My grandparents house had a garage pit until an insurance appraiser came to the house. Turns out garage pits are illegal in our county and they were required to have it filled with sand and cement. Great picture and I wonder what the heck is that old guy doing with the frying pan, cooking breakfast?
Yea , my nephew lives in Moore and he got one several years ago because the houses don't have basements or crawler spaces.
First one was in our turn of the century home. Help ed my father swap a flathead out in our 1952 Ford. Big heavy boards covered the hole when not in use. In the early 1970,s. Had a pit at a friend's house in the back yard in a big 4 stall garage. Great for oil changes. Great for clutch changes and exhaust systems. New York outlawed then for insurance purposes. Learned gas vapors settle down there and heard many a mechanic would light up down there. Not pretty.
Delivered paper’s to a few home’s in Bell Ca. during the mid 70’s that had them. They were at the rear of the driveway near the garage with 2X6’s as covers. Later in life I used one in Hemet Ca. a few times. It also was outdoors but was not residential. This one was on commercial property.
I have a pit in my garage, it was great 30+ years ago. Not so easy getting in and then getting back out now. I would bet that is where the 10mm socket is.
I had a 6' deep pit installed in my garage when it was built in 1998. I live in Maryland. Only restriction were that it could not have a drain unless the drain went to a holding tank and any light fixture installed in the pit had to be of an explosion-proof design. I went with no drain and flashlight/drop light. It is a very useful thing.
Well one day I was alone and I was pulling my OT Camaro back into the garage after putting the 4 speed back down in the pit climbed out and proceeded to pull the Camaro back in the garage and completely forgot the pit was open. Thank God I hung on to the front bumper as I fell into the open pit. Did not get hurt but learned a big lesson. Dumb luck. Thanks for that memory.
Never be without that 10mm socket https://www.amazon.com/BRAZEN-10mm-...3&ref_=pd_hp_d_atf_ci_mcx_mr_ca_hp_atf_d&th=1
We had one in our original service shop 40+ years ago. It was set up in a T fashion, with a big area in front of the vehicle and a narrow section down the middle. It was layed out to do alignments and had some Bear equipment built in like turnplates. I was a kid back then and it seemed really cool.
How did you get in and out of your pit? With mine I'm just walking up and down stairs. No more difficult than using any other stairs. I just have to remember to duck my head so I don't hit the car's door sill.
If you have or want one, don't tell your insurance company or the government. Usually illegal in residential neighborhoods, they are used commercially. The chain oil change outfits like Jiffy Jube use them but they're not cheaper to install if you build one to code. Any electrical items used in one is supposed to be explosion-proof (big $$$) and the deal-breaker is most places require forced ventilation of several air changes per minute. Explosion-proof fans ain't cheap not to mention the ductwork. You'll never see one in a muffler shop because of welding. With that said, I've got one that I bootlegged in. At the time I built my shop (early '80s), the now-common above-ground 'hobby' lifts were still very expensive commercial units, and below-ground air-over-hydraulic units were expensive even for a used one, plus the leakage factor on those was a ticking time bomb. The pit usefulness is limited; oil/fluid changes and lube, transmission/driveshaft service, shocks, steering and exhaust work, and it can be handy for these. Brakes, suspension, rear axle and wheel/tire work is difficult if not impossible. I've been eying one of those above-ground scissor lifts that lift about 12" off the floor to straddle the pit opening to fix this but haven't found one I like yet. I also need to fab up a permanent ladder for getting in and out of the pit. Step ladders don't cut it... These ARE dangerous, don't ever forget that. These things HAVE killed people. Any sort of fuel/flammable fluid spills, clean them up quickly then get out until the fumes are completely gone.
I investigated one for a previous house and garage. The requirements mentioned above were all there, plus a way to get out of the pit. It's analogous to egress windows in basements. The jurisdiction wanted a walkout to grade, however, and the lot was flat! That was the final nail in the coffin...
I put one in my home garage years back. In Texas the government “SPAG” will pay 50% of up to 6k for one. I only had to pay 3k. Use it as a safe place or oil pit.
Every pit I ever saw in my old neighborhood had walk up stairs. My uncle even had one in his old garage with walk up stairs. The pit is still in his old garage and functional today. It’s about 100 or more years old.
Probably the most dangerous addition to any shop. When I was a kid in LA a local muffler/welding shop had one. The owners son was working on a car and when he reached up to lower his welding hood the are welding rod hit the gas tank. Terrible way to die.
I have one at home, handy when you need it. Anglia only just fits over it. We tried to fill it with ice one day for a party, we were going to need ALOT of use though!
I have a "pit" inside the garage, and one outside. Use the outside pit to change fluids, parts, weld, or anything else, plus pressure wash all our vehicles' underneaths. Have to if I have the inside pit tied up. I use the in garage pit to change fluids, parts, weld, or anything else. I have on a very few occasion pressure washed underneath a vehicle. I can't lay on my back and look up. (if I do, whne I get up, I am hitting the ground on every third step, and walking into walls and such.) It's SO MUCH NICER to be able to stand and do everything at eye level! No slopping or spilling of fluids! NO vehicle able to fall off a lift! Plus, it's cooler in the summer. For every "good" there is always a "bad". My "bad' is when I forget a part or tool after I am down in the pit. Since late '80's I have only fell into the inside pit once. (roaring sloppy, commode huggin' drunk) Since there is ALWAYS a vehicle sitting on the inside pit, no one/animals can accidently wander too close and fall in! That pit pictured with the sliding top is NEAT!
One kid I knew in grade school, his family had a good sized farm. The grandfather has a long shed with the Ford tractor in it. It had a pit as well. Fast forward a zillion years, the farm was sold off and houses built all around it. There were 2 houses on the plot, it was divvied up and the grandparent house was sold off maybe 10 years ago. The OG house was just sold, I would say it is on a good 1/2 acre. The shed is still there, I would bet that I am the only person in town that knows about the pit... I wonder if the tractor is still there.
The garage at my last house had one. I used it to store parts but for the most part not a useful as a pair of jack stands for the work I did at home. Cliff Ramsdell
Here's a story to make Flathead lovers cry. I was talking to an old fart about a building that used to be a Ford dealership/road service place up in the country. I mentioned the old pit that used to be there. He told me they threw all the old flatheads and other stuff we'd find useful these days, into the pit and filled it with concrete to make it easier to sell the property.
The Jalopy Journal
