That saying fits this picture to a tee. Those jacks will tip without warning, not one of Ford's "Better Ideas".
Tipping while on a bumper jack isn't always a bad thing. My car slid into some snow on the side of the road. With two guys pushing we still couldn't make any progress. Used the bumper jack to lift the rear as high as it would go, then pushed the rear sideways back toward the road. Repeated that process one more time and got back on our way!
We used those jacks for changing tires for years and years. without a problem. Some even did major work on our cars with only this type of jack. All of a sudden they are the most dangerous things on earth???? No matter what kind of jack we use, there are always those who don't use it properly and get hurt or killed.
Not positive on the 59 in the photo but when cars started coming without bumper guards the was a notch for-the jack so it didn’t slip. Today if I got a flat in my 56 I would still need a bumper jack to get the tire out. Mine is not lowered has only 1” wider rims and a tire equal to a 7-10. I do carry a scissor jack to get the tire just high enough to change the tire but the body needs to be lifted. The last time I bought tires the car was entirely up and the shackles reversed on their own. I had to go under the car myself with 2 pry bars to show them what to do. No one had a clue.
As a teenager, we pulled many junkyard parts using bumper jacks and then sliding several wheels under the frame in case the jacks slipped. Pretty well all cars in the 50s and 60s used bumper jacks, so we would just pull a couple jacks from the cars in the junkyard. I even pulled a couple Fordamatics that way. I was a teenager so..... James
I too, grew up using bumper jacks. I don't consider them dangerous, when working outside the car. You have to put the "emergency" (now called a parking brake), when using on a incline but, the main thing, is it takes "common" since to use one. They were also used to pull the trans on '48 and earlier Fords, to push the torque tube back
If you use them on a flat surface and make sure the jack is perfectly strait vertically they work great. But if you live in a hilly area where finding a flat spot to pull over to change a flat is very difficult it can be very sketchy. BTW, if you ever come across a Jeep Wrangler in the junk yard look under the p***enger seat and see if the factory jack is still there. If it is grab it. They come with a very nice and compact telescoping bottle jack.
Never use just one! Lol notice the jack stands set directly under frame for added safety. “ if it fell off the jacks and dropped straight down the jack stands would catch it with an inch or two to spare for my 16 year old 120lb body underneath! It’s a miracle me and car still survive 50 years later!
not any worse than a 60.00 harbor freight jack without stands. or is it?? haha, but really at least chock the front wheels
You did appear to be safety conscious between the jack stands and the safety cone nearby. Oh, and the scariest thing I ever did with a couple of these was to lift a 8x8 shed up in the air high enough to back my car trailer under it to haul it about 30 miles. Both the lifting part and the trip home were interesting.
Extremely lucky! The last time I used a bumper jack the car was parked in my girlfriends front yard and it had been raining for several days, I found a flat concrete paving block and put it under the jack, I was able to remove the tire but before I could put the spare on the jack leaned toward me and i was able to get out of the way before the car fell over, I let it sit until the next day and managed to get a floor jack under the car, I threw the bumper jack away, they are dangerous even in dry weather. HRP
When I was in High School in '62- '63 I took Vocational Auto Shop this was from 12:30 to 3:30 PM each day, and our own cars were our projects one guy I hung out with was constantly warned by Mr. Margraves the instructor to always use jack stands. It never really sunk in with him ,when I enlisted on April Fools Day of '64 I sold him my '53 Customline a week earlier, during my fifth week of Basic training Mom told me he was working under the car using the bumper jack out in his barn and it came down on him crushing his skull and had killed him. So when I got back home, I always had a jack stand in my trunk.
I have a little story regarding bumper jack but, as I said before, it only takes common since, to operate one safely. Post needs to be as vertical as possible, brake on or wheel chocked. push on the car, both forward and to the side and do not, push or pull on the car while working on it, other than braking wheel nuts and raising the tire to install. I personally have done more than that but, always checked the stability first. The story: There was a family that lived across the street from me, when I lived at home. There were at least 3 boys and I was in the front yard, when 2 of them, were trying to get the pan off of a 37 Chev, the car raised on a bumper jack on one side and about 3, 4x4's on the other PLUS, no front tires. One kid was about 14, the other about 12. I was 18. He (the 14 yr old) was having trouble getting the pan off and I was watching as the car was shaking around. Then down it came!!! His head was about centered in the frame, under the engine. W/o thinking, I ran over and believe it or not, me and the 12 yr old, lifted that car, with our knees and back, enough for him to get out. He was banged up but, not enough to go to the hospital. I would have never guessed that me and that 12 yr old kid, could have lifted it.
The Jalopy Journal
