Anyone Ever Built or Even Seen, An Original type Greasing Pit?

[ericr]

-I know it would be a lot of work, but a lot of you guys apparently reside with some acreage and have built large garages etc. Plus a lot of us are nostalgic, eccentric, etc.

I suspect there are modern regulations on drainage and lighting within such a cavity.

I did see one in an old parking garage years ago, before it was torn down. As I recall it had narrow, steep steps on the end for access to the pit.

[Jack Shaft]

Pits are great till you fall in one...changes your whole outlook about them..I fell into the stair end,my fault,didnt chock the car.

[Tacoma Bob]

Can only speak for Washington State but I was always told that pits were outlawed. for years here in town most had been covered up with heavy planking.

[The Master Cylinder]

Originally Posted by Tacoma Bob

Can only speak for Washington State but I was always told that pits were outlawed. for years here in town most had been covered up with heavy planking.

Yes, outlawed. That's why you don't see them in muffler shops anymore. Heavier than air gases tend to collect in them... Acetylene, propane, carbon dioxide, etc. Not a good thing.

[ursus]

Back in the '70's I had a car with a U-joint that was getting noisy and threatening to give out. A neighbor had a pit that he had installed 20 years earlier when he extended his garage. It sure made the job of replacing the U-joint easier. The pit installation had been approved by the city at the time.

[wmws]

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I have a pit in my garage. I wouldn't be without it. I generally have my A parked over it. I can also put planks over it and they are the same hight as the garage floor. They are also heavy enough to drive over. Sure make working under the car easier.

[McMimmcs]

In my opinion not very practical ! Basically for lube jobs, mufflers and oil changes. Significant safety concerns concerning slips, falls on greasy steps, water and exhaust fumes. Maybe that's why you don't see them anymore . I had one and paid for the dirt to fill it in ! .

[holdover]

I have used them in the past, good for some jobs, not so for others. When lifts became available for a reasonable price, with rare exception, that was the end of pits. Had a local repair shop where I live that had a sign , "Use our pit to change your oil" not sure how many people did. As for me I have 2 four post lifts in my garage and being old and not so limber, they work good.

[PalAl]

Originally Posted by holdover

I have used them in the past, good for some jobs, not so for others. When lifts became available for a reasonable price, with rare exception, that was the end of pits. Had a local repair shop where I live that had a sign , "Use our pit to change your oil" not sure how many people did. As for me I have 2 four post lifts in my garage and being old and not so limber, they work good.

What brand hoists did you go with? What weight load? Thanks

[Bill G]

I know a man who was once injured when he lost his footing on an oily stair step and fell into a pit and screed up both his knees. I can see why they are outlawed. He no longer works in the automotive industry, other than he has a restoration project going on.

[J Franklin]

Thy are used in quick Lub shops in Oregon.

[Bruce of MN]

Originally Posted by J Franklin

Thy are used in quick Lub shops in Oregon.

I've seen them in other states, too. Somehow in my career, I was aware of code requirements for vent fans to draw away gas vapors in the pit, sort of like bilge ventilation.

I have a vague memory of my Dad taking me with him in my coupe in '53 or so to a repair shop with a pit in Colorado Springs. Seems like it was pretty rudimentary.

[Patrick L.]

We had 3. They are nice, but,,,

In a busy garage things tend to get messy. While doing some exhaust work it caught fire. Of course the transmitter was in park and the rear bumper was over the stairs. I had a heck of a time getting the trans lever to move so I could push the car back so I could get out. The fire was also at the back blocking me and under the fuel tank. Never put a car in park on one after that.
That was back when we had 4 twin post Weavers and a drive on lube rack [ can't recall the make]

[aermotor]

Not to long in the past I remember using ditches as grease pits - back then pollution was not as much concern as today. Just moved the car uphill a notch to keep from laying in the used oil. BTW, still have a Valvoline quick lube 2 blocks from my home in SC with a pit I use due to older age.

John

[Lona]

A fellow Peace Corps volunteer and I broke through a concrete floor and dug our own pit by hand while we were setting up a school for young mechanics in Chile in 1961. Used cement on the walls and floor and welded up a ladder for one end. Even built cement curbs along each side to prevent car wheels from falling in. You could probably buy two regular lifts for what it would cost to dig and finish a pit today.

Quick lube centers in Virginia still use them, probably to save time raising and lowering cars on a lift but I understand they are well regulated with regard to ventilation, carbon monoxide alarms and such. A few years ago, I almost bought a house with a detached garage that had a pit. Wonder what my insurance agent would have thought about that.

