My lift works fine for my other vehicles, but I have had to nail 2 2x8s together and taper one end to get the cobra on it. It's great for cleaning around outside of car as you can lift if up to a level where you can work on sides easily. Just wished I had been smart enough to have recessed the floor for lift when I added the addition to the garage.
Cobra Make, Engine: Professional Cobra & Streetrod Builder
Posts: 5,352
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Had one...sold it. To build a car on, it just wasn't much help. Even changing oil on one was a pain. Great for clean up and detailing, maybe brake jobs, but other than that it just wasn't that helpfull. Finaly gave up and put a 4-post in, NOW, that is another story!
Cobra Make, Engine: Professional Cobra & Streetrod Builder
Posts: 5,352
Not Ranked
Joea,
Nothing much, just to change the oil, work underneath (wide open vs. 90% obscured due to the nature of the beast. (Scissor Jack)
Mine came with an extrememly heavy center tray, (slides from front to back), if we have to change a tire, rear ends, what ever, we just slide a OEM GM, Ford, etc., scissor jack in the tray and simply jack up either end to get it off the rails. It's aldso great to just raise the car up to working height too, but there is a down side to everything, on occasion the posts get in the way, but not often.
Another big plus is, you can stick your car, ATV, Motorcyle, 'junk' on the lift, raise it up and then park another car under it.
Mine also came with huge casters that slip on in a second! I can move the entire lift around the shop WITH a BB 502, tilt nosed '40 Willy's on it! Truth in advertising It sure steers a heck of a lot easier if you've got some help! My floor has a very slight slope in it for drainage, I get that puppy moving with a car on it and it heads for the drain everytime!
Paid 2K for mine too, included shipping, the removeable casters, the large center tray and about six plastic drip trays, along with removable ramps that handle the Cobra with ease.
One of my co-harts wired up a string of lights under his rails. Talk about light! Gonna do that to mine as soon as I get the time. The only other thing I have done to it, is take a 'punch-out' out of the electrical box for the pump and added and outlet to it so I now have juice right on the lift.
Yep-gave my Snap-On Scissor Jack back to the Snappy dealer...no regrets.
Joe,I know what you mean but when you factor in shipping and assuming you buy an american made lift a 4 post will be about 1100 or 1200 more than a kwik lift.If you have any other figures let me know. chuck
I considered the kwiklift (still am ) but I think it is pricey for what you get. A four post lift runs about 2k so I wouldn't say it is much cheaper.
Joe, I sort of agree with you. By the time you add the center tray and powder coating, you're looking at north of $1,600. I'm looking at a KwikLift more as a "really nice to have" than a must have. I plucked some pictures and plans from my Corvette days for a LUMBER-based drive-on ramp. Raises the car about 10-12 inches and provides plenty of room for general maintenance. A whole lot cheaper and would actually be fun to build....I'm probably going to go that route at some point. I'll spend the money I save on the Bilsteins upgrade.
Deano
P.S. The Pro 5.0 shifter continues to work well. A great mod for the money.
Free shipping is included. A word to the wise though, if you do order it, make darned sure you have at least two guys to help unload it! The ramps/rails, especially with the hydraulics in it is real hernia maker!
DV
Actually the kwik lift is 1395, powder coated,with drip tray ,jack tray,approach ramps,125 shipping= 1520.The least expensive american lift I have found was 2300 with free shipping.The direct lift seems ok,but I have not found free shipping.4 post lifts average 300 shipping=23-2600.The advantage of the kwik lift(and I am not trying to convince you to buy one) is portability,safety and it takes up less room in the garage.Of course you can use a 4 poster to store under or on top of.I went to Goodguys in Charlotte to see the lifts in action.Direct Lift,BackYard Buddy ,Kwik Lift and others were there and after it was all said and done my dad and I both were most impressed with the Kwik lift. chuck
A friend of mine has a scissor lift. We tried one time to put my car up on it. It has been too long and I don't exactly remember why it would not work but I seem to recall that the front lift points were too far in on my SPF. Don't know about other makes. Another friend has a two post Mohawk with the tire adaptors. I can either pick the car up by the frame or pick it up by the tires. Nice option.
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We have enough youth. What we need is a fountain of common sense
I have what I consider to be the perfect lift for those whose garages are vertically challenged. It's made by Benwill (which is now, sadly, gone, but they were purchased by the much larger company Maxxon and thus this lift may still be available).
Instead of a scissors action, it uses a parallogram design. The advantage is that it allows unrestricted access from the midpoint, back. So I can back a car onto it, and remove the transmission.
I don't have any photos of my Contemporary on the lift, but I just used it the other day and it worked spectacularly well.
New cost was about $1800; I got mine used a few years ago for $1200. I feel like a fool for not having purchased it ten years earlier!
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Contemporary 427 S/C
'66 Shelby GT-350 clone
'72 De Tomaso Pantera
(plus three Kawasakis and three VW Scirocco airport cars!)
Any using a scissor lift?
It sure steers a heck of a lot easier if you've got some help! My floor has a very slight slope in it for drainage, I get that puppy moving with a car on it and it heads for the drain everytime!
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