Recommended jack for a 63 Riviera?

[Vitelio 26]

Dear All:

I have a 63 riviera, with no original jack,

what would you recommend for practical use?

Regards,

Vitelio Mejía

[RivNut]

Vitelio,

Are you needing one to take with you or something to use in the garage. The orginal is okay for changing a flat in an emergency. I have small 2-ton rated floor jack that I use in the garage along with some jack stands once the car is off the ground.

Ed

[lrlforfun]

OK Vitelio: Go to Sears and get their 3 ton floor jack for $69.95. Also, get their jack stands too. A bumper jack is a scary thing. These cars are heavy Mamas! Mitch

[Vitelio 26]

Thanks a lot Mitch and Ed,

I am looking for something to use on the road, in case of tire damage.

I might try to find the original, for appearance's sake, but will have a floor jack as well.

Regards,

[Bill Stoneberg]

I took one of the jacks out of a modern Dodge pickup and it has worked well to change a tire when needed. Its a small screw type jack and it picks up the frame just fine.

Of course you need to make sure you have a correct lug wrench too.

[old-tank]

Whatever jack you use for emergency tire changing, but sure it will work if the tire is flat. Some floor jacks will not fit under the axle or lower control arm if the tire is flat.

[tim63riv]

Hi,

Coventional wisdom on the First Generation Riviera's is that the bumper jack is for show ONLY!! The bumpers are extremely light and wlll bend upward if they are used for jacking up the car! Both the front and rear bumper on my Blue 63 had this happen to them before I bought it.

As far as working on it at home, a good quality floor jack and four legged jack stands are the only way to go. As far as travel goes, Sears has and aluminum low clearance floor jack that is rated at 2 1/2 or 3 tons. It is light weight and doesn't take up a ton of room.

Another thought for tire changing safety is to look at self-sealing or run flat tires. Not sure what is available for 63's, if any, but not having to change a flat tire beats changing one along side the road any day! You may want to look at a can of puncture sealer and a small 12 volt air compressor to reinflate the tire. This method also gets you away from all the dangers of jacking up a car along side the road.

Just a couple more ideas added to the previous good ones!

Good Luck,

Tim McCluskey

[RivNut]

Vitelio

One thing I should mention as far as changing a flat on a 63-65 Riviera is that the rear wheel arch is rather close to the bottom of the car. If you jack up the axle and have a fairly wide tire on your wheel, it's very difficult to get that tire/wheel out from under the body. It's almost necessary to jack the body away from the axle to get a rear tire off. If you don't use a bumper jack for the reasons that Tim pointed out, you might need to use a combination of jacks to get wheel off the ground and the body away from the axle.

Perhaps a good set of run flat tires would be a better option.

Ed