Hi All!

We are now the proud owners of a two post Bendpak 10K. Just now getting comfortable with putting a car on it and having thousands of pounds of steel overhead. So far we've only put "modern" vehicles on it. Question is, how do you determine the pad locations on older vehicles? For instance, we have a '39 Buick and '41 Packard - the lift should be placed according to the center of gravity - where would that be? I don't want to be the person with the picture of the lift and the car smashed sideways! That would be BAD NEWS.

Please advise!!!! This really isn't something one experiments with....

Leigh Anne
I can't help you with finding the center of gravity, but this is what I do whether I'm putting the car on a lift, or putting it up on jack stands. Center the car between the posts, stretch the arms as far forward and as far back as they'll go, and position so that it lifts on the frame only. Raise the lift so that the car is about a foot off the ground, or less, and do some aggressive pushing, bouncing, whatever kind of movement you think you may encounter when the car is overhead. If it is stable and doesn't appear to be delicately positioned, raise it up.

Thanks West! Sounds like a plan.

West,
Do your lift arms have pads that flip up to reach the
frame? Or do you put blocks on them?
My experience is that the early cars have the frame so
much higher than the running boards that the arms aren't
high enough to get to the frame before they hit the running boards.
Any comments from others?

I like to put those tall jack stands under each bumper when it's up. Not to support weight, but it will stop the load from teetering, in case you didn't find the center.

Not to hijack the post, but who makes the best 2-post lift for the money?

Just recently, America's Pride went bankrupt, leaving scores of customers rushing to get their money back. Initially, they offered free shipping, if you paid up front... you know the pitch, then they sent out, "I'm so sorry" emails to outstanding customers who waited eight weeks and didn't get lifts.

It's hard to beat the "made in america" quality of Backyard Buddy. I think they're more expensive than most, but there's a good reason for that.

Do they have any 2-post lifts? I need to pull my tires off the ground, but I only see three models of 4-post lifts.

Can't answer that with certainty but I have my BendPack about two years now and feel that it's well made and I'm very satisfied with it. BendPack is also certified which I feel is important. If money is no object or you need a unit that will be built for commercial duty look at a Rotary or Mohawk lift.
My unit came with extensions to raise the pad height for cars with high frames. I can raise my 1939 Chevy PU without hitting the running boards........Bob

I took Auto Mechanics in Vo-Tech. Peterson is correct. This is the way we did it and never had a problem. Make sure to locate the lift pads are on solid frame, no rust!