[KeithO]

I am about to go out and start removing parts off my car in anticipation of a rear swap between Christmas and New Years. I am going to do a little at a time due to time constraints. This morning I will remove the driveshaft, rear swaybar and possibly the shocks only.

First, the car is currently on 4 jackstands with the stands supporting the car on the frame rails as shown here:
http://www.installuniversity.com/install_u...rsity/index.htm

The front/rear weight bias paired with the jackstand locations always made me a little nervous on this car (actually all of my f-bodies). Has anyone done a rear end swap and if so, was there any risk or tendency for the car to rotate forward once all of the weight is removed from the rear? (Due to an accident that happened as a teenager to a friend of mind with jacks/jack stands - I was there - I am hyper-sensitive about getting under cars anyway. In fact, I didn't do anything with cars from the mid-1980's until 2000 after that.) Is there any risk here or am I being paraniod?

Second, I plan on removing things in the following order. This is only an educated guess.
Driveshaft
Sway bar
Shocks
Brake pieces/lines
Any residual wiring that might be there (ABS removed)
Torque arm
Panhard bar
Lower control arms

My logic with leaving the LCAs until last is that I plan to have 2 jackstands under the axle tubes and as I remove pieces, the LCA's will keep the rear centered and allow the rear to rotate in controlled manner into the jack stand cradles.

Is this the correct order to remove stuff? Is "installation the reverse of removal"? Any hints on making this an easier job?

Thanks

[sgarnett]

First, I think I'd remove the brake lines and wiring before the shocks. In other words, get all the fiddly stuff out of the way before you start removing mechanical stability. The shocks limit droop. However, while I have removed all the mechanical stuff from the axle before, I haven't done it all at one time so caveat emptor.

Second, you are NOT being paranoid. I've dropped a car (a big Chrysler) off jackstands too, though luckily I wasn't under it.

I don't think you are in danger of the car rotating forward per se. The most stable position I've found for the front jackstands is the arch in the Kmember between the caster and camber bolts. The arch is very strong and fits neatly into the cradle of the jackstands. I use a towel or piece of heater hose on the cradle. While that is probably a little behind the CG of the engine, the trasmission and a lot of car is still there to counterbalance it.

However, it's still easy to shift the weight a little while working and end up with one stand on only two legs, with light visible under the third (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/blink.gif)

I use wood blocks to limit how far the car can fall "just in case" . At the front, you can put them under the wheels. At the rear, place them under something as structural as possible while keeping them out of the way. The idea is just to preserve you if it falls, not necessarily prevent damage to the car.