EspritS4s

I'm an excited new entrant to the lift owners club I've been passively looking for a used lift since I moved into this house three years ago. Well, last weekend, I happened to search Ebay and found a Bendpak HD-9ST for sale in CT with a couple of hours to go. A couple of hours later it was mine after making some vague promises to get spousal approval.

I got it for a great price, but the deal was contingent on me disassembling and taking it this weekend. It wasn't easy finding help on a holiday weekend with short notice, but I suckered (the lift was over three hours away) one friend into helping, and we picked it up yesterday. Here's the ebay picture of it installed in the PO's garage.



The disassemble went fairly well, and we had it loaded and ready to go in about three hours. That was with a lot of chatting with the PO and scoping the work. It would have probably taken less than half that if we knew what we were doing ahead of time.

Today, I unloaded it from the trailer with a couple of guys to help with the ramps. Here it is neatly stacked in the garage next to the '87.

(those splotches are reflections from the camera's flash and not defects in the paint.)

I also purchased the rolling bridge jack from the PO.



In an ideal world, I would have preferred a two post lift due to the increased access provided. However, I picked a four post as I plan to park under it (soon...), and they require less substantial concrete. With the sliding bridge jack, I expect that it will be very flexible. Also, I will still probably do much of my work in my second smaller garage (downstairs and rarely visited by my wife) which is where my tools currently reside. I also would have preferred to buy a wider version of this lift to accommodate wider sports cars and suvs/trucks. However, this deal was too good to pass up, and I think it will be fine for my 928s.

BTW, If any of you have this lift with the sliding bridge jack, does it really need 10-20CFM @ 125psi as specified?

Anyways, I'll post more detailed pictures of the installed lift.

I hope to set it up later this month or in early August (anyone interested in a lift raising party).

tmpusfugit

I installed my 4 post lift last month in about 6 hrs, pretty much by myself, using an engine hoist to move the heavy bits about....

dr bob

Gary--

Welcome to the club! And congrats on going in for a big lift right away. Now just need to do a little rigging to get it put together. You'll wonder how you managed to do anything without it.

EspritS4s

Nice. I brought my engine hoist along for the pickup, but we ended up not needing it; although, I'll definitely use it on the assembly unless I get 2+ guys over to help.

EspritS4s

Thanks. I hope to get up and running later this month. The trickiest part will probably be running 220V and air lines (for the bridge jack) out to this garage.

martyp

Sweet! Just be ready to spend lots of time under it - the more I see the more I want to clean/update - it's almost like a compulsion, my wife can't believe it ;-)

dr bob

Amen to that! Truly amazing how much more cleaning time is needed on any under-car project now vs before the lift.

Jakkq

After installing the new clutch in my 924 on a 4 post lift with a few 924 board members, it was one of those situations where your like "Holy ****, I need this..." Doing a clutch job is usually not something you want to do on your back anywyas.

I was so amazed as to how much better it was working under the car, and how much more enjoyable it was. Because of my bad back and shoulders, when I am lying under the car, I have to get out about every 5 minutes to stretch.

Don't have the money right now for a lift, but hopefully here in the near future I can find a good used one.

James Bailey

You can use heavy duty plastic pipe for the air lines it works great and is inexpensive too.

IcemanG17

GREEN.................................................very jealous

tmpusfugit

now that the 4 post is installed I can also see a 2 post could also be very useful for other purposes. Wonder how I can get that past the executive finance committee (of one)? Greedy? Who? Me? Livin' dangerously is more like it. Better plan for some sleeping quarters in the garage too...... installing a 2 post in addition to the 4 post might just push too many buttons!

EspritS4s

Jim,
Thanks for the tip; that's probably the route that I'll go. I also have to buy a larger compressor as my little 12 gallon one isn't going to cut it. I've been planning to upgrade my compressor for a while, but it's still funny how one thing leads to another and the $$ add up with a purchase like this. Kind of like buying a 928...

dr bob

I seldom disagree with Jim on things, but most common plastic pipe, particularly PVC and CPVC, is a serious no-no for air lines.

Choose carefully. Copper is probably the best (but is $$ now with all the WalMart dollars spending on copper in Asia), with steel/galvanized a second choice. Put drainable traps in at your workstations so you don't get water carryover into your tools. The failure mode on common plastic pipe is a violent explosion with plastic shrapnel. There are some soft PE options, but they cost as much as steel. Just easier to install if you get one of the hobby kits with the quick-connect o-ringed joints.


Back to work...

EspritS4s

Maybe I'll keep it simple and just stick with nylon hose. Something like this might be easy:



http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...nosearch=brand (RapidAir)



I don't know how well it would last though.

Bill Ball

Yes, happiness is a lift in the garage.