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SexOnWheels

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Joined
Jun 2, 2010
Messages
13
First a little about myself.

I am a Canuck ‘car guy’ / Racer (road race) who has just moved into a new home. I have been posting updates on my F-body/Camaro/car/racing sites that I have posted on for years and someone directed me to this site and asked me to re-post and keep the progress updated.

My racing/NHL team colors (NJ Devils) are Red/Black/White so this the pallete I have been working with.

Cars name/handle is SexOnWheels or the acronym is SOW which is appropriate as it is the biggest/fattest/heaviest car on the track.

I have been working on this project since April of this year:

I bought a new house (2000 sq. ft walkout with a finished basement 9 years old) House was ‘turnkey’ ready, with a couple of exceptions:
1. Fence/some exterior needed paint
2. Garage was insulated/boarded [drywall/sheetrock/etc] but raw other than that.
I loved the massive size of the garage complete with a very high section of the ceiling that begs for a car lift to be installed.
So during the move (Yes I found out I was a ‘hoarder’ but that is another story) I started the finishing of ‘Sow Racing’ head quarters:
Picture of the taping process showing the transition of the normal ceiling of a garage to the extra height described above:

What color did I go with? New Jersey Devils/SOW racing colors of course:
Here is the white base coat c/w one of the ‘hack painters’ I had ‘rolling’:

Here is a picture with the red trim painted showing where the four post car lift will be installed:

Picture of the stair railing going to the house:

Here is a shot of the ‘mighty sow’ entering the new ‘nest’ for the first time (Note the fine Canadian weather):

Final shot until I purchase and ‘erect’ the lift:

Anyone have any experience with four post car lifts? Been looking at a Bendpack but any feedback is welcomed.
 
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SexOnWheels

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Jun 2, 2010
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Time for an update, I have been busy working on the new 'speedshop' Building new cabinetry, shelving,etc:

Special cabinet to hide all the 'gardening' tools:




Main wall full of cabinets c/w work bench:



 
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SexOnWheels

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Jun 2, 2010
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The reason why I could not post a progress update was all the build up I created by the forshadow/desire/dream to have a car lift. Anything less would have been a failure.

So without further delay the four post car lift I purchased from Calgary, Alberta from:

http://carlift.ca/

Darcy was excellent to deal with and the process/install/packaging/support was flawless! The deals from them are really tough to beat no matter what side of the border you reside.

Arriving home from the purchase:



Steel all set up ready for loading:



With 'the mighty SOW' loaded up ready the trial run:



Semi-Erect:



Full-Erection (Ya-Baby) c/w a trail run of the wifes car parked underneath:



Sponsored by Snap-On, of course:



And a couple of pictures of under the race car. I will never need a creeper again:





Need to get my UMI K-member installed:



It is really nice to have a dream fulfilled (as this does not always happen)

The project is not quite completed as I still got tire racks, additional shelves, new compressor (with hard lines), etc to build/install but overall I am happy with how things turned out!

Parting shot:

 
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SiGmA_X

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 13, 2005
Messages
1,111
Location
Portland, OR
Nice work with the color scheme and a home lift! I have a few questions tho.

How much standing height do you have under the hoist?

And if I may ask, why did you choose a 4 post vs 2 post? As a professional mechanic, I cannot stand using ramp lifts. We have one at my shop (for alignments), with air jacks to lift the car up, and its horrid to do any sort of work on besides alignments and oil changes. I couldn't imagine using it for any sort of actual work!
 
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royalton10

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Joined
Oct 19, 2007
Messages
247
Location
Lancaster, Ohio
SOW, I am curious about the storage cabinets you made with the red doors that sit on floor. How big are doors, what did you make doors from, maybe MDF? It looks like they slide. How many shelves behind the doors? I have similar area under work bench that is framed with 2 x 4". I was thinking of drawers that pull out. Mine would be about 30" high by about 3.5-4 feet wide.

