So, I am building a new house with garage.
I want a flush mounted midrise lift that allows me to remove a 911 or 914 engine.

Any suggestions?

BendPak MDS-6LPF Mid-Rise Scissor Lift For Cars 6,000 Lb. Capacity, Open Center-FLUSH-MOUNT, 1-Phase - 5175227????

Two post lift. Drive over or over head are prefect. No scissors, get a engine stand.

Matt

The Bendpak does look nice. Get what you have room for.


Matt

If you want the best lift to pull engines from both cars, it’s a two post. We do it daily at my shop. If you want a mid rise that disappears into the floor, that’s cool too. It’s just not as convenient for under the car work.

Here’s a Carrera from a couple days ago. About 50 minutes to drop the engine.

Problem with two posters in residential setting is ceiling height.

I’m currently building and ceiling is 10’ 6”. Almost every 2 post is 12’ minimum.

The other downside (for me) to a full size 2 post is that it is permanently fixed to the floor and obscures precious floor space.

Mid rise it is. Check out MaxJax might be an option you haven’t seen for mid-rise and it can be unbolted from floor and stored out of the way when not needed. Mid rise 2 post variant will make engine drop easier than scissor lift.

@mepstein are you happy with that Atlas lift?

I just purchased a Bendpak M7K 2-Post Lift to drop the engine in my 930. It arrives tomorrow. They had a Father's day discount of $600.

BendPak all the way, Great for 911s and 914s. Put down in floor, build cover to go over it, raise up any time you need a 4 x 8 foot work bench. Love it.Click to view attachment Click to view attachment

The last year with installation of a 2.2S six in my GT Tribute. Perfect tool for this job.Click to view attachment

Yes. It gets used every day in a commercial environment. Like it’s been mentioned, it requires about 12” of ceiling height but you can stand up under the car. Rich said he’s building new construction so he might have the option for the needed height.
I have a maxjax at home. My ceiling is only 8.5’ so it works well. I bought it before their prices went crazy.

Any lift will work. It’s just deciding the option that’s best for you.

@r_towle I had a BendPak mid-rise scissor lift which we sunk into my garage floor of our last home and buried the lines in a "chase" to the cabinets. Everything was concealed and the lift was flush to the floor when down. We left 3/8" gap around the lift. What's great about the BendPak is the two ramps are individual, so you can determine the spacing you want when installing. I had a 10'6" ceiling in that garage.

We just got the unofficial approval for our new project, a 1200 sq. foot ADU with an attached 1500 sq. foot garage. We will likely do a 2-post lift in that garage since we will have a 14' ceiling. Otherwise, I would do another mid-rise scissor lift. We are building the ADU for my brother on the property my wife and I own and live on too. It should be a lot of fun and a very nice garage and home.

A couple more:

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That is one sweet set up Michael !!

@Cairo94507

Do you happen to have any old pictures without the slab poured yet?
I recall you might.

I still have a big barn which we can do a two post, and currently houses my four post.

I want the full use of this new garage with no posts, so I’m gonna do what you did.

I just want to see the conduit routing etc….

I have A 9000lb bend pack two post
It is only about 10ft 2. Or 4 inches
Fits in my not tall garage ceiling
Best tool for motor drops

I have a 9k# commercial two-post in my residential goat-barn/garage. I'm fortunate in that I was able to punch out half of the upper hay loft for the vertical.

One thing to keep in mind for residential use: storing a car above. I can store three cars in the 20x30 garage barn because the race car can go up on the lift and I can drive the street car under it, leaving the other side for my wife (or more usually, motorbikes and stuff.) That is REALLY nice to have.

You can't do that with one of those mid-rise scissor lifts.

But if you don't have the space, that won't work for you. - GA

Hope these help:

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I have a HF scissors lift, less than $2k, works great. 2 post is probably the best, but $$ and ceiling height ....

I have a 10' garage and want to do a two post lift. I have seen other brands besides Bendpak and Rotory. Some of their offerings are not the same anymore so I was wondering about other brands like Atlas. I have had a EZ car lift for the last 12 years, but I want to stand like a man!

bricks or pavers on the vertical surface of each channel for the lift?
4 inch bottom slab, or thicker?

Rich

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Bought this on offer up. The bendpak and other units are all made by the same asian company. Had to buy a new hyd pump/reservoir unit for it. 6000lb cap and 48” lift height fine for me. Maybe a two post someday….

I have a 2 post lift in my garage. I had it installed in 2005 after moving in here. It is great. I just contacted the lift manufacturer and had them make one of their 12 foot lifts with a shorter crossover bar and shorter cables.