Glen

[77Birdman]

There was an old timer that had one in his welding shop. Only one I ever saw working. I always thought they were dangerous for a lot of the above reasons.
I was stopped in my truck by the state DOT at a weigh station in MD and they have one that is pretty new and in use. It makes inspecting the drivetrain of trucks very easy I suppose.
As a contractor, for the cost of putting one in the right way, a lift would probably end up being about half the price.

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

All of the above are very valid reasons, ...however all of the ones I ever worked in were filthy and an absolute mess. Likely because they were hard to clean, and to wash out. Even front end alignment pits that I worked in became dark dungeons over time. I personally don't think I would like to work in another pit. Add me to that list of 'Lifts have spoiled me too!'.

[fastroadster]

Still have and still use..... my pit. Put in 1958

[Big hammer]

I ate in a greasy pit once...........................we call them greasy spoon restaurants! ��

[burner31]

Used to play in them all the time as kid, but that was back in the 50s, then the cuban missile crisis hit and some of those pits were expanded and turned into bomb shelters, and those were really fun to play in.

[ericr]

Originally Posted by BRENT in 10-uh-C

All of the above are very valid reasons, ...however all of the ones I ever worked in were filthy and an absolute mess. Likely because they were hard to clean, and to wash out. Even front end alignment pits that I worked in became dark dungeons over time. I personally don't think I would like to work in another pit. Add me to that list of 'Lifts have spoiled me too!'.

-that's because you were not maintaining Ford standards of cleanliness JK JK

[holdover]

What brand hoists did you go with? What weight load? Thanks



Both are Bend Pac one is a 9K and the other is extra long extra wide to accommodate a F350 14K, they are both 12 yrs old without a bit of trouble.

[holdover]

Friend of mine in Ohio had a Jiffy Lube back in the late 90s. There were holes cut in the floor and the floor was supported by steel beams. Underneath there was a movable steel platform that was hydraulic and could be adjusted for height. They would pull the car or light truck over the hole which had guide rails so a wheel wouldn't fall in, one guy would work underneath dropping the oil in a catch system and change the filter, then check manual trans and rear end fluid, while the guy/gal would fill the oil, check auto trans etc. They could do a vehicle in very little time. Everything was spotless.

[Synchro909]

Originally Posted by burner31

Used to play in them all the time as kid, but that was back in the 50s, then the cuban missile crisis hit and some of those pits were expanded and turned into bomb shelters, and those were really fun to play in.

Does anybody else see the funny side of this one. The service pit is converted to a bomb shelter, then they park the old bomb on top of it!
They used to be quite common in country areas here.

[fundytides]

My first experience with a pit was when I got my first car in the late 50's and went to our local country garage for service work and oil changes. The pit was dark and greasy with a slippery set of wooden stairs at one end. One of the hired mechanics lived upstairs over the office and his 2-3 yr old son often escaped from his mother to come downstairs. If Daddy was in the pit, the kid would run over, sit on his rear and slide down the stairs. Mother was not pleased! This pit also was used for alignments and had 2 recesses for the front wheels to drop into to position the car for alignment. When the pit was used for other purposes the recesses were filled with short pieces of greasy boards. One day I drove my 49 Meteor (CAN. Ford) in for a lube job and stopped the car just as the front wheels were on the boards. The front end slid sideways and the left side went into the pit. After I climbed across the seat and got out the passengers door, the garage owner called a guy up the road that operated a wrecker and he came and lifted the car out. No harm, no foul! My next experience with a pit was in the early sixties when I went to work for Ford dealership. They had a frame alignment pit and did a lot of work on large transport trucks. One day the mechanic, using a torch to work on a large truck, started a fire in the pit. Unfortunately the fire was between him and the only pit exit. Fe yelled "Fire" and I grabbed the nearest fire extinguisher and was luckily able to extinguish the fire. The only hiccup was that one other other mechanics had hung the cord for a trouble light around the extinguisher and when I grabbed the extinguisher and ran there was lots of sparks and a blown breaker. New rule in the shop: don't hang things on fire extinguishers. After that I was never a fan of pits. I think they are a death-trap.

[Doug 845]

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I built my house in 1998 and had a pit included with the blueprints in NYS. The town first denied my building permit because I had oak planks (flammable?) covering the pit when not in use. I revised the blueprints to have 2,700 lbs. sq. ft. metal grates in 5 sections that could be removed when in use. They approved the plans and said that no electrical outlets were permitted in the pit.

[Licensed to kill]

My Dad put a pit in his garage in the 90's. I had also heard that they were outlawed (Dad didn't get a building permit) but the jiffy lube places have them and a local farmer/HD Mechanic has one in his big shop 100 feet long for tractor trailer units. I knew a guy years ago that was badly disfigured from being burned something like 3 rd degree over 90% of his body. Some kids put something in the fuel tank of a police car on halloween and the car was taken to the local garage to have the tank drained. The guy was just a kid working there at the time and, as he was draining the gas, he knocked the trouble light down and the bulb broke ignition the fumes. Of course the entire pit was like a cremation furnace. I think a pit can still be legal but it has to have adequate ventilation and fixed lights. I know I wouldn't step foot in one without.