Thanks for whatever you can share.
 
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SexOnWheels

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Jun 2, 2010
Messages
13
SiGmA_X said:
Nice work with the color scheme and a home lift! I have a few questions tho.

How much standing height do you have under the hoist?

And if I may ask, why did you choose a 4 post vs 2 post? As a professional mechanic, I cannot stand using ramp lifts. We have one at my shop (for alignments), with air jacks to lift the car up, and its horrid to do any sort of work on besides alignments and oil changes. I couldn't imagine using it for any sort of actual work!
Click to expand...

The choice lies with the structure of residential concrete practices. Two lift posts would require addional reinforcement to the concrete floor design, and since I was not building a new home and moving into an existing one a four post lift was really the only option.

As far as working on the race car I have access to the entire undercarriege to do many scheduled mantenence to my race car. You can see that I am using road ends instead of the standard rubber bushings and these require regular replacement. Also a fourth generation F-body engine/****** removal is completed (by myself anyways) by lifting the car body off of the disconnected front of the uni-body and not removed out from the top like most vehicles. These kind of things are much nicer to complete with this tool rather than jack stands and a creeper anyday in my book.

I can stand underneath this lift as the top 'rung' is at 84 inches off of the floor.

KevDawg said:
Hey are you in Calgary?
I see what I think is Alberta plates....
Click to expand...

Good eye, just South of Cowtown!

royalton10 said:
SOW, I am curious about the storage cabinets you made with the red doors that sit on floor. How big are doors, what did you make doors from, maybe MDF? It looks like they slide. How many shelves behind the doors? I have similar area under work bench that is framed with 2 x 4". I was thinking of drawers that pull out. Mine would be about 30" high by about 3.5-4 feet wide.

Thanks for whatever you can share.
Click to expand...

I will try and take some more pictures but these are MDF doors on slider tracks and you can really have any amount of shelves inside the boxes you desire. Most things we put in cabinets are too heavy for drawers imo, so I chose to have doors that you can remove easily to get access to the contents inside.
 
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Dragster Racer

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Joined
Feb 9, 2008
Messages
1,891
Location
Morrison, IL
That red really sets that area off nicely!
More details on the cabinets please. I have been thinking of something similar, but the devil is in the details.
 
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darkbuddha

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Joined
Aug 8, 2009
Messages
126
Location
Sorrysota Flarduh
Looks very nice... and I dig the lift. But I am curious... it appears you haven't bolted the lift down to the floor. Is this not necessary with a 4-post lift?
 
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SexOnWheels

Member
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Jun 2, 2010
Messages
13
I have had a few request asking to 'detail the cabinets'.

These are just 'boxes' stacked side by side and on top.

Any combination of shelving is possible inside each box:

First picture shows a simple divider shelf 'halfing' the usable space inside:



Here is a picture of another 'box/cabinet' showing showing myself dividing the space into thirds. Notice the top shelf does not span the entire width of the cabinet so you can fit taller objects in the front (in this case a propane torch)



The doors just 'pop out' so that they can be removed to get bigger things inside and out:



Here is a couple of pictures of the tracks that I dado cut out.

Same slider on the top with thumb holes drilled into each door making these as simple as possible:



 
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SexOnWheels

Member
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Jun 2, 2010
Messages
13
This past weekend I added tire racks (two of them I need at least one more) The good thing is that they came in red ~ no color change:

Empty



Full



Weird/Bizarre shelves for over the garage overhead door:





And even got to use my upholstery skillz on the bar stools:

 
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Stuart in MN

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Joined
Sep 8, 2005
Messages
22,986
Location
Minneapolis
darkbuddha said:
Looks very nice... and I dig the lift. But I am curious... it appears you haven't bolted the lift down to the floor. Is this not necessary with a 4-post lift?
Click to expand...

