ramps/ stands

[grumpyvette]

READ THE LINKED INFO, as it contains bits of useful pictures and hints you'll want
yes if you own a decent welder and a chop saw, and have a few fabrication skills,
you can surely build a better set of car ramps than you can buy in most cases

but there are options and these look like a decent deal, for a sports car like a corvette or an A.C. cobra clone

Extra-Long Aluminum 2-Piece Car Service Ramps - 3,000 lbs. per axle Capacity

These extra-long car repair ramps are great for servicing lowered cars and trucks. With a 9-1/2 in. rise and removable ramps, there's plenty of room to get under the vehicle.

www.discountramps.com

http://zr1netregistry.com/jackupzr1.htm

http://zr1netregistry.com/Old_Proj/old_proj14.htm

http://www.corvettegadgetman.com/products3.html

http://www.eagleequip.com/page/EE/PROD/LI-LM/PAD-6000W

http://www.kwiklift.com/Options.htm

http://www.kwiklift.com/Options.htm#SIZE

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...-diy-project-video-well-worth-watching.15647/

IVE used them, thier less expensive too buy and very easy too use but unless your doing mostly brake jobs and wheel and suspension related work and maybe oil changes their a P.I.T.A. or useless for many jobs and access under the car is very limited and unsafe in my opinion.

I still think the best value for most guys on a tight budget is purchasing's (4) 12 ton jack stands , decent ramps and two floor jacks, you can do 90% of the stuff you want to do on a car if you've got a decent flat concrete pad with those and have well under $600 invested and its easily transported when you move, I used them for many years before I got my lift and still use them frequently today


http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?function=Search

12 ton jack stands #34924

normally $80 for two, now on sale for $55 for two

"1: why 12 ton? Ain't 6 ton more than enough?
2: how do you jack up the car? do you enroll your wife?
3: what floor jack do you use? Prices vary quite a bit?"

(1)
the
12 ton are BOTH FAR MORE STABILE from tipping or the car shifting, AND on the first notch they are exactly the correct height to allow comfortably accessing the under side of the car, place the 6 ton next to a 12 ton and raise both to the height of the 12 ton stands on the first notch, theres absolutely no comparison in your safety under the car, THERES ABSOLUTELY NO WAY YOU CAN COMPARE THE DEGREE OF STABILITY THE LARGER BASE AND STRONGER MATERIALS THE 12 TON STANDS PROVIDE

(2)OK first you DON,T raise a vette one corner at a time! you drive it up on the ramps to get clearance for the jack then slide the floor jack under the center of the front (CROSS MEMBER) and lift the front and place BOTH front 12 ton jack stands, under the frame , wide spaced, then the angle allows you to either use a second floor jack or move the front floor jack to the rear of the vette, and lift the whole back and place both REAR 12 ton jack stands, on the rear frame. now personally I usually leave the rear jack stands and the jack holding the rear up ,and the 12 ton jack stands on the front with the tires hanging just above the ramps, that way theres almost no chance the vette can fall, even if some component were to fail.
Ill ALSO point out I have and have always used two floor jacks, twin rino ramps and 4 12 ton jack stand WHEN I was under the corvette as I don,t want to be doing bench presses with a vette!:WTF


(3)theres several deals available, and the quality varies wildly, youll need to shop, http://www2.northerntool.com/product/200345429.htm

this jack looks good in the info they posted, but if you can afford it ID buy two, so you can jack the frame with a buddies help with minimal frame twist.
I have two craftsman floor jacks and while they have worked well for years Id more than likely have purchased those if Id know about them at the time I bought them

http://www.corvettegadgetman.com/products3.html

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...-diy-project-video-well-worth-watching.15647/

lots of guys think this is a good idea,personally Ive never needed or wanted one but then Ive installed a custom exhaust and in my case its not needed.

I HAVE thought seriously about BUYing or WELDING UP something like these

http://www.discountramps.com

http://www.discountramps.com/low_profile_car_ramp.htm

 

[Stick the Corners]

(2)OK first you DON,T raise a vette one corner at a time! you drive it up on the ramps to get clearance for the jack then slide the floor jack under the center of the front (CROSS MEMBER) and lift the front and place BOTH front 12 ton jack stands, under the frame , wide spaced, then the angle allows you to either use a second floor jack or move the front floor jack to the rear of the vette, and lift the whole back and place both REAR 12 ton jack stands, on the rear frame. now personally I usually leave the rear jack stands and the jack holding the rear up ,and the 12 ton jack stands on the front with the tires hanging just above the ramps, that way theres almost no chance the vette can fall, even if some component were to fail.
Ill ALSO point out I have and have always used two floor jacks, twin rino ramps and 4 12 ton jack stand WHEN I was under the corvette as I don,t want to be doing bench presses with a vette!:WTF

I appreciate your experience but purchasing the wide Rhino ramps does not give a gradual enough incline for the front end. I’m pondering how to build up the front tire track with available materials to take advantage of those inexpensive ramps. There are longer and more gradual ramps, but usually more than double in expense. It would be nice to use the floor Jack on the front cross member on my C4, to Jack both wheels together, but although cumbersome to do one corner at a time, is there a problem doing so?

