Need to buy a jack for my '46 Studebaker coupe. Dropped I-beam axle in front, Chevy 8.5 rearend with 29" tires in rear. I need a jack that will fit under the front axle, get tall enough to get the rear tires off the ground, and be small enough to not take up too much space in the trunk. No front bumper and don't want a jack on the rear bumper, so a bumper jack is not an option. I am thinking that maybe a pickup jack would be a good choice, maybe one from the smaller pickups?? Pickup jacks usually have the long handle that is used to slide the jack under the car, which I need. I know some of you gents have been down this road before me, and I would appreciate your suggestion. Any help appreciated.
Check out the "scissor" jacks that came in Corvettes, which lift from frame rails...........have always worked out well for me, sometimes a wood block is needed...........
Tri-C engineering in Santa Clarita, Ca. makes them. They look identical to the one Cal Car Cover sells. I wouldn't be surprised if Tri-C didn't make for Cal Car Cover. It's a great unit and will lift a very low car up high enough for tire repairs and still stow away in tight spaces.
Ford used scissor jacks in tons of cars (Mustangs from the start, most of their small cars, most late models) that fold pretty small, should be bunches of them in the boneyards. These are similar to the aftermarket one shown above, will go under the axle of probably any vehicle (unlike the truck units) and lift the tire off the ground.
Took a scissor jack out of a gen 3 Camaro that I made into a race car, takes very little space and works great, I also carry plug-in mini air compressor.
Every salvage yard is full of mini vans,and all of then use scissor jacks,I have one from a 1965 Corvair and it looks very similar to the van jacks. HRP
yup, scissors jack would be the ticket. but...try it out, had a brand new one in a Buick break the 1st half turn when I tried to use it!
With my storage set up I'm able to carry a small hydraulic jack along with a length of 2x6 so on road trips with my group I'm the man.
Hello, In my old 40 Ford Sedan Deliveries, I had a small scissors jack stashed behind the seat. That kept it secure and handy. Luckily, I never had to use it for any reason except to jack up the car in my garage to check something out underneath. On the road, many miles later...it still stayed behind the seats. If it is just sitting in the back of the delivery, it becomes a 10lbs flying object on hard braking or stops. Usually, it takes up little space. Jnaki Today, there are places that sell the scissors jacks, but try to get one that had a larger base or at least a wide, stable plate. Lock your wheels with blocks or big rocks on the side of the road. Sometimes, these tend to move with the slightest angle or bump.
Scissors jacks can be found at garage sales all the time, eBay is full of them too. I can't even count the ones I've thrown out over the years from junk cars. I'm using a 1.5 ton floor jack since my Ford's trunk is big. I have to build a shallow plywood box so I can keep it in one place.
to be able to jack our rides up high enough to clear the fender only possible with low style floor jack
Thanks for all the replies. Right now, I am leaning toward a scissor jack, like those from a Jeep Liberty or a Dodge Dakota. Both those jacks have the advantage of coming with long handle extensions which will allow me to push the jack under the front and rear axles and remove it, without having to get flat on the ground and each under the car to do it. Also, using the jack under the axle will keep the car lower than a jack placed under the frame, which raises the body higher until all the compression is out of the springs/shock absorbers. This can be very important if changing a flat on a sloping roadside. My thinking may change, but right now the Jeep or Dakota jacks look best for my particular setup.
Tks JJ. I know I am good on front wheel clearance with the jacks I mentioned, but your post has made me take a second look at the rear wheels. I am just now having the wheel wells re-shaped a bit, and need to double check that the tires will clear after they are completed.
I use a little scissor jack out of a Honda. I can almost lift my Coupe by turning it by hand, cheap, small and light
This is the jack I carry, came out of 1995---1999 olds lesabre. In a nice case, works good. You need to make sure you can get rear of car high enough to get tire between fender and brake drum.
I have an old 1962 Chevy Corvar scissor jack in the trunk of my 1939 Ford with a few 2x4's - in 25 years and 60,000 miles of driving - only needed one time.
On my '48 Plym if you jacked up the axle enough to get it off the ground you couldn't get the wheel out past the fenders w/o putting a jack stand under the frame & dropping the axle down a bit.
I have carried one of the Harbor Freight electric scissor jacks in my 40 for several years. Plug it into cigarette lighter or connect to the battery and it works super. I have even used it as a type of port a power on a couple of occasions. Comes in a pretty compact case that is easy to store. Not the cheapest way but not expensive at HF and it is the same one others sell for more. Not exactly sure what the lowest point is but for the most part you would use it under the frame not axles. I just tried it under the side frame of my 55 Sunliner to see if it would allow removal of the rear wheel/tire in case of a flat and it does indeed.
Harbor Freight aluminum 1.5 ton jack . on sale 59.98 . That way you have a good safe jack you can use on the side of the road and in your shop. Keep it in the box in comes in don't take up that much room. Carried it in the trunk of my Morris Minor and it was tubbed with a 15 gallon fuel cell and battery box in the trunk. Try jacking up a car with a scissor jack in the sand on uneven ground and you will throw that jack in the woods when your done if the car isn't on top of you.
Dakota scissor jack. Be sure to grab the entire "tool pouch" to go with it. Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Street Rod jack eh? would that come in a gold Lamé bag? does it have embossed leather with baseball stitching? (edit. I see your in Texas, no gold Lamé there I hear , probably get some from California if you need it? )
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