Boy Throwback are you right about tying up the lift waiting on parts!

I have done work for others in the past and one time got a 1949 IHC KB3 truck stuck on mine for 13 months! That was a difficult rebuild as parts availability is pretty thin and mainly used parts which after 60+ years means it's ALL worn out! I finally finished it up and drove it out of the shop under it's own power for the first time in decades I think. I had to wait 8 months tracking down a gas tank. It looked like I would never find a decent stock one but got a good one out of Montana.

First set of king pin bushings I have ever done. This was in my old shop with my first lift. I liked the old truck but after I was deep into it I was not sure that was a good decision?





It went to auction and he got $13.5K for it but just to put it in perspective all the work I did plus the parts cost was over $13K. He lost money on it.

I did too as he was a friend and I did not charge all the hours I put in it.
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Not broken down, just replacing all the "sealed for life" lubricants as it looks like the previous owner believed that crap! Yep, got to have stickers on your lift, the more adult oriented ones are on the other side . When I was looking at getting a lift a friend of mine was looking at getting one too, so he went to the big smoke and looked around all the importers then rang me and told me there was only one worth getting and that was the Bendpak. All the other ones looked weak and flimsy by comparison, so we bought one each. 9 years, still running great, worth the extra expense I think.

 

you boys have some nice lifts! A bit of an extravagance for an old jag worth around the same as the lift, but I love that you are indulging.

I wish i could convince a neighbor that this would be a darn good investment for him....

 

Well it's not indulging for me because without access to the under side of the car I simply can't do the work anymore. At 66 with arthritis in several joints I just can't move and bend like I use too. I am just glad that at least I can afford the lift to keep active and work on my car stuff.
It no fun crawling around on the concrete with no room to work.
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Personal preference... many would spend that much on an exhaust just to make the car louder or shiny new wheels that don't do anything the old wheels didn't.

Also a lift, especially if bought second hand, can be resold for nearly 0 net cost. I bought both a Quick Jack 7000 and a Kwik Lift (both second hand) and made $200 when I decided I preferred the Quick Jack for my tiny garage, and sold the Kwik Lift.


Kwik Lift - Liked it but I only have room for 1.


Quick Jacks

 

that quickjack looks nice for a residential garage

 

I can see why you like the second one, it would do 80-90% of the work of a full sized lift. The 1st looks only good for oil changes.

 

This should be a "sticky" and be called Readers' Lifts.

 

Which model Quick Jacks did you purchase?
Normal length or extended length?

 

I got the normal length Quick Jacks and it has a few inches to spare. I did get the 7000# version so I could use them on a truck. And the add-on pinch weld blocks - the most over priced chunks of rubber in existence, but a must-have imho.
Note that they are made by Bendpak too - so not some no name import on Amazon with no accountability for overstating or lying about capacities or ever having to face a lawsuit from your widow.


Pinch weld blocks

Brake dust

Plenty of creeper room

 

My Quick Jack specs:

 

I have to ask, what kind of structure is this. Is it a barn or something? What a great space.....

 

It's a very cheaply made pole barn. 30' X 50' with 3 large over head doors. Has an additional extended roof on one end over another 20' X 30' section with no walls but the floors are concrete. So the overall foot print is 30' deep X 70' long. 14 1/2' from the floor to the bottom of the ceiling joists.
I did not build it and it was here when we moved in. It's been 4 long years getting it into a shop that's usable.

Large air compressor (25 CFM as I have a blast cabinet and also paint) in that back corner and you can barely see the blue compressed air piping (Rapid Air) run thru the shop. Put in LED overhead lighting. Then built a bench along the back wall about 30' long with 2 bench vises (Again just visible behind me in the picture). White painted pegboard on all walls for visibility. 2 large over head shelves for storage (My old big JBL speaker is sitting on one of them behind me in the picture).

It was a strange setup with a full bathroom and shower plus some odd and large built in storage shelves all the way to the rafters. In the end I gutted it entirely and threw everything inside away and started over. No bathroom and shower now! The good thing was the storage shelves were so large that I saved all the boards/plywood when I tore it out and reused just about all of it rebuilding it the way I wanted it.

I had the ceiling spray foamed which did very little but there was too much in the way to attempt the walls and the ceiling was raining down degraded plastic bubble insulation so I needed to cover and seal that mess up. No heat or AC but I have several large oscillating fans in the corners of the ceiling and then a large 4' diameter end gable fan with rain louvers to pull heat and fumes out of the shop. It's still hot as I am in South Texas.
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First family car to go on the lift.

Of course I had to TCO the wifes car first. This was about 10 years ago, the garage is much messier now. You can see by the pic I have a low ceiling that limits lift height. But OH has this made my life easier and saved much $ by being able to do a lot myself. The grandkids are always testing the sign "Grampa's Garage, always open". This lift system is "portable" after unbolting from the floor and has quick-disconnects for the hydraulics. However, I have never moved one of the posts. I plan on taking it with me when I move to scale down the house but have a bigger garage. All work on the Jag has been done on this lift, trans service, front suspension rebuild and any other service. 5000 lbs capacity, it'll lift 42" if I had room.

 

Regarding ramps, you do like to drain most of the oil out of the pan, right? For these cars it is an idiosyncrasy that using ramps makes for a less effective drain. Other cars it improves.

 

I have a small garage to work in and a larger barn for storage. I've long dreamed of insulating the barn and paving the floor, but then, I'd be spending big money—not only on the remodeling, but on heating. I'd probably end up with too many projects to manage, as well.

Almost 50 years ago, I did what many DIY mechanics did after close calls using jacks; I dug a trench.
It's done a lot of work over the years, and the only maintainance required is replacing the cardboard on the floor after a spill. Works great for any under car work except suspension, but there's room at either end to pull off and use jacks on one end, while still having under car access from the other. If I need access under the end as well, I put an oak timber cross-wise and jack from it.

Not ideal, but then nothing is.

Best wishes and Happy New Year! Rick

 

Thanks Rick, happy New Year to you as well and EVERYONE from EVERYWHERE on this forum. You all have been incredibly helpful. Thank you.
Can '25 please be a more peaceful year around the world?? Working on Jaguars is the most aggravation and suffering anyone should endure.

On subject: I once started a thread on safely tips for garage work. I have regular sized and tallish jack stand to use under the arms of the lift once it's where I want it. So on that note, everyone please use caution when working on your cars. NO accidents is my wish for the new year.
Someday I will have a taller garage to lift higher and a lift with a brace across the top for more security.

yes, ramps are better for a better oil drain, it's the trade off we must make. TM

 

Hallo und einen guten Rutsch ins neue Jahr!

Ich habe vor einigen Jahren eine sehr platzsparende Version gebaut.
Es handelt sich um eine einfache Scherenhebebühne mit kurzem Hub.
Er hebt 1 m hoch.
Ich habe ihn auseinandergeschnitten, die Auffahrrampen entfernt und 20 cm tiefe Aussparungen in den Boden betoniert.

Viel Arbeit, aber im Nachhinein eine gute Investition

 

Thanx selfmadexkr. Looks like a great idea for those of us with limited space.

Here's a google translation for others, like me, who would like to know more but have forgotten much of their high school German.

I've built a very space-saving version a few years ago. It is a simple scissor lift with a short lift. height— lifts 1 m high. I cut it apart, removed the ramps and concreted 20 cm deep recesses in the ground. A lot of work, but in retrospect a good investment.
Best to all, Rick.