Getting your car in the air.
 

What type of lift, stands, jacks, etc are you guys using to do work underneath?

I've never owned anything that sits low like this.

Hovercraft. :chairshot:

Lateral stability seems to be tough when I tried that.

i use a forklift

Race ramps and my scissors jack from my truck which has a 4 ft extension so i can slide it under and jack from the front and place jack stands in oem jack points on pinch seams.

I actually had to make some ramps to get my jack to the front jack point. Fuck paying for a low profile jack that might not work anyway...the front jack point is so goddamn far back on this car its ridiculous. Regular rhino ramps you get from autozone just aren't low enough...at least mine weren't.

Attachment 48002

You could probably be ok with just driving it on a single piece of 2 x 12 but I wanted some ramps that would work for basic oil changes/suspension work and whatnot. Basically I drive up on these...put my jack under the front jack point to raise it...move the ramps out of the way...put jack stands under the front. Then move to the rear...lol rear...(you don't need to do anything special to get to the jack point there) and raise the car with the jack...then put jack stands under the rear.

To get the car down I just reverse the process.

Don't forget basic safety stuff like parking brake/blocks behind the wheels...don't get under the car with just a hydraulic jack holding it up etc. etc....It's a 3000lb car that will fuck your shit up if you're not careful.

Bare hands.

So who does the work while you hold the car?

That's the problem I ran into.

DO NOT ask @WhoIsJeremy for his help.

He's good at getting the car in the air, it's the setting it back down on the tires that he's not so good at.

i used the rhino race ramps for everything not requiring taking tires off, they will scrape the lil black lip on front bumper a little but there is no damage.

otherwise i use an aluminum race jack from harbor freight for 220, use on either side of car and you can damn near flip the ms3 with it. then jack stands for insurance the aluminum cast on those jacks look like they could crack and break under pressure i have heard about it happening b4

I'm thinking about digging a trench in my backyard and driving the car over it to do work. Seems like the easiest solution.

I know this guy that did that in his garage. He dug out a whole and just drives over it and does what he needs to.

I'll post up some ramps i'm designing for a pseudo pit lift when i get home...based it off of what these guys are doing...

Corvette C3 Ramps - Build Home Made Car Ramps

I DO NOT recommend doing it the way they are...fucking toolbags and their half ass ramp sections. I only use this as an idea reference. I mean seriously...going to all that trouble and not doing it right? O_o

I have this set of 67" two piece race ramps. Expensive but they have a low slope (no scraping the front) and two piece design allows for easy side access. Gives me a lot of room to work underneath.

Amazon.com: Race Ramps RR-XT-2 67-Inch XT 2-Piece Race Ramp: Automotive

I see issues with it tipping over with those wooden things from the Chevy site. Looks top-heavy.

Yeah that's one of the reasons i said i don't recommend doing it like them. My design will be anchored and secure with all the bells and whistles.

Bells and whistles=wider, right? Anchored plywood and the shifting weight of a 3500 lb car means it will flip over and pull out those anchors, then play "steamroller".

Kinda like this, less funny.

haha yeah I was planning on making it wider at the base and what not...and not using plywood as a supporting member. I'm a bit paranoid when it comes to working under a car, so it would pretty stout (to me at least). I'm still in the initial design phase and just starting to model it on the computer, but it's getting there.

Possibly one of the greatest movie scenes.

I'm definitely interested with what you come up with.

I use a lift at work. Much easier. Haha. But for home I have rhino ramps and use a piece of 2x4 to drive up onto first, then onto the ramp. If I need to take wheels off at home, I use a low profile jack that I got at Sears, and jackstands.

Tappin

Telekinesis.


Tapadatass

This was just a first draft of something like the chevy guys did to give me some perspective/scale on the project...I do NOT recommend building something that looks like this...if you do it is at your own risk. I have not worked on this much in the past month because its taken a back burner to other projects.

Attachment 48019

Yes, it will eventually have a wider base than it does now, some way to anchor it securely to the ground, integrated plugs/lights/etc...again this was just a first draft so I could get some basic dimensions/cost/etc. etc. to see how much of a pain in the ass it would be compared to just dropping some cash on an actual pit lift.

The plan is, eventually, to have 4 different sections...a ramp...a rear wheel support...a main support, and a front wheel support. That way you can get it on the ramps...jack up one end, remove the front wheel support...lower the car so the pinch welds are supported on the main support...jack up the other end, remove the rear wheel support...and have it resting on the pinch welds on the main section. This way it lets you use the setup for suspension work/exhaust installs as well as rotating tires and whatnot.

That's the idea at least and there are still some things to work out (pinch weld support locations...adequate anchoring...doing some FEA to make sure it won't buckle...shit like that), but it's all solvable issues i think. Who knows if it will ever get done and built lol...just started it for something to do when i'm bored :p

Sorry about the slight thread jack...This is the last I'll post about this in this thread. If/when I move forward with this I'll make a new thread for it. I just said I'd post up something about it when i got home and i didn't wanna be a dick and not do it.

I bought a pinch weld adapter for my jack that basically lets me use the spare tire jack locations. that's for changing tires.

For getting the front end up, I screwed together sections of 2x12 to create ramps that give me enough room to get my jack to the X that marks the spot of the factory jack location. I use a 4x4 to give me some extra height and prevent any marring of the crossmember. When using jackstands I typically put them just inside of where the jack notch on the pinch weld is, or where the control arms bolt to the body.

man unibody cars suck without a lift.

Do you use the race ramps with a lowered car? My MS3 was lowered on H&R springs by the previous owner. All I have to work with is a gravel driveway, and a pair of ramps would be perfect for easy tasks such as oil changes.

For ppl in Canada, you can also buy these good cheap ramps at Canadian Tire ($50)

Pro Ramp, 12000lbs. | Canadian Tire

http://s7d5.scene7.com/is/image/Cana...ge=image_na_EN

I bought a pair of these and for some work it's ok, but they don't provide enough clearance for even a midsize torque wrench for some jobs. When I swapped in my RMM I had to augment these with some paving stones to give it another inch and a half of height.

on a lowered car the ramps rub but still work fine and I find the ramps give hella clearance for everything not requiring tire removal.

Pull up an (2) 2 x 6s 1 foot long. Roll this jack Low Profile Aluminum Racing Jack - 2 Ton, Rapid Pump® under car with square piece of 2x4 on it under X stamped on cross member. Pump about 6 times put jack stands just inside factory jack location with rag on top of each one to make up for uneven surface. Move jack to rear center of cross member 6 pumps. Change oil rotate tires take break sip bourbon or other party favor of choice. Paint X orange for easier spotting in the future. Reverse steps when done. Has worked for almost two years and 27K miles.

Save wood for building new man cave!