Planning on a Shop Lift, Two or Four Post?

[29 Tudor]

I'm planning on ordering a lift for my home shop in the not-too-distant future and I'm looking for recommendations. I have several cars to lift, one of which is my Model A. I'm leaning toward a two post since most all of the use will be for maintenance and repairs. I know it takes TALL lift extensions to get to the A frame but I wonder if anyone has experience with a two post or is a 4 post what most guys use?

Any thoughts and suggestions will be appreciated.

Steve

[jcheshire31]

Depends on if you plan on storing a car on one for an extended period of time. If that's the case I would go with the 4 post. My advice, don't go cheap when it comes to lifts, because in the end it'll wind up expensive.

[29 Tudor]

No storage. It will be used for maintenance and repairs almost exclusively. Any problems lifting an A with the frame?

[CalMI]

I had a two post but got rid of it because I couldn't lift my A on it due to the running boards and brake rods.
My next one will be a four post.
Cal

[29 Tudor]

Did you not have enough spacers to get to the frame or are the brake rods in the way? I want to be sure I can lift the A.

Thanks,

Steve

[Tom Wesenberg]

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I've used a lot of 2 post during my employments, and ALWAYS wished they were 4 post. I'd buy a 4 post.

[29 Tudor]

Interesting comment. Can you elaborate? I would think that most maintenance would be easier with the wheels hanging free. Is there a point I am missing?

[shepsvettes]

Love my 4 post.

[29 Tudor]

Does the 4 post get in the way for routine work? How about brake adjustments with mechanical brakes?

[SteveB31]

We have one of each. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. 2 post is better for removing rear ends and for brake work. 4 post is better for everything else. We had to make brackets for our two post so it would lift from the frame, as the runningboards get in the way. If you need photos of our brackets for the two post, just let me know.
Steve Becker Bert's Model A Center

[29 Tudor]

Steve,

Thanks for the info. Do you work on other vehicles other than A's? If you could only have one (and worked on "modern" cars as well), would you go two or four post?

Steve

[Roadster62]

There is one of each at the shop I work at. The four post is a real good one and it is nice to be able to store two cars in the space of one. The two post with enough arm extentions will lift about anything, but setting them in the proper locations is sometimes troublesome. A two post can be user to lift a body off the chassis, a nice feature I think.

[29 Tudor]

I won't need the ability to store one under the other so given that (and the proper lift brackets) it sounds like the 2 post would be your choice?

[5window]

I looked at a lot of lifts,but haven't yet purchased anything. No one has mentioned safety, but your car isn't going to fall off a four post lift. In any case, I would carefully check out all the safety features and fail-safe mechanisms of any lift you think about purchasing.

[29 Tudor]

Well said. I think safety is paramount regardless of which I get.

[Keith True]

There are things you can/can't do with either one without extra work.I have a two post,and I have standoffs made up for the A's and pickups.It takes a little bit of fiddling to get the posts just right under the A's,but it takes lots more to get them under a modern Ford pickup.One thing you don't want to do is adjust the brakes on an A with the wheels hanging.They are a;ready half applied when the hanging wheels are pulling on the brake rods.The stations I worked at years ago had ramp type lifts,same idea as the four post.They had their drawbacks,but we just worked around them.I would put a car up to do brake work,set some stands under the front or rear ends,and let the lift back down until the tires cleared the deck.Then I had a nice big table to work on.Now they have rolling jacks to use under a car for the four post.Unless you are going to use it every day for different things I would go with a four post.

[mrtexas]

I have a MaxJax two post lift. The lift mechanism is 4 foot long hydraulic cylinders which is much different than most which have lots of cables. It is designed for 4 inch slabs and 9 foot ceilings and is only rated for 6,000 as a result. I don't have a car over that anyway. The highest it goes up is about 4 feet high so you can't stand under your car but can sit on a rolling chair which I like better anyway. To lift a car up enough to stand under it you need a minimum of 12 foot ceilings. I have 9 footers. It makes work a whole lot easier. The advantage of a two post is it doesn't take up much space and you can work on the wheels easily. I can unhook the MaxJax and store it away. The disadvantage is the post gets in the way of your driver's door.

You need an extra set of arm ends which are 3 inches tall for a total of 6 inches to reach the model A frame that is way up there compared to a modern car.

I had to make two sets of anchor holes in the concrete to handle the model a(narrow) and modern cars(wide). The arms on this particular lift are short.

Next one I'd probably get a 4 post.

[29 Tudor]

Thanks for the thoughts. You guys aren't making the decision any easier though!<grin>

I do appreciate the thoughts and comments.

[Bill Steiner]

I use the Rotary brand two post lifts in my shop. We have 10 lifts. No problem with them. Bill

[mrtexas]

Originally Posted by 29 Tudor

Interesting comment. Can you elaborate? I would think that most maintenance would be easier with the wheels hanging free. Is there a point I am missing?

With a 4 post you can get an extra deal that goes between the tracks that has a jack to let you work on the wheels.