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I am extremely sorry to hear about
that trajic accident, as once again we are reminded how extremely valuable life
is. I would like to make a suggestion to everyone reading this....Do NOT TRUST
Jackstands by themselves! As we all know there are all makes and sizes of stands
out there and sometimes in the interest of saving a few bucks we buy the cheaper
ones. #1) As all IMPERIAL owners know, BIGGER is BETTER. Always use overkill in
deciding on a purchase that could affect your life when working on your
automobile. Jackstands should be of the TRIPOD design, meaning THREE legs, and
not FOUR. They should also have sufficient bracing and the height adjustment
should be PINNED in place. I myself very rarely use Jackstands, and MOST
CERTAINLY DO NOT use CEMENT(cinder) blocks( the weight of 5,000 + lbs. can
easily crack the blocks!! I would rather use WOOD. I have over 1 dozen
4"x6"x12"long pressure trated blocks along with several 4"x4"x6" p.t. blocks
that I arrange in a criss-cross pattern under each side of the frame. The top
block is always a 4"x4" that should end up placed perpendicular to the frame, so
that when the car is lowered onto the wood it will compress across the grain of
the wood so as to compact it, not split it. The wood acts like a cushion and
conforms slightly to the steel resting on it. You can actually take a 20lb
long-handled sledge and give them a few good wallops; with the weight of the car
and the pavement against the wood, it WILL NOT BUDGE! #2) Any Jacking device
should be of the 3 Ton or better #3) Ramps are another point to consider- some
are TOO small for a 15"+ wheel, I had a pair where the backside of the tire was
actually a few inches DOWN the ramp even though the tire was up against the
stop! When using ramps, ALWAYS use a Wedge block behind BOTH tires on the
ground; a few whacks with a hammer to lock them in place won't hurt either(as
long as you don't miss the blocks and whack something else!) #4) Always try to
place the auto on pavement or solid ground, you"ll be surprised how fast a floor
jack sinks into your lawn! #5) If working on a Hot Summer day the blacktop
becomes soft; I find that sliding a 1/2" or thicker piece of exterior plywood
about 3 feet wide x4 to 6 feet long will not only protect you, it will prevent
your floor jack from creating sink holes in your driveway. Everyone just needs
to use common sense and think things through before doing them, that way there
will be more IMPERIALISTS around to enjoy their accomplishments.
Mike Veronesi-President of the Northeast IMPERIAL Owners Club;
(N.E.I.O.C.) 1967 Imperial Crown: 1969 Imperial LeBaron; 1990
Imperial....?
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, March 11, 2003 8:24
PM
Subject: IML: Tragic, yet preventable
accident!
Hello Everyone on the IML,
Russell and I lost a really good friend yesterday
to a tragic, yet preventable accident. He was the fellow we have
mentioned before who has helped us remove and restore parts not only from our
Imperial but other cars we own as well. He really admired the
Imperial and realized early on it was no Mustang when it came to working on it
or removing parts from it. I cannot begin to tell you how many parts
mechanical, electrical and otherwise he has rebuilt/restored for the
Imperial. He has taken parts and blasted/polished them to where
they looked NOS. He was a tinkerer and would try over and over
until he was successful at whatever task he was attempting. Bob was
55 and not in good health but certainly was not a candidate for the
cemetery...until yesterday. I am passing this on so that NO ONE on
this list (or any other for that matter) will make the same mistake as he
did. It cost him his life!
He was restoring one of his favorite cars, a '67
Mustang GT fastback. He needed to get the car up high enough to get
under it to work on the transmission. I believe he was planning to
install a new torque converter. He jacked the car up high enough to
place two rather tall jackstands underneath the rear of the
car. Here is the stupid part: Rather than go to the trouble
of finding the matching jackstands (somewhere in his shop) to place under
the front of the car, he used shorter ones
that were closer to his work area. In order to get the
front level with the rear, he put the stands on cinder
blocks! MAJOR MISTAKE!
While under the car on his stomach, he must have found a bolt hard to
remove or something. Heck he may have just turned the wrong way as he
was a big guy. Who knows for sure as he was alone. Another
MAJOR MISTAKE! He apparently jostled the car enough
to shake the cinder blocks and the jackstands wobbled on the shaky
blocks. The frame came down on his back and it was all over!
His poor wife found him when she came home from
work! I can only hope he never knew what hit him and he died
instantly.
I realize this is not entirely Imperial related
yet many of us work underneath our Imperials and perhaps aren't as
careful as we should be. Hopefully no one would be so careless as to use
cinder blocks but in a pinch when we want to get that particular job done, who
knows what happens to reason and common sense? Please everyone, learn
from our poor friend's mistake and always practice the utmost in safety
when working on, around and especially underneath your Imperial (or
other make) automobile. I wrote not to be "the bearer of bad news"
but to remind everyone how quickly our lives can come to an end
when we get careless working on these machines. It is indeed a tragedy
that our talented friend paid the ultimate price for his
negligence. Please remember Bob's misfortune the next time any of you
head underneath your cars! It may save your life!
Respectfully,
Greg McDonnell
Mobile, AL
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