You have your new (to you) Corvair and you’ve decided to tackle a project that will require you to get under the car. Congrats! This is a big step in Corvair ownership! Corvair owners (along with vintage VW & Porsche) often find ourselves under our cars more than the run of the mill enthusiast.
With forward controls and a rear mounted engine, a floor jack & a set of jack stands will get some use in a Corvair owners garage or driveway.
So, you’re looking over the internet and getting tips on how to properly (and safely!) get that Corvair up on stands. You’re still not sure and may be a little apprehensive to reach out to a club member. Ask in a Facebook group? Forget it. We’re glad you’re here. Let’s go over the steps.
The first thing is picking out the correct floor jack and stands (if you don’t have them). You can go to a swap meet or yard sale and find everything used and pretty cheap. We would advise against picking up a trolley jack if you can help it.
A trolley jack has its purpose. It’s cheap. It takes up little space and will work in a pinch. But, if you decide to use it frequently, its limitations will begin to show. Also, to help lifting on a jack point (more on that below) a trolley jack has little surface area on the head. It also may not be able to raise the car to your desired height.
A larger, low profile floor jack is the way to go. An aluminum low profile jack is worth the extra cost as it weighs significantly less and will never rust or corrode. Harbor Freight has a large variety and will have one that fits your budget. If you get a coupon or find an “open box” deal in the store, even better!
A few years ago, we would have told you to NEVER buy your jack stands from Harbor Freight. They had a very public recall on their stands. After this black eye and fear of litigation, the Quality Assurance on these stands is now likely second to none. If you still are leery about buying stands at HF, any auto parts store and Home Depot sells jack stands. These places may even sell 4 stands and a jack as a kit.
If you’re going to buy online, proceed with caution buying cheap “no name” stands from Amazon or eBay. Please don’t buy jack stands from Temu. Also, cinder blocks or plastic milk crates should NEVER be used to support the car.
The last piece of equipment you may want to get is a rubber pinch weld jack puck. This will make jacking the Corvair up a breeze and will save the pinch welds under your car. You can also use a small 2×4 wood block. The wood should be soft enough to not smash the pinch weld. Common pine works great.
Now it’s time to get that Corvair up in the air!
The first thing is to make sure that you are going to lift and jack the car on a safe flat surface. We live in earthquake country after all, and jacking a car on an incline is never safe. You also want to make sure you are jacking the car on concrete or asphalt (if concrete isn’t a choice). Your car may sink if you try to jack it on dirt or gravel.
Make sure your e-brake is set. If you are getting your car up because your e-brake doesn’t work, make sure to block the front and rear wheels so the car doesn’t roll while jacking.
You will want to position all 4 jacks near where they will be placed under your Corvair. This is just behind the front wheels and just in front of the back wheels. If you look under your Corvair in these places, you will see what looks like a triangle with the base of the triangle facing the tire and the tip facing away from the tire. The inner area near the end of that tip is where you want to place the stands. See upper and lower diagram to compare to your Corvair.
Using your jack (with wood block or puck attached) align the jack just in front of that triangle tip and begin jacking up the car. The first time you do this, it will look like the car will tip over. Don’t worry, it won’t but you might get both wheels off of the ground when you are lifting.
Slide the jack stand under the triangular area we were just talking about making sure that it rests between the two welds going toward the tip of the triangle. Set jack stand height accordingly and make sure all jacks are set to the same height.
Once you’re up in the air, for safety, the last step is to take off the four tires and place them under the car similar to the photo at the top of this post. At the bare minimum, you will want to set the floor jack near where you are working to prevent the car from coming down and allowing you an escape.
Although the shop manual says it’s ok to jack the Corvair by the front and rear bumper, we do not recommend it. Use your best judgement if you go this route.
Never jack the Corvair up by the engine, differential or rear engine mount. This may do damage to the engine, mounts and can throw off the alignment of your power pack.
Jacking the car under the front crossmember is ok if you only need to access under the front of the car. Make sure to chock the rear wheels even with the e-brake applied and place stands as stated above just behind the front wheels.
If you have no desire to mess with stands, you can purchase ramps from a number of retailers.
If you have space and funds for a small lift, but not space or funds for a full size shop lift, there are two that work excellent for our Corvairs.
The E-Z Car lift was designed by a “Corvair Guy”. It is aluminum and is operated by a power drill. The gearing of the lift also acts as a safety mechanism to keep the jack locked into place. Lightweight, It can be disassembled for easy transport and storage. It also comes with a variety of accessories. These currently run about $2500.
The Quickjack is built by BendPak who makes many of the large 2 and 4 post lifts you see in your local mechanics garage. They operate off of a hydraulic pump and have heavy duty safety latches built in at various height settings. Setup and storage isn’t as easy as the E-Z lift, but they offer more access under the car while not taking up much space in your garage. Depending on the weight capacity, these currently start off at about $1800.
- Do you have a story about lifting your Corvair?
- Was there something in this article we missed?
- Have a good tech tip for a Corvair greenhorn that you would like for us to share?
- Email sfbacorsa@gmail.com or let us know in the comments!
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