Technical 53 Chevy on stands in Tight Garage

Hi All,

I recently moved and the best I could do was a 1 car garage for now, and unfortunately full of **** from the other roommate.




I need to change the calipers for replacements from a mustang II kit I bought and I also want to check the pedal push rod/linkage, etc and have a friend come over and help me properly bleed the brakes.

There is no room in front of the car and barely any behind. I was thinking of using the scissorjack I kept from my Chevy Astro van before I sold it. I was thinking I could jack each corner and put a jackstand underneath and pull the wheels off from the side and still work from underneath and the side. Is this probably the best approach? A floor jack won't fit anywhere. If I reversed the car and back it in the exhaust would get all over my roommates stuff.

I thought about a bottle jack, would that be a better option, or maybe two of them to lift the two front corners evenly? The driveway is not an option it is super steep right past the garage door.

Thanks.

 

You could always have a late night in a parking lot somewhere close. Just bring a lantern.

 

Thanks I need to do this in that 1 car garage some how. I've been in too many situations with this car where a simple little thing left me stuck a couple of days on jackstands.

 

Can you turn the car around and roll it out enough to work on it? Worse comes to worse you could just roll it back into the garage.

 

I can see myself bumping my head and knocking everything off the shelf on the right side wall.
Good luck working in that tight space, I`ve had to work in one close to that size before. Mine was a little bigger.
Good bottle jack might work better than the scissor jack. (IMHO)

 

This is what I do with my '59. Roll it out, work on it, push it back in. I can do it by myself too. I do have maybe 3' on one side of the car but prefer to be outside if possible.

 

That is a hell of a good friend to give you a hand in that garage. My garage isn't much bigger than that, so I too have to push it in and out to work on it. If you're just working on the brakes, then it shouldn't be stuck on jackstands. It may not be driveable, but you'll still be able to push it back in though. Honestly, trying to work under a car in an area as tight as that is just dangerous.

 

That's what I do now. My car has to remain a roller and it gets pushed out for work. That is kind of how a lot of the guys did it way back when and some still do.

 

out and in... out and in... you'll get real good at putting it on and off of jack stands.

 

Thanks everyone. I cannot roll the car outside to work on it. The driveway is immediately steep, and what's worse, literally 1 foot to the left is a gate adjacent to the garage door opening. This gate is used by all tenants to get in to the other units. I'm trying to do this lowkey as well or else I may get in trouble with the landlord.

 

Thanks I haven't even told my friend he is going to help me bleed the brakes, when he sees the setup he will probably wish he could bail.

Why would working on the car in that tight area be dangerous once I get it on jackstands? If I get it on jackstands it should be just as safe?

My challenge is exactly that, how do I get it on jackstands safely. I was thinking two bottle jacks on each side of the frame to evenly lift the front and then slide jackstands underneath. Then do the rear the same way.

Worse case I can use a scissorjack to just lift it so I can get a wheel off at a time but not get underneath and replace each caliper and turn the wheel and bleed carefully so nothing falls on me. I wanted to get underneath to examine the push rod a bit more.

 

Thanks. I had to get a big suitcase down for my roommate two days ago and it was on the upper right shelf. That was a pain but I managed to stand at an angle and retrieve it. Since I'm working on the brakes I can be careful and not knock anything off the shelves.

I hope with time to find a garage bigger, or at least one that doesn't have other people's **** in it. If my roommate didn't have all that useless furniture, I could roll the car back slightly and use a regular floor jack from the front like I've always done.

 

Put the roommates stuff in a storage locker or in the place that you live and then fix your car once and for all. Seems like you have as many excuses why you can't fix things as you have problems. Can't take more than a month to do brakes can it?

 

Getting it on and off the jack stands will be the most dangerous parts, but with a space that tight, you could easily trip over something and fall into the car and possibly get it rocking. It's actually not that hard to do.

 

That roommate was already living there. I spent 3 hours reorganizing all that **** just to get my car inside that garage!

If I had excuses on why I can't fix anything I'd have no threads posted and would literally let that car rot in that garage spot, yet here I am making an effort to make it work given the situation I'm in. I've fixed a bunch of issues I had in my other posts already by the way.

I'm only asking for suggestions on how to safely jack that car up in the spot it's in, hence the ***le of my post.

I would think using bottlejacks to get it on jackstands would be a safe option if done evenly. I just was curious if anyone had input on that particular idea.

 

Thanks this is the specific information I wanted. If I can get it on jackstands safely I'm confident I can be super careful to do what I need. I was just asking for opinions on using the bottle jack technique to get it on stands.

