Engine Stand -vs- Engine Hoist

Discussion in 'Wrenchin' Secrets' started by Dan Gerber, Mar 18, 2018.

  1. Dan Gerber

    Dan Gerber Founders Club Member

    Engine Stand 1000 lbs H-Shape Base.jpg Engine Stand 1250 lbs - U-Shape Base.jpg Engine Stand 2000 lbs - Splayed Leg Base.jpg Engine Hoist.jpg

    ENGINE STAND OPTIONS: So far my trusty generic 1000#-rated generic engine stand (H-shaped base) has served me well except.... (1) My SBB and BBB engines drooped a little (nose down) when installed and (2) even the SBB hung over the front wheels enough to make me nervous when I was moving the engine/stand combo around. That is, the set-up seemed pretty front-heavy, especially when I first mocked up my BBB. So much so that I'm strongly considering lengthening the center tube that joins the front "axle" to the rear "axle" or... Purchasing a 1250#-rated stand with a U-shaped base or, even better, one of the 2000#-rated folding type with the splayed legs prior to mocking up the alternator, power steering pump, pulleys, belts, etc. I'm hoping those types of stands are more stable than mine.

    NOTE: The distance from the rear wheel c/l to the front wheel c/l of my stand is 28.5".

    Can I safely assume that the two higher weight-rated types shown in the photos have longer wheel bases, which would make them less front-heavy?
    It also looks as though the engine will be tilted back a little when installed on the 2000# stand with the splayed legs. True? Or not?

    ENGINE HOIST -VS- ENGINE STANDS: While reading buyers comments on the Summit website I came across the complaint that the wide-spread legs of the 2000# stand interfered with the legs on the hoist when attempting to move an engine into position to bolt it on the stand.

    So, how do you get the engine in position from the front? Or, do you just lift the engine over the stand from the back and drop it down into position?

    As always... Thanks in advance for the help, you guys.
     
  2. Briz

    Briz Founders Club Member

    I own #'s 2,3 and 4. The #2 stand does in fact drop a few inches in front with a dressed engine on it but is still very secure. Bought #3 last week at harbor freight for just over 100.00 and it holds the engine perfectly level but as you mentioned the legs do get in the way of #4 when transferring from one to another. It was not enough to keep me from getting it bolted to the stand. I was taking all the usable bits off one engine and putting onto another of the same type to drop into a 85 Riv.
     
    Harlockssx likes this.
  3. 69GS400s

    69GS400s ...my own amusement ride!

    I have a dressed 455 on #3 and its been on there for ~15 years. I know I didn't physically lift it up there and the hoist my buddy has that I borrow looks like #4.
     
  4. TrunkMonkey

    TrunkMonkey Well-Known Member

    I have a complete 430/4 on stand number 3. It is "nose up" about 10 deg incline. Been there 2 years, and I have pushed it around with no "tipping" tendencies.
    After putting the engine on number 2, and it was very noticeable drop in the front and "wobbly" when trying to move it on a race-deck floor.
    Both were Harbor Fright items...(not a typo) :D

    I believe it is the most stable of the bunch.
     
  5. SpecialWagon65

    SpecialWagon65 Ted Nagel

    I have engine stand #2 and the hoist as pictured. Getting the engine on and off the stand is a pita. I end up separating stand @ rotating part, bolting stand to engine,
    then must lift the rest of the stand to mate back up. If someone figured a way around this, let me know!
     
  6. Briz

    Briz Founders Club Member

    I'm gonna try the mounting it from the back like the op mentioned. That might just work!
     
  7. gstewart

    gstewart Well-Known Member

    I have #2 (purchased in 2001) & have access to #3 (which I won many years ago at a car show and sold to a friend)
     
  8. philbquick

    philbquick Founders Club Member

    I put a nailhead on #2 and the damper almost touched the ground. I welded 1/4" angle iron on the up right, put a cross member and a 45 degree angled piece from the cross member and the up right and it's still marginal. #3 will handle anything you throw at it.
     
  9. Dan Gerber

    Dan Gerber Founders Club Member

    Thanks for your responses, gentlemen. Very, very helpful.

    One more favor, if you don't mind: If you have a clear view of your #3 splayed-base engine stand with a BBB installed. please take a side-view photo of it. A clear shot taken from a location 90* from the crank/cam center line will show the relationship of the front of the engine to the front wheels of the stand (i.e., whether there's any overhang).

    Again, thanks in advance for your help.
     
  10. Briz

    Briz Founders Club Member

    I only have a 307 Olds hanging on the front of mine at this time.
     
  11. sriley531

    sriley531 Excommunicado

    I have a #3 and #4 and yes, the legs do interfere with each other if you go straight on. It's never been much an issue as you can jocky the legs just slightly (hard to explain, I guess "offset" or "stagger" them) and reach anywhere you need to. Both mine are currently on loan and the stand has a dressed SBB on it, perhaps I can procure a picture for you via the current user.
     
