Art & Inspiration The JackStand Story

Wicar I don't have any stands up in the garage...just alot of other stuff to make up for it. I've had a few close calls with and without stands and I see most of you here today have lived to tell the story about your bad stand experiences. I do recall one time having one of those cheapo tube things folding over...So remember what 396 said eveyone get those shitty stands into the dumpster so we can continue having quality time with our Hotrods

 

I have 7 jack stands. I know they come in pairs but I don't know how I lost one. It had to be my doing somehow-why would someone steal/borrow one jack stand?

I'll let my boys figure it out someday.

 

Still trying to figure out who Jack Stand is.

 

I think he's related to Jack.N.Thubox

 

You never know. I've had things disappear that have no value and of no use to anyone, but sometimes things miraculously grow legs and walk away.

 

Along the same lines as Jalopy Joker and jcmarz, I was thinking you should legally change your name to "Jack Stands". Sort of like the guy who invented the hospital gown, Seymour Butts. I recently bought a new pair of jack stands, not that I actually needed them, that have a built-in hydraulic jack. When the "jack" reaches the height you require, a locking pin gets set in place, and it cannot collapse. When I was a X-Ray student (1982-84), and working part time at the training hospital, I had an emergency room patient who FAILED to use jack stands, and was only using a floor jack. The floor jack collapsed, crushing him underneath. Basically, it flattened his pelvis, tore his prostate/urethra from his bladder, and squeezed his rectum/colon out, like a cherry pit from the cherry. I had a LOT of portable X-Ray work to do on that case! His pelvis was repaired surgically with plates/screws, as were his urethra and rectum (NOT using plates and screws). I have ALWAYS had that incident in my mind when working with jacks, or anytime I have to raise a car up. And, NHRA requires jack stands to be in use anytime a car is raised.
I am Butch/56sedandelivery.

 

Ancient hot rod proverb...."Those who do not use jackstands become jackstands!"

 

i know i did BET you did too...
paging bill mehoff at the mall/concession stand (with the usual dumb person in charge)
and then after a few min's we/i /you changed the request to JACK...mehoff...lol
ROTFLMAO<----

 

I have a dozen or so but 4 are my favorite. When I was growing up in the 50's my dad had these Walkers. I've since found 2 more. As you can see I use them.

 

i have some BAD habits... i OVER do the safety thing,
when using Jack Stands i still get/use some solid blocks of wood AND
or (usually both) when a tire is OFF it goes ANY WHERE i can put it
UNDER, for that OVERKILL habit.

 

When you got to counting "29,30,31...." You must've felt like One "jack-off"
Funny story

 

Anyone thats tried jackstanding a Model A (regardless of how low it sets) knows the bottom of the frame actually sits about 3 miles off the ground. My jack stands were normal height, garden varieties that came about 6" short of reaching the frame when fully extended...so, in my infinite wisdom, decided to block them up...know what dont make good blocks......cinder blocks. I jacked my Tudor up and set the jack stand on a cinder block while working on the front suspension one day, had just removed the right front wheel and was rolling it over out of the way when the cinder block literally exploded under the jack stand and yes the front end hit the ground...scared the holy shit outta me. Went straight down and bought 2 axle stands for diesel trucks. They are heavy and expensive, but hold the car off the ground easily only about half extended. They also have about a 16" four point foot print. Best $125.00 I ever spent.

 

i don't know Jack......... or so i have been told.

 

HHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

 

Actually Jack Stand Story was a little known takeoff of West Side Story taking place in Detroit. Instead of switchblades, jack stands were used for the rumble. The role of Maria was played by Cha Cha Muldowney.

 

Interesting comments about bad Jack Stand experiences and apparently his relatives are well known. I remember being 16 w/out any stands, no garage at this time, did everything on a gravel pad behind my older Sister's house, did not weld any up in HS machine shop till the following year, used 8" cement block stacked high enough to slide under car to bench press 3 speed manual trans in and out as I was breaking them regular AND I jacked the car that high in steps using 2X4s w/ a bumper Jack to boot. Later, I went high tech and bought a screw type bumper jack and screw scissor type from boneyard. Someone commented about our (car guy) guardian Angels, believe this is true as Someone/Angel has been watching over me my entire life, used to joke about being like cat, w/ 9 lives, NOW, I try to be very careful, thinking I have used at least 8 up. By the way, Jack Stand sent me a PM, him and his relatives are hurt by your jokes about him and his family name. LOL

 

and how many times have we made these in one form or another...?

