Hi All, Well, I finally got a lift. It's not actually new. I got it used from Tool and Equipment Connection in North Attleboro (www.tecequip.com). It's a 6,000 pound two post made by Mohawk, a premium U.S. lift (no Chinese cheapo!). The guys came and installed it in a few hours, showed me how to use it, and we put my Toyota up on it. (Hey, I wasn't testing it on the Ferrari!) They don't do electrical work, so I temporarily wired it so we could try it. After they left I unwired it and re-did the wiring properly with conduit. One thing I really like about this lift is that it is a "clear floor" model but it also can be installed on a ceiling that is less than 12 feet. Many lifts either need a 12' ceiling for the cross-bar at the top, or they have no cross bar and they need a "runway" across the floor for the cables/hydraulics. This lift is one of the few that has only a hydraulic line across the top and it can be adjusted to run along the ceiling at any height, as long as it's higher than the posts themselves. Since my ceiling is 11' 8" I couldn't fit a full 12' lift, but I didn't want an obstruction in the floor either. It's neat! I can see however that I might not be crazy about not getting an asymmetrical model. You can't open the doors when the car is on the lift. Now I just have to finish the rest of the garage wiring and rough plumbing so I can get the insulation and sheetrock installed. It's COLD in there! Christine says now that my lift is installed, get out there and change the oil in her car! Birdman
Birdman, all I can say is "WOW" Congrats on the new lift. Will you have the garage weathertight in time to start the major on your 308? If yes let me know. I would be happy to lend a hand during the long cold winter, provided my nagging ear problem clears! Also located the brass shim tool set I bought from Rutlands for your valve adjustment. Have feeler guages, metric mics etc etc. You are welcome to use. John.
Birdman: Looks great. Now you will be spending all your time in the shop! Good way to go with the used lift, a very smart choice! Please keep us updated.
Nice A friend of mine also just got one used for $800 now hes got another parking space with one car suspended in the air Lamarossa
John, Thanks for the offer! I may not actually do the valves, but just use Verell's cool pulley locks to change the belts without opening the cam covers. After the saga of the other John's 308, I'm in a "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" kind of mood. I'm thinking...hmmmm, it runs fine, doesn't leak from the cam seals...why should I spend hundreds on gaskets, open it, diddle with it, put it together and hope it doesn't leak? I'll have to think about this. Furthermore I have the old notoriously brittle sodium valves. I'm afraid to adjust them and stress them, then end up doing a complete engine rebuild. I do need to do the belts for sure. God knows when they were last done. The thing is weather tight now. Although the side and back are just Tyvek ("downeast siding"!) the water stays out. It's nice and dry and most of the electricals are in. I'll wait for the spring to do the rest of the siding. It's just too darned cold for putting up siding in December on a ladder. Come on over sometime and see the place! Birdman
I kinda went overboard on the slab. It's 9" thick at the back of the garage, tapering down to 6" thick at the front, so it has 3" of slope to be sure water won't come in and collect at the back. Then I dug out a little under the lift area before the pour, so it's 9" thick under the lift. Finally, there is rebar on 18" centers under the whole floor, doubled to 9" centers under the lift. There is 1,000 feet of rebar in the floor. The guy who poured the floor asked me if I was building a bridge. Like I said, overkill. Requirements for the lift are 5" of concrete and no rebar is necessary. Some lift companies say 4" is enough as long as its 3500 PSI concrete. My feeling was that pouring it a little thicker would cost me $500 more in concrete, and the rebar was about $500. So going mega-strong on the floor cost me $1000 more than a basic floor. Considering the expense of the entire project and the importance of the floor, it was more than worth it. Birdman
Jon, That's awesome! We have the same lifts at McGuire and every other afb that I've been too. They're very reliable. Good luck finishing the garage. Jim
Good looking lift. Just don't use it to store your car up in the air unless you want to damage the suspension.
There has been almost no evidence to prove that storing the car for a couple months with the wheels hanging has any detrimental effect on the shocks. All it does is allow the springs to keep the shocks at their longest length. I have never heard any reports of this damaging a shock, and it certainly won't hurt the springs, in fact it's good for them. Maybe with the new electronic shocks this is a problem, but old fashioned Konis, I doubt it. They are just hydraulic dampers. Birdman
2 Post lifts > 4 post... They make it so much easier to work on a car! If you're going to store a car on there... I'd take the wheels off.
birdman I store my 73 2002 on my lift all the time and as you said no problems with the suspension it is fine .this is the 355 on the lift \David Image Unavailable, Please Login
David, Love the lift setup you have. it looks very practical. have you worked on the 355 like you did the mondial??? Bill
I have done some work to the 355 manifolds and a few outher things ,but no engine out like the mondial ,that work went to Boston Sports car david Image Unavailable, Please Login
OK, now is when you really hope that the lift is as strong as they say it is and the bolts holding it to the floor don't come out! Image Unavailable, Please Login
Well I have found a guy in Texas selling the teamlift 4 post lifts for $1650 new They actually have the same model # as the Eagle SS7000 what do all you guys still think of the Teamlift brand who have had them a while ?? sorry I am just a poor Porsche owner and a 65 stingray but dream of a Ferrari one day thanks for the advice Jim
Wow, very nice installation Birdman and David! You guys have got me thinking that a lift might make sense, since I rent a garage for my Ferrari and, even though it is less than 10 minutes from the house, it is a pain to go get it and I'm shelling out rent every month for it. Buying and installing a lift might pay for itself after a year or two in garage rent savings. Does anyone know if it is possible to test the concrete floor on an existing house to know if it is strong/thick enough to support one of these lifts? Also, is there any kind of safety mechanism to prevent lowering the lift if there is a car stored below it? John
Check with the lift mfg as to the floor requirements. My lift required a min. slab thickness of 4". Most residential slabs will meet the requirement. Test would be to drill some 1/2" holes thru the slab & measure the thickness in a few spots. Holes could then be filled with concrete. By law, all lifts have to have safety mechanical safety interlocks that have to be released before they'll come down. Thus hydraulic or lift cable failures won't let the lift drop on something/someone under the lift. However, there's no way to protect against an idiot releasing the interlock & lowering the lift onto something under it. Hmm, if I had kids I'd put a lock of some kind on the safety interlock just to be safe. Could be as easy as unscrewing the interlock lever I guess.