[C2] Leaving on jack stands
02-17-2017, 07:16 PM
#41
....in the previous thread that I replied to that is much like this one...some members just had to dispute what I was trying to pass along.Ben jacking up these C2s for 25 years and did last week .
Just restored a 67 convertible and kept a log on how much I put in it
Super paint job real nice but it always felt squirrely to me.
Found out the corvette was hit on front right side .
Did not sell it to a person but traded it into a dealer .The frames are
really the first thing important for a solid ride .
couldn't tell it was hit but it wasn't rite .
I had had two 63 corvettes that run up to 100 mph or more and felt good solid and had a confident ride. This one didn't .Get the frame out of whack your in trouble.
02-18-2017, 07:31 AM
#42
Race Director
I also use two floor jacks on one side at the jack points to lift the car....you don't want to get the frame in a twist...
IMO - do NOT jack up the car at the middle of the door...sounds like you have more car than garage... There is a reason the factory jack points are near the door hinge pillar and rear kickups...
FWIW - If I need the front end in the air for a long time, I don't like using the front jack points as it leaves a whole lot of car and engine cantilevered out in front. For a short period - fine. I've found that with two compact jacks I can place the saddle under the a-arm spring pockets (with a square of cut up bed liner rubber in between) and jack the front end up. Once up you have to find someway to support it with jacks and instead I found that the upper part of two older metal jack stands that I still have will nestle right in between the rails of the jack and under the jack pad - making the jack the jack stand itself. Very low stress on the car - keeps the front suspension partly compressed and supports the front weight at the axle line.
If you don't have enough pieces to do this you can jack the car up from the front crossmember or with 2 jacks at the factory jack points and get it high enough to place jack stands under the a-arm spring pockets and slowly lower the car checking that the jacks stay in place as the front springs compress.
02-18-2017, 07:53 AM
#43
Team Owner
Member Since: Mar 2003
Location: Greenville, Indiana
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If you suspect your Corvette may be in this condition, by all means, don't jack it in the center of the frame. Don't jack it up at the jack points. Don't put it on a lift. Don't even drive it. Part the good bones and burn the rest.
02-18-2017, 09:00 AM
#44
Melting Slicks
I have mentioned this before so I will do it again. For whatever it may be worth.
I place my jack stands under the wide portion of the brake rotor when the lug nuts have been put back on in reverse....IF the rivets have been drilled out. I do it on all four rotors the same way. That way the car is still supported by the suspension.
If service work requires them to be removed...then I move them and put them back if it still needs to be up in the air.
There reason I do this is due to I get Corvettes in that have been all over the country and may have rusted frames....and IF the car is a convertible..I do not want the rear clip to sag and the gap at the door and quarter panel to get so wide you can put a cigar in there and it would fall out....because I have seen it. The same goes for the front clip sagging and the gap at the door and upper fender gets wider....and puts stress on the bonding panel that is bonded and pop riveted to your cowl area (1968-1982). But knowing we are discussing a 1963-1967...I still follow the same practice.
I am not going to to get into what I had to fix when a shop left a 1967 convertible up on the lift over the weekend because some people here just feel that it is a bunch of crap and can not grasp/understand that metal fatigues and can actually bend if left in a position where weight and forces applied in areas can actually allow the metal to slowly move and distort..and this has everything to do with the integrity of the metal frame itself.
So if people say that their car has been in the air for years and years and not one problem...YES...I do not doubt it. It can happen. But can that practice being a STANDARD for everybody to follow... HELL NO!....because I work on Corvettes that that philosophy would not work at all....therefore....be careful when you support YOUR car. because it is NOT the same car as the person who said that theirs was up in the air for years and years.
DUB
I place my jack stands under the wide portion of the brake rotor when the lug nuts have been put back on in reverse....IF the rivets have been drilled out. I do it on all four rotors the same way. That way the car is still supported by the suspension.
If service work requires them to be removed...then I move them and put them back if it still needs to be up in the air.
There reason I do this is due to I get Corvettes in that have been all over the country and may have rusted frames....and IF the car is a convertible..I do not want the rear clip to sag and the gap at the door and quarter panel to get so wide you can put a cigar in there and it would fall out....because I have seen it. The same goes for the front clip sagging and the gap at the door and upper fender gets wider....and puts stress on the bonding panel that is bonded and pop riveted to your cowl area (1968-1982). But knowing we are discussing a 1963-1967...I still follow the same practice.
I am not going to to get into what I had to fix when a shop left a 1967 convertible up on the lift over the weekend because some people here just feel that it is a bunch of crap and can not grasp/understand that metal fatigues and can actually bend if left in a position where weight and forces applied in areas can actually allow the metal to slowly move and distort..and this has everything to do with the integrity of the metal frame itself.
So if people say that their car has been in the air for years and years and not one problem...YES...I do not doubt it. It can happen. But can that practice being a STANDARD for everybody to follow... HELL NO!....because I work on Corvettes that that philosophy would not work at all....therefore....be careful when you support YOUR car. because it is NOT the same car as the person who said that theirs was up in the air for years and years.
DUB
Last edited by biggd; 02-18-2017 at 09:04 AM.
02-18-2017, 06:56 PM
#45
Race Director
While I will agree with you that those type of things can happen on an old car and I have seen it also. There are other underlying problems if this happens as in the picture above. As for my car being on a lift every winter for the past 5 years, I did a frame off rebuild so I know there are no issues.
EXACTLY!!!KNOWING what you have is entirely different than NOT knowing what you have.
I assume NOTHING when Corvette comes in my shop. I plan on the WORST case scenario happening ...so each and every car gets lifted and supported the same...even those that I restored and I KNOW are solid. I take NO chances.
DUB
02-18-2017, 07:57 PM
#46
How doe a car like this ever get sold. It's like buying a house without looking at the crawl space.
02-19-2017, 06:18 PM
#47
Race Director
I have lost count on the Corvettes that I have inspected for people and tell many of them to RUN FROM IT!!!...and what do they do...they buy it even though I told them what was wrong and how much it will cost to get it back to being SAFE to drive....and then get pissed at me when I have to fix something that I told them was wrong...and then they get even more upset that I actually am going to charge them the quoted price I gave them on that repair before they bought it...like I am going to give them a reduced price for being stupid for buying Corvette I told them to run from.
DUB