'47 Desoto Revisited!

[Bingster]

Try this!

[Norm's Coupe]

That worked. Nice looking DeSoto.

[Brendan D25]

Nice DeSoto, hope you have many "Happy Days" with it. Cheers, Brendan.

[greg g]

Can you get any thing done under the car?????? That creeper setup looks like you have been banished to the garage more than once.....

[Bingster]

At the present time I can only get back about to the oil pan. When I bought the car I asked the garage owner if I could do the brakes while it was still in his garage. He said yes, if it didn't take too long. A year later I am still there, delays for various reasons but mainly because I went and redid everything I could reach. This was only possible because the garage guy and I hit it off pretty well and he likes the company when I come over to work on "Carlo."

[Norm's Coupe]

At the present time I can only get back about to the oil pan. When I bought the car I asked the garage owner if I could do the brakes while it was still in his garage. He said yes, if it didn't take too long. A year later I am still there, delays for various reasons but mainly because I went and redid everything I could reach. This was only possible because the garage guy and I hit it off pretty well and he likes the company when I come over to work on "Carlo."

Pick up a couple more jack stands, then jack up the rear and put it on stands. Then you'll be able to roll under the whole car, where ever you need to.

[Bingster]

I'm a little hesitant about working under the car for any extended length of time. My mechanic friend has told me some horror stories about guys getting crushed. I figure that I'll do the front brakes, then jack up the rear and do those brakes, and when the car can move and stop under its own power, we can put it on the hoist. Then I can finish off the underneath.

[Brendan D25]

Now that you mention it, there is something bothering me in the pic of your car. Are you using a toolbox and a plastic pail to hold up your car? You should always use good jack stands if working under a car. Work safely, Brendan.

[Norm's Coupe]

I'm a little hesitant about working under the car for any extended length of time. My mechanic friend has told me some horror stories about guys getting crushed. I figure that I'll do the front brakes, then jack up the rear and do those brakes, and when the car can move and stop under its own power, we can put it on the hoist. Then I can finish off the underneath.

Don't want to make light of the need for safety when working under the car, but if done correctly, there's no need to worry about it falling on you. The whole key to that is as mentioned, have it supported by good quality jack stands. I use the rule of thumb that the stands should be able to hold at least double what the cars weight is. I also do not trust the ratchet type stands, I've had brand new ratchet types fail the first time before I got the car on all four. Luckily I wasn't under it. So..........I only use the type that use a double horse shoe pin to lock them in place. While doing the floor work in my coupe I had it completely up off the floor on stands. Before going under the car the first time, I pushed the car as hard as I could before going under it and the car didn't move a fraction. I actually had a few short naps under the car on the creeper while studding what my course of action would be on a warm summer day. My stands are rated to hold 6 tons.

So.........no need to be afraid, if you do it the right way, with the right equipment.

Forgot to mention, other times when the car was up completely off the floor I've had people get in and out of the car to help me, from inside the car while I was under it doing something. So........again, it can be just as safe under stands as on a hoist in a garage. Actually, I've also heard of the hydraulic hoist in a service garage falling on mechanics. That was usually due to the fact they didn't lock it in place when it was raised. Point is, just follow all the rules and do it safely, regardless of how the car is up in the air.

[Plymouthy Adams]

Norm..I also have seent the ratchet type fail first use out of the box..does that make them faulty and useless..faulty to some degree but far from useless..I have found on inspection that the new ones when painted will prevent the lever from falling into the locked position by its own wieght as designed to do...exercise the jack latch levers a few time and they will free themselves of the extra paint, lock and hold till the cows come home..I prefer the ratchet style over all others..and yes, getting a set rated above the capacity you are using is only good sense...it is always wise to inpect your tools before use especially when called upon to support massive weight

[Norm's Coupe]

Tim,

I will not argue your point about the ratchet type stands. After all, I know people too that use them. One of those is my brother in law. However, that was the first pair of ratchet stands I had ever owned and they failed right out of the box. So.........in the garbage they went and I'll never own another pair. You couldn't pay me to crawl under that type after that. As you mentioned, you and others have had no problems, but I won't use that type anymore. One failure, regardless of why is one too many for me when it comes to jack stands.

[Plymouthy Adams]

I can identifiy with your paranoia Norm, but I was only mentioning one the reason Ihave found that they fail straight out of the box and that upon inpection prior to use would/could prevent a failure..(powder coating can be wuite thick in areas of curves and component joints)...these are the stands of choice at major truck (semi) repair shops..I posted this only to say that one needs to inspect tools prior to use..new or used...others on this site that have these or are even given a set as a gift..do be careful and inspect their operation and locking mechanism first...once done..I believe you will find these very handy items that will give years of service..and are much heavier than stamped out metal counterparts..

[Young Ed]

I've been under cars many many times with these stands. Never had one slip yet. As a backup if possible we leave the jack in place too for double support.

