How to jack up an older car and educate me on car repairs

OddTrickStar said:
Before you do the carpet, do sound deadener if you’re serious about the tunes. If that tube doesn’t sound great, throw it out and build an enclosure. Shit, I’ll build you one. As a former mobile electronics installer, I’m dying over here looking at that wiring. Stiffening caps will keep your voltage up and may work better than a second battery. It did back in the heyday of my career. Don’t even like wires temporarily, moved the power port and put the mic where it used to be. Love doing the custom work.
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+1 for Alpine HU and another +1 for WMMR, all brings me right back to my late teens/early 20s! I went through so many head units in those days and none could beat the Alpine SQ. I loved them all until the last one I bought ~2012 which seemed to be a huge step down from the older stuff.
 
OddTrickStar said:
So much of the old stuff is great stuff!
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I knew I had pics. I ebayed this one for some reason, I think to upgrade to a head unit compatible with the iPod module. I remember being so ecstatic when I bought this Boston Acoustics sub too.

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shrpshtr325 said:
I can recommend the quickjacks I love mine and even store the car on them over the winter
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Quick Jacks can be tricky with older cars. They're really designed for modern uni-body cars with a consistent weight-bearing sill construction. It's hit-or-miss if they'll work on older cars. I have 4 portable lifts - including a Quick Jack. The latter belonged to my ex- and she discovered it wouldn't work on her older cars (Spitfire and Volvo 1800ES). I mainly use my scissor lifts - which so far have worked on every car I've needed to use it with. I also have a 2-post Max-Jack, but I still have to build the shop to install it in (it was such an amazing deal, I couldn't let it get away).

The disadvantage of a scissor lift (at least the BendPak MD-6XP versions I have) is they are kinda tall and even with my minivan I have to use 4x10 or 4x12 (stacked 2x12) ramps to get clearance underneath. My long-term solution in my garage is to eventually build a raised floor system.
 
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Ian F said:
Quick Jacks can be tricky with older cars. They're really designed for modern uni-body cars with a consistent weight-bearing sill construction. It's hit-or-miss if they'll work on older cars. I have 4 portable lifts - including a Quick Jack. The latter belonged to my ex- and she discovered it wouldn't work on her older cars (Spitfire and Volvo 1800ES). I mainly use my scissor lifts - which so far have worked on every car I've needed to use it with. I also have a 2-post Max-Jack, but I still have to build the shop to install it in (it was such an amazing deal, I couldn't let it get away).

The disadvantage of a scissor lift (at least the BendPak MD-6XP versions I have) is they are kinda tall and even with my minivan I have to use 4x10 or 4x12 (stacked 2x12) ramps to get clearance underneath. My long-term solution in my garage is to eventually build a raised floor system.
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i cant comment on specifics of older cars, but i can say that they are LONG and wont work on shorter wheelbase cars which i know was more common in the older cars. That said they have the ranges that they can reach very well defined on their website so as long as you already own the car you want to use them with you can be sure it will work before you buy . . .

I am considering a scissor type jack for a more permanent fixture in my garage for getting my fun car (challenger scat pack) off the ground when im not driving it for exteneded periods. slidingn the quick jacks in and out is tough due to the lack of additional space in my garage so being able to drive over and lift would be much easier.
 
shrpshtr325 said:
i cant comment on specifics of older cars, but i can say that they are LONG and wont work on shorter wheelbase cars which i know was more common in the older cars. That said they have the ranges that they can reach very well defined on their website so as long as you already own the car you want to use them with you can be sure it will work before you buy . . .

I am considering a scissor type jack for a more permanent fixture in my garage for getting my fun car (challenger scat pack) off the ground when im not driving it for exteneded periods. slidingn the quick jacks in and out is tough due to the lack of additional space in my garage so being able to drive over and lift would be much easier.
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Yes, that length can be an issue. One catch with a Quick Jack is if the jacking points are somewhat close to the wheel openings. That was the issue with my ex's Volvo - the rear jacking point is only a few inches from the rear wheels. While the 1800 is a unibody car, the pinch welds are not weight bearing - not even close. The front and rear jacking points should also be roughly at the same horizontal plane, although sometimes riser blocks can mitigate that. Since so many of the older cars were designed for use with old-school bumper jacks, the chassis lift points are really hit-or-miss. My ex- tried every which way to Sunday to get it to work under the Volvo and it just wouldn't.

If you have older cars, I would suggest finding someone local with a Quick Jack to make sure it'll work with your car before ordering one.
 
Yea quick Jack's certainly were designed with body on frame style lift points in mind. But you can also turn them 90 degrees for additional options
 
I think you will be fine. A lot of people have been using Seasucker racks for a while now, and I think they specialize in marine equipment racks. You will see a lot of positive threads on Reddit or other forums. Most of the people with negative views are just being skeptical with not a direct experience. If it was failing so often, then the negative reviews would have been all over the interwebs.
 
cyclops said:
I think you will be fine. A lot of people have been using Seasucker racks for a while now, and I think they specialize in marine equipment racks. You will see a lot of positive threads on Reddit or other forums. Most of the people with negative views are just being skeptical with not a direct experience. If it was failing so often, then the negative reviews would have been all over the interwebs.
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Agreed, but I can't avoid constant glances at the rear view mirror. I'm actually more afraid of an accident behind me should the bike let loose
 
OddTrickStar said:
Yikes! Run that strap through both doors. (Triangle) That thing comes off like that it’ll be wedged in your wheel well and ripping your headrest off. Disregard if you really just want a new bike 🔥
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qclabrat said:
Fixed? Lol
Solid third use, seems to work better as expected when wet
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Apparently doesn't care what happens to the car if this fails.

You need to determine the value of the bike vs. the car every time you load this up. If it's a cheap bike, let it fly because no matter how you strap it, it will bounce all over the car and that won't be a cheap fix.
 
cyclops said:
Most of the people with negative views are just being skeptical with not a direct experience. If it was failing so often, then the negative reviews would have been all over the interwebs.
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my objection to using the sea sucker on your hood has NOTHING to do with the rack falling off....thats the last issue. Assuming @qclabrat cares about his classic restored firebird....You can warp big, thin metal panels like hoods and roofs fairly easily....When you have nice paint on these big panels, it could be very noticeable if you even put a small tweak in one of the panels. Something the weight of a bike putting torque on a small area like that suction cup???? Personally I wouldnt try it. Crappy toyota, or in my case, my daily driver...sure, who cares. Then the risk of lifting the bike onto the car and whoops I had the fork hit the paint....not worth it to me.
 
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