Lastly, what is the safe jacking point on the rear to get both wheels in the air simultaneously?

 

[Grumpy]

if you have a set of rhino ramps and a corvette , you could do what a buddy did in his shop,
you could purchase a sheet of 3/4" plywood and have them cut it into (4) 8 foot long sections,
glue and screw them together off set so there's about 6" on both ends sticking out longer on each end
he bolted with 1/4 1.25" bolts and fender washers a section of thick rubber mat ,
so he had about 18" long and 12" wide sections of mat on each end this allows you to have a much more gradual ramp angle and the car won't cause the ramp to move because the mat, is squeezed between the ,mat and adjacent surfaces on both the floor and over the rhino ramps
yes he added two short sections of 2" x 12" boards under the ramp he screwed in as support braces with the top angled to match the incline angle at the 2.5 ft and 6 ft locations

yeah it sounds like work and its not real cheap to do but it worked as it provided him with ramps he felt helped a great deal, btw he also found
if he placed a 3 foot section of 2"x12" board against the shop back wall, and used that to keep the rhino ramps from moving as the car was driven up on the ramps it helped a good deal, of course you need to space the ramps to match the cars wheel base and it helps if you have a helper guide your car tire center line up on the ramps

Maxx-Tuff 1/2 in. x 24 in. x 36 in. Black Heavy Duty Rubber Floor Protection Mat

www.homedepot.com

http://www.kwik-lift.com/gallery.html
if you have the cash the KWIK-LIFT RAMPS ARE GREAT,

ramp options

your average auto store ramps ,(especially the cheap stamped steel versions)are dangerous and won,t allow the corvettes low approach angle to drive up on them, get the tires centered off/center and they frequently bend or tip, the RINO RAMPS work ok, but are FAR from high enough or stabilize...

garage.grumpysperformance.com

 

[Stick the Corners]

It is obviously not ideal, but is there any problem jacking and jack standing one corner at a time?

What is the safe jacking point on the rear of a C4 to get both wheels in the air simultaneously?

 

[Grumpy]

you can raise the rear of the corvette with a floor jack under the center of the differential (ideally use a thick rubber pad about 4" in diameter use contact cement on pad to jack ) on the floor jack contact lift point to spread the load, a pad cut from the tread of a scrap truck tire you find along the interstate highway works and its not too expensive or difficult to fabricate
the same padded floor jack, can be used to raise the center point on the front cross member , once you place two jack stands under the rear frame... look at this picture,
use of two floor jacks and 4 jack stands is highly recommended
you don't want twisting loads on the frame of the corvette, if it can be prevented
now you can use the two floor jacks on one side then move them to the other side, to place the jack stands, most guys drive a vette up on two floor ramps to get the required clearance for a floor jack under the center front k-member (cross member), they use the single jack, or two floor jacks to get and place the two front jack stands, then they move to the rear to place two rear frame support jack stands.


watch and pay attention to the short video
and it helps a great deal to drive a c4 corvette up on ramps BEFORE you use a floor jack
and yes I suggest an quality two post auto lift is used if its available,
as this allows free & easier access to the corvettes lower surfaces and wheels,
for suspension and brake and drive train access.

I bought two of these floor jacks linked below and they work great

3 Ton Low-Profile Super-Duty Floor Jack with RAPID PUMP, Metallic Purple

Amazing deals on this 3T Low-Profile Sd Floor Jack, Purple at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

 

[Stick the Corners]

Thanks. I didn’t mean to imply I bought the Rhino ramps yet, but I was scoping them out and realized some additional ramp modifications would be required. Your above cookbook made be realize the additional time and expense to achieve the goal of a safe and useable situation.
After that, I am about to pull the trigger on these:

Race Ramps RR-56-2 Race Ramps Two Piece Race Ramps | Summit Racing

Free Shipping - Race Ramps Two Piece Race Ramps with qualifying orders of $109. Shop Ramps at Summit Racing.

www.summitracing.com

I think they are slightly overpriced, but adding up the alternatives lead me to believe this will be highly useable and flexible.

 

[Grumpy]

yes I think they are significantly over priced. (one in an endless list of reasons owning a decent welder is a good idea,)
Id bet theres significantly less cost in angle iron and mig wire and gas, especially if you shop carefully locally

DIY: Inexpensive home-made Car Ramps

DIY: Inexpensive home-made Car Ramps

www.team-bhp.com

 

[Grumpy]

and of course if your going to be fabricating ramps, you can get creative and go off the deep end,
and build something like the pictured ramps if you have the room and skills etc.

 

[Stick the Corners]

I hear you. This will be a continual battle over time about what equipment I think I need as a small scale DIY-selfer versus mission creep that could get out of hand. Even with sage advice like yours, I’m bound to make mistakes. A welder for me, at this time, requires some more evolution.

