Converted my 2 car garage into a 3 car ! (lift)

[Deschodt]

Here's my "stacker" 4 post lift story... I know there are tons out there, but I'm adding mine because a) you guys are responsible for this madness b) just want to set some things straight....

Here's before... Low rise garage door, barely any room...

I moved the scissor lift and wood ramps on the other side, and had a high lift kit installed, along with a new door (it was time).

Here comes the lift...

And what's left on the trailer...

Here's the setting things straight part: you guys who took delivery of this and installed it yourself are insane.....ly talented and well equipped ;-)

Seriously, it's monstrous ! And heavy... Kill you heavy... The instructions ****...They are missing a whole section in fact, said the installer... It took 2 pros over 5 hours to install and adjust this (granted, they were not both here at the same time). If you can do that in one afternoon with a buddy, my hat's off to you ;-) So fair warning for guys like me, who enjoy turning a wrench but don't necessarily have the time or inclination or giant lifting machines... installation was the best $$ I ever spent !

($600 with delivery from 150 mi away)

She's on !

Drip trays... if a Porsche stops dripping oil, it's empty ! Besides it's just attempting to mark its territory...

Stacked !!!

I will not start a lift comparison, I only know the one I bought ;-) It's OK, it's stable, seems safe... It's slower than the scissor lift, and it takes more room that you probably imagine... Nice alternative to a garage extension though ! Oh, yeah, it's a propark8S... And $1895 or whatever quickly becomes $2700 with delivery, install, fluids, and TAX (had to buy local to get install).

Greg.

 

[radelow]

Man I love 911's. My mom drove them for most of her life...Great cars.

I am debating between two-post and four-post. The majority of the time it will be used for storage but I work on my cars as well... Decisions Decisions...

 

[Jaguar Fan]

Very cool. What is the ceiling height in the garage?

 

[Deschodt]

The white one's a 912, but I like her anyway, the other is a bona fide 911 but a backdate (83 car made to look like an older 73)... I wanted to stack more than anything - I have the scissor lift for "work"... So it was 4 post all the way for me. I may sell the scissor to a friend and buy the rolling jacks that go on the 4 post, but I am not sure it's worth it to me, $ for $, vs. keeping the scissor... It would just be simpler, as I hate those wood ramps and having to aim each time I park..

Ceiling height is 3.1 Meters, a little over 10ft... Sorry I had a tape measurer in cms the day I did measurements ! I have room to spare, but the 911/912s are low...

PS JagFan: I enjoyed that book in your quote (Anathem? forgot), and pretty much everything stephenson ever wrote...

PPS: Now I need to redecorate the garage, add light - this setup kills the lighting of course, paint, space saving stuff... I'll be back for ideas!

 

[jwhcars]

Nice looking P-cars and the lift looks good also

 

[gandyj]

Here's my "stacker" 4 post lift story... I know there are tons out there, but I'm adding mine because a) you guys are responsible for this madness b) just want to set some things straight....

Here's before... Low rise garage door, barely any room...

I moved the scissor lift and wood ramps on the other side, and had a high lift kit installed, along with a new door (it was time).

Here comes the lift...

And what's left on the trailer...

Here's the setting things straight part: you guys who took delivery of this and installed it yourself are insane.....ly talented and well equipped ;-)

Seriously, it's monstrous ! And heavy... Kill you heavy... The instructions ****...They are missing a whole section in fact, said the installer... It took 2 pros over 5 hours to install and adjust this (granted, they were not both here at the same time). If you can do that in one afternoon with a buddy, my hat's off to you ;-) So fair warning for guys like me, who enjoy turning a wrench but don't necessarily have the time or inclination or giant lifting machines... installation was the best $$ I ever spent !

($600 with delivery from 150 mi away)

She's on !

Drip trays... if a Porsche stops dripping oil, it's empty ! Besides it's just attempting to mark its territory...

Stacked !!!

