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  • It Goes On and On

    ..but I'm sure not telling you folks anything you don't already know.

    So I want to duct Red's front brakes. Matt and I put our heads together (or his put mine together) on a Steeda kit, it's on the way, ordered it well under the influence last night. Matt's got an idea where/how we can rig that up with a piece Matt has imagined and can fabricate without cutting Red's front fascia.

    That's Unit's only rules - no roll cage and don't cut Red.

    And I'd already decided I'll need some ramps to get Red up off the of the ground to get under him without having to do all that jacking and jack stands and stuff. So today I ordered some really nice ones. Aluminum, two-piece, a real long ramp at a gentle slope and you can remove the ramp part to get under the car behind the front wheel if you want.

    That'll make it ergo-easier to work on Red's face with the brake ducting kit going on there. But we'll still have to get him down from there and jack him up and remove the front wheels to finish the ducting job. But I already have the stuff to do that with. Check. Got it.

    So the point being - with these last two purchases, I'm through buying stuff, right? I meant that's it, right? I've got everything I need.

    I'm sure I do. Won't ever need to buy anything else, right?
    Charter member of the Turd Nuggets

  • #2
    Peewee - I REALLY like you. PLEASE don't use those damn ramps. I had a good HS friend killed under them and another guy I know was killed. The issue is that if you pull on a bolt that's sideways to the car you can pull the car such that it tips sideways and off the ramps and onto you. If you really want to use the damn things PLEASE put jackstands under them before getting anywhere near under the car.

    If you think you won't be going under the car - well, you probably will. That bolt is just THERE and the next thing you've shinnied under there.

    Sorry - it gives me the creeps to see a car up on those for reasons stated.

    Dan

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    • #3
      Mighty good point and well taken Dan. We won't be tugging on bolts for this project, but that's a mighty good point.

      And they say always use jack stands if you're going underneath the car.

      I figure they'll be handy for changing the oil in all of our rides, etc., and don't pull on a bolt sideways to the car.

      These are pretty darned beefy, not Walmart stuff:

      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.
      Charter member of the Turd Nuggets

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      • #4
        My HS buddy was under a set that his Dad, a fine fabricator and GM Proving Grounds engineer, had made out of angle iron - over-engineered to the max. The car was on concrete so it wasn't like it had sunk into the dirt and thereby became unstable.

        This is serious stuff.

        Dan

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        • #5
          Okay Dan, of all the folks in the world, I sure believe you for sure.

          So, what's so much safer about jack stands? Why can't the car fall off of those? I thought about that a whole lot working on Red's brakes, but I was just inside the wheel wells, not underneath the car.
          Charter member of the Turd Nuggets

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          • #6
            Dan, you treed me. on the other had those look perfectly safe since they aren't the stamped out variety. Still a floor jack or some stands as insurance would have you covered.
            Previously HoosierL98GTA

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            • #7
              Originally posted by HoosierL98GTA View Post
              Dan, you treed me. on the other had those look perfectly safe since they aren't the stamped out variety. Still a floor jack or some stands as insurance would have you covered.
              Thanks guys, I'll do all of that. The floor jack, yeah. The jack stands, yeah.

              But the jack stands are restricted to whatever the closest notch is when the car is up on the ramp. If the car is in fact going sideways and then down because of a side force, I don't see how jack stands could catch it, if that's all you had.

              Floor jack snugged up, yeah.
              Charter member of the Turd Nuggets

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              • #8
                nice ramps.
                I do not like the weird one piece shapes,
                I even use cinder blocks.

                a red brick is the ramp for the cinder block

                4wd lo and a 1 ton car.

                big foot prints on the tires today, that alone is another world of safe on the ramps.

                ..and you will love that ducting, the engine is going to get bigger, not just brakes.
                Previously boxer3main
                the death rate and fairy tales cannot kill the nature left behind.

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by peewee View Post
                  Okay Dan, of all the folks in the world, I sure believe you for sure.

