dumb question but where do I place a floor jack

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At the front under the frame rail where the firewall meets the floor. At the back the rear torque box, where the front of the spring is attached.

If you jack the bumper on a Mustang, the only thing that's going up is the bumper. :eek:

That is why I asked about the original jacks. I recall my parents having a 1974 lesaber and a Merc. Marquis and the tire jack for one or the other or both lifted the front and back ends at a slot in the bumper. My bumpers are out for re-chroming so I could not look at them to see if they had the slot or not.
 
I always use the crossmember just behind the oil pan.

I've always done that too... I had my brace off a couple of years ago to change my oil pan gasket and it was pretty heavy so I assumbed it was fine to jack against. Mine has a few dents in it but no evidence of bending or any other failure from jacking against it.
 
The original jack was to be placed in the small notch in the seam between the floor and the rocker panel, just behind the front wheel. This is the only place the factory said you could jack that would not cause damage to the car. You see tons of cars with dented frame rails because the rail is too thin and the main weight of the car was designed to be carried by the rocker panel. This is why convetibles have an inner rocker panel from the factory to stregthen the unibody not frame rail connectors
 
The original jack was to be placed in the small notch in the seam between the floor and the rocker panel, just behind the front wheel. This is the only place the factory said you could jack that would not cause damage to the car. You see tons of cars with dented frame rails because the rail is too thin and the main weight of the car was designed to be carried by the rocker panel. This is why convertibles have an inner rocker panel from the factory to strengthen the unibody not frame rail connectors

The notch was for the tire change jack supplied with the car.

The rails get dented by Mongo and Goober slamming the edge of the jack on the rails.

The inner rocker of the convertible compensated for the lack of the coupe/fastback roof. The frame rails and rocker of the convertible were identical to the coupe, except for the addition of the convertible-unique braces. BTW, adding these to coupes is superior to frame rail connectors.

You can see the factory specified the exact location I recommended above for yourself in the Factory Service Manual (pp. 21-2 & 21-3 in the 1966 edition).

At the front under the frame rail where the firewall meets the floor. At the back the rear torque box, where the front of the spring is attached.
 
That is correct, but the question was "Did the original jacks lift from the bumper or behind the wheels?" and the answer is behind the wheels, in the little notch with the original jack. The manual states that this is the only safe place to jack the car. The problem with floor jacks on a Mustang is that the jack pad is not flat, but concaved and it puts all the force on the lip of the pad which will dent the thin frame rails. I use a floor jack but always place a flat piece of wood on the pad to evenly distribute the weight. I also agree with your placement

Regaurdless of what many people may think. The main stucture of the car is supported by the rocker panels and not by the subfames. This is how the car was designed and the way Ford engineers wanted it. It is the reason why Ford re-enforced this area of the car in the convertble and did not add subframe connectors. Subframe connectors do help but the main weight of the car is still carried by the rocker panels. As you stated, the best way to re-enforce a coup or fastback is not to add subframe connector but to add convertible inner rockers and box the front to create torque boxes, same as on a convertible. Subframe connector's would have been much cheaper for Ford to add but they do not carrie the same weight as the re-encorced rockers
 
That is correct, but the question was "Did the original jacks lift from the bumper or behind the wheels?" and the answer is behind the wheels, in the little notch with the original jack. The manual states that this is the only safe place to jack the car. The problem with floor jacks on a Mustang is that the jack pad is not flat, but concaved and it puts all the force on the lip of the pad which will dent the thin frame rails. I use a floor jack but always place a flat piece of wood on the pad to evenly distribute the weight. I also agree with your placement

Regaurdless of what many people may think. The main stucture of the car is supported by the rocker panels and not by the subfames. This is how the car was designed and the way Ford engineers wanted it. It is the reason why Ford re-enforced this area of the car in the convertble and did not add subframe connectors. Subframe connectors do help but the main weight of the car is still carried by the rocker panels. As you stated, the best way to re-enforce a coup or fastback is not to add subframe connector but to add convertible inner rockers and box the front to create torque boxes, same as on a convertible. Subframe connector's would have been much cheaper for Ford to add but they do not carrie the same weight as the re-encorced rockers

I use a floor jack with rubber pad, instead of the bare claw. On show cars, a clean shop rag on the pad. Mostly these cars have dents already, but no point making it worse.

The jack point notches are meant for the M shaped jack top, but if you are using stands, floor jack, or a shop lift, you should use the hard points as defined in the Factory Service Manual. I think the manual you were referring to is the owners manual, which tells drivers how to fix a flat.

I disagree about the subframe connectors- The convertible got the subframe connectors from hell, we just call them "inner rockers". They were tied in to the front rails with torque boxes. This worked so well the coupe got the left one in 67, and all Mustangs had them 68-73.
 
dumb question but where do I place a floor jack to lift my front end off the ground? Did the original jacks lift from the bumper or behind the wheels?

These are the 2 questions I saw. The original would be the first of the 2. That is the one I answered.
 
Factory spare tire jack:

DF78.JPG


Floor jack, floor lift, or stands:

 
2+2GT hit the nail with the bottom chart. The cross member brianj5600 referred to was the thin round tube just behind the oil pan. You can not jack safely on any round surface! Just because someone gave you bad info dosn't make it right. That small thin cross member may or may not have what it takes to hold up the car but common sense should be enough to end this debate.