Jacking up a C3
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 383
Likes: 0
From: Roseville CA
St. Jude Donor '09
Jacking up a C3
Okay guys I am ready to do the brakes on my 71 C3.
Do I have to be careful how & where I jack up the car.
I plan to leave it up on jack stands for a week or so as I have other work to do to the exhaust etc...
Any suggestions from longtime C3 owners?
Do I have to be careful how & where I jack up the car.
I plan to leave it up on jack stands for a week or so as I have other work to do to the exhaust etc...
Any suggestions from longtime C3 owners?
Team Owner
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 23,831
Likes: 10
From: Springfield MO
St. Jude Donor '07
Use the factory-recommended jack points for your jack stands. As long as your frame and birdcage is in good shape, you shouldn't have any trouble. My 77 has been on stands for around 18 months (out of control project) with no signs of flex.
Safety Car
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 4,367
Likes: 1,730
From: Seattle Area Washington
If I am using floor jacks I always crack each door and hood. Some people even release the locks on the t-tops if the car is equipped with them. The glass is 35+ years old now and just like us we don’t flex as well as we did when we were younger.
Brian.
Brian.
Racer
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 397
Likes: 1
From: Heartland
I hope i'm not hijacking this thread but adding to it alittle. I'm getting ready to put my Vette "up" for the winter and i'm slightly confused about the diagram posted.
Can I place jack stands on the front frame horns as well as the side areas as shown or am I miss-reading it??
Can I place jack stands on the front frame horns as well as the side areas as shown or am I miss-reading it??
Team Owner
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 23,831
Likes: 10
From: Springfield MO
St. Jude Donor '07
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Safety Car
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 4,367
Likes: 1,730
From: Seattle Area Washington
It's not going to flex unless the frame and/or birdcage are in marginal condition. If I was jacking up a car and it flexed like that, there's no way in the seventh circle of hell I'd drive it again until some major repairs had been accomplished. Snapping a car in half on the freeway doesn't sound like much fun.
Race Director
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 16,528
Likes: 53
From: Dayton, Ohio
Derby-In the front I would put my floor jack under the center of the cross member that is just in front of the engine.Put your jackstands under the lower A-arms out as far as you can get them.
In the rear put your floor jack under the center of the cross member thats just in front of the differential.Put your jackstands under the shock mount bolts where they go through the strut rods.You will have to tap the bases of the jackstands out towards the wheels a little at a time until the suspension sets down completly.
In the rear put your floor jack under the center of the cross member thats just in front of the differential.Put your jackstands under the shock mount bolts where they go through the strut rods.You will have to tap the bases of the jackstands out towards the wheels a little at a time until the suspension sets down completly.
Safety Car
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 4,367
Likes: 1,730
From: Seattle Area Washington
Please don’t jack up the car using the front cross member. There are reasons why and SAFETY comes in to my mind as the number 1 reason. Another reason is the center cross members bottom plate conforms to the outside radius of the cross member and is of light weight metal. You can tell right off if a car has been jacked up from this location as the metal plate material is deformed in shape.
Brian
Brian
Racer
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 334
Likes: 0
From: York PA
Only have (2) jackstands so I put double 6x6s up front and the stands in back. The 6x6s also serve to hold my pool cover down so theyre a little long and a bit of an pain to make sure tripping is held to a minimum - but they also serve to keep the coffee cup off the floor and aplace to set the tools.
Used the load points shown by Avvete4me.
chuck
Used the load points shown by Avvete4me.
chuck
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 8,339
Likes: 24
From: I can walk to MA
I'm Batman is totally correct.
If there is enough flex that the doors won't open/close,
hood jams and Ttops crack ..... Your frame and/or birdcage is toast.
In this case, a thorough body-off resto is in order.
Been there - done that - still going about 6 years later .... but now my
vette is new again.
I can't believe I actually drove it in prior condition at triple digits
Jacking on the front crossmember ... more cosmetic issue than anything else.
When restoring my frame, I added a nice reinforced plate to jack on.
Use the recommended points to place the jack stands.
Last edited by NHvette; Oct 24, 2007 at 01:44 PM.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 383
Likes: 0
From: Roseville CA
St. Jude Donor '09
Derby-In the front I would put my floor jack under the center of the cross member that is just in front of the engine.Put your jackstands under the lower A-arms out as far as you can get them.
In the rear put your floor jack under the center of the cross member thats just in front of the differential.Put your jackstands under the shock mount bolts where they go through the strut rods.You will have to tap the bases of the jackstands out towards the wheels a little at a time until the suspension sets down completly.
In the rear put your floor jack under the center of the cross member thats just in front of the differential.Put your jackstands under the shock mount bolts where they go through the strut rods.You will have to tap the bases of the jackstands out towards the wheels a little at a time until the suspension sets down completly.
DW
I can't put the floor jack on the rear crossmember as the exhaust pipes run right over that area. Maybe i'll jack up the rear one side at a time at just in front of the rear wheels ( as shown in the factory manual diagram above ) & then slide a stand in under the shock mount area.
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 5,086
Likes: 786
From: Lebanon Township New Jersey
I've put my car on 4 jack stands a hundred times and I put the jack in front of the trans crossmember and raise it high enough to put 2 jack stands where GM recommends - under the frame behind the front wheel and in front of the rear wheel. Then I repeat the process on the other side. Works every time and keeps the jack stands away from the suspension, engine, exhaust etc.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 383
Likes: 0
From: Roseville CA
St. Jude Donor '09
I've put my car on 4 jack stands a hundred times and I put the jack in front of the trans crossmember and raise it high enough to put 2 jack stands where GM recommends - under the frame behind the front wheel and in front of the rear wheel. Then I repeat the process on the other side. Works every time and keeps the jack stands away from the suspension, engine, exhaust etc.
That's in front of the trans crossmemeber..NOT on the trans crossmember so i'd be jacking the rear of the car from almost the middle of the car right?
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 3,472
Likes: 18
From: Lake Ozark, MO
Guess some ways are better than others...been jacking mine where ever there is enough support to lift the car for many years now and haven't hurt anything - including the cross member. Again, not saying it was right......but it didn't hurt anything either.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 383
Likes: 0
From: Roseville CA
St. Jude Donor '09
Thanks Gentlemen for all the help & input.
