Fox Foxbody convertible pinch weld question

[Augy]

Along the pinch weld there is an "L" shaped bar...I assume these are stock and some sort of stiffener for convertibles? They appear to be riveted to the pinch weld. Can anyone confirm? Looking online I'm only seeing standard pinch welds on fox bodies...this makes me think these are either aftermarket or specific to convertibles.

Main reason I'm asking is I'm trying to figure out how to lift my car while on my storage lift. I have a sliding jack and the arms are just about too wide to put on the frame behind the torque boxes. I need to lift the rear with the suspension loose in order to replace the control arms. A quick look into jacking rails didn't turn up anything specific to convertibles so that got me wondering if those are stock or not. Thanks!

 

[Augy]

FWIW, this is the type of sliding jack I have on my storage lift...

 

[Augy]

Think I found the answer...these are called Z Rails and are a factory stiffening support for convertibles. If I want to install jacking rails, I'll have to remove these...no thanks

 

[90sickfox]

You need lift pads that can sit further in on the scissor jack.

 

[Augy]

You need lift pads that can sit further in on the scissor jack.

Thanks! I'm not sure I see how those would help though...maybe I'm missing something or I wasn't clear about my issue. The lift points on my jack are able to slide inward and outward but with them fully inward, they are still a bit too wide to hit the frame at the correct jacking point...they would be on the torque boxes. Would these blocks spread the load out? I'll try to get a clear picture of my actual problem, that might help. Appreciate the help!

 

[Augy]

That is the lift arm at it's most inner position. The edge of the pad would hit the frame rail but not center of it.

 

[90sickfox]

With those scissor jacks we often use those blocks on the body of the lift. The flat area, to the left of the round pad, that the arm slides inside. Sometimes you have to take the silver spacer out so round pad is level to the lift surface. This way you can bridge the gap with the rubber block. Some people use 2x4s. I try not to do that because the wood can split or shift.

 

[Augy]

With those scissor jacks we often use those blocks on the body of the lift. The flat area, to the left of the round pad, that the arm slides inside. Sometimes you have to take the silver spacer out so round pad is level to the lift surface. This way you can bridge the gap with the rubber block. Some people use 2x4s. I try not to do that because the wood can split or shift.

Ahhh, I see what you mean now. That makes sense. I might have some PVC trim board scraps I could glue together and use instead of buying rubber blocks. Thank you again for the advice and for clearing up my confusion...greatly appreciated!

 

[Praetorious]

I have a 91 GT convertible,i have probably jacked my car up to a thousand times in the 30 something years ive owned it (no exaggeration) , up until a few years ago i didn't know most people lifted their convertibles thru the frame,Ive always lifted mine from those rails you mentioned at the beginning,guess ive been doing it wrong all along and its probably not good for the car, they are really strong though.

 

[Augy]

I have a 91 GT convertible,i have probably jacked my car up to a thousand times in the 30 something years ive owned it (no exaggeration) , up until a few years ago i didn't know most people lifted their convertibles thru the frame,Ive always lifted mine from those rails you mentioned at the beginning,guess ive been doing it wrong all along and its probably not good for the car, they are really strong though.

I ended up doing a variety of lifting methods today. I needed to replace the upper & lower rear control arms and tried to avoid using the Z rails. However, I had to switch to the Z rails to get the scissor jack out of the way of the exhaust and driveshaft in order to lower the axle enough to get the springs in/out. Long day but it's done...and it needed it bad (the old bushings were all toast).