Generally you don't need to bolt a four post lift down. They're very stable, particularly with the weight of a car on them. As someone else mentioned for most lifts you can get a caster kit so you can move the lift around the garage (or even out into the driveway.) Of course, they're designed so you can only move the lift when the car is fully lowered.
 
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SexOnWheels

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Stuart in MN said:
Generally you don't need to bolt a four post lift down. They're very stable, particularly with the weight of a car on them. As someone else mentioned for most lifts you can get a caster kit so you can move the lift around the garage (or even out into the driveway.) Of course, they're designed so you can only move the lift when the car is fully lowered.
Click to expand...

QFT! :bowdown:

horizontallyopposed said:
They look suspiciously like the same ones I got at Canadian Tire - watch the flyers and they go on for 40% off or more at times.
Click to expand...

Right on the money, and yes wait for the sale (usually every two months)
 
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SexOnWheels

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Jun 2, 2010
Messages
13
Well it is the time of year in which old man winter is approaching (as well as construction season is [finally] slowing down).

Researched heating options and decided on a Big Maxx Natural gas heater which is rated at 75,000 BTU.

These unit are on sale in Canada for $600 (Princess Auto) I bought mine in Montana for $429 (Big R) I got a great deal as the dollar was the same and no BS (GST) tax in MT. I also bought a side vent kit at the same time.

Here is a shot after the furnace was ‘hung’ and we are routing the gas lines:



The gas line complete and you can see the exit vent pipe (horizontal):





What color did I go with (I know yellow/orange is designated) Red of Course:



Electrical installed:



Programmable Thermostat:



This little unit really throws off the heat. I thought I would never say this but:
I can almost hardly wait for it to get colder so I can see my new heating system warm up my shop/garage.
 
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q20v

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 25, 2009
Messages
156
Location
Ottawa, ON
Hah, I was looking at those heaters in the Princess Auto flyer today at work! $430 is a great price, are they on sale at Big R? I've never heard of that store before. Did you get it shipped over, or did you pick it up in Montana?

Your garage looks like it's coming along real nice.
 
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SexOnWheels

Member
Joined
Jun 2, 2010
Messages
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q20v said:
Hah, I was looking at those heaters in the Princess Auto flyer today at work! $430 is a great price, are they on sale at Big R? I've never heard of that store before. Did you get it shipped over, or did you pick it up in Montana?

Your garage looks like it's coming along real nice.
Click to expand...

Thanks, we own a cabin in Montana and the closest city is Great Falls where Big R is located.

Yes the price was on sale in the USA as well. Shows the difference in price we pay here in Canada for the exact same thing (almost 50%)
 
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SexOnWheels

Member
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Jun 2, 2010
Messages
13
When I changed out the ball joints on the truck (SOW hauler) I really struggled with the old compressor I had as all the undercarriage bolts are a ****** to break loose.

This prompted the purchase of a new unit:


Got a great deal on this Unit and the color was right.

Here in Canada we use Hockey pucks bolted to the feet:



I ran hard lines (copper) so I could access all four corners of my property (and beyond) with any air tool I may need. These show the lines adjacent to the lift:





We used the rubber insulated ‘brackets’ to damper any vibration:



I installed a couple of reels as well as several Quick couplers:



Santa brought me one for X-mas which was super of ‘ole Saint Nick’ even if he got the color wrong:





Turned out good in my opinion and the new unit is a definite upgrade (even if it is much louder when running)

Now I have officially run out of excuses and have to get the engine swap done on SOW but I should have an easier time completing this task with the all the upgrades!

Parting/Glory shot of the completed Compressor:

 
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green.bubbly

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Joined
Dec 14, 2008
Messages
2,156
Location
Lafayette, LA
Nice looking setup and gives me something I never thought about, painting my new garage in my team's colors. Saints Black and Gold !
 
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low4life

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Joined
Jun 13, 2009
Messages
8
Nice, where did you get that compressor, and if you don't mind me asking, how much was it.
 
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SexOnWheels

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