SI67

I've just seen something in the Eckler's catalog which puzzles me. They sell a repro jack, the description of which includes "For Show Only-Cannot Be Used To Jack Car" as its second bullet point.
How does such a thing fare in NCRS judging? It seems to ME it should be penalized for not being useable, much more so than beat-up, rusted, inaccurate replacement which actually works.

Why would you spend the money, give up the space, and tote the weight around when the thing can't even be used to jack up your car if you need to? All it does is sit there and look pretty.
(OK, some unchivalrous jokes come to mind, but let's not go there.....)

Does anyone else think this item is kind of a weird thing to buy?

Here's the link, in case you're having a REALLY slow Labor Day weekend.

http://www.ecklerscorvette.com/corve...1966-1968.html

Frankie the Fink

Its lawyer-speak for liability issues ... I have one of these jacks (it came with my '61 when I bought it) -- it works fine.

Here is how to activate it:

Powershift

As Frankie says, it's really a legal disclaimer against the reproduction jack company. The repro jack is probably as good as the original. They just don't want a lawsuit if you get hurt using it.

GM, Ford, and other OEM have deeper pockets and lawyers already on staff. The smaller companies usually don't

Larry

Nowhere Man

To add the repro jack will not pass judging with full credit.

jerrybramlett

When they were new, they had a service life expectancy of about 10 times. If I made repro jacks exactly like the original GM design, I'd also tell buyers to not use them. Why do you think so many cars are missing them?

SI67

I would hope not. Especially if the disabling sleeve is present!

SI67

I agree they're not very good. Nice and compact, though. Emergency use only, I figure. But how do they tend to fail?

My original from '67 worked OK the 2 or so times I've had to use it, though the wrench/handle thing came apart.

street62

I have one for my 62. But it is much stronger than the jacks that come with new cars these days.

vettebuyer6369

Yeah Frankie's right, its simply lawsuit protection and nothing more.

I popped the sleeve off of mine and have it in the car, [probably a better option than a 50 year old one.)

DZAUTO

Many of you probably know that the 62 jack is different from the 53-61 jack (62 has coarse threads, 53-61 has fine threads).
I always kept my 56 jack stored because it was original, and I had a 62 jack in the trunk of the 56 so that I would always have one----------------------------just in case.
Well, one day I had a flat and had to use the 62 jack (62 jacks are harder to crank because of the coarse threads) and the threaded shaft snapped in half. I tossed it when I got home (NO, 30yrs ago it never occurred to me to save it and try to locate a replacement shaft!!!). The original jack for the 56 is now back in the trunk.

Now, as a side note. Apparently the 53-61 style jack was used on other vehicles besides early Vettes. MANY years ago, a friend still had the original jack for his 52 pickup. I examined it closely and it was the exact same jack as my 56 jack. Sooooooooooo, maybe some late 40s-early 50s Chevy pickups in salvage yards still have their original jack.

jerrybramlett

Back in the sixties, the joints usually came loose and failed before the bearing seized, but not by much.

Godholio

Sounds like a lot of the Corvettes in here.

c322348

So it isn't good for either show or jacking?

Mr D.

I hear Eckler's sells T-Shirts and Bling.

Frankie the Fink

They DO work for jacking -- maybe you missed that above.

Easy Rhino

I have what is believed to be the original jack in my recently-acquired '65 and no way would I use it, as it's clearly been cycled to death, to the point that the bottom scissor-teeth have overlapping galling marks to where the teeth only partially engage, as the stamped gear faces are half worn off.

Back in the 60's I had an original 1966 Chevy jack and I used the heck out of that thing, but I suspect that it is not intended for "industrial" use.