cheap engine stand upgrades

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younggun2.0

younggun2.0

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picked up a cheap engine stand on craigslist. paid $20 for it. it started as a 3 legger. I think they are very unstable that way so i built a new leg for the front end and welded it on with 1/4" gussets. I feel alot better about it now.



 
saaaaaaaaweet up grade. have you tried to find a drip pan for it.

have any of you members tried the crank that rotates the motor on the stand. it seems like it would be easier than that bar.
 
I have 2 of those, that is a great idea! I'll have to get started in mine. Thanks for the tip!!
 
I found a big rectangular plastic tub to put under my stand. Bought it at Tractor Supply in pet and animal section. Kept mess off floor from cleaning and assembly lubes.
 
Nice job , I just bought a Harbor freight engine stand and had to cut off and reweld the tubes that the engine mounting bolts go through ... Chinese can't weld for $hit and apparently the welder that made mine was blind too because they were as crooked as a politician ! I'm going to pick up some bolts today and get my sons 340 off the floor:cheers:
 
bellhp said:
Nice job , I just bought a Harbor freight engine stand and had to cut off and reweld the tubes that the engine mounting bolts go through ... Chinese can't weld for $hit and apparently the welder that made mine was blind too because they were as crooked as a politician ! I'm going to pick up some bolts today and get my sons 340 off the floor:cheers:
Click to expand...


harbor freight would have been my 2nd choice if i hadnt found a stand on cragslist. I did ditch all the hardware that this stand came with. went to local hardware store and got all grade 8 fine thread bolts for the mounting plate and grade 8 bolts for going into the block. just little piece of mind.
 
Also take a good look at the bead between the tube and the engine plate. I've got a yellow one that doesn't look very strong
 
I replace the universal head with a dedicated H style head that bolts directly to the block.
 

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I got rid of that stubby little pipe used to rotate the unit and picked up a longer piece of pipe at Lowes. The extra leverage makes it a lot easier to turn the assembled engine.
 

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I have the geared head model. Works great but a little tricky to mount the block up to the stand. You can't separate the head from the stand like the regular stands.
 

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I've also machined mounting plates from aluminum before in order to get the center of gravity of the engine in the right spot. On a SB Mopar sometimes you can't get the engine low enough and it becomes top heavy on the engine stand. Typical rule of thumb is that the engine should rotate around the camshaft. If you get the engine in the correct location then it will spin on the stand easily.
 

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Another idea is to weld up an adapter so you can hold a transmission on the engine stand. If the adapter is built right you can spin the transmission end of end and work on it upside down. The transmission comes apart a lot easier when you have it on its back, or on its end.
 

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