Adding Room to the Stable

[venom62]

So having made plans to order a 2014 Shelby GT500 last summer, I began contemplating how to make space for the Shelby and still keep my '67 Mustang Conv in the garage that I've owned and worked on with my dad since 9th grade (1976). Decided after much research and measuring, and remeasuring, to purchase a BendPak HD-9 lift and open up my ceiling by adding collar beams above the ceiling with plans approved by the city code. Picked the HD-9 lift size after others on this forum suggested the wider track would be best, and I agree.

So here are some photos of the work I did raising the garage door, opening the ceiling, installing the lift and finishing the ceiling drywall and lighting. All ready for my '14 GT500 Ingot Silver ordered in Nov, and scheduled to be built next week, with delivery probably in May.

3rd Stall Garage before modification

Raised garage door track and installed jackshaft drive to improve ceiling clearance

Begin framing opening and adding ceiling collars in attic

Cut first section of ceiling, notice rope to lower section to garage floor

Finished framing ceiling opening

Framed open ceiling before drywall to confirm clearance

BendPak HD-9 lift components in garage

Installed lift with '67 Mustang, confirming clearance at max lift height

Lift with '67 Mustang backed on

Finished drywalled ceiling with lighting

Since my '67 Mustang weighs < 1/2 Max lift capacity, and the wheelbase is long enough, the vehicle can be placed anywhere on the lift, not necessarily centered, which provides more flexibility on location. With the vehicle off the lift, the lift can be moved with the optional caster wheels if needed later.

 

[BIRDDOC]

That is awesome!! Nice work and welcome to the club

 

[Ninjak]

Beautiful. The lift is nice to

 

[Sof Top]

F'N Awesome!

 

[einehund]

Color me green, that is NICE!!!

 

[Norton]

Color me green, that is NICE!!!

x2!

 

[Planeswalker]

Great idea, may look into doing it myself!

 

[09Troublemaker]

great job, been on the fence for 5 years about this..... hmmmmm......

 

[NELCO]

Super Sweet

 

[Husky44]

Awesome work! Beautiful vert. Clearwater Aqua is one of my favorite colors for 67.

 

[Lethalchem]

Very nice! I had looked into this (adding a lift, not the cutting of the roof) but not seriously yet. How tall was your ceiling originally? I was thinking mine was already high enough but you show a really nice option if it turns out to be too low. Nice job! :beer:

 

[nickf2005]

That is nifty to say the least. Good job.

Enjoy the new monster when she comes in.

 

[cclark]

Baller status, looks great man good job.

 

[biminiLX]

VERY nicely done!
-J

 

[Eds01Lightning]

Good job!!:beer:

 

[venom62]

Very nice! I had looked into this (adding a lift, not the cutting of the roof) but not seriously yet. How tall was your ceiling originally? I was thinking mine was already high enough but you show a really nice option if it turns out to be too low. Nice job! :beer:

My ceiling height was 9' 6" originally. I added a foot and a half to the height so it is 11' now. The limiting dimension is the distance from the bottom of the raised garage door down to the top of the rail where the car sits. I can still raise the lift to max height with the garage door open for the '67, but may need to drop down a notch with the '14 on top given the rear spoiler height. The lift has 4" ladder spacing increments so should not be a problem.

 

[Fox-4]

Very nice work there and beautiful mustang!


Sent from my '79 Fairmont coupe

 

[Devious_Snake]

uber jealous, nice job!

 

[Lethalchem]

My ceiling height was 9' 6" originally. I added a foot and a half to the height so it is 11' now. The limiting dimension is the distance from the bottom of the raised garage door down to the top of the rail where the car sits. I can still raise the lift to max height with the garage door open for the '67, but may need to drop down a notch with the '14 on top given the rear spoiler height. The lift has 4" ladder spacing increments so should not be a problem.

Thanks for the info. I just went out and measured my ceiling and it's 11 feet already. How wide is the lift?

I asked a garage door company to look at my door a few months ago and he said I couldn't set the door rails up high enough. He said it needed 12"-18" between ceiling and door rail. Your work proves that was BS so now I can consider it. I was hoping I could put my wife's Lexus under the lift since it's fairly low, which would allow me to keep the Shelby lower than max lift height and avoid clearance problems when opening the door. Thanks to your post I can look into this again. Nice work man! :beer:

 

[venom62]

The detailed dimensions of the lift can be found on the BendPak website for the HD-9 lift. Width to the outside edge of the runways - 82 3/8""; Width to the outside of the posts - 116 3/4"; Max lifiting height - 74 1/2" (some adjustability).

They also make a narrower lift, HD-9ST, but it will be tighter fit for the Shelby tire track given the distance to the outside edge of the runways. You would have to have the car centered very well when driving up the ramp or backing up the ramp onto the runways, otherwise may scuff the wheels.

Glad the info is helpful for you and others. I asked the garage door company to raise the tracks as high as possible to the ceiling, and they did a great job.