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kermit1654

Alright, Alright, you all have pretty much convinced me the pit idea is not the way to go. You all have brought up a lot of good points that I hadn't considered. Looks like the lift is the way to go...Oh Crap, that means I now have convince the wife! I was hoping to sneak the pit in without her really noticing the big hole in the floor (could of told her it was a big drain or inground storage and she probably wouldn't have known any better).

74FLCONV

You might not need a deep (stand-up) pit. A shallow pit (8" ~ 12") might do. Make it just wide enough to drop in a mechanics creeper. You can ramp it down from either end. Lay on the creeper and roll down into the pit.

You'll be able to work under the car without jacking it up (and if you do have to jack, you won't have to jack as high). A shallow pit would be a tripping hazard, but no one's gonna fall in ( 5' ~ 6') and break their neck.

D. Ocean
Miami, FLA

any4xx

One thing that no-one has mentioned yet is the EXPLOSION danger of having a pit. Gasoline fumes are heavier than air. They will settle in a pit and stay for a very long time. I guess you can figure out what happens when a spark/flame comes that way, like when welding on an exhaust system? More than one mechanic has been killed in such explosions.

Another reason for a lift.

Tom

Frank75

I built my own garage and went with 12' walls and a lift. I used an 18'*8' (standard) door but used larger radii tracks so that the door is higher from the ground when in the "up" position. I can put the vette on the 4-poster in the highest position and still get the door open with adequate clearance.

The larger radius tracks were a bit more expensive but worth every penny of it.

norvalwilhelm

I found a pit to be annoying. You are always running up and down the steps and often the part you are working on is blocked by the garage floor.
Besides haveing to meet requirements of being vented and 2 exists in case of fire, and your car will be blocking one set of stairs I doing like working in a hole.
A lift/hoist is alot better choice.

jojog

I am leaning towards a ramp for my dream garage - about 2 cement blocks (filled and reinforced) high with a lead up. Practicality will depend on your layout.

nitrusmr2

Lifts are great. Now you need to choose between 2 post and 4 post. The 2 post is GREAT for anything "wheels off" work like brakes, suspension, etc. The 4 post is MUCH quicker to get on (because you just drive onto it). Our 4 post has cat walks around it so we can do "up-down" jobs where you need to be over and under the car during the same task, that is very convenient. The 4 post is great for oil changes, exhaust work, basically anything that can be done with the wheels on.

Aaron

mooneyd

I worked from a pit in the Army and I much prefer the lift.
My friend just got a 4 post lift for $1800 and we installed it, it was easy. It's great, just drive on and up you go.

markdtn

Since you are building from scratch that's what I would do.

70ZZ3 96LT4

I would spend the money for a four post lift. You can use the lift for all the things you would do in from a pit, plus when polishing your Vette, a lift can postion the car at different levels for cleaning and polishing. You may have to have a higher ceiling than what you were initially planning, but what if in two or three years you want another lift because you car collection can increase. There are garage door openers now that mount to the garage door wall at one end of the garage door which will allow the garage door to run up near the ceiling on the track. This opens up a lot of space. If your garage is deep enough the lifts can be far enough back that this would not be a problem. I have two four post lifts in a two car garage that I use and I will be able to take them to another house. If you built a storm shelter under your garage, the pit could be the access to the storm shelter. I like that idea.

kermit1654

So last night I nixed the pit idea (thanks to you all for the great input) and the wife gave me a green light on the lift. Now I need to figure the best place to put it? It's a 3 car garage, Is it better to have the lift in the middle bay or in the left or right bay out of the way?? I probably need to let the foundation guys know so they can beef up the concrete in the bay the lift will be mounted in right?

lostpatrolman

WOAH! That is cheap. Does anyone know if that lift is any good?

toddalin

Typically, you will need at least a 3,000# pour with a minimum thickness of 6" and it will need to be wire reinforced (AutoLifter recommendation). Don't forget to put an outlet above for the hydraulic pump. My AutoLifter uses 220 vac.

I would advise an asymetric, two post with a "clear floor." This lets you open the doors when the vehicle is up. As to the "clear floor", nothing worse than spilling 5 quarts of oil because you wheeled your canister over the hump and spilled the whole mess. Or, you can't easily get your tool box t owheel over the hump.

Also don't forget that you will loose at least 1' of floor space to either side for the posts.