[dmaxweb]

Many years ago I had an uncle who had several drinks too many and fell accross an outdoor grease pit in the dark. He hit face first on the far side. Lost most of his teeth but somehow survived.

[barry022]

Interesting read on pits. Now I understand the reason they are no longer common as they used to be.

[Los_Control]

I remember as a kid growing up, my father had a pit on the side of a hill.
No idea if he built it, or was there when we moved in.


There was a small barn with a carport, The pit was just planks on beams ... You just drove out onto the planks, then there was a trail down the hill on the side you walked down to get under the car.
They had dug into the ground and side of the hill to walk on etc.

I am thinking of no words to describe it's safety.


In fairness, this was in the 60's, we were renting the house and outbuildings on a old 125 acre farm. I suspect it was built by original farmer in the 40's or 50's.


Also have no horror stories to go with it, I know my father used it a few times, he also was a mechanic at a gas station and did most his wrenching at work.

[Wick]

I've seen plenty of grease pits. But also some places had a dirt ramp... you drove up onto old Railroad ties and worked underneath. This was also used to load tractors and farm equipment onto flatbed trucks.

[Harpkatt]

I see your pit and raise you....

[Standing Elk]

After they did away with the steam locomotives at home I remember dad putting plank ramps over the ash pit and doing oil changes on it.

[California Travieso]

Originally Posted by Harpkatt

I see your pit and raise you....

I noticed the mechanic in the picture was wearing a leather “beanie” or skull cap and coveralls.

When I was growing up in the late ‘40’s, there was a rental house across the street from our house that had a narrow back yard. This family moved in and the guy promptly dug a grease pit and started repairing cars in the front yard!

He used to wear that “beanie” and coveralls and he used to ride on the running board of the cars to listen to engine. I don’t know if the city got after him or the landlord got upset with him for digging the pit, because they didn’t live there very long.

David Serrano

[Chuck Sea/Tac]

Originally Posted by Harpkatt

I see your pit and raise you....

Unbelievable: he has the straps around the tie rod!
If he lifted an A like that, there’d be oil everywhere.

[Chuck Sea/Tac]

Interesting story, my friend Dave, who was building a 30 x 40‘ garage and the neighbor lady was calling the inspector and complaining all the time. So to figure out if it was her That kept calling the inspector on him, he told her that he was putting in a pit. The next day, the inspector shows up, and says “I hear you’re going to put in a pit”. Dave says” actually I’m putting in a lift, where ever did you hear that?” So then he went over to the neighbor Lady, and said “you know I don’t care what color the end of my garage that faces your house, it could be bright orange”. After that she backed off and quit messing with him

[katy]

One of my brothers had a 1 ton chain block like the one in post #32. That was a heavy old brute, weighed about 50 - 60 pounds. The 1 ton chain block I have now only weighs about 20 lbs.

[77Birdman]

Originally Posted by Harpkatt

I see your pit and raise you....

I love it!! Kinda like how an f250 gets worked on today, just raise the body off the frame.

[Floats]

Hi Guys,
I have dug and built 4 pits over the past 40 odd years. I have dug them all by myself, the last one at the age of 65. Once the hole is done, I build the walls, steps and floor with bricks and cement before painting it white and making timber covers.
As a youngster I could not afford a lift. Now that I can and my 4 car (double tandem)garage is high enough, I find that is just a little too narrow to fit a lift and have enough space to move and work around the posts of a lift.
Therefor, I have to be satisfied with a pit.
Regards
Chris
Cape Town

[1928Mik]

There is a Muffler Shop locally who still uses two pits, leftover from a former service garage. The guy has been running that place for years. No appointment needed. He shuttles cars in and out all day long, moving from one pit to the other. Now, I would not go to him for a custom job, but if you need a quick fix, he's the man. He's got a few padded chairs to sit in while you wait, one of those old coolers with the chilled water in it that he keeps bottles of soda in, newspapers and trade magazines in haphazard piles, and it's a neighborhood hangout. I actually saw him throw a salesman out one day when he was being insistent that his mufflers were a better buy. Hardcore all the way.

[Ruth]

Originally Posted by Chuck Sea/Tac

Unbelievable: he has the straps around the tie rod!
If he lifted an A like that, there’d be oil everywhere.

Looks like he has hooks going thru the holes on the front axle, not around the tie rod. But still And what is holding up the back end, looks like the rear wheels are off.