engine stand

Apr 21, 2005 27 Replies

I have puzzeled over this before. I am going to get an engine stand and rebuild my 1st motor !


... How do you get your engine from the floor to the stand, and back again ?



Shag tryed it in his new house.



How did you get on shag ?



I wasnt planning on buying a hoist when the engine comes out fron underneath !



Rich


An engine stand is not needed, I have found it to be more trouble that what it's worth. The VW engine is so lightweight that you can easily move it around on a sturdy workbench. Besides, for any internal work, you need to split the case and you'd be left with only two mounting ears for the stand. Not enough, IMHO.

Just clean up some table space for the project, about 3 times the area of a complete engine.

Jan

That will save me some money then :-)

So ....

How do you get the engine up on the bench ! ;-)

Rich

Jan Anderss> tricky wrote:

I am doing the same thing and just lifted it (of course, I am now three inches shorter :).

No really, the engine is not that heavy.

Take the heat exhangers off first to make them marginally lighter.

I wouldn't get one of those roll around stands - they look shaky. I bought a bench mounted stand and bolted it to a wood roll around stand I use - also much cheaper. Could post a picture of my contraption, if you need a visual aid.

Remco

Happened to have a picture handy.

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I built this stand to restore the antique outboard motor (it is running, just waiting for nice weather) You can see that it with ease holds both engines. I can roll the whole thing around and out of the way. The floor in the stand is there to store lage pieces (ie tin) and capture pieces that fall off, etc.

Remco

nice stand !

did you pick the engine up with one hand, and bolt it to the stand with the other ?

Rich

Remco wrote:

Thanks -- I do a fair amount of woodworking and building, etc.

Yeah, hold the engine in one hand, the stand in the other and clench a wrench between your teeth :)

No, the stand comes in two pieces. The piece that mounts to the engine has ears that bolt to the engine. It has a sleeve into the piece that one would mount onto a bench (or in my case, my stand).

You first bolt the piece with the sleeve to the engine. The other side is bolted to your stand and you lift the engine into the stand. Since my stand has wheels, I did lock the wheels so it didn't turn into a cluster-funkandwagnals. :)

I lifted it all and quickly scooted it in. Two people would have been a lot easier, though, but my wife wouldn't have been able to lift her side anyway.

Remco

If you are handy making things with wood, look in the Mechanical section of my web site for: "Simple wooden engine stand."

The case sits in between the 2 horizontal wooden bars whilst stripping it.

After splitting the case, one half can be dropped (studs down) onto the bars for assembly operations.

It wheels around, out of the way, and doesn't consume workbench real estate.

Speedy Jim

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I was looking at the woodwork - I do alot of wood stuff too (repro antiques), and not long ago I had an old outboard (1970) in pieces !

I was thinking is it a common thing for VW'ers to have a similar mind set ? !

Rich

Remco wrote:

Hee Hee - there's another !

(see my last post)

Rich

Speedy Jim wrote:

Must be!! What the heck is wrong with us, Rich?? :)

My wife loves buying antiques and I always end up restoring them. Got a really good deal on some Stickley and Morris stuff because people have no clue how to do it properly. I've built furniture, cabinets, etc. My house is a 1925 wood colonial and have done quite a bit of restoration and construction on it. Recently someone gave me an old 1954 Cape Cod Dory (small wooden boat) so couldn't pass that up and am in the process of restoring it (hence the same period 1955 SeaKing outboard motor you see in the picture).

And now, of course the bug..

What is it with us and things other people would just chuck?? Whatever that fever is, don't give me an antidote -- I'd hate to have to start watching TV as a hobby :) Remco

Time to hit the gym :)

Jan

tricky wrote:

It's true. I collect old furniture and, especially, clocks. It all began at age 13 when I discovered the joy of "trash picking". On the way home from school, I would sort other folks' trash (dust) bins for things which might be re-used.

Jim

I never tried to pick one up before - I assumed they were too heavy !

curious now .. I will have to try one tommorow.

Rich

Jan Anderss> Time to hit the gym :)

I got it later in life. I started in electronics, then CAD , then IT manager, then I had my own computer shop, then I got devorced and decided to enjoy life :-) I watched Norm, bought a load of woodworking tools and Had my own antiques bussiness. House prices went up like mad a couple of years ago so I bought a few old houses and refirbed them. I sell them one by one when I need some money ! Got two left so I am looking for my 'next thing' probably gonna be boats (for money) VW's still for fun !

See my new post 'rides'

Rich

oh yeah .. I am still only 36 !

Speedy Jim wrote:

"Strength Of Kong (tm)"... ;-) Just kiddin'. I thought about trying to lift it up to the stand but realized a few things.

1- I'd have to bolt it to the stand if I got it up there and didn't figure I could hold the engine in place with one hand. 2- I threw my back out once not too long ago just lifting a propane tank wrong. 3- I didn't really need it on the stand to do what I had to do anyway. 4- I'm not sure I'm strong enough to lift a "fully dressed" VW engine up to almost chest height even with both arms. 5- Four reasons to not try to put it on the stand was plenty. Epilogue- I fixed it while it sat on the garage floor. :-)

"Stupid people are funny." - me

...................Zowie! I have a 1955 Mercury Mark 6 and also a 1959 Mark

  1. Old outboards are great to tinker with and it's fun to get out on a lake with them.

here's a pic of the actual desk stand that I was talking about. It has two pieces: one mounts to then engine, one mounts to the desk (or wood stand, in my case)

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here's a pic of the actual desk stand that I was talking about. It has two pieces: one mounts to then engine, one mounts to the desk (or wood stand, in my case)

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I'd use a block and tackle setup. A lot cheaper than an engine hoist. Get

3 or 4 pulleys, some rope and some anchor screws. See the setup here:

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A little work to make it, though. And you have to find something to anchor to overhead ( a solid 2 by 4 rafter in the garage ceiling), but it might be worth it if you plan on lifting/lowering that 350-pound motor a lot. You can tie off the rope during the time you are attaching the motor to the workbench. You don't have to hold the motor in one hand that way! :-)

Later. Lynn

1974 Superbeetle

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