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I just recently won a 2004 Vette at auction. Unfortunately the car does not run, and the company shipping it to me is adamant that I have a forklift available for unloading the car from the trailer. This is my first vette so I'm not totally familiar with their construction, but I wanted to know what were the best places to place the forks? I was planning on placing some rubber blocks on the forks for some clearance, in case the exhaust hangs lower than the frame rails, but I want to make sure I don't cause unnecessary damage.
Did you actually win the car, or outbid everyone else? The reason I'm asking is if you actually won it, and have virtually no investment in it, you've already saved 10s of thousands of $$, and you could still make out like a bandit by hiring a professional, like a moving company, to bring a fork truck and operator, and theyll use it to unload the car. Inspect the car closely for any damage that may have been caused by an unskilled/inattentive forktruck operator BEFORE you unload it. I've never heard of loading and unloading a Corvette from a truck. Doesn't mean it can't be done, but most movers use ramps. My .02, and good luck......
Last edited by Vetteman Jack; Aug 9, 2022 at 06:17 AM.
I’m not sure I would want it unloaded with a fork lift unless it’s on some sort of special track made for that. I think it will damage it unless you built some sort of jig to sit on the lifting points. How is it getting loaded on this truck?
Unfortunately the car does not run, and the company shipping it to me is adamant that I have a forklift available for unloading the car from the trailer.
Holy sh*t!
If it has tires I would avoid the forklift at all costs. Even with jacking pucks it’s rare to have a forklift that has forks wide/long enough to get all four puck locations.
Idea: you can install the pucks, and put a long 2x4 piece of wood moved inward of the car enough that even when it flexes upward it will contact the frame and not body panels.
Did you actually win the car, or outbid everyone else? The reason I'm asking is if you actually won it, and have virtually no investment in it, you've already saved 10s of thousands of $$, and you could still make out like a bandit by hiring a professional, like a moving company, to bring a fork truck and operator, and theyll use it to unload the car. Inspect the car closely for any damage that may have been caused by an unskilled/inattentive forktruck operator BEFORE you unload it. I've never heard of loading and unloading a Corvette from a truck. Doesn't mean it can't be done, but most movers use ramps. My .02, and good luck......
It was definitely won lol. Paid less than 5k. Magnet red, 6 speed. Miles are unknown but judging from the condition of the interior my guess is somewhere between 60-75k. Going to need some new body panels though and potentially have to replace some parts of the front frame rails, but I'll know more once I get the car here.
Personally, I have no idea why they are demanding to use a forklift. I had a locksmith go out to the yard and cut a key for the car, so it should be as simple as winching it onto a truck, and winching it off. My hope is that when it gets here I can just have them use ramps and roll the car off without using a forklift. But on the off chance the truck driver does some stupid **** I wanted to be ready.
Originally Posted by pauly1119
I’m not sure I would want it unloaded with a fork lift unless it’s on some sort of special track made for that. I think it will damage it unless you built some sort of jig to sit on the lifting points. How is it getting loaded on this truck?
Supposedly Copart is loading it with a forklift. I definitely don't want it forklifted on/off but all of the shipping brokers I've spoken with have made it seem like shipping a non-running car is an impossibility.
Originally Posted by ~Josh
Holy sh*t!
If it has tires I would avoid the forklift at all costs. Even with jacking pucks it’s rare to have a forklift that has forks wide/long enough to get all four puck locations.
Idea: you can install the pucks, and put a long 2x4 piece of wood moved inward of the car enough that even when it flexes upward it will contact the frame and not body panels.
That was my plan. I've got some 2" thick rubber blocks, and planned on building a sort of "stop" so that when the forks tilt back the car doesn't slide and crush the door or fender.
Please take it easy or your next post will be "How do I repair frame damage?"
Yeah, I'm either going to talk to another broker to see if they can find a driver who isn't adamant about using a forklift, or I'm going to have the truck driver forklift it off himself, that way if he messes it up his company is liable for the damages.
Standard 48" forks won't work, and would end up cracking or punching through the flooring. At minimum you'd need a forklift with extended/72" forks. Even with that, the forklift operator will tend to tilt the car back to ensure it doesn't slide off the forks, in which case it could slide up against the metal guard and possibly damage the door or rear quarter panel. I'd certainly avoid using a forklift somehow, no matter what.
Copart moves all their cars around with a massive front loader with full car length forks. The operator brings the car to you at the loading area, and since the car is already on the forks, they usually drop it right onto the trailer. Here is a video
Youtubers buy wrecked cars from Copart often, the chance for some damage from the loader forks is definitely there. These are mainly salvage title cars though, but hopefully the operator has some finesse.
At unload though, I have seen videos where cars that couldn't roll had to be unloaded with a forklift or Lull. Picking up your own car would be the way to go, you call all the shots at unload.
That is wrong. There is nothing but damage waiting to happen. Have you ever LOOKED underneath a C5?
Your call Batman.
I have, and thats why I made this thread. I ordered some Jack pads that are meant for a c5, as well as some 2" thick rubber blocks. Once I have the contact info for the driver I'm going to contact them and see if the car can't be rolled off the trailer (I really don't see any reason why it can't be). Honestly I think the shipping broker I used is just being really dumb.
If you have a pickup drive there, rent car trailer pull car up on ramp with winch, strap down wheels and head home.
Or see if you can get it running and drive it home, unless it’s been in a bad crash?
Been watching you tube channel called vice grip garage, guy buys old heaps that have been sitting decades gets them running, drives it home, usually 200 to 700 miles.
If you have a pickup drive there, rent car trailer pull car up on ramp with winch, strap down wheels and head home.
Or see if you can get it running and drive it home, unless it’s been in a bad crash?
Been watching you tube channel called vice grip garage, guy buys old heaps that have been sitting decades gets them running, drives it home, usually 200 to 700 miles.
Any idea why it doesn’t run?
If it wasn't 2700 miles away thats absolutely what I would've done. It has been in a wreck but the damage appears minimal. Only thing stopping me from just driving it home is the front suspension appears to have collapsed. Not sure if it's an easy fix or not, and I don't have the free time to risk going down there to try and fix it.
As far as I can tell the only reason it didn't run is the lot didn't have a key, so they couldn't verify if it ran/drove. But it should at the very least roll.
Attached a picture of the car. im new to these cars so I can't tell if the front sitting that low is within normal range or something else is going on.
Looks like something is going on - looks too low. Copart will use a lift to load it, that's how they move everything. Their dealing in tons of cars daily and don't have time to baby anything. Watch "Auto Auctions Rebuild" on you tube and watch when he wins a car, you'll see how they load them.
wtf
Lifting with forklift