  12. john.schaefer77

    john.schaefer77 Well-Known Member

    One thing I noticed on a harbor freight stand I bought was the engine did droop. I jacked it up and replaced the bolts with grade 8 bolts and it was fine. The flex I thought was the stand was the bolts. At first glance it appeared the plate was bending, but was not the case. This is my backup stand and was the type with 1 front wheel (cheap one 750 lbs).
    The regular one is lile you'e #3 pic
     
  13. Taulbee2277

    Taulbee2277 Silver Level contributor

    Shawn’s #3 stand on loaner to me. Nothing but good things to say about it. Not much sag, heck the front is more elevated than the rear.
     

    Attached Files:

  14. sriley531

    sriley531 Excommunicado

    ^^^SEXY^^^ (The engine, not the owner)
     
  15. Dan Gerber

    Dan Gerber Founders Club Member

    Thanks Shawn. I think I know what you mean as I was trying to figure out how to describe that procedure in my original question, but couldn't.

    Thank you for the photos Taulb. It's hard to tell from the photos just how far the front of the engine extends beyond the front wheels of the stand. Can you take another shot straight on from the side of the stand? Or is there too much stuff in the way to pull the stand away from the wall (like my garage)?

    I searched my files in an effort to give you an example of what I meant by "straight on from the side", but this old photo of my SBB is the closest to what I was trying to describe. Not quite what I was looking for.
    According to my photo, it appears as though only the oil filter and water pump extends forward of the front wheels (I think). Can't tell for sure since I didn't shoot straight on from the side.


    Thanks again, everyone.
    350 IMG RFr.jpg
     
  16. Taulbee2277

    Taulbee2277 Silver Level contributor

    Sure thing, and I even cleared away some of the junk ;)

    I would say the crank pulley and balancer is slightly past the wheels. I take back not having a complaint about the stand.. the casters tend to have a mind of their own. I am tempted to replace them with some quality heavy duty ones. But I deal with it for the limited time I spent rolling it around.

    This is without the 800lb intake, I’ll be using the engine hoist to put that on when the time comes. I’m not kidding..
     

    Attached Files:

    Last edited: Mar 21, 2018
  17. Dan Gerber

    Dan Gerber Founders Club Member

    Perfect! Thank you, Tauib... And everyone else who responded.
     
  18. Dan Gerber

    Dan Gerber Founders Club Member

    Here's what I ended up doing:

    Originally, I had the engine stand shown in the first of my original photos, and a borrowed old Harbor Freight 1-ton portable engine hoist. In addition to my concerns with my engine stand, I eventually realized that the weight of my completed BBB long block and AMP engine cradle, minus the flexplate and carb (460#) was awfully close to the capacity limit of the so-called 1-ton hoist with the boom fully extended (500#). That meant that I will not be able to pull the SBB/TH200-4R engine/transmission combo out and install the BBB/TH200-4R combo as single units. That also meant that I would be very nervous every time that expensive BBB started swinging back and forth while suspended from the borrowed hoist. So.....

    The fix - The first thing I did was purchase the current version of the 2-ton, portable Pittsburgh (Harbor Freight) engine stand shown in the third of the original four photos. Then a dry run with the borrowed hoist determined that there was no safe way I could get it and the new strand in position to safely transfer the engine back and forth between them. A frantic search through my short backlog of unread car-related magazines revealed a Harbor Freight coupon for about a 20% discount on the retail price of their Pittsburgh 2-ton portable hoist, so I returned the borrowed 1-ton hoist and bought the larger hoist.

    It still was necessary to do some jury-rigging to allow me to transfer the BBB from the new hoist to the new engine stand by myself. I had to remove the wheels from the ends of the extended legs of the hoist so I could roll the stand over one of them. Take a look at my latest photo for clarification.

    Anyway, thanks for you input everyone. It was all very helpful (as usual).


    482 Transfer Fr Hoist to Stand.jpg
     
    Quick Buick and Harlockssx like this.
  19. Briz

    Briz Founders Club Member

    I have the same stand and it works good. However my borrowed 3 ton Carolina hoist had to be returned to its 90 yr old owner. He showed up here one day and said he was pulling the engine out of his Goldnhawk Stude. Anyway, To my thinking one of these company's should make a compatible hoist and stand that will safely work together to transfer one to the other. Always have this issue when moving from stand to hoist or hoist to stand.
     
  20. Smokey15

    Smokey15 So old that I use AARP bolts.

    I have 4 stands like 1 and 2. When I bolt them on from my hoist, I mount the 'adjustable' part of the stand to the engine first. The I put the bottom of the stand on. Not too much of a problem if I have the crane arm on the hoist extended enough.
     

Share This Page