Inliners International Forums General Discussion Engines Best engine stand for straight six?

I couldn't find the tool section so I hope this is alright, Ive been looking at engine stands to put my 270 GMC on but worried it might tip over being so long,what engine stands have you guys used that worked well I was hooping for a crank rotating one aswell no problem if it doesn't have one.

Hi Truck whisperer . . .

This is as good a place as any - could also go in Tech Tips, I can move it if you like.

If you already have a three wheeled engine stand then you might be interested in this post:
Inliners circa '18

If you don't already have one then the 4 wheeled types are better suited to the long-and-narrow proportions of inline engines.

regards,
stock49

CNC Dude from here makes an adapter plate that mounts the old Chevy and GMC engines to standard engine stands. I have one and it worked well with a 302. I have a stand with long legs.

Most stands I've seen (cheap ones admittedly) have the caster wheel in front and fixed wheel in back. Seems backward to me. Inline six puts a lot of mass over the front wheels. If you are going to do any fab or modification to a stand, consider putting fixed wheels in front and casters in back.

Also go for a four wheel stand not a three wheel. It's easy to tip a three wheel stand no matter where the swivel caster is.

I have an el cheapo trike style engine stand. After having a 305 and up on it's lid, I decided to modify it. I took off the front wheel, bolted on some angle iron and added 2 more wheels.

For the 235 I had, I welded an extra gusset on the upright and had to drill different holes in the mounting arms. It was still a bear to flip over, but did the job.

This subject brought to mind an Engine Stand my father built for inline Chevy sixes and others. It had two triangular structures with 2 wheels on the bottom that held up each side of the engine. The top of each triangle had a pipe section that let the engine rotate nose over tail. Two plates were bolted to the oil pan holes on each side of the engine with welded pipes attaches and sized to fit onto the pivot pipes on the top of the triangular sides. Once the engine was attached to the stand it could be rolled around and the top and bottom of the engine could be worked on easily. Only negative was you could not attach the oil pan until the stand was detached. Just a fond memory.

You could use this idea only bolt to the engine mount locations instead of the oil pan rail.

I got the 1 ton stand from harbor freight. Has 5 wheels, casters on the back and center, and fixed in the front and foldable legs The only problem I had was that 2 of the arms were too long, I just had drill a new hole in them, and it’s working great. Don’t forget to grease the pipe and receiver or it’ll be hard to flip it.

There was a thread posted a number of years ago for an adapter plate that mounts to the side of the block (292) making for a much more stable arrangement. I built it and used it and it worked just great. It is now on loan to a friend building a 250, with only a small mod.

That is interesting. Did it bolt to the motor mount holes? Was the thread on this site?

Yes Beater, it was here...I think as far back as 2003. The mount bolts to the motor mount holes (2) on the right side and to the starter holes under the rear of the block. I have a copy of the design. I tried to search but the search says it only goes back 10 years. Somewhere I have more info.

Scratch that...It was in the 12 Port News...Not on the forum!

AM Re: Engine stand adapter for inlines [Re: Beater of the Pack]
Drew, II # 4211 Offline
Active BB Member
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Registered: 10 August, 2003
Posts: 1905
Loc: Glassboro,NJ,USA

Was Sneddon's mount the one that mounted on the side of the block near the center of gravity? It is a good system for a long block. Probably in 12PN if you can get a copy.
Answered my own question after checking back copy f 12PN. \:\) His article is in the Sept./Oct.2003 issue.

I'll find that issue. I was just getting ready to get rid of all of those.