Hey Guys, trying to plan where I will place 2 post lift in garage. My question is when your Thirdgen is on the lift, how far is the top edge of the windshield from the center of your lift support beam? I'm not sure if there is a better measurement to provide, but this seemed like a good place for all cars regardless if camaro/firebird. Thanks for your help, just had my garage scanned for rebar yesterday and this is starting to get real!

 

Hey there, just curious what manufacturer of 2 post lift your going with? I've been thinking of getting one myself - good luck with your project,
and post up some pics as you move forward with your install

 

I highly considering ATLAS BP8000: https://www.gregsmithequipment.com/Atlas-BP8000 not sure what can stop me now, getting concrete cores drilled on Monday and over to the lab for testing ASAP. Don't know history of garage or concrete so I'm doing testing. My wife seems to think my life is worth the drilling/test fees.

I did find this one

 

Probably a good idea, I will be watching the thread....good luck

 

Rough Visio sketch. Trying to plan where trusses will be cut to make room for roof. Blue area represents points of car that are at spoiler height. May be able to squeeze it between 5 trusses, and will need to cut 4 of them for max lift. Black line represents approximate center of gravity of car. drawings will eventually be sent to structural engineer for analysis and design. Or, I could just skip all this and get started on building a real garage in the back yard!

 

Not sure if you have looked at Dannmar I have the 10acx it has the wide set posts that are also set at a 30 deg angle so you can open the doors farther. The key feature I like is how the lift cylinder's are setup. It does not use lift chains. I got it in 2015 for about $2300 delivered it also is a certified lift.
To me it was worth the extra $800 over the Atlas lift I was looking at

 

Mine is a 9000lb asymmetric lift with shorter lift arms up front.

 

Very interesting - this is EXACTLY what I've been considering as well - let me know what they say - looks like we are trying to accomplish the same thing !!

 

It depends on if you go for a symmetric lift or an asymmetric lift. I own a shop and have used both, but all mine are asymmetric lifts. My newest is a Bendpak 10k asymmetric with low profile arms. One thing about the asymmetric lift is that the car is positioned such that both doors will fully open when on the lift. With most cars you put the side mirror about even with the post but with the third gen having such a large beak on it, the side mirror is about 10 inches behind the post.

I like my 10k Bendpak. I found one of the VP's over on Garage Journal and was able to order factory direct at the friend's and family discount. Just under $3k with truck adaptors. Free shipping. They are easy to setup - even by yourself. The Bendpak has the posts set at 45 degrees allowing the arms to fold back farther out of the way. It's extremely asymmetric with the front arms almost perpendicular to the car. Works really well if you need to open the doors.

GD

 

Do you have an engineer designing how to cut and support the trusses?

I'm sure you know they work as a unit - cut them and they are rendered useless.

 

We did this to a garage where I worked - Structural engineers told the construction company
how to "re-brace" the roof trusses to accommodate the "notch" in the ceiling of the garage without compromising
the overall strength of the roof. It can be done but finding a structural engineer to draw up the plans is the hard part
and probably pretty costly too

 

yes, i'll be handing him a set of drawings and specs and photos. he may be able to do it without site visit. I've hired him in the past for other things.

 

I'm a bit confused on symetric -vs- asymetric. Read that only a true asymetric must have the posts anchored at angle. In any regard, it seems the center of gravity of the car remains the same, so if you want to shift CG around, it will transfer more weight of the car to the front/rear arm of the lift. This is the part I don't really understand. I get that it allows you to open door more, but it seems unequally distributed weight is going to cause one side of the lift to support more weight than the other, and your concrete/bolts better be up to the job. Is this what is going on? Or are asymetric simply designed for cars that have 60/40 weight distribution, simple as that?

Thanks for photo - what is make/model of your lift? The Atlas BP8000 is "super symetric" what ever that means.

 

Is this with symetric lift?

 

Mine is a 9,000 lb. Blue Clear Floor Two Post Asymmetric Lift . Here is a pretty good article that may help clear it up for you.


https://www.gregsmithequipment.com/A...Two-Post-Lifts

 

No. Asymmetric. I would highly reccomend the asymmetric for the third gen because of the oddly placed long doors.

The lifts are engineered to do this. With between 25% and 33% of the vehicle in front of the post. All my lifts are this way and it's not a problem even for large trucks. The lift arms are designed to hold the weight. If I get a chance I'll snap a pic when I have my car on one of the lifts.

You do need proper concrete. But if the garage floor is inadequate you can simply cut out a section and pour proper footings for the lift anchor points. I would use the opportunity to put in a pit as well. This gives the advantage of working with the suspension loaded.

Make sure whatever you buy is ALI certified. Your insurance may not cover any unfortunate accidents if it is not.

GD

 

That's my junk, lift arms are like a mu11et, short in the front and long in rear

 

Pretty cool junk !!.....and garage

 

Thanks, It's filling up with "stuff" quickly..

 

One mans trash, another mans treasure! What type of lift are you using?

 

I got it from Greg Smith lifts. We bought about 6 at one time iirc, some 2 posts and some drive ons.

 

 

This is a good photo to show how the posts are set "twisted" so you can open the doors farther. Because of how the posts are set the front arms are shorter than the back ones. This is because the center of gravity point is behind the posts not in line with them.
I also suggest downloading and looking at the installation manual for whatever hoist you decide on BEFORE you order it. It will have the information you will need for planning the instal.
Using a cherry picker hoist and a strap I was able to set the posts myself. But I have a very tall barn (16') for working in...
This is the link to the hoist I have... https://dannmar.com/car-lifts/two-po.../d-10-acx.html
This is where I got mine from... at least in 2015 I go a better price calling them... https://www.asedeals.com/store/dannm...igadier-10acx/

 

Got concrete cores drilled and dropped off at lab. Starting to think it would have been cheaper to just have someone come in and put in known footers/pad to hold lift.

 

You've got quite the project going there - might be cheaper to build a new garage

 

Really!

 

 

You get used to it. Here's mine on one of the old 7k's - I snapped some pics of the asymmetric nature for this thread a while ago then forgot. LoL:



GD

 

 

They move for sure. You can usually shake a car pretty good by a few inches. It's normal. These are pretty old asymmetric lifts. Circa 1993 or so. But my Bendpak 10k I bought two years ago is similar with my third gen on it.

GDt

 

Ummmm, well......I've never seen THAT done before......are you prepared for roof leaks ??

 

Put a Home Depot bucket over it is step 3 !

 

Don't forget to use a good thick bead of sealant for that bucket to roof seal!

 

Good thinking, permetex black or red?

 

I thought the first pic with the post through the roof was a photo edit until I saw the second picture!

 

That's a bold strategy cotton.

 

I never got comfortable with how cars bounced around up on a 2-post. You get used to it, but I never got comfortable.

A couple of these take the bounce right out of it, and are worth their weight in gold, IMO.

 

Was looking at these. How many do you need and where do you place them?

 

We have two of them at the shop. I hardly ever use them but if it needs an extra bit of safety, I’ll stick one under the front crossmember or rear diff, or either bumper, if there is a solid one available. Peace of mind.

 

Thanks, I was even considering 4, but then started thinking about storage when not in use. Is this the brand you have? Is it infinitely adjustable or is it in 1" increments?

 

Ours are screw jack style. Fully adjustable.

 

We use those when running the car on the lift to prevent it from shaking when changing gears or applying the brakes, etc. You think having it in the air is uncomfortable - have an assistant run it up to 100 mph while fully over your head to check the wheel bearings. LOL.

GD

 

 

That's a creative solution to your problem

 

That's a pretty good idea, can also help vent nasty fumes