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Sun Jan 09, 2011 10:36 am

One of the things I like about a scissors lift, is that it is not permenately mounted.
You can move it if needed.
My body man has one, that he uses when he is working on rockers, cab corners and such.
When not in use, he has it set up that it will go under his work bench, and out of the way.

Sun Jan 09, 2011 7:49 pm

I have one of these "lifts" that I purchased many years ago. Although I have yet to use it with an aircooled car yet. It worked great for doing exhaust work on my GTI.

http://www.kwiklift.com/features-all.htm

Tue Jan 11, 2011 11:48 am

I have one of these in my garage:

http://www.gregsmithequipment.com/PhotoDetails.asp...toNumber=4

It has lifted many cars without a problem, including my Cadillac and my Beetle. I paid about $1100.00 for it a few years ago. My main reason for buying it is that it raises high enough for me to get the powertrain out from under a front drive Cadillac (Northstar). It is also PERFECT for removing the engine from a Beetle, as you don't have to block and jack numerous times. The only trouble I have with it is that you have to drive over it, and if the car you are working on is dramatically lowered, you have to build a set of ramp tracks along both sides of it so you can clear the bottom of the car. I didn't realize that until we put my buddy's Edsel up on it to lower the suspension. When we put it back down and went to drive out, we drug the hoist with us a few feet! ](*,)

Tue Jan 11, 2011 5:05 pm

My 73 fastback drags going onto mine. And it is not lowered, except by gravity, and some stone cold tires in 0* weather.
I have a couple 2x10's to lay down.

Wed Jan 12, 2011 11:28 am

Paul Windisch wrote: I have one of these in my garage:

http://www.gregsmithequipment.com/PhotoDetails.asp...toNumber=4

I was looking at that exact one. So other than clearance would you recommend it?

Wed Jan 12, 2011 3:12 pm

I have used a lift very close to that design. Works great on Beetles and others. Near perfect lift height for many repairs. It does get a shaky if you're rough with a vehicle on it it, but never I had an incident.

Wed Jan 19, 2011 11:42 am

If you have the head room, you can put two vehicles in one place on a 2 post. Of course, if you are looking at lifts, you'd better have the head room!

Wed Jan 19, 2011 12:02 pm

flatfour wrote: Paul Windisch wrote: I have one of these in my garage:

http://www.gregsmithequipment.com/PhotoDetails.asp...toNumber=4

I was looking at that exact one. So other than clearance would you recommend it?

Absolutely! It uses 110 volts, so no need to install 220 service (although I have 220 anyway). It makes doing all Beetle maint. a snap, and engine removal is a breeze. Oil changes, valve adjustments, brakes, hell even polishing the bottom half of the car you can do standing up to save your back! I love mine, the only other thing to watch for is roof clearance in your garage, you don't want to smash the roof of your car!

When I get home, I will post some pics of my car up on the lift to give you an idea.

Wed Jan 19, 2011 2:45 pm

bignick wrote: If you have the head room, you can put two vehicles in one place on a 2 post. Of course, if you are looking at lifts, you'd better have the head room!

X2

2 post you can double stack cars no problem

i have this in my shop

was like 1600 delivered. will put up a 12,000lb truck no problem. mine is 220 though. i installed it myself. lifting the colums was interesting. but all my 'friends' that said they would help with the install are still doing oil changes on their backs....

Wed Jan 19, 2011 4:22 pm

A warning on 2 post lifts (probably applies to 4 post also) I had a friend who worked in an Ambulance garage and they always parked cars on the 2 post lifts overnight to park additional cars in the garage. They never paid attention to the foundation bolts that the lift was bolted down with. Apparently they used muriatic acid sometimes to clean the floor, although a winter salt solution would do the same thing, but after a few years of doing this, they came in one morning to the lift laying down on a couple of cars. The bolts had given way.

Wed Jan 19, 2011 5:50 pm

Paul Windisch wrote:

Absolutely! It uses 110 volts, so no need to install 220 service (although I have 220 anyway). It makes doing all Beetle maint. a snap, and engine removal is a breeze. Oil changes, valve adjustments, brakes, hell even polishing the bottom half of the car you can do standing up to save your back! I love mine, the only other thing to watch for is roof clearance in your garage, you don't want to smash the roof of your car!

When I get home, I will post some pics of my car up on the lift to give you an idea.

The Harbor Freight scissors hoist is 220V. Only about 6 amps, so I share the circuit with my air compressor.