                  So, what's so much safer about jack stands? Why can't the car fall off of those? I thought about that a whole lot working on Red's brakes, but I was just inside the wheel wells, not underneath the car.

                  Mine tipped off jackstands, wasn't underneath it at the time, but they're not fail proof. I don't see them as any safer than ramps. You really just have to be careful about the torque you put on bolts and the direction you do, no matter what you use. I'm sure it's harder to tip a car off of a lift, but I don't think ramps are any less safe than jackstands. The tire under the car trick is a good one too, or a block of wood (8x8, or 6x6 would probably be enough to keep from a dirt nap, note probably).

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                  • #10
                    Jack stands have more "feet" and the force is spread out. Never seen a car fall from decent jack stands (not the cheap split tube ones). Whatever you put a car up on, be sure to shove it side to side with as much force as you can muster. I even do that on the hoist. If it's going to be unstable or maybe even fall you want it to happen before you start working. Every once in a while I reset the hoist dogs (that's what they call those pads) because I'm not comfortable with the wiggle factor.

                    I HAVE seen a car come down from the cheap split tube style stands. I bought good ones and immediately tossed the cheapies. None in my shop. Seeing a car slowly tumble toward Terra Firma is a scary thing - and I wasn't even under it!

                    When the car is on ramps you can put the stands underneath at the highest point off the ground. Sometimes you can get another click if you pull them out, click up a notch, then put them back under (it takes a little space for the ratchet to operate so they have to go up above the top of the adjustment to click the next notch). Anyhow, get them as high as you can then shove them back until they wedge under the frame section, then they're tight under the car. Your removable ramps will help here. Little wiggle room if you do that. Another tip is to be sure that the ratchets are tight - one of mine sometimes tries to hang up a little so that the pawl isn't tight in the rack on the part with the foot on it.

                    Dan
                    Last edited by DanStokes; March 3, 2013, 02:00 PM.

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                    • #11
                      Here's one of the jack stands (times 4). I guess this is not a tube-type one? These things are harder to get loose than they are to set...

                      Click image for larger version

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                      Charter member of the Turd Nuggets

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by peewee View Post
                        Here's one of the jack stands (times 4). I guess this is not a tube-type one? These things are harder to get loose than they are to set...

                        [ATTACH=CONFIG]18684[/ATTACH]
                        Those look correct PeeWee, i'm guessing tose are 3ton? we use similar for the bullet, but they even have gusset/foot pads on all corners. we use the 6 ton units for all other vehicles(the trucks) even AMeanXtreme's Sdime...
                        Patrick & Tammy
                        - Long Haulin' 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014...Addicting isn't it...??

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                        • #13
                          Yeah, 3 ton. They make an awful clatter when you finally get the car jacked up high enough to pull that handle and they gravity-retract. An awful clatter but it's quick.

                          I don't like getting much of me under the car. I reach and reach to get to that jack stand . quick....as quick as possible. Even think about it beforehand....but my head's under there, so do it quick, real quick. That's why I thought the ramps would be a safer-looking way to go. Yes, ramps AND the floor jack snugged up. Yeah, okay.
                          Charter member of the Turd Nuggets

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by peewee View Post
                            ..but I'm sure not telling you folks anything you don't already know.


                            That's Unit's only rules - no roll cage and don't cut Red.



                            I'm sure I do. Won't ever need to buy anything else, right?
                            Blow-er! I think we got Unit warming up to the idea last night.
                            "Somewhere the zebra is dancing". Garth Stein's The art of racing in the rain.

                            Matt

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Orange95Z View Post
                              Blow-er! I think we got Unit warming up to the idea last night.
                              Yeah, we even convinced her we wouldn't have to cut the hood to clear it.

                              But did you notice, she went back into the other room and watched her TV shows? We never even told her what one would cost.

                              And when we had the Steeda brake ducting kit on the computer screen she said outright, "Matt, go HOME!"

                              Glad you didn't.
                              Last edited by pdub; March 3, 2013, 03:00 PM.
                              Charter member of the Turd Nuggets

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