Kwik Lift

[Bob D.]

Does anyone in the group have any experience with Kwik Lifts? My garage does not have enough height for a regulr four post lift, and the cost to raise the roof, would cause my wife to raise the roof! A Kwik Lift would at least give me some room under the car without having to use jack stands. Any help appreciated.

[Warren F.]

Re: Kwik Lift

Bob,

I ordered a Kwik Lift and use it all the time. I find it very handy and store the car on it either up or at an angle. Very easy to take down and store to the side.

[Christopher R.]

Re: Kwik Lift

I did some investigation into these some time ago when I was considering buying one. Did not turn up anything bad. I'm off doing other things now, but may still buy one. One thing I found out is that the only place you'll get a discount on these is at a car show they attend. I know they go to Carlisle. Don't know about other shows.

[George D.]

Re: Kwik Lift

Bob,

Consider raising the ceiling rather than the roof. I was able to do this in my garage without changing the roof line and can get the car up to the max. height on a four post lift. You only need to raise the ceiling where the lift is going no the whole ceiling. If this works for you remenmer to consider the overhead garage door in your plans.

George

[Donald B.]

Re: Kwik Lift

To make my 4 post lift work - I removed one "tie" (sometimes called a rafter) and replaced the garage door. The door is slightly thinner (every fraction of an inch counted) and had the door channels angled up instead of parallel with the ground. This last aspect provided an additional 4+ inches. Sure beat raising the roof.

[Danny L.]

Re: Kwik Lift

The only complaint I would have is that the lift does not truly lay flat on floor when down due to the large diameter of the lifting cross pipe. They provide "instructions" to assemble two small ramps out of 2x 8 lumber to allow you to drive onto the "flat ramp" on the floor. They should provide a couple of small metal ramps with the kit.

[John L.]

Re: Kwik Lift

I have a kwik lift and absolutely love it. I have enough ceiling height in the garage for a four or two post however I prefer the kwik lift because of safety reasons. I guess the pictures of four post lifts collapsing scared the crap out of me. I have the kwik lift, centerpoint bridge and the dollies. My ramps are modified to be a little wider than the way they came. I store the car on it in the flat position. I made the ramps for the lay flat position from their drawings and used aluminum diamond plate for the tops. I highly recommned the lift. You do have to use the proper jack to lift it. My craftsman 3 ton joack was not really low enough so I bought a 2.5 ton Norco which goes from 3.5 - 20.5+ inches. The Craftsman jack worked ok however there is an extra step involved.

[David B.]

Re: Kwik Lift

John,

Very interested in your modifications. Would you elaborate on:
1 how did you make it wider?
2 how did the Norco jack eliminate a step? what is different about it?

Thanks
Dave B.

[Ralph Harvey]

Re: Kwik Lift

David
I too have a Kwik Lift and really find that it fits my clean and repair needs. Now the underside of the 64 & 71 are always clean. You need a decent creeper and the Norco air jack makes lifting very easy. I bought my jack at Carlisle this year after using a locally purchased pump style for 3 previous years. The whole concept is great for low ceilings.
Ralph #28843

[Marc Wilborn]

Re: Kwik Lift

I also have a Kwik Lift and love it.

I purchased the cross members that straddle the ramps themselves. These allow you to use jack stands and lift the car off the ramps. I drilled one hole on each side of the front cross member and attached to ramp with hardened steel bolts. I then purchased a home winch and bolted it to the cross member. I can now winch my cars off and on the Kwik Lift very easily.

I also raised the roof of my garage as previously posted. Since I have only attic space above garage, we used hip rafters in attic to support roof and cut garage ceiling out with a sawzall. Works great and my Backyard Buddy now fits easily.

Marc

[Mark H.]

Are you jacking on the frame?

I ask because I got my kwik lift a couple of years ago and the width of the cross members/jacking bridge puts the ramps so far apart that I can't get a jack stand on the frame of the car and the bridge at the same time. I've resorted to using a jack and stands on the ramp itself, which I find less than ideal. Thanks.

[Harmon C.]

Re: Are you jacking on the frame?

If anyone wants one of thease lifts yuo may get a deal on Corvette Forum C-3 for sale. I don't know the seller but its been posted on and off for the last 3 months with no takers.
Lyle

[Jim V.]

Re: Kwik Lift

One of the best investments I have made in the hobby!... Adding a winch is something I have wanted to do now for awhile.

[Marc Wilborn]

Re: Are you jacking on the frame?

No, I have never used the jacking bridge for its intended purpose so I have no experience in the width issue. I will tell you that I had my 1991 camaro 1le z28 on the Kwik Lift once and used jack stands as you described. It was less than ideal from a safety point.

[Russ U.]

Re: Kwik Lift

I purchased a Kwik Lift in a year ago and love it. Makes it very easy to work above or below the car.

You can purchase everything you need along with the Kwiklift - center bridge, jack, ramps, drain cannister, etc. Kwiklift ships to various locations. You pick everything up at the nearest shipper location. Everything can fit into a full sized pickup truck. The shipper loaded the pickup using a forklift. I was able to unload and put the entire system together by myself. Having two people would make the job a lot easier.

I also purchased the coasters, which allows you to move the car in the garage. Very helpful if you have limited garage space.

The owner of Kwiklift (name escapes me) is a really good guy. Will spend time with you on the phone explaining the system. He also cut me a deal - I started a group purchase on a different corvette forum, and saved $150 or so.

Only one thing to watch out for - the centerline bridge, which lays across the ramps and is used to jack up the front or rear of the car (for tire removal and brake work). When I purchased my bridge, Kwiklift only offered one size of bridge. The bridge doesn't work for C1's - can't jack up the car easily. I understand that Kwiklift now offers the bridges in different sizes. Thus, you should be very specific about you corvette year when ordering a bridge.