I am welding a support stand to hold up the front or rear end by the frame so I can service the front or rear axle. With my car unloaded the frame is roughly 23" off the ground. How much more height do I need so the tires will clear the ground when I remove the jack from under the axle? When I serviced the front end last month I jacked up the axle, removed the wheels, then lowered the frame onto 24" jack stands which I borrowed from a friend. It seems like I can make a fixed height stand which will be nice and sturdy, and give myself a couple more inches clearance. Or am I barking up the wrong tree? I know you guys won't be shy about that.

Also, how do you secure the front wheels when the rear is lifted? It seems like just chocking them would still allow some movement if the steering turns. Maybe I'm being paranoid, but I'd like to be safe when I'm working under the car.

The Model T Bible assumes I'm lifting from the ceiling. I do have a beefy glue-lam holding up my whole house which goes right over the car, but attaching a hoist there would force me to leave my car in an a semi-awkward position in the garage when I'm working on it. Do any of you use lifting hooks like shown in the manual?

A little paranoia can be a good thing! One should always be very careful with blocking and supporting a car one intends to crawl under. I have not personally known anyone killed by a falling car. But I have heard of several such incidents. And I have seen a few too many close calls (I once threw a spare tire under a car just as the jack slipped!).

I built an A-frame for the chain hoist to sling the rear of the car when I pulled the rear axle on my '13. I made the frame so it could so be used to pull the engine. Not having the Ford shop frame hooks, I just rigged from the rear member. Quilt pad protects the body work. I liked working with this, no interference from jack stands or concern for maybe upsetting them while working underneath.