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My new, old lift

AMCguy

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Joined
Dec 23, 2009
Messages
2,022
Location
Sunshine Coast, BC Canada
I bought this thirty something year old 9,000 lb HYDRA-LIFT before I started building my new shop. That was over four rears ago. It sat on a stack of bricks out behind my old garage, getting rained on until last month.

I took it completely apart to give it a good power washing and a shot of paint. It was then that I discovered that the guy I bought it from, lied about it's condition and all the regular maintenance it had received. All the rollers and the shafts they ride on where destroyed. Chewed down to nothing from lack of lubrication. Kind of funny because the rest of the thing was a greasy oily mess. At least that kept the rust to a minimum.

I found these guys. www.ellisind.com Mike was very helpful. He had all the parts in stock and got them to me quickly, at half the cost of the manufacturer. If you have an old lift, Mike Ellis is your man.

Well I ended up degreasing, sandblasting and painting every inch of it. I assembled it with all the new parts and new nuts and bolts for good measure.

Here it is. My total cost is just over $1,200. I'm pretty happy with myself.

100_1673.jpg
 
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Aberdale

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Mar 13, 2009
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1,380
Location
Ohio
It looks like a new one. Sure wouldn't guess it was a 30 year old machine.

Dale
 

Piper

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Joined
Nov 17, 2006
Messages
590
Location
Muskoka, Canada
I betcha that lift is saying "aaah" right now!

great job!

The best news is that the steel in that baby is way more reliable than the stuff used today...
 

sdowney717

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Joined
Mar 17, 2010
Messages
964
how wide and strong is that base. Do you have to estimate the car center to distribute the weight? I could imagine lifting up something that is heavier on one end and stressing it.
Many years ago in another lifetime, I worked at a dealership where there were 2 cradle lifts for each car. They ran independently and you could lift one or both or neither. One time my air hose running across the floor grabbed one control handle and one end went down and the other stayed up. The levers were on the floor. Another mechanic happened to see it and quickly helped me out. It went down as low as halfway down on one side before it was caught. It could go down very fast.
 
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AMCguy

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Dec 23, 2009
Messages
2,022
Location
Sunshine Coast, BC Canada
It's an "H" beam design. The carriages travel on the outside of a 8''x8'' beam with rollers that make contact with the inside and outside edges. It very sturdy. My friend has a business with two Snap-On lifts. I can twist those sheet metal columns with my bare hands.

The floor plate will make using a transmission jack awkward, but that is the only drawback of this design. There is no overhead obstruction.
 
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AMCguy

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Joined
Dec 23, 2009
Messages
2,022
Location
Sunshine Coast, BC Canada
sdowney717, The base is made from two pieces of 6'' channel with the 3/16'' floor plate welted over top. The ends are 3/16'' thick 4x2'' square tubing that are 5' long. It's so sturdy, you could probably use it without bolting it to the floor. On a lighter vehicle that otherwise won't overload the arms, you wouldn't even have to place the vehicle's centre of gravity between the columns.
 
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sdowney717

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Mar 17, 2010
Messages
964
have you ever seen very tall tripod type of car stands? I have seen them where you lift the car up on your jack, then put these under the car at 4 corners and you can let down the jack to clear the central area of the car. This clears out the entire area and you can easily work on trans etc...
 

CBR900RR

New member
Joined
Oct 15, 2010
Messages
2
Location
Hunterdon County, NJ
could i ask an odd favor? I too have recently bought a used hydra-lift, but the motor is burnt out... could you possibly post a pic of the motor plate from yours? i am having quite a problem getting the info i need as my motor plate is missing.. i cannot even find the capacitor specs... thanx in advance!!
 

PistolWhip

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Joined
May 14, 2009
Messages
361
Location
People's Republic of New Jersey
Looks awesome man, well done. For $1200 not only did you get a new lift, but you got a new lift with old school structural stability. That thing was made when people actually knew what work ethic and pride were.
Do you ever wonder what kind of cars its had on it over its lifetime? Like how many 60's Camaros, Mustangs, Cudas and Chevelles did that thing lift?
 
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