Reminiscing about bumper jacks

[ZZman]

How many of you old school drivers remember and prefer the old bumper Jacks? I think they worked faster than the scissor Jacks but more dangerous. I loved the clicking noise!

 

[Trav]

I remember them, dangerous POS they were, don't miss em.

 

[old1]

Bumper jacks were OK to change a tire, but not really much else. Of course they have not been of any use now for many years, as cars don't have a bumper to use them on. I loved cars with real bumpers that you could actually BUMP something with with no damage. Don't get me started on bumpers.

 

[PimTac]

Never preferred them. I saw them kick out more than once.

 

[4WD]

Originally Posted By: ZZman

How many of you old school drivers remember and prefer the old bumper Jacks? I think they worked faster than the scissor Jacks but more dangerous. I loved the clicking noise!

Factory were flimsy ~ but (back then) we got out of several jams with a HiLift jack on pipe bumpers ~ Finally gave away that 35 year old jack in October …

 

[PimTac]

Originally Posted By: old1

Bumper jacks were OK to change a tire, but not really much else. Of course they have not been of any use now for many years, as cars don't have a bumper to use them on. I loved cars with real bumpers that you could actually BUMP something with with no damage. Don't get me started on bumpers.

Right on. Cars back then were tanks compared to today’s cars. Playing baseball in the street meant hitting a car now and then. No mark or anything. Today’s cars would have several hundred dollars in damage from a baseball hitting it. Used to be able to sit on the hood too. Not anymore.

 

[Yah-Tah-Hey]

Originally Posted By: old1

Bumper jacks were OK to change a tire, but not really much else. Of course they have not been of any use now for many years, as cars don't have a bumper to use them on. I loved cars with real bumpers that you could actually BUMP something with with no damage. Don't get me started on bumpers.

My first car, a 1954 Ford Customline, had nice heavy bumpers that collected a fair share of dings and dents which were of no real concern. Today, bumper "covers" get a crease and it's $$$.I did put a very noticeable dent in front bumper cover last summer. Parked the vehicle in another location, and when I returned from shopping, the Sun had heated the cover up and dent was gone.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Originally Posted By: PimTac

Originally Posted By: old1

Bumper jacks were OK to change a tire, but not really much else. Of course they have not been of any use now for many years, as cars don't have a bumper to use them on. I loved cars with real bumpers that you could actually BUMP something with with no damage. Don't get me started on bumpers.

Right on. Cars back then were tanks compared to today’s cars. Playing baseball in the street meant hitting a car now and then. No mark or anything. Today’s cars would have several hundred dollars in damage from a baseball hitting it. Used to be able to sit on the hood too. Not anymore.

I remember that really well!! We'd play kickball out in the street and of course someone's parents' car would get nailed with the ball. Not even a single mark. The kids who weren't playing would be sitting on the hood. Not even a hint of damage. Anyone remember the days of getting the ball stuck in the tree,at the very top of course haha.

 

[demarpaint]

Dangerous garbage. I had one I took to the scrap yard with some rotors and other junk I had in the garage.

 

[hemitruck]

Remember them well. Used them often without issue. Didn't have radials back then so flats occurred more often.

 

[Kira]

Bumper jacks had lifting cradles (adapters?) which were curved and had a catch tang or lip. I remember when they (GM?) went to the tang design where a small stubby blade hooked into a slot in the bumper. I "love" (as in, smirk at) the 48" version Harbor Freight calls the Farm Jack which some Off roaders keep mounted at the base of their windshields. So butch. My Dad had a screw driven bi=pod jack from his De Soto. I used it to remove the uprights of a split-rail fence. Just cranked them up and out of the ground.

 

[SVTCobra]

Really useful on a farm. More than once I remember needing to jack up a chisel that partially sunk into the ground and wouldn't hook up to the 3 point hitch without a little "lift." Gonna need a bunch of blocks if think you are going to make a bottle/floor/scissor lift work.

 

[Astro14]

Originally Posted By: SVTCobra

Really useful on a farm. More than once I remember needing to jack up a chisel that partially sunk into the ground and wouldn't hook up to the 3 point hitch without a little "lift." Gonna need a bunch of blocks if think you are going to make a bottle/floor/scissor lift work.

Or, when your car breaks through the ice and drops into a hidden ditch on the side of a dirt road, miles from the nearest phone. Jack that baby up as far as it'll go, then kick the jack over, moving that end of car up out of the ditch, and two feet closer to the center of the "Road". Repeat as needed until you're unstuck. Can't do that with a scissor jack! But I have a cellphone and AAA theses days, so...

 

[CharBaby]

The Firebird in my signature has one in the trunk. I' ve never removed it.

 

[Kestas]

I still have a car with a bumper jack. I never use it. I don't like how much the bumper moves upward when I use it... probably something ready to snap. I now keep a bottle jack in the trunk. The bumper jack stays in the garage.

 

[andyd]

I have 2 currently in use. They are holding up temporary center posts in my tents in case of a heavy snow fall. They are the bee's knees for pulling up fence posts. Used them for yrs, on the Grand Wags. Definite learning curve involved. I used one to man handle a BMW hulk out of its spot to where I could strip it. Jack it up 30" high and push. I'm perfectly fine with never having to use one again to change a flat.

 

[BJD78]

My grandpa and my dad replaced those flimsy things with the heavier "farmer" type bumper jacks. They were made of a much heavier steel and had a big base plate that was about 12" x 12" they could easily lift a vehicle and would not slip out as long as the ground surface was level. They took up considerably more room in trunk of car or truck bed but were well worth it and much safer. My Dad bought his at the local Cenex or CO OP farm stores back in the 60's.

 

[Leo99]

Friend's father had trouble with his bumper jack back in the late 70s. Said he went to the dealership to complain that the bumper jack wasn't stable on his Impala. The dealer said they'd never heard of such a thing as an unstable bumper jack. And to prove him wrong, they pulled it out of his trunk and jacked his car up in the parking lot. It stayed jacked up for a few minutes and then BOOM. The jack shot out from the bumper and the car was bouncing on its tires. He got a new jack.

 

[Traction]

I've never been fond of any factory jack. Scissor jacks are not much of an improvement. Too bad they don't come with 2 jacks designed so anybody could simply rotate their own tires.

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted By: ZZman

How many of you old school drivers remember and prefer the old bumper Jacks? I think they worked faster than the scissor Jacks but more dangerous. I loved the clicking noise!

My Dad would use it to break the bead of a car tire he wanted to change. There are some things I leave to a machine.