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After the hurricane Irma scare last year, I want to raise my 66 without having a lift. The best I can think of is jacking it up onto race ramps. I don't want the suspension hanging loose all summer.
When I do this, all 4 wheels will be canted inward for 4 or more months and I wonder if this could be detrimental to tires or suspension components. I'm picturing the wheels pushing outward on the tires, causing a potential loss of seal, deflation and ruin of tires or more. They are reproduction bias ply tires.
Normally after jacking up and dropping, a short roll forward and backward straightens the wheels vertically.
Am I over thinking this and is there anything else to overthink? Thanks.
You might be over thinking it. To ease your mind though, you could set your tires down on something that will let the car settle properly. I've used two pieces of masonite before, about 6"x6" with the smooth side facing each other. Linoleum tiles might work as well.
After the hurricane Irma scare last year, I want to raise my 66 without having a lift. The best I can think of is jacking it up onto race ramps. I don't want the suspension hanging loose all summer.
When I do this, all 4 wheels will be canted inward for 4 or more months and I wonder if this could be detrimental to tires or suspension components. I'm picturing the wheels pushing outward on the tires, causing a potential loss of seal, deflation and ruin of tires or more. They are reproduction bias ply tires.
Normally after jacking up and dropping, a short roll forward and backward straightens the wheels vertically.
Am I over thinking this and is there anything else to overthink? Thanks.
You're not over-extending the half shaft U-joints or shocks with the wheels tilted a bit inward....it won't hurt a thing...
I put a 5/8-11 hex bolt with ~3" grip length in the rear frame kick-up pocket, below the trailing arm. It will slip-fit there with weight-on-wheels, & then prevents the rear suspension from going into full rebound extension while up on jack stands. You can just see the hex head in photo below near the shim pack, pink flag attached. Easy maintenance position for shock R&R, brake work, parking brake adjust, etc.
I put a 5/8-11 hex bolt with ~3" grip length in the rear frame kick-up pocket, below the trailing arm. It will slip-fit there with weight-on-wheels, & then prevents the rear suspension from going into full rebound extension while up on jack stands. You can just see the hex head in photo below near the shim pack, pink flag attached. Easy maintenance position for shock R&R, brake work, parking brake adjust, etc.
Thanks for that. I hadn't considered a method to prevent wheel drop in the first place. Now for the front end.
I'm probably missing the issue, but I thought most Race Ramp products lift the wheels (their "wheel crib" product, for example) and not the suspension, don't they?
I'm probably missing the issue, but I thought most Race Ramp products lift the wheels (their "wheel crib" product, for example) and not the suspension, don't they?
Since I'm lifting all four wheels at once, I must jack the car onto the ramps rather than drive up. I could probably drive the front up but the ramps I have are steel and slip on the epoxy coated concrete.
(Summer storage is a Florida event for snowbirds in reverse.)
I put a 5/8-11 hex bolt with ~3" grip length in the rear frame kick-up pocket, below the trailing arm. It will slip-fit there with weight-on-wheels, & then prevents the rear suspension from going into full rebound extension while up on jack stands. You can just see the hex head in photo below near the shim pack, pink flag attached. Easy maintenance position for shock R&R, brake work, parking brake adjust, etc.
Seems to me you're putting that trailing arm bushing in a heck of a strain with all the leverage of the spring against it?
Bruce, something to think about is the time it might take you to mobilize the car should you need to evacuate. As you well know the reality of flooding and/or the need to evacuate is often a decision made in much haste. Whatever system you decide upon should take into consideration an ability to react quickly to this.
A lift capable of a a minimum of a few feet of ground clearance such as a quick lift could work...
Even a small portable lift can provide a few feet of ground clearance, but allow the car to be evacuated quickly if necessary...
Some thing that could also prove useful for routine maintenance without becoming an obstacle to your daily routine should be considered.
Since I'm lifting all four wheels at once, I must jack the car onto the ramps rather than drive up. I could probably drive the front up but the ramps I have are steel and slip on the epoxy coated concrete.
(Summer storage is a Florida event for snowbirds in reverse.)