 

[Stick the Corners]

and of course if your going to be fabricating ramps, you can get creative and go off the deep end,
and build something like the pictured ramps if you have the room and skills etc.

Very interesting design with no moving parts except the car when it moves forward and back on the ramp. I would move slowly and possibly sell tickets for the show.

 

[Stick the Corners]

https://web.archive.org/web/20230208210310im_/http://www.grumpysperformance.com/vettejack1.jpg

I couldn’t help but notice your particularly stable looking photo of jack stands with the stand’s “V” head oriented perpendicularly and in the valley across the pinch welds of the frame, at all 4 corners. While I was trying to get a wood block to lay on several of the welds that merge slightly inboard of your locations to spread out the forces, or to use the jack stand head with a rubber cushion on it(previously purchased) to lay on the flat area adjacent to the weld while also avoiding the nearby plastic piece that would crack, should I be content to do as shown in the photo?

 

[Stick the Corners]

you can raise the rear of the corvette with a floor jack under the center of the differential (ideally use a thick rubber pad about 4" in diameter use contact cement on pad to jack ) on the floor jack contact lift point to spread the load, a pad cut from the tread of a scrap truck tire you find along the interstate highway works and its not too expensive or difficult to fabricate
the same padded floor jack, can be used to raise the center point on the front cross member

I was not near the interstate, but I walked around the local Autozone to brainstorm and found this for $11.

It is a generic set of two floor mats that are fairly thick with lots of standing rubber elevations throughout. It measures about 13x17 inches.
Keeping both mats together and folding them in half, and then folding again upon itself gives a very thick (8 ply) piece of greater than 4 inches in any direction. That should work out just fine.

 

[Grumpy]

yes it will be, in fact it might work even better , being softer and thicker,
I just hope it stands up to abuse as well as a section of 18 wheeler tire,
iou might have found and used,
you might find along an interstate or behind a tire sales business

 

[Stick the Corners]

This, in fact, worked great on the front cross member.

 

[Stick the Corners]

There is however a problem using this cushion with my floor Jack for the rear.
I don’t know whether jack access to the diff is difficult because of my exhaust being totally stock and OEM, or that my 84 C4’s exhaust is different than the OEMs of later years, but tell me how you think I can avoid jacking up the right and left rear corners separately?

 

[Stick the Corners]

Does this mean what I think it means, the 347 th 1984 c4 made in 1983?

 

[Grumpy]

yes you can jack the vette up using a floor jack under one rear frame then sticking a jack stand under it and then repeat on the adjacent side
ITS far from ideal but its done by many owners most drive it up on ramps first to gain access under the front x-member for floor jack clearance.
yeah the stock rear exhaust can be a clearance issue, limiting access to the differential, for the floor jack, on some cars

under car safety

I had a guy forward me this info "I know we have all read and heard many a times,when you jack your car up to work on it PUT THE DAMN JACK STANDS UNDER THE CARS FRAME. Well I just got a call from my Aunt and Uncle that my cousin 2 years older than I am (and i'm 42)who's name is also Kevin was...

garage.grumpysperformance.com

watch video

 

[Stick the Corners]

Frankly, a bit frustrated today after the success of raising the front end on jack stands. Raising each rear corner safely without crushing the adjacent structures and ?brake lines? that go over the pinch welds, while simultaneously positioning my large and safer jack stands on the remaining pinch weld triangle was impossible.

My plan is to create a wooden bridge out of 2x4s that will traverse the brake lines and centrally located exhaust but will rest on the rear right and left lateral pinch welds simultaneously. This will allow me to use the floor jack inboard farther from the edges and give plenty of room to safely position my jack stands laterally.

 

[Grumpy]

please post a few clear pictures and maybe dimensions of the device and info or tips on its use,
of whatever you devise or invent to overcome the issue
as I'm sure it will prove helpful to many other c4 corvette owners
I know many guys just use ramps under the front wheels to gain clearance to the front cross member
and several people bought two of the low clearance long reach floor jacks so we can jack each side a bit alternately so we don.t twist the car frame when putting it up on jack stands, and yeah its probably a big reason many car lifts and extra long low angle ramps are sold

link to picture of the lift I had in my fla shop for 2 decades

http://grumpysperformance.com/garage11.jpg

yeah Im still refurbishing my texas shop

3 Ton Low-Profile Super-Duty Floor Jack with RAPID PUMP, Metallic Purple

Amazing deals on this 3T Low-Profile Sd Floor Jack, Purple at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

a car lift in your shop

read thru this thread. and the linked info,provided, it will be well worth the effort. like with the vast majority of products quality costs money, and you tend to get what you pay for! if two lifts look similar and the price is significantly cheaper on one, THERES A DAMN GOOD REASON, Id...

garage.grumpysperformance.com

Extra-Long Aluminum 2-Piece Car Service Ramps - 3,000 lbs. per axle Capacity

These extra-long car repair ramps are great for servicing lowered cars and trucks. With a 9-1/2 in. rise and removable ramps, there's plenty of room to get under the vehicle.

www.discountramps.com