I will not start a lift comparison, I only know the one I bought ;-) It's OK, it's stable, seems safe... It's slower than the scissor lift, and it takes more room that you probably imagine... Nice alternative to a garage extension though ! Oh, yeah, it's a propark8S... And $1895 or whatever quickly becomes $2700 with delivery, install, fluids, and TAX (had to buy local to get install).

Greg.

What brand/type floor covering is that? Is it G-floor? I see the ends of it are not flat but how long has it been down and how do you like it?

Joe

 

[e-tek]

What brand/type floor covering is that? Is it G-floor? I see the ends of it are not flat but how long has it been down and how do you like it?

Joe

Did you need to quote all the pics just to say that????

See the NEW 911 Turbo? 0-60 in 2.9sec!!!! Awesome!!

 

[Deschodt]

What brand/type floor covering is that? Is it G-floor? I see the ends of it are not flat but how long has it been down and how do you like it?

Joe

I honestly do not remember, I bought that 4 or 5 years ago....
It's a rubber mat that has diamond pattern - came in a heavy roll...I can dig it up if you cannot find any info a all with google... Was $200+ each back then, I think.... It's been great, not as elegant as racedeck, but my garage is far from a show piece and it was nicer than the ugly concrete and bad vinyl tiles that were on it ! ;-)

 

[Rich]

Ever since I built the new garage I've been thinking along the lines of either/or on the 4 post-vs-scissor lift. Both is the perfect solution. Thanks for enlightenment!

One more project and I'm going to have to do something.

By the way...nice cars!

 

[69CHARGERMD]

Nice,
Any info on what you did with the garage door before and after...?

Also, do you have to keep the car on the "top" facing a certain direction for clearance...?

congrats on the lift,,,

Im saving up for one as well.....

(i might have similar garage door issues,,,)

Doug

 

[Deschodt]

Rich, Thanks, you too...I love those early Landies ! You have more lateral room than me in there, a 4 post should fit just fine and not bother you at all next to your scissors! That or a set of sliding jacks on the 4 post... I'm debating this still... Cost is similar for me between keeping the scissor or buying sliding jacks. The only difference is I could then get rid of the ugly, home made, wood ramps on the scissor and get some uncluttered space back...

Doug: well, my garage door could have been extended by a couple panels and tracks for high lift installed, but it was OLD, dented, painted and not as hurricane proof as the new one. Honestly, the cost of a brand new door that pleased my wife (an important factor when you plan on buying more toys) was less than 50% of the overall bill for the high lift kit install and repairs around the door frame. The high lift kit alone is something I would do even if I did not plan on owning a lift... It may sound stupid, but my garage was transformed with the high lift - ceiling height made it feel like a cathedral instead of a cave... More light, more space, "ahhhhh".. nice ! Now the 4 post lift kinda killed that vibe though ;-) But no complaints, I got 3 cars in there now ! Oh, and I kept my normal door opener motor. There was no room to install those side motors... saved a bit there...2 more door panels make it possible to keep one's old opener functioning like before...

I moved the lift as far back as possible to ensure clearance with the garage door. It turns out that I do NOT have to park the 912 backwards, I did that to be 200% sure of clearance when we were testing the lift. It actually would fit both ways... Now bear in mind the 911/912s are low cars. I'm yet to try and see if I can park my 73 2002 under there. I think I can...it's just not around right now (getting a new diff)...

Again, do the garage door regardless... even with no lift, the feeling of space is fantastic. All doors should be high lift...

 

[AffableCurmudgeon]

Very nice cars and great set up. Looks very nice.

Loved the quote below, lol.

Drip trays... if a Porsche stops dripping oil, it's empty ! Besides it's just attempting to mark its territory...

 

[930dreamer]

Great set up, does the lift need be bolted to the floor?

 

[Deschodt]

Great set up, does the lift need be bolted to the floor?

No, 4 posts don't need to be bolted down, though you can ! 2 posts do... Besides, that would defeat the purpose of have those 4 shiny wheels that it came with.. You attach them to each post, drop the ramp, which puts pressure on the wheel and by leverage lifts the posts... You can then reposition it by yourself if the floor is perfect, or with the help of a friend, if like me you got floor mats that bunch up under the wheels (also not an issue, you raise the ramp, unbunch, drop the ramp, move it, etc)...

