Ok...I need to get some tools so that I can do some work on my chevelle. I don't have my own garage but rather a community garage in my apartment complex so we're going to have to be crafty. I guess the first think I'm gonna need a is a lug wrench...didn't get one with the car...do Chevelles have standard 3/4" lugs? Next thing I'm gonna need is a floor jack. I don't wanna spend too much money on one. Can somebody recommend where I can get a dependable floor jack without have to pay through the nose for it? Also...do I need to have jackstands or is it is good enough to just use the floor jack? I'm new to this so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I can't get tools that will take up too much space since, like I've mentioned, I don't have my own garage to store things in. I'm probably going to end up storing most of the stuff in the trunk of my car.

Anybody have any suggestions?

--rO

P.S. - I saw a little 2 1/4" floor jack at Pep Boys yesterday for $30 bucks. It seemed kinda cheap but it was small. What do you guys think of this?


Thanks,

--rO

You can get a good floorjack and jack stands (ALWAYS USE JACKSTANDS!) at Sears for pretty cheap as a package deal. Harbor Freight and Costco are two other places you can find floor jacks. Havent seen the pepboys or kragen jacks myself.

Are you looking for tools in general or just the jack, stands and lug wrench?

I can't say I completely agree with Beaux on this. You NEVER EVER want to skimp on the cost of your jack, or worse yet, jackstands. This rules out 90% of all stuff on the market in my opinion as the vast majority of it is imported crap!

A friends '74 Mercedes 450SLC nearly crushed me when the jackstands he bought from Harbor Freight broke. All the teeth on one jackstand's saddle portion sheared right off, and when it dropped it buckled and bent the other one, dropping the car to the ground. The second jackstand and the jack which we left under the crossmember held for about 5 seconds before giving out which barely gave both of us enough time to get out from under the car before it pitched sideways to the ground. After going home to retrive my trusty 1960's era Lincoln-made monster, we extracted all the failed crap from Harbor Freight. They had all been mangled into nearly unrecognizeable shapes.

I will say it's OK to buy a cheaper jack since you should NEVER be under the car with only the jack-- the jack is there ONLY to get the car on and off the jackstands. A guy here at work was killed last year doing exactly that-- under his '94 Corvette with only the jack. It failed, the car came down on him, and he suffocated to death over the course of about 4 hours as he was unable to breathe very well with the car pinning him to the ground. His wife came home from work and found him dead under the car.

For for your own sake, BUY GOOD JACKSTANDS from a reputable domestic jack manufacturer such as Lincoln, and ALWAYS use them. After the incident with the Mercedes I don't trust my life to any stand that says "Made In Taiwan" or "Made in China". My life is worth a hell of a lot more than saving a few bucks on cheap stands. Always leave the jack under the car as well so if the jackstands fail it will give you some extra time to get out from under the car.

Troy

it is a cheapy small but it picks up my SS.

Northern Industrial Tools 2-Ton Capacity Floor Jack
2 ton capacity floor jack is great for your garage or shop. Extends from 5in. to 13in. and features a 7in. travel.
In Stock
Ship Wt. 21.0 lbs
Item# 144993
Discount Price... $16.99
graemlins/waving.gif

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=6970&langId=-1&catalogId=4006970&PHOTOS=on&TEST=Y&productId=987784&categoryId=90556

these work too

Pair of Jack Stands
Two heavy duty steel jack stands at one low price! Double locking pawl and tooth design for extra protection.
In Stock
Ship Wt. 25.0 lbs
Item# 1460
Discount Price... $16.99
110% Guaranteed Lowest Price!
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=6970&langId=-1&catalogId=4006970&PHOTOS=on&TEST=Y&productId=19399&categoryId=0

Originally posted by Gokou:
I can't say I completely agree with Beaux on this. You NEVER EVER want to skimp on the cost of your jack, or worse yet, jackstands. Agreed. Never said to skimp but my Lincoln 3 ton floorjack (bought at costco on sale, oddly enough for 159 bucks) and my Craftsman jack stands (4 ton, 25 bucks a pair at Orchard Supply) have done nicely. And for added insurance I always tuck my tires under the car as well just in case

Another thing not mentioned is 4 good wheel chocks. 4 have seen many people use two in the back only. Chunks of brick, wood, etc dont bite into concrete in the event of small slippage and that wont help you in the event the car wants to shift. Yes, I have used bricks and rocks in a pinch but its not the way to go, imo.

Troys definitley on the dollar and, ehem, has my damn dream car.....course, everyone knows it should be a BB car but thats another story. tongue.gif :D

Just kidding bud, your site link is right on my desktop and I visit it quite often and have been for a VERY long time.......Im very sorry that I missed you at Craigs house a couple of weekends back. I would have liked to have met another fellow TC'er and seen that monster. Too :cool:

All good advice on the jack and stands.
As far as tools, if I were sharing space with
other people, I would not spend the money for good tools. Go buy some K-mart or similar tools.
Yes, they will break, but then no one will walk off or misplace them either. And if they do, your not out much.

Short list of tools.

3/8 drive 12 pt socket set & ratchet
3" 3/8 extension
1/2 drive 12 pt socket set & ratchet
6" 1/2 extension
( Socket sets usually go from 3/8 to 7/8 or so )
Open end wrenches. 3/8 to 3/4 at least
Box end (12 pt) 3/8 to 3/4
1 medium flat screw driver 10 - 11" long
1 medium flat screw driver 6" long.
same in phillips ( 4-way )
1/2 drive breaker bar.
Needle nose pliers
Water hose slip joint pliers
Channel lock pliers
Rubber mallot
medium ball peen hammer

tool box.

Dave
Have fun

Absolutely must have jack stands and wheel chocks!!!!

I have a dent in my driveway where I threw my 30 dollar Pep Boys jack a couple of weeks ago. It is about 10 feet from the garage door (call me a wuss, but I threw it overhand)

When you get a new pair of jack stands, aloways check to see if the ratcheting teeth are fully engaged by the lever!! Sometimes you might not get the 5 seconds that Gokou got to get out (but as a super Saiyan, he would have been OK :D )

I always throw the tires under too. keeps em out of the way and gives that extra 6"-8" that might save your bacon.

Funny how none of the terrifying jack stories came out when I was asking about jacks.... You guys like me still, right? :D

K

So that's a no on the $30 Pep Boys Jack right? Anyway...I think I'll run over to sears one of these days and see what I can pick up for a reasonable price. I've already started collecting some tools and have a bunch of things on that list but i'm not buying top quality just cuz i don't know when somebody's gonna walk away with something. Thanks for all the help guys!

--rO

P.S. - Should a 2 ton jack be good enough for a '65 with a crate 350 in it?

I went to Costco and picked up some big 5 ton jack (I think?) and it had some NASCAR sticker on it, I don't remember the price, but it works like a charm.

I like Craftsman hand tools.
Thats what I have, and if you get them on sale sometimes you can get a handy carrying case. So you can take them back to your apartment.

I've got an MVP floorjack from walmart, its okay.
It was the heaviest duty one they had.
And I bought the heaviest duty jack stands too.

I hate being under anything I can't lift off me, and as mentioned above, never go under a car that is not solidly supported, by jack stands.

An old saying goes .... "A poor man cannot afford to buy cheap tools."

Reason being, comparing apples to apples, cheap tools will break frequently and need to be replaced.