Home made stands that get your car way off the ground. I am about to pull my Muncie and want to get it off the ground higher than my jack stands go. I was thinking about taking a 6X6 that I have laying around and make some stands that the tires can sit on.

I'm not looking to be able to walk under the thing but have some clearance so I can at least use my creeper and get my arms off my chest. I think my jack stands can get it about 18 inches off the ground (from the ground to the bottom of the frame) but I am looking at getting it around 24 to 30 inches.

Any suggestions/Pictures?
Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving (early)!!!!!

 

 

these are something like 6 ton jack stands and they are well oversized with a big foot print

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Looks like those have another 6-8 inches left in them, too.

 

With all 4 stands between the wheels, do you worry that it might get front heavy and tip? Especially if you start wrenching on something? I've done that with a 5th stand in the very front (with no weight on it) as a safety stand if it were to go, not that one stand will be enough to keep it from tipping sideways but it makes me feel better.

 

I wondered about this, too. I got mine up on four stands between the wheel wells and thought about all the motor weight on the front so I put my two heavy duty truck stands where the front sway bar mounts to the frame. They are about 1/8" too low to actually make contact, but I look at them as cheap insurance if I yank too hard on something. At least they should give me enough time to get out from under the car.

 

this picture is with the engine out....i always really push and pull on the car when its up on stands to make sure its stable....there would be nothing the matter with putting a jack stand (or two ) up front or even putting stuff under the wheels. you do need a long frame jack to get the car up this high and this is not the time to skimp on cheap jack stands.

 

Now I understand. I agree with the pushing and pulling to make sure it's stable. It took me almost 20 years to get over my claustrophobia and work underneath a car. When I did, I bought supports big enough to hold up a battleship, which was just about enough to convince me that it was safe to put my head underneath!

 

Jugheag your a genius. that is what i need to make so i can just pull my car up and down withour using a jack to lift it and then put the ramps under. its so simple i cant believe i didnt think of it.

 

There is probably over 2,000 lb behind the front jacks in this setup. No way a 500 lb engine will have an effect. The tranny is usually behind this point also...

 

Sorry, no photos, I used some leftover 11 7/8" Microlam beams from a friend to build a drive on ramp. It gets my car about 14" off the ground.
8 pieces, 4 for each side: 2 ramps, 4 stools, 2 bridges. LIne 'em up ramp-stool-bridge-stool. Set the latches which connect them together so they don't slide apart while driving on and off (--boy howdy bobcat was that a heart-stopping moment when I discovered the need for those!). Once the car is up and secure, undo the latches and remove the ramps and bridge sections. Now the car is setting on it's wheels on the 4 stools.
Now I can use my "accessory" blocks: 4 12" x 12" blocks built from 2 x 8, for a height of about 9 1/2", and my jacking block: 32" by 48" and 9 1/2" high. Slide the jacking block under, roll up the floor jack onto it, jack up the car and set my jackstands on the small blocks. Or I can take a bridge section from the ramp, turn it 90 degrees and slide it under the car and use more wood blocks or jackstands to support the car for wheels-off work.
They are heavy and unwieldy, but work great. Solid, strong. I figured I have about 150 linear feet of wood in the ramps alone, but luckily it was free. You could also use 2 x 12.
You'll have to do your homework to figure out how to build them if you're interested, but it's not hard....Some day I'll get a magic camera and learn the wizard's spells to be able to post photos.
Hope this helps a bit.

John

 

Are you sure that big block has enough power to climb up those things or does your wife have to push on the back too?

Whatever you guys do, be safe. It's acceptable to die in your vette but not under it.

 

That's what I keep telling people. I used outdoor 2 X 12" lumber.

 

years ago i used to use cement blocks under the frame sometimes. until i had one crumble. luckily i wasnt under it at the time. after that i stay with using some extra heavy duty jackstands i had made at work several years back. and by the way i love the impromptu wolmanized wood ramps. very cool idea .

 

I've put my vette up like that with 4 stands multiple times and have never had a problem. Usually when doing heavy duty work .... tranny, oil pan, suspension, ....

 

There are also some bridges and ramps that go with these so I can drive the car on and off. I actually park the car on these for storage. I think I have some pics of the whole setup at home if you want to see them.



Neal

 

Call me paranoid and I have some great jack stands but I always put my hydraulic jack under the side of the car I'm working on just for a little more insurance. Safety first

 

do you think it would be okay to just put the jackstands on the sway-bar supports? They bolt onto the frame and seem to be very solid.

 

Great homemade ramps Jughead. A 2"x4" across the front as a wheel stop would make em extra safe.
Eddie

 

forget the homemade wooden stuff get one of these ---------------------http://www.quiklift.com/------------for 1,200 and be done with it ,i used one last night at my friends house to work on his c-5 and it was great..i was gonna get one ,,,when he got this,, but i changed my mind to a electric hydro unit