Jump to content

Two post lift for GM "X" body cars


Guest oakland

Recommended Posts

Guest oakland

I have another question about a 2 post lift other than the one for my 29 Oakland. Will the standard 2 post lift arms be long enough to work on a GM "X" body car from the 60's? Thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I doubt you will have a problem. I worked on extended cab trucks all the time on two post lifts.

As a matter of fact we have a long wheel base Sprinter on one here in our shop right now.

It all really depends on the lift you buy. What it is rated for, weather it is asymetrical, overall height and reach etc.

If you buy a good quality certified hoist rated for the heaviest thing you think you will ever need to lift you won't be dissapointed.

Rich

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest oakland

It is not the length or weight that I am concerned about. It is the "X" frame on these cars. They do not have a box frame. The frame forms and X and is together in the mid section of the car. My concern was if the arms would be long enough to reach the frame.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One other item that you need to be careful of is putting a front wheel drive vehicle on the lift. The reason is that if it is not positioned correctly and it has an empty fuel tank and you take the rear wheels off, it could take a nose dive to the floor. This is because it is front heavy. It would not be the first time this happened. I have seen this happen several times. One of the things that you might do if there is any thought it might take a dive is to strap the vehicle to the lift, maybe between the doors of some other point. Better to be safe than sorry. :-)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

oakland,

I have a Rotary 2 post 9000 lbs asymetrical that I've owned for 10 years now and I have not figured out a way of putting those cars up on the hoist. For me, I tried a '59 Caddy, 59 El Camino and a '60 Impala with no success. If I remember correctly, the rear arms won't reach to a good support on the car. Maybe you can use the pinch weld, but I won't do that. It's been awhile, so I just can't recall exactly what all the problems were for us. Maybe somebody has figured it out better than I have, but I haven't run into anyone yet.

As for the old cars that you mentioned in the other posts, I've had many different ones up on the two post. There have been some I couldn't, or I should say wouldn't, but most I've been able to. Rotary's truck frame extension pads work well for those cars.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

2 Points:

1) Place the lift pads where the scissors jack would go when changing a tire.

2) I forget the official name of the organization (something like the American Lift Manufacturers Socieity, or some such), but it publishes a lifting guide, setting out in word and pictures the exact lifting points for all vehicles. I purchased one on acquiring my 2-post lift.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I checked with the Autolift institute people and their information on lifting points only goes back 18-19 years.

My interest is to be able to safely lift my 63 Riviera on my Ben Pearson two post lift. It appears that I will need to build some sort of arm extension, or offset lifting pad to get to a good lifting spot. If anyone has solved this problem, I would love to hear from you. Otherwilse, I plan to center the car up in the lift bay, put it on stands, and get under there and figure it out.

Finding the time to do that is the problem.

Zimm

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I checked with the Autolift institute people and their information on lifting points only goes back 18-19 years.

My interest is to be able to safely lift my 63 Riviera on my Ben Pearson two post lift. It appears that I will need to build some sort of arm extension, or offset lifting pad to get to a good lifting spot. If anyone has solved this problem, I would love to hear from you. Otherwilse, I plan to center the car up in the lift bay, put it on stands, and get under there and figure it out.

Finding the time to do that is the problem.

Zimm

Doesn't your factory service manual specify the lifting points on the car?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Joe,

Well, we all may be missing something here? If you are able to jack the car up to put it on stands, why may you not put the lifting arm pads in the positions you use to jack up the car and put it on stands?

Also, it seems to me an ol'timer at a GM dealer service dept. should be able to answer your question. These cars had to have been raised on lifts, regualarly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Joe,

Well, we all may be missing something here? If you are able to jack the car up to put it on stands, why may you not put the lifting arm pads in the positions you use to jack up the car and put it on stands?

That was my point exactly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Checking the manual for the factory recommeded lifting points is a good idea. I will do that first chance I get.

Apparently, I wasn't clear in stating my problem. The arms on my lift are not long enough to allow the lift pads to be under the frame. At least not where I am comfortable lifting the car. I need to figure out how to make offset lift pads, or arm extensions to allow the pads to be under the frame in places that allow the car to be lifted safely.

Again, if anyone has figured this out I would be glad to hear about it.

Zimm

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Checking the manual for the factory recommeded lifting points is a good idea. I will do that first chance I get.

Apparently, I wasn't clear in stating my problem. The arms on my lift are not long enough to allow the lift pads to be under the frame. At least not where I am comfortable lifting the car. I need to figure out how to make offset lift pads, or arm extensions to allow the pads to be under the frame in places that allow the car to be lifted safely.

Again, if anyone has figured this out I would be glad to hear about it.

Zimm

Be very careful about fabricating extensions. If not done correctly, you can significantly increase the bending load in the lift arms, resulting in structural failure.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have no idea what brand lift you have. That said, I know that Mohawk makes arm adapters/attachments the lift the vehicle by its wheels. I am sure they are expensive, but it is an option if such adapters/attachements are available for your lift.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...