 

[Blue440Duster]

a) you guys are responsible for this madness

And the problem is?.......

 

[993James993]

Nice stable! I would keep the scissor lift if i were you. May I ask how wide your garage is? Also, how did you back date the '83? Was this a kit or did you replace the fenders? Have you posted your cars on any other site? I would love to see build photos. I'm sure a lot of folks here would enjoy them as well.

 

[Deschodt]

James,

I'm always eager to share stuff like that, but I don't want to post too much about the backdate here, it's not really on topic (then again it's my thread, I'll post a few pics and stop), but if you are interested in the process, there are 13 pages of self deprecating postings on the topic there:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/392304-ready-my-911sc-project-long.html

basically we went from this:

via that:

To that:

We ended up welding early car fender extensions on my stock fenders, despite the early attempts at using early fenders, replaced the bumpers and hood, painted, and then did torsion bars and wheels... It is not an anatomically correct backdate (993 mirrors) but it's true to what I had in my mind. No harm done, it was a 200K miles $9000 car, dime a dozen, but it is my first 911 and I did not want to let it rot... it's got a new lease on life now !

I'm planning on keeping the scissor lift for now, but I may trade it for some paint work on my old Bimmer (from the same guy who did my paint), since I can use cheap bottle jacks on the existing jack tray to raise the car off the ramp.... Options, lots of them...

Right now my priority is to declutter the garage, it feels a little claustrophobic in there... I'm so jealous of eople who have 3 or 4 bays ! No idea how wide it is, 2 cars + 2 man-wide corridors, no more... I'll go measure when it's cleaner !

 

[Bulldog13]

Those Porsches give me a warm feeling in my nether regions.....

 

[Deschodt]

Those Porsches give me a warm feeling in my nether regions.....

Well, they were both sub-$10K cars not very long ago. Go get one !!! Soft market right now...

 

[69CHARGERMD]

Deschodt, thanks for the reply. I am going to research the garage door issues and see what i need.

 

[Trailer Park Casanova]

Nice.
I'd like to do the same with mine.

 

[e-tek]

Well, they were both sub-$10K cars not very long ago. Go get one !!! Soft market right now...

Deschodt - just spent a couple hours looking over the tranformation of your 911.Thanks for the link! Although I "could" say it's time I'll never get back ;-) I sure learned a lot and even cheered when you went the direction of reworking the original fenders - Awesome work!

I like 911's even more now!

 

[ovilla]

Nice lift! I really like your backdated 911 too. Anyway, what exactly is the opening in your garage ceiling for?

 

[Deschodt]

AC unit... That tells me there is more room up there and they could have raised the ceiling a bit more...

 

[JMURiz]

Awesome collection, and I really dig the long-hood conversion!

Love seeing people with 'normal' garages make them into 3 car spaces. The 2002 will love having a place inside to park. I'm hoping to get a lift this spring/summer myself.

 

[Deschodt]

Nothing earth shatteringly new, but since the 2002 did not feature on the pictures, I thought I'd add one photo !

I've since cut off the pump bracket and rewelded it to another side of the posts for more clearance. Nothing else to report, still love the lift...

 

[JMURiz]

Sweet! It was worth the wait for the picture. I can't wait to get my lift (this fall hopefully) so I can show off myself

 

[e-tek]

Sweet! It was worth the wait for the picture. I can't wait to get my lift (this fall hopefully) so I can show off myself

I think he meant the Bimmer.....

That lift looks kinda light-weight, but I guess those 911's don't weight much. What brand/rating is it?

 

[Rickenbackerman]

Looks like a Direct Lift Pro-Park 8S? 9000lb rating. Only reason I say that is because I just got one last Saturday from Greg Smith in DE. My buddy and I started unloading it (with the help of my new cherry picker) around noon and finally had my truck in the air around 8PM. It was a looooong day...