[Plymouthy Adams]

I own about 3 sets of these..they were invaluable when supporting my car bodies during frame removal..they are also nice and compact enough to use in the support tray on my car hoist making removal of componets a breeze while the car is about 6 feet off the floor...I am very sorry Norm had a bad experience with his..still feel an inpection would have made them very worthy..

[Norm's Coupe]

Tim, my pin type stands are not the light weight stamped type. The base and post the pins go through, and the tops are heavy gauge steel (roughly about 1/16"thick or thicker without measuring), and certified to hold the weight they are supposed to hold. The stands I have now are only about 12 to 13 years old. Prior to these (and that set of ratchet ones) I had a light weight set like you mentioned. However, even that light weight set lasted me about 20 years or more. The feet finally started to show a little rust so then replaced them. Those old ones also only had a single locking pin. Even so, I never had a problem with them. The stands I have now are really heavy duty ones compared to the others.

Like Ed, I also leave the floor jack under the car (if it's not in my way) for extra support. In addition, if I'm not working on the suspension, I leave the wheels on the car. That way, if by chance something gives way, at least I won't have the whole weight of the car come crashing down on me.

Years ago before I had any stands at all, I used a metal pail filled with concrete as stands. Only problem with that type of support is you can't adjust the height. Plus, those pails do get heavy to move around.

[Young Ed]

Up at the cabin we have some old ford model T or something axle housing 1/2s that are made into stands. Not adjustable either like Norms pail.

[BobT-47P15]

My stands are the ratchet type....so far no problems. However, I used

the jack as a safety, as Ed mentioned. Better safe than sorry, as they

say.

[Plymouthy Adams]

I have a set of the heavier metal pin style also Norm..they are very handy and a bit taller than my ratchet types...they do good but the ratchet style is so handy to set in place..lift the post..listen for the ratchet..place the weight instead of having to use the ole two hands to lift the post and insert the pin..inspecting for rust and discarding if unsure of the base metal..good idea..these units are ot expensive in the least..at the junkyard I had to jack up the truck (no wheels) to get my wiring harness..I used two jacks for safety...metal rim for fall protection, did the shake-a-roo for steadfastness of the rig prior to going below..out in the back of a junkyard is no place to wait for help to arrive..

[Plymouthy Adams]

ah..but did the 235/75 fit...??? inquiring minds want to know..I

[Merle Coggins]

Whatchya talkin' ''bout... I once welded up my... Oh wait, that's not me!!!

[Plymouthy Adams]

Thanks Shel..I have tst fit the 215's with no problems..wasn wanting a bit meatier tire if possible just for the ground effect looks..Ihave a nice set of 235/75's here that would I would like to transfer from on vechile to this one and get a better towing tire for the donating rig...kill two birds with one stone so to speak..they are Mopar wheels, but alas on the much large bolt pattern truck rim..I just mounted and balanced a set of 255's on the 76 dodge van that was in the family for years but I sold to a friend at work..he uses it for a construction van..hauls plenty..those fit but I think that is the max size I would attempt to install..I also was quite surprised to see on the door tag of that van the names Fargo and DeSoto..guess they still be export names in 1976

[Norm's Coupe]

Tim & Shel,

I've never tried the 235 tires on the coupe. Not concerned about the look so when I get around to mounting tires on my extra wheels I'll just go with 205's.

That said, when checking out the spacing, I'd take it one step further than just checking for rubbing on the back fender, etc. A couple of years ago I was talking to a guy at a cruise in with a 51 Ford. He didn't put the tires on the car, they were on it when he got it. However, he did say he was going to have to buy new tires for the rear. Not because they rubbed anything, but because they were a real pain to get off the car. Said in order to get the rear tires off he had to jack the car up high enough so he could drop it straight down and clear the fender. Said if you tried to pull it off on an angle it would not come off. So.......you guys might want to check that out when installing wide tires on the rear. That could be a real pain in the neck if you had a flat on the road.

[Plymouthy Adams]

Norn forgot to read the fact that we are both using positive offset wheel (Dakota for you and in my case Canyons but both have the same offset) that when compared to factory application..just plain not in the same ballpark..the stock rims are such that 215 are probaby the max you would ever try to go and the 205's are ideal...

the Canyon wheel is 7 inch wide and has a offset to the mount face to the back of the rim of 5 inches..

[Norm's Coupe]

Tim, the extra wheels I have are off an 82 Bronco. Think they are about 6.5 inches wide, but they fit ok. According to wheel charts they are supposed to be able to handle the 205's without a problem too. As you mentioned, 205's are ideal according to conversion charts to the 670 series bias tires. That's another reason I will go with those. Get any wider on the front and it makes it harder to steer. Also don't want wider tires on the back because then the spare wouldn't match two different size tires.

[Plymouthy Adams]

That is true..not quite sure what tires I will be getting for the 54 in the future..the WWW's bias plies gotta go..am sure it will be in the 205 range..the 54 did not have a huge WW 2 11/16 I think it was...I am not so worried about the extra wide tires with the Suburban due to power steering..