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Dude, be safe! That's scary stuff...I had my wife's TA come off the stands last August and had I not gotten from the back of it 10 seconds prior I'd have been pinned against the wall and the car. Instead it scuffed the paint and gave me a hell of a dose of reality.
I normally have the car on ramps (all four rims) and then blocks with the ramps if I have to have it higher on the stands. Scares the heck out of me being under a car with stands only so I avoid that anymore.
Glad you are safe. Did it damage the 'glass at all or just screw up the side trim?
In 1974 my 67 GTO convertable was on jack stands. All 4 wheels were off and I was getting the drums cut for PA state inspection.
I was under the car trying to remove the exhaust manifold to replace the bushings on the heat riser valve. I was using a big breaker bar to get the manifold off. All of the sudden the car shifted and rolled off the jack stands. I was trapped under the car, saved by the little space that the jack stands provided while on their sides.
Finally a neighbor heard my yelling for help. I must have looked like the scene from the Wizard of Oz, as only my two feet were sticking out behind the front wheel. I directed him to use a small bottle Jack to lift the car up enough to drag me out from under the car. The police and rescue squad showed up, put me on a back board and gave me a ride to the hospital.
The bottom line is a lot of people never walk away from that type of accident. Now I have three lifts in my garage. you can never be too careful. I don't use cinder blocks and only quality Jack stands in my garage.
Make sure your jack plate is centered on the frame and you have a good bite. I always give it few pumps and double check it. You don't know many times, I let the jack back down and repositioned it because I didn't like the way it looked. And chock the wheels, have good quality floor jack and good steel jack stands.. Spend a few bucks more and get quality. I heard to many horror stories...
I don't know what you mean by a puck for a C3, but go for the good floor jack like people mention and also go for BIG heavy jackstands. Mine are ~23 inches high on the lowest setting. Transmission can be easily pulled with these stands so it's possible to do just about anything you need to at that height.
Notice the little gray "heavy duty" jackstand normally sold at auto stores, it's by the rear orange jackstand.
My '76 came with the right side lower trim dented when I bought it. Not sure what the previous owner did but it looked like it was caused by improper jacking.
At one point when my car was at the shop and up on the lift, I took the opportunity to remove the trim off the car and with the help of a heavy hammer, a couple of big screwdrivers and a chisel, I was able to reshape it well enough that it is hard to tell anything ever happened to it.
I did find a used undamaged one on eBay and I paid around $100 for it. But, since it needs to be polished and the original looks ok, I have not been motivated enough to have that taken care of as of yet.
I think that with a little patience (and the aforementioned tools), you may be able to reshape yours to an acceptable condition.
Just my .02.
Glad you're alright. Nothing teaches us better than a good scare.
Here's a pic of my car the day I got it. Notice the folded bottom trim piece right behind the front wheel.
And here it is after I straightened it.
Not the prettiest, but a LOT better.
I put a small square of plywood on the round floor jack saddle and then I put a square piece of old carpet to protect the frame. I was a construction pipefitter for 7 years and in maintenance at MTD for 34 years. You NEVER jack up something with bare metal to bare metal because it can slide so easily.
When we had to lift pipe with a crane, you always put a small piece of wood between the pipe and the metal sling (or choker) cable. Lou.
These friggin cars are the worst to jack up........there is a member on here selling a Kwik Lift............safest piece in he world to hold that car in place when you work on it,I had mine for 5 yrs..........NO problems...I want to live a few more years in this ^&)*#@ world,not expire under a car!
In 1974 my 67 GTO convertable was on jack stands. All 4 wheels were off and I was getting the drums cut for PA state inspection.
I was under the car trying to remove the exhaust manifold to replace the bushings on the heat riser valve. I was using a big breaker bar to get the manifold off. All of the sudden the car shifted and rolled off the jack stands. I was trapped under the car, saved by the little space that the jack stands provided while on their sides.
Finally a neighbor heard my yelling for help. I must have looked like the scene from the Wizard of Oz, as only my two feet were sticking out behind the front wheel. I directed him to use a small bottle Jack to lift the car up enough to drag me out from under the car. The police and rescue squad showed up, put me on a back board and gave me a ride to the hospital.
The bottom line is a lot of people never walk away from that type of accident. Now I have three lifts in my garage. you can never be too careful. I don't use cinder blocks and only quality Jack stands in my garage.
Bob K.
Jeebus man!!! same story almost....'70 Lemans Sport convertible, I doing a disc brake conversion on front, and the damn ASSFAULT driveway gave away under the jack stands and so over it went and bent hell outta the steering linkage, and wood have been ME had I been under it that instant....had to get a buddy to help lever it up enough to get a floor jack under it......not a couple months later, that damn driveway was replaced with concrete......NEVER TRUST ASSFAULT AS A WORKING SURFACE!!!!!!
I NEVER trust jack stands alone. The car can shift or surface give way. I even had a cheap one collapse. I have 4 3 ton stands that I use with a good floor jack. But most important to me, I have a 12 x 12" x 2' long wood block that supports the weight.
Reminds me of an incident involving my father back in the late 60's very early 70's when
I was a kid. He was taking off one of the rear wheels of the '61 Bonneville that he owned
at the time and was just using the bumper jack that came with the car. Well just as he
was either replacing the wheel or removing it the jack let go and the car came down
trapping his fingers between the guard and the top of the tyre. Mum had to come out
and reassemble the jack and lift the car back off his fingers. He was very lucky, no
broken or severed fingers just a few stiches, can't believe he didn't loose a finger or at
least have one broken.
Just remember safety first everyone, taking just a couple more minutes to make things
safe, may just save your life.
Wow, this is scary stuff. I usually throw a jack stand under a frame point, but I must admit I have been pretty foolish over the years.
If I take a tire off, it always goes under the car.
Glad you are OK.
Amen! I do the same thing. When it comes to safety, there's no such thing as too much.
same here also have had jackstands fail on me before not fun!
Had a lowered 67 camaro come down on me slowly when I was about 19....just used a jack was only going to be under there "for a sec".Thank god I was skinny and the trans was out...once all the way down I was squished, couldnt breathe then the car started rolling backwards.
Thank god I was in a shop and there were others around who saw it thought I was a goner almost was. Seen a few slip off a lift, too makes a hell of a racket
Did it damage the 'glass at all or just screw up the side trim?