Wed Jan 19, 2011 9:15 pm

skills@eurocarsplus wrote:
i have this in my shop

was like 1600 delivered. will put up a 12,000lb truck no problem. mine is 220 though. i installed it myself. lifting the colums was interesting. but all my 'friends' that said they would help with the install are still doing oil changes on their backs....

What brand is that, and where did you get it for $1600?

I use the Bend Pak scissor lift. I love it. Relatively portable, 6K pound capacity, 110 volt, and at full height it fits under the bottom cord of my trusses and I can roll around on my little stool under a VW. Would not work for changing trannies in a RWD car though.

Found it on CL, barely used, for $1200 a few years ago. USA made, too.

Wed Jan 19, 2011 9:49 pm

mgamike wrote: A warning on 2 post lifts

In general, what kind of mainentance should be done on a lift? Theres a two post lift in the shop where I keep my cars. Works fine, but I'm pretty sure it hasn't been touched for preventative maintenance in a few years.

Yes, I can google the particular model and find and see what the manual says, I'm just wondering big picture.

Thu Jan 20, 2011 7:30 am

Anyone else have an old school single post in the ground lift? Mine was free, salvaged from a shop that closed down years ago. It's great for vw's since there is nothing you need to get at in the middle of the car, just floorpan. If I want to use it for parking I can get 2 cars under it, one on each side of the post :D

Thu Jan 20, 2011 8:05 am

cdennisg wrote: skills@eurocarsplus wrote:
i have this in my shop

was like 1600 delivered. will put up a 12,000lb truck no problem. mine is 220 though. i installed it myself. lifting the colums was interesting. but all my 'friends' that said they would help with the install are still doing oil changes on their backs....

What brand is that, and where did you get it for $1600?

I use the Bend Pak scissor lift. I love it. Relatively portable, 6K pound capacity, 110 volt, and at full height it fits under the bottom cord of my trusses and I can roll around on my little stool under a VW. Would not work for changing trannies in a RWD car though.

Found it on CL, barely used, for $1200 a few years ago. USA made, too.

Its an eagle lift. I got it for 1400.00 plus 200.00 to ship it. I picked it up last winter and they were running a huge sale. I wish I bought the lift jack stands too but I caught cheap. Iirc they were 100.00 each back then

Thu Jan 20, 2011 9:39 pm

Paul Windisch wrote: flatfour wrote: Paul Windisch wrote: I have one of these in my garage:

http://www.gregsmithequipment.com/PhotoDetails.asp...toNumber=4

I was looking at that exact one. So other than clearance would you recommend it?

Absolutely! It uses 110 volts, so no need to install 220 service (although I have 220 anyway). It makes doing all Beetle maint. a snap, and engine removal is a breeze. Oil changes, valve adjustments, brakes, hell even polishing the bottom half of the car you can do standing up to save your back! I love mine, the only other thing to watch for is roof clearance in your garage, you don't want to smash the roof of your car!

When I get home, I will post some pics of my car up on the lift to give you an idea.

Sorry about the extra day! Here it is:

And here is a measurement to the bottom of the car with the hoist up. The hoist can actually go higher, but the rafters in my garage won't allow it!

By the way, the Crager S/S wheels in the picture are for sale, if anyone is interested. PM me if you are.

Thu Jan 20, 2011 9:44 pm

Russ Wolfe wrote: Paul Windisch wrote:

Absolutely! It uses 110 volts, so no need to install 220 service (although I have 220 anyway). It makes doing all Beetle maint. a snap, and engine removal is a breeze. Oil changes, valve adjustments, brakes, hell even polishing the bottom half of the car you can do standing up to save your back! I love mine, the only other thing to watch for is roof clearance in your garage, you don't want to smash the roof of your car!

When I get home, I will post some pics of my car up on the lift to give you an idea.

The Harbor Freight scissors hoist is 220V. Only about 6 amps, so I share the circuit with my air compressor.

I am pretty sure the one I have can be wired easily for 220, but since I have a dedicated 110 for it, I didn't bother. :D

Thu Jan 20, 2011 10:33 pm

volksaddict wrote: Anyone else have an old school single post in the ground lift? Mine was free, salvaged from a shop that closed down years ago. It's great for vw's since there is nothing you need to get at in the middle of the car, just floorpan. If I want to use it for parking I can get 2 cars under it, one on each side of the post :D

Our local VW shop has one. It has been in that shop for at least 25 years, and still works fine. Perfect for VW's.