I can stand up under a 914 while it is on the lift. Replacing the transfer case on our SUV meant I had to crawl under the car on my knees. But it works for the majority of what I own.

Remember, a 10 foot lift is not going to be comfortable if you are 6' tall. I am 5'5" and it works for me, but I have had tall friends complain about it being too short. But they don't use it all the time, I do.

Clay

Get a used office chair with rollers

I use one and it eliminates the height problem with a 10 foot lift

Different car almost every day for engine in or out. We were just talking about a second lift in the shop. The mistake we made was not doing the concrete for the second location. The existing concrete was too thin in spots so now it’s 10” under the lift. Should have done the other side while the concrete guys were here.

I

I agree the two post is the best in general. But, it you do not do this for a business (living) and do not have the garage height I really like the scissor lift. Had mind for for thirteen years ( 993 porsche, 987 porsche, 914-6 GT Tribute for total restoration . Best, Mark

We dug down 18" and put in about 6" of crushed rock and then poured approximately 8" of concrete with rebar and tied the rebar into the existing slab with epoxy. Then we did the porcelain tile on the sides and just placed the lift ramps on top of the concrete and bolted it down. Never moved.

I really loved that lift. But with the 14' ceiling I almost have to do the 2-post so I can stand under the cars and make things even easier.

A recent article in Classic Motorsports mag (might have been GRM?) talked about wrenching as we get older. The author chose a four-post lift rather than two-post, as it's a lot easier to just drive the car onto the platform than to crawl around making sure the lifting arms are placed correctly.

It does make it harder to work on the underside of the car (depending on the exact lift) or the wheels, but he felt the tradeoff was worth it. He also seems to use it for car storage.

--DD

I have a four post, raised up the ceiling so I can stand under most sports cars, but not trucks or suv. I have a rolling chair for the taller vehicles. I’m 6’2 tall.

The two annoying things with a four post lift
Changing tires
Removal and replacement of engine (914 and 911)
Tires will happen every year ( I have a lift and platform so I can get all 4 wheels in the air)

So, a mid rise lift is cool for my new garage.
Im doing a new house on my property….just a 3 car garage.
Design will be 30 foot deep garage, which is deep enough for two Porsches

I’m looking at a few ideas, because it’s new and not a remodel.
So
A two post, unground unit, fits flush when not in use.
Or, these less expensive mid rise ramp lifts.

Wheels and tires can be done on both
Engine……hmmm
Gotta do some precise measurements.
I think the 914 is the widest problem with engine bar….

We will be remodeling the big barn in the back to lower the slab, raise the roof and maybe add a lift, but I was hoping to just have a flat, one level slab to park cars in a controlled environment……but I will do a lift if I must….just seems like overkill.

Rich

I have one. It was too tall for use with the SUV. But I am now getting old enough I just don't want to work on the DDs, just the toys. So we are probably going to take it into a shop for any major work in the future.

I've worked on almost every type of lift you can think of.

Best for storage, safest, less money, lower height, less concrete troubles is a 4 post drive on. These can be put on rollers to move around your shop. These are pretty safe, but I've seen others drop cars that were not properly chocked. You can still have major accidents with one.

Best for wrenching on cars: asymmetric, twisted, 2 post.
I have a Bend Pac XPR-10A- LP. I love it, I will always have one of these.
Need good concrete, 12' 6" ceiling height, permanent installation.
Requires intelligence when using. You can chuck a car up wrong and drop it.
Easiest access for working but easiest to make a mistake.
My Bend post had a narrow and wide installation. I installed wide and cannot imagine this working narrow. Late model trucks are hard to get out of now...

Best for bodywork: Centerpost in ground, single post ONLY!!!
I once worked on a dual post in ground (front and rear) and having two posts made it incredibly dangerous.
Massive install, expensive, hard to work on, lower ceiling height. If your shop already has one it's worth maintaining. I'd want one inside my paint booth.

The low rise scissor lifts are better than nothing at all but suck for doing major work on. I see these as the best lifts for a tire shop. These are usually fully portable and for that reason alone are worth the money (especially if you can find used).

If I was building a garage/shop I would spec out 13'+ ceilings to allow a Bend Pac installation.

I ordered mine 8 years back (haven't had any issues) and it took 2 days to get it from California. The Bend Pacs are 200+ lbs heavier that the other manufactures so I believe these are not made by a generic manufacture.

It required a monster forklift to remove from moving truck which I had planned for.
The lift arrived 4 days earlier than expected and created a serious problem for me...

Harbor freight hydraulic stool….it works when I need todo suv