Why They Don't Build Them Like That Anymore

I was always amazed how simple the design of the VW bug jack up to mid '70 was.  It was also made by Bilstein.  It always worked -- until the jack port in the bug rusted away!

My Hein-Warner 1.5 ton floor jack is now 58 yrs old. It's never been overhauled and still dosen't leak. That jack really hurt my pocket book at the time.  No beer for a long while. That was the worst part..................Bruce

Sunday afternoon, not much to do, so watching a fifteen minute video of someone rebuilding an old car jack seemed like a worthwhile thing to do - and it was.

I'm always restoring parts of this old house, so I can admire what this guy did here.

Woke up here to freezing rain, ice rink everywhere and no easy way to even get out of the house without breaking your neck... HOME on the terminal.... I hear it is headed your way Bob.. 

Ray:  We are in the middle of it now.  

aircooled posted:

My Hein-Warner 1.5 ton floor jack is now 58 yrs old. It's never been overhauled and still dosen't leak. That jack really hurt my pocket book at the time.  No beer for a long while. That was the worst part..................Bruce

Turned out to be 1 of your best buys ever, though...

I bought a 2 ton Craftsman steel floor-jack in the 80s for $10. It was returned, missing the bolt to hold the two-piece handle together. So maybe a dollar for a bolt back then?

I still use it. The scratch and dent section has been very, very good to me. 

WOLFGANG posted:

I was always amazed how simple the design of the VW bug jack up to mid '70 was.  It was also made by Bilstein.  It always worked -- until the jack port in the bug rusted away!

I used two of these VW jacks in the 60's to pull the axels from my Fiat 1500 Spyder.