 

Real deal. There's a guy who races sprinters in Nebraska/Iowa named Jack Dover. As best I can figure it must have been an unplanned pregnancy or his parents really hated him.

 

In the summer of 1971 I walked into a friends shop. He was under a car with no jack stands and the jack failed. He had been dead for several hours. . After seeing that I always use jack stands . I own over 30 jack stands. some are 48 back Ford axle tubes. My first stands were cinder blocks. Then in 1958 my Dad made some out of wood like henry j posted...

 

Always used solid blocks of wood.
Now have some 6 tonne ones that get used on cars.
The 2 tonne ( made in China) car versions just seem too 'light' for me.

 

Way back when I was a kid I got a pair of jackstands that were made out of Ford axles. Since then I get more of the same every time I find them and I think I have 17 now. From Model T to 48 Fords

 

and don't forget: they should be placed correctly and the tires chocked. metal on metal is slippery, add a greasy/oily frame or crossmember and it can make for a disaster.

 

First Ford dealer I worked at back in 67 didn't have any "store bought" jack stands. All they had was different sizes of the Model A axle housings. Fast forward 20 years all the new kids coming in didn't have a clue what they were. Wouldn't use them and made management buy new ones. All the old stuff ended up in the corner. Wish I would have kept a couple. Along with the Model A stands, a lot of the mechanics were from that era too. Some pretty sharpe guys.

 

i always use wheels, laid on their side, as a last ditch, failsafe "jackstand."

 

"Stop the bus and let my brother, Jack, off"

I once knew a girl named Shirley Imhoff. Her older brother was Jack.

I know, tasteless! Now back to your regular programming.

 

I was helping a buddy change the clutch in his Mustang in 1976. It was a hot June day and I got there to see the stands give way and the car fell on top of him. The driveway was asphalt and on an incline. Anyway, I slid the floor jack under and dragged him out... a big guy, 6'7" and maybe 270 lbs... no fat.

He looked okay except for an indent in his upper arm from a bolt that dug into it. His SIL was over and was a nurse. Takes one look and sends him to the ER. He had crushed an artery which needed to be fixed, with a drain and all. The next day we changed his clutch.. safely.

 

A guy at work had the last name of Evans...His parents gave him the first name of Dale...

 

Hello,

When we were building and racing our 58 Chevy Impala, we had one set of jack stands. They were new and worked like a charm. I was responsible for changing out the third member gears from the 4:11s to the 4:56s. Those jack stands were “my buddies” every Thursday nights for the installs and Sunday nights for the exchanges. We were fortunate enough to have a hydraulic jack given to us by a friend who owned a gas station in Los Angeles. He was the same person that got us a ton of speed equipment for our builds. That was before we figured out the tax free “dealer” license and business. Since we had a set of jack stands for one car, it saw a myriad of uses. One time we received another set for Xmas and now, we had 4 matching ones.

When we started back to our surf days in 1961, we used those 4 jack stands to lay out plywood to spray parts and do little ding repair on our boards. That way no resin would get on our mom’s pristine green lawn and we would not get yelled at for the week. The backyard barbeque table was spared little drips of resin, other bumps and dents from out overzealous board repairs. Spraying stuff during the car builds was a "no brainer," as it was up away from the ground and when the plywood would get totally painted, it was flipped over for a clean side.

We loaned a set of jack stands to a good friend and he used them a lot on his street/race Chevy tri-5. But, one day, he just used a rented hydraulic jack from a supply house and forgot to put in the jack stands…that is a sad ending to this story.

Jnaki

 

i had a set of them i bought at e.j. korvette. used 'em for decades then finally got (much safer) 4-legged ones. threw the old ones in the dumpster at work, and they were "reclaimed" by someone by the end of the day!

 

As I read this thread and see you guys saying "I can't believe I have 6/8/10/12", I look around the yard and hang my head in shame. I have never counted, but there are at least 40 stands under cars, holding bodies off the ground, ect.

My name is Mike, I am a jack stand hoarder. Oh hell, I am just a hoarder, Jack stands are just one issue.