Greg Scallon]

Hello all,
I thought I'd post an update to my earlier request for lift info. After learning quite a bit from everyone who posted and PM'ed, I decided that I wanted a Snap-On mid-rise lift. A mid-rise is perfect for my small low-ceiling'ed garage and the Snap-On lift is very heavy duty with a solid steel table top that will be good for all kinds of other work that can benefit from a liftable surface. I ended up finding one on Craigslist, very lightly used, less than 5 miles from my house. After a bit of negotiation the price turned out to be quite nice with an extra bonus being that the seller delivered it to my house with his trailer. After a good wash and once-over, it's now in place in the garage with the speedster comfortably parked on top.

Below are a few photos showing what it looks like and how it works. It's 5 inches tall so I can pull the car in right on top without boards or ramps under the wheels. Also, lucky for me, when it's at it's 48" max height, the top of the speedster's windshield is just a few inches shy of the ceiling. Perfect.

If you have any questions about such a lift, feel free to let me know. And thanks again to all who posted info and photos in response to my original request.

Regards,
-Greg

ps: I've also heard people mention the different "pads" they use under their lift arms. Some use wood. Others use hockey pucks. I did some searching and found these 4" x 4" x 1" rubber blocks at an online jewelry supply distributor.(just Google "rubber block jewelry" or something like that) They're about $6 each, which may be more than a hockey puck I don't know, but they're more flexible than a puck so they provide a bit of give when needed. They seem absolutely perfect for such use so I thought I'd share.


The lift blocks (with keys for perspective)



At full height



Lots of engine and transmission access.



I need to pick up a few mid-rise jack stands. Until then, two extra engine stand bases will act as back-ups.



The new lift after a cleaning.



Fuzzy photo but you get the picture. I can pull up right on top of it and park.

[Al Zim]

Get a real lift! You will be able to work under the car standing up. Brakes and wheels will be at a level that is easy to do and any body stuff you want to do will be at a height that is easy to work on. You can purchase cheap lifts made in China, but in a short period of time they will not work properly. I recomment Worth Manufacturing 817-473-7266 we have used a variety of lifts from other manufacturers but we are gradually changing the shop over to their product. We purchased 6 lifts from them last year. Steve Prater is the owner. al zim

[Greg Scallon]

Read the original post! I'd love a full size two-post lift but I currently don't have the height or the square footage. When I do, I will get one.

Regards,
-Greg

[Neil M. Fennessey]

Hi Greg,

How easy do you find it to be to actually move the lift around? Or, in practice, is this a park 'n play rig?

Thanks!

[Greg Scallon]

Neil,
It definitely takes some muscle to move but it's a very simple process and very doable. I won't hesitate for a second to move it out onto my flat driveway when the time comes to lift my VW bus. I'm 180 lbs and have to put quite a bit of my weight on the dolly handles to lever the front of the lift up off the ground, but then, as long as I'm wearing grippy shoes, I can push it around on the flat garage floor. As I said, it does take quite a bit of strength but I didn't find it to be oppressive. Even if I had to move it before and after every use, I'd still think it was worth it.

Another clever idea I've heard of is to set a heavy-duty dolly down under the X of the lift while it's up. Then, when you lower the lift, when the legs hit the dolly it actually lifts its own legs off the ground and you can move it around. This seems like overkill since I don't have too much of an issue pushing it around the "correct" way, but if I was going to move it far or needed to push it over a surface that was too bumpy for the metal casters, I might try it.

I hope this helps.

Regards,
-Greg
ps: If you look at the photos above, you'll see my driveway and the garage. I moved it myself, pulling it up the slight incline of the driveway, over the lip of the garage slab and inside into place. (It was strenuous and I needed a bit of momentum to get over the lip, but the entire process took about 2 minutes.)

[Brian R Adams]

Greg,

Will you really be able to use it (for the bus) on the "slight incline" of the driveway?