Best lift for a big Healey?

My dad is shopping for a lift. Can anyone recommend one with some flexibility but suitable for a Healey? Tell me why please. 
 

No slab or height restriction - he's got two big pole buildings that used to be a diesel shop. 

Without pictures of the Healey, this is useless. 

I assume it's a big Healey. I don't think you need pics because they're all the same whether it's a 100-4, 100-6, LeMans, 3000, etc. They all have a body on chassis with low hanging exhaust and specific track width. So he'll need to select a lift that has adjustable lift points to accommodate the chassis, and fit the track width. A little research in this area is required on his part. Not difficult.

Two post or four post?

I don't recall anything about a Healey that requires anything special in a lift.  A 10k lift might require driving up on some boards first to get the thicker lift arms under the body but I don't recall the frame rails being all that low or anything being in the way of the lift arms.

It's a 1967 AH3000 Mk3 BJ8 in BRG over black. Dad got it in the early 80's and it's been parked in a garage since the early 90's. 

He is looking at a four post lift but I'm not well versed in four vs two vs maxjacks etc. Pros and Cons. Especially for a narrow car like this. 

Why do you need a lift?

Very little restoration activity  on a Healey is going to benefit from a lift. 

Is the goal more to just get it off the ground so that you can park another car underneath?

If he's looking for a four post lift, most are designed to be able to hold larger and heavier vehicles so I don't think there's anything specific about them that would make one better or worse for a Healey.  There are the name brand models like Bendpak, and then the generic offshore manufactured ones like you find on eBay.  They're less expensive but also lower quality.  If he wants to use it for maintenance on the wheels or suspension, he may want to consider the accessory bridge jacks most manufacturers offer.  Caster kits can be handy too, they will allow you to move the lift around.

They are very low so seems like a four post would save lying on your side in the dirt trying to position the arms each time you raise it. 

bearmtnmartin (Forum Supporter) said:

They are very low so seems like a four post would save lying on your side in the dirt trying to position the arms each time you raise it. 

Comparing 2 posts and 4 posts, a 2 post provides more access to all parts of the vehicle (no runways in the way) and can do things like lift the body off the frame or subframe.  A 4 post requires rolling bridge jacks to get the car off the runways, that works but it adds a bunch to the cost and it takes longer to get the car in the air with the wheels off.  These two factors account for why every service shop is dominated by 2 post lifts.

The biggest downside for 2 posts in a home environment is that they are wider than a 4 post, so if you're putting the lift in a standard 20x20 garage you're going to lose the ability to park two cars side by side (this is why I don't own one).  Another downside is that the concrete requirements are higher because it needs to anchor the lift against side loads, whereas 4 post lifts loads are mostly vertical.  It sounds like neither of these is relevant to your dad's case.

Other benefits to a 4 post are that you can use it to do alignments  (which is why many shops will have exactly one 4 post lift), and that it may be better if you're just using it for parking storage because it leaves the suspension loaded instead of dangling at full droop.  It's also a bit more stable in an earthquake.

Difficulty of getting low cars onto them is pretty much a wash, IMHO.  Cars that are super low will probably need to drive up onto boards to clear either of them.

Gary said:

I assume it's a big Healey. I don't think you need pics because they're all the same whether it's a 100-4, 100-6, LeMans, 3000, etc. They all have a body on chassis with low hanging exhaust and specific track width. So he'll need to select a lift that has adjustable lift points to accommodate the chassis, and fit the track width. A little research in this area is required on his part. Not difficult.

It is not really a body on chassis since the body understructure is welded to the chassis. You can not "lift" this structure off the frame.

The main frame rails on the Healy are quite close together towards the middle of the car. Might be hard to reach especially since the car is so low.  A logical place to pick the car up might be the outriggers at the front and rear of the cabin, but in a lot of these cars the outriggers are rotted out. Even when solid, the frame is only like 60 thou thick metal and easy to damage.

Great info guys. I shared this link with my dad. Thanks