Lift for 8' ceiling
 

Does anyone have a little lift recommendation for my house garage? Only has 8 foot ceiling but looking to just get the cars about 3 feet off the ground to make working on them a little easier than jackstands and lying on my back. Is scissor lift best for this? Thanks.

Re: Lift for 8' ceiling
 

Scissor lift is in the way for any driveline work . I put a 2 post lift in 10' posts , by removing a couple of rafters for the top of the car. 1 post still hit so I installed a skylight. --- Trevor

Re: Lift for 8' ceiling
 

Northern Tool sells a two post with a 48" lift. It's portable.

Re: Lift for 8' ceiling
 

Bobby, I dont know if you found a lift yet , but this Atlas lift from Greg Smith Equipment in Delaware has been great in my small shop at home.
I recessed it 4" into the floor for tube chassis cars ,but it will easily clear most S/SS cars installed on the floor . ....I've added a plate in the center since this photo so I can roll a trans jack or a mechanics stool around .
Cost about $2200 and worth every penny has worked flawlessly.
Tom

Re: Lift for 8' ceiling
 

Can you get under it far enough to swap trans? Can't tell if the cylinders are in the way or not.
Thanks for any info, appreciate it.
Jok

Re: Lift for 8' ceiling
 

Jok, The lift has two ramps are 19'wide x56' long with 26" between the ramps. ...The cylinders are under the ramps.
I fabricated lifting brackets with saddles to fit round and square tube chassis. Conventional perimeter frame or unit body cars can be lifted with the supplied hard rubber blocks directly on the ramp ,
Plenty of room to do a trans or just about anything else... Its been really great for fabrication.
I have a lot of pictures of the install ,but they are on my other computer.
If you would like ,I'll post some more of them later.

Re: Lift for 8' ceiling
 

Please post more of your installation. Thank You!!!

Re: Lift for 8' ceiling
 

Here's some photos from the install
You can see in the last shot I laid 2"schedule 40 pvc under the floor and extended the hydraulic and pneumatic lines to mount the control unit on the wall in the corner.
A 12x12 conduit box next to the lift houses the connections for the hydraulics ,and a 110v feed for receptacles and lights.
If the concrete form looks odd, its because we discovered after the initial cut the sides were not going to be acceptable due to the floor consisting of 4" of waylite concrete,topped with 2" of Portland cement. ....Who knows why, it was done 50 years ago.

Re: Lift for 8' ceiling
 

NICE install, Tom............ Thanks for the pics!
Do you ever wish @ times you had left it "portable"?
Or wish you had provided a drain (of some sort) to let any water "out" that inevitably gets in the pit?

greg

Re: Lift for 8' ceiling
 

Thanks Greg.
Im going to do a second lift in the spring , but portable is a relative term for these lifts.
Yes, they have rollers and a dolly for moving and manuvering, but it is very heavy, not like the flimsy single cylinder arm type lifts you see in the pictures of them inside and outside.
Also, I probably would have had a harder time with very low tube chassis cars , as the ramps are 4' high. ....they do give you 4, 20" long angled ramps that attach front and back for a conventional on the floor use .
most cars will easily go over them,but some of the ground scrapers I work on needed the extra clearance.
Floor drains are a no no in my Township ,so I had no choice there, but it has'nt been an issue.
Just a regular vacuuming under it.
The pics dont show the center cover I made to close the floor between the ramps......That made it easier to keep clean ,and roll around on a creeper or stool.