[Spridgets] fuel line mystery

Bud Osbourne abcoz at hky.com
Sun Jan 10 10:15:26 MST 2010


And concrete blocks should never be substituted for proper jack stands. 
They have been know to break/crumble.

I've been working this winter under a pair of VW Quantum Syncro station 
wagons, each supported by four stout, steel jack stands.  While I was 
putting one of them (the rust-free parts car that has no title :(  ) up on 
stands, back in November, it fell off the stands (long story, but has to do 
with lack of LF suspension).  No damage done, as I was (and always am) well 
clear of the car as I operate the jack, but it sure got my attention!! 
First time in 46 years of working on cars that I've had one fall off of 
anything.  Amazing how quickly they drop.......on chance to escape, if you 
happen to be underneath.  But, as I said, no damage done, and I easily 
jacked it up, again, and repositioned the stands on the opposite side, to 
facilitate the lift I was making on the other side, with the jack.
When I'm working under these two behemoths (compared to a Spridget), I'm 
always mindful of any application of force I use and how it might effect 
their stability on the stands.  But I'm just as careful when working under a 
Spridget, because a Spridget, due to it's very light weight (but still more 
than heavy enough to crush the life out of anyone it falls on), can more 
easily be moved sideways, upsetting the jack stands & allowing the car to 
fall.
Bottom line is that one can never be too careful.

BTW, in my garage, there is one other hazard to working under a car, on a 
creeper:  One of my garage cats has discovered that it's great sport to 
sneak up behind me, grab a mouthful of hair & give it a good, hard jerk, 
then run away.  He's pretty indiscriminate as to who's hair he pulls, too. 
A perfect stranger (to him) is just as much fun as his personal human.  The 
only way to thwart the little bastard is by getting a haircut, which will 
keep him away for a few weeks (short hair just doesn't seem to interest 
him).  And, yes, obviously this cat is allowed to get away with way too 
much........
Bud Osbourne
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Richard Ball" <richb at u.washington.edu>
To: <spridgets at autox.team.net>
Sent: Saturday, January 09, 2010 11:16 PM
Subject: Re: [Spridgets] fuel line mystery


> Jack stands?  Who needs Jackstands?  Just grab a hunk of wood and go to 
> it.
> http://993c4s.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/jack-truck.jpg
>
> Ok, No really, get your self a set of jackstands.
>
> Rich Ball
> '76 Midget
> Everett, WA


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