Inliners International Forums General Discussion Hi Performance Will it tip over?

My engine stand is the typical low dollar unit. I've had several fully assembled V8's on it with no problem. I read the posts with the engine wieghts...an inline 6 is about 140 pound lighter than a V8, but...an inline is longer than a V8 so I'm curious if this extra length or "lever arm" will cause the stand to tip over frontwards dumping the engine on the water pump. Am I getting to anal. The HorsePower TV show on SpeedChannel has a really cool stand that has a gearbox and a handle to rotate the engine. I've looked hi and lo for one of these to no avail.

Some more details your stand would help. In hopes of preventing possble injury, here's my experience. I have a cheap engine stand. It is a 3 point stand, two casters on the cross under the mount and one on the extension that goes under the engine. When I first mountd the six on it, I couldn't get the approx. center of the engine down to the pivot point of the engine mount. I didn't want to take time to drill another set hole to get the center down, I'd watch it, bad idea. I was working on the engine a few days later and turned around and as I did nudged the motor, it went over so quick, I was surprised. I promply drilled the holes to get the center down. Getting the center down was much better, still not quite as good as the stand I had previously borrowed. I'l watch it. The more I worked with it the more I didn't like it. I finally put a cross piece on replacing the single front caster. To sum it up, It may carry the wieght, but it better have four points, and be able to mount the engines center about even with mount pivot. I'm not sure how you find the engines weight balance point. Be sure if feels rock solid. When that engine starts to fall there's no stopping it.

Larry

Sorry I forgot to tell you what I've got for a stand. It's a four wheeler with casters in the back and straight wheels in front. The front wheels are about 10" apart. I'm thinking about lengthening the center bar about a foot and widening the front wheels to match the back. I've got the adjustable rig to bolt to the engine rather than a plate with holes in it. Or I may just start over and build a new frame and use certain parts from the el-cheapo...

My front wheels are at about the front of the engine, and 2-3 feet wide. The engine mounting points were adjustable on mine too, just not enough to get down to about were it would be balanced to rotate.

Larry

I have 2 stands and one is exactly like you describe with about a 10 or 12 inch wide "axle" at the front end. I built my 250 on it and tore down 2 others with no problems. It does help to have somebody steady the engine while torquing down mains and the head so you don't have to chase it all over the garage. It has never given a hint of falling over.

You could use a piece of square tubing 30 or so inches wide on top of the front "axle" and drill through it and the axle to bolt it to form a sort of outrigger if you're worried it may tip. Another small length welded or bolted to each of the ends of it to be near the floor and forming an upside down extended U could also be done. When you don't need the outrigger just unbolt it.

i have 3 motor stands one i built it is a 3 wheel one caster in the front stright wheels on the back 2. it has had every thing from a 302 gmc on it to a blown hemiand lots of bb chevies. no problems. the next one is a import one set up the same. i will not hang anything bigger then a sbc on it even after i welded it together. i am going to put the wide front wheels on that one. the third got out of the box and put togeher. i will not put a motor on it untill i compleatly rework it.

I had a three-wheel stand that worked fine with a sbc V-8, but it felt very wobbly with an assembled 261 on it. I gave it (the stand, not the 261) away and bought the better stand (four fairly widely spaced casters) that Cummins Tool sells. It feels very solid with the 261 engine. However, I did need to drill some additional holes in the arms and adapter plate to be able to position the engine with the cg near the rotation center so that it would rotate easily.

Another approach for "safely" mounting a six to a stand was described in the "Tech Tips" of the Sept/Oct 2003 issue of the 12 Port News by Ron Sneddon. He fabricated an adapter plate to mount the engine sideways, to keep the cg near the rear wheels. Ron also describes a method for finding the cg of the block assembly.

Hoyt, II# 922

YES, it can!

I had a friend build an 'extra axle' making mine have 4 casters to prevent that.

A Powerglide adapter from an old (circa 1951) car helps too....

I don't like the 3 leged 'tiawang' ones either. The engine is to heavy when fully assembled for them etc.

Good question; It will probably save someone a lot of grief.

Thanks & good luck.

6T3, I used a standard 4 wheel stand and built the Ron Sneddon side adapter plate for my 292. Rock solid thru the build. Looks to be easily adapted for use on a 250 I may build in the future. S

This engine stand is a little spendy, but it works well with a complete 292 and one person can safely rotate the motor. I believe you should be able to find it under $200 with a little searching. This site just had a good description and photo. http://www.toolsource.com/ost/product.as...PQ8HHGF5VX2FHLB

Bruce,
That stand is what I saw on TV and what I've been looking for.
Thanks man
I'm going to do some looking but $249 could be a bargain compared to nose diving a ready to run IL6.
I'll post the place and price if I find it cheaper.