You drive on to the front ramps and use a floor jack to get the rear wheel "cribs" under the back tires....takes all of 3 minutes.... I see no reason you couldn't store a car on these for a 3-4 month season without damage.
Bruce - I bought a pair of 10" Race Ramp cribs during their recent "blemish" sale to complement the 10" Race Ramp ramps I already had. I put my car up on all 4 for the first time last weekend and I did not have the wheel "bow leg" you're concerned about.
I drove the front wheels up on the ramps so, of course, they remained straight. After jacking up the rear and lowering the wheels down on the rear cribs, they were straight as well.
A problem I did encounter that you may also have to deal with is getting the rear high enough to get the 10" cribs under the wheels. You could use the hex bolt trick or jack up the rear in stages, alternating between your floor jack and jack stands until it's high enough. Or a third option is to do what I did and head down to Harbor Freight and buy their 3 ton, long-reach, low-profile, rapid pump, dual cylinder, floor jack with its 24-1/4 inch lift.
BTW, my garage floor has an epoxy coating and the race ramps do not budge, even a little bit, when I drive up on them.
Good luck (and stay safe while lifting that car)
Steve
Or the car can reside safely on my lift in a locked garage in a gated community in Winter Garden....
I will be sure to 'exercise' the car with a long drive bi-weekly to avoid those damned flat spots on the tires...
I know, I know - its asking a lot of me -- but I'm just that kind of guy
Warning! I had a near disaster after first jacking the front wheels onto the ramps. While jacking the back wheels using a rolling floor jack supported on the rear diff, I didn't notice the jack didn't roll as it raised. Instead, the front car wheels were rolling back off the ramps and I just noticed as they were about to crest and head down the ramps! With the rear wheels off the ground, the whole car would have rolled down and pinned me against the garage door... scary!!
I saved the day by jacking from the side, raising one front and one rear wheel, then moving the ramps into place. Finally, I changed my underwear...
Warning! I had a near disaster after first jacking the front wheels onto the ramps. While jacking the back wheels using a rolling floor jack supported on the rear diff, I didn't notice the jack didn't roll as it raised. Instead, the front car wheels were rolling back off the ramps and I just noticed as they were about to crest and head down the ramps! With the rear wheels off the ground, the whole car would have rolled down and pinned me against the garage door... scary!!
I saved the day by jacking from the side, raising one front and one rear wheel, then moving the ramps into place. Finally, I changed my underwear...
I AWAYS put wheel chocks behind both front wheels whenever I'm doing that. But I use drive up Race Ramps to get the front up. If you used wheel cribs, they may not have enough room behind the wheels to use the chocks.
I AWAYS put wheel chocks behind both front wheels whenever I'm doing that. But I use drive up Race Ramps to get the front up. If you used wheel cribs, they may not have enough room behind the wheels to use the chocks.
Steve
The proper method is to drive fully onto the front Race Ramps, chock the front wheels at the rear, remove the sloped ramp on the two-piece front ramps if desired and then and ONLY then raise the rear of the car at the spring saddle high enough to put the rear wheel cribs under the tires. If you forget those chocks - the car can roll down the ramps, suspended on the floor jack with its casters and go on its merry way. Ask me how I know....
Get heavy, good, wide rubber, serrated wheel chock for Cripe's sake - don't use those skiddish, hard plastic, hollow, econo-chocks.....
Last edited by Frankie the Fink; 05-25-2018 at 07:54 AM.
The proper method is to drive fully onto the front Race Ramps, chock the front wheels at the rear, remove the sloped ramp on the two-piece front ramps if desired and then and ONLY then raise the rear of the car at the spring saddle high enough to put the rear wheel cribs under the tires. If you forget those chocks - the car can roll down the ramps, suspended on the floor jack with its casters and go on its merry way. Ask me how I know....
Get heavy, good, wide rubber, serrated wheel chock for Cripe's sake - don't use those skiddish, hard plastic, hollow, econo-chocks.....
I always give the chocks a whack with a rubber mallet to wedge them in a little tighter.
05-17-2018, 11:50 AM
C2 summer storage on ramps
