Tall/custom Jackstands

[Tom Mandera <tsm1@domain.elided>]

OK.. those of us with lifted trucks... whaddya use for extra tall jack
stands?  After rolling the rusty tub off of the parts '72 a few times
last week, and then "rolling" my racer last night (yeah yeah.. I pulled
the rear end out to put the 4.88s in it tonight (my first R&P swap!  My
friend Mike'll be doing it.. I'll help..) and set the frame down on some
logs.. upright logs, of course, for more room.. since it's a real bear
to jack the whole thing up high enough to 1) bolt in the rear springs
and then 2) lift it higher so I can roll the rear axle under the springs
to bolt it in.

I then went to work on the front seats.. decided the front bench needed
to come forward for more room.. start rocking it on the stiff sliders..
then... woooo--mmmp and I'm sitting a bit lower than I was, and there's
a fence a lot closer than it was... d'oh.

Since we'll be lifting a body tub we'd like to *keep* this coming
Sunday, I thought maybe I should look into something a good bit more
stable than upright 4x4s...

Still thinking about 2 or 4 4x4s under the body tub and then rest 'em on
some saw horses to get it high enough to roll the drivetrain out...

But.. I'm probably due for some oversize jack stands to help keep these
tall Scouts high and *stable* while doing axle swaps n' such..

Any suggestions on fabbing a set?  I haven't ordered my drill press yet
(looking at a bench mount, 14" swing, 16spd, 3/4horse from Harbor
Freight @ $200.. they also have a $70 "Jig-a-Joint" (type anyhow) that
wants 14" of clearance from the chuck to the table.. this should work
just right), so I don't *really* want to drill lots of holes in heavy
steel.. but it's something that needs to get done...

I could buy... say.. some 2x2x3/16" square tube, along with some two
lengths of angle (for a base/feet) and some strap/angle... I was
thinking of placing the square tube vertical, welding it to the feet in
an X pattern, then running strap from the vertical post to the ends of
the legs for additional stability.  Maybe some triangular gussets at the
base, too.  Get another piece of smaller box tube that'll slip inside
the square upright.. weld a flat plate to it for a saddle.. and then
drill a bunch o' holes.. hopefully with enough precision to make 'em
line up and make the whole thing adjustable in height..

I'd like something that'd go to 3' or a little better.. and hold things
stable.

Also thinking about some 3" or 4" C-channel which could turn two of
these "jack stands" into some stout "saw horses"..

Anyone with a better idea?  I'm open to suggestions for keeping tall
bodys and/or trucks up high and *stable* while I work on 'em... however,
a car hoist isn't in the budget for quite some time.. ;-)

Oh.. the parts '72 has a 727.  Kickdown linkage even!  Of course, it
wasn't hooked up, so I still don't know how it's supposed to go... got
the motor/trans/xfer out yesterday and placed it along the garage.. this
week Ben'll clean up the frame (finish stripping it).. hopefully Sunday
we'll get the swap done.

Poor guy.. found out his "345" is really just a 304.. but I feel better
now, since *I* don't have a running 345 yet.. ;-)

-Tom
http://www.tmcom.com/~tsm1/scout