 

for room to work:

Blanket on top of the roof of car
Mattress on top of the blanket, the remaining few items along the wall, on top of the mattress.

I guess that's why I've mostly stuck to trucks, instant storage

 

Probably off-topic, but why don't you take it to a shop and let them fix it? Problems solved.

 

Here in town there is a place where you can rent a bay for a day/week/month. It has a lift and tools and such. It is actually pretty reasonable. You might check into that as an option.

 

Jack up each side of the front first then do each side of the rear. Check all stands during and after jacking each corner. (to see if any of them have shifted on ya) It may be a good idea to have someone hanging around while you're doing all that in case of an accident. have some large pieces of cardboard handy to help ya slide around on the cement and catch any spills. A couple razor blades and an appliance box in someones trash will get you the cardboard. Take your time and don't rush the job. Safety first.

 

Also open the garage door and push the car back a bit until the rear wheels are at the end of the garage pad - to give you more working room at the front. Make sure to chock the rear tires so it doesn't roll (either backwards or forwards)!

Yes - jack up the car carefully, and carefully 'bump' it a bit when it's on the jackstands to make sure it is firmly seated. Pat59's advice is solid - both on having someone there while you're doing this and to use the cardboard to slide around a bit. Good luck!

 

Thanks very much. I've done this maybe 20 times with that car with a regular floor jack by myself. I jack the front by the Mustang II crossmember, put both stands on the frame, then go to each frame corner in the rear and jack individually and put a jackstand underneath. Before getting underneath I've always rocked the car by hand a little and visually inspected each point where the frame rests on the stands and it's been fine.

The difference here is using a bottlejack and setting the jackstands. It definitely seems safer to do two front corners evenly going back and forth rather than one corner individually. I won't be underneath the car when lifting it. Once it's on jackstands it should be as safe as I've always had it minus room on the sides for my legs to stick out, that shouldn't be a problem.

I have two very large 1/8th" thick pieces of black plastic sheet about 4 feet wide by 8ft length that I keep under it to observe fluid leaks and also to slide underneath easily when working.

 

I can relate!!! I rented 1/2 of a 2 car garage from a nurse, and her nurse husband (he had been a Catholic priest, she a nun!), I worked with at one time (this was about 40 years ago). When I had to move the car after they sold their house, the only place I could find was at a storage facility; a single car garage size unit with a roll up door. This was a 1956 Chevrolet, so the wheelbase was the same as yours is. For storage purposes, I built a large "shelf" 5 feet off the floor and about 6 feet long, so the hood of the car was parked mostly under it. Made for a lot more room around the car. In your case, you should buy a "cheap" floor jack, just to have one; Harbor Freight will have what you need. It'll be cheap, should last a while, and you'll be able to raise the front end, and then the rear end (under the differential lift), or vise versa, to place jack stands. It's what I did, and I changed the car from a Muncie 4-speed to an Aluminum Powerglide (Bracket race drag car), had the headers on and off a couple of times, redid the complete interior (minus headliner), and the list goes on. Course I was young and flexible then, highly driven, and my girlfriend (now wife) was always willing to help (not so much these days???). Planning is everything, safety is everything, having someone to help is priceless. Good luck. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I have a normal floor jack and four jackstands. The problem is stuff in the front is not mine and no where to put it. Its chairs, other furniture, bins full of **** etc. At this point I'm lucky I landed a place to even put that car inside given my other requirements (I had a cat, etc etc). I'm going to try the bottle jack technique. The previous owner said that's exactly how he used to jack the car up long ago.

 

Dude, there would be no way I'd try that. You just sold your house and are now splitting rent. Take it some place and have it done or rent a garage

 

Yeah, it'll work but be careful. I've been working out of my 1 car garage since 1984 and while it's a pain, it is do-able and a hell of a lot better than working out in the weather. Especially when your 1/2 hour job turns into a 3 day thrash. I also have a 1 car garage and after pulling everything off the walls, I have a ton-o-room for my car.

 

Open the trunk and throw all your roommate's **** in.

 

Move it all the way over to one side, and work on one side at a time.

 

Are your living arrangements in a house or apartment complex? If at a house I would get permission to put a small storage shed in the yard and move all the roomies junk into that, then you would have a little more room to work.

 

Like I said before, Try to roll it outside to do the work, but just be careful if you try to do it in the garage. I've been working out of a one and a half car for the last 10 years. It can be done, but that doesn't mean it'll be easy. Here is the garage I work out of, I was actually sharing it with my OT car for the winter. It's a little bigger than yours, but not enough to make a difference.