Twin-Cam Engine Stand

[jlmullen2]

I searched through the posts on engine stands for a TC and didn't find anything specific to my issue.

Yesterday, with the help of my son, grandson and son-in-law, I removed the engine from my 73 TC Special. It only took about three hours and had no problems along the way. I had already removed most of the ancilliaries and developed a step-by-step plan to do this. A major help was the experience I got in helping Joji (Grumblebums) remove the  engine from his TC about a month ago. He also let me borrow his engine hoist.

Anyway, I now have the engine out, transaxle separated from the engine and am ready to do a few minor repairs before sending it to an engine rebuilder. I thought buying a Harbor Freight engine stand was a good investment and assembled it this afternoon. All was well until I tried to attach the mounting plate from the stand to my TC block. I tried mounting it on the rear of the block but the mounting plate attachment points are too far apart (they are adjustable but not nearly enough to fit the TC. Also tried to bolt the plate to the side of the block (where the engine mounts bolt to the block). No luck, still way too big.

I'm now thinking I'll need to get a new mounting plate fabricated which is more suitable for the TC engine. Or, maybe I'm just dumb and can't figure out how to make the thing work. Anybody gone down this road before and found a solution?

Thanks for any ideas/comments.

Larry Mullen

[andy harwood]

I bought one of the HF stands. Seems like I had to make some spacers out of pipe to get the engine to mate up.
I ended up making a stand using the block mounting points. Attached casters to the stand for mobility

[Sherman Kaplan]

I used a harbor freight stand when I rebuilt my engine. I didn't have any problems mounting it.  I did not take any specific pictures of how I put the engine on, but hopefully the picture below will help.   I did use grade 8 bolts and would suggest using the HF stand that has 4 wheels (it's rated at 1,000 pounds).  I would not use the 3 wheel stand (rated at 750 pounds) as I would be afraid of it not being well balanced.

Sherman

[andy harwood]

Ah. My stand had 4 wheels....

[cwtech]

As Sherman said, avoid a 3-wheel engine stand.

I had my freshly rebuilt engine on a 3-wheel stand when my Dad decided to move it.  ...It did a nose-dive and smashed the front cover, requiring a replacement.

I then modified the 3-wheeler by adding a cross piece to create an "H" shaped base instead of the original "T" shape.  ...Two additional casters were added.

[Pfreen]

I have a 3 wheel stand from Harbor Freight.  I have had my tc on it 4 or 5 times over the past 44 years with no issues.  My only complaint was that a pan isn’t supported very well on top of the base to catch the oil and water drips.  I attached some photos that show the attachment points.  The flywheel must be removed to attach.

[jbcollier]

Maybe a photo illustrating the issue?

I have had everything from V8s and Jag 6s on three wheeled stands with few issues.  The arms should spread wide enough.  Sometimes you only get three attachment points.

In 35 years I have worked on a 4 wheeled stand once.  All the other times I used a 3 wheeled one.  Can it topple over?  I suppose.  Anything will topple if you're not careful.  You have a light stand with a hugely heavy  engine perched high in the air.  Just take precautions and you'll be fine.  We have moved Jag 6s on 3 three wheeled stands up and down ramps with no issues other than a minor amount of sphincter puckering.

[literarymadness]

Anyone familiar with these?
https://initracing.co.uk/parts-for-sale/lotus-twin-cam-engine-stands/

[Certified Lotus]

I had one of those. Great engine stand. I think Ted Taylor has one for sale on his web site.

[SENC]

I had a friend weld up a quick mount for me, worked great.

[Pfreen]

It’s great having a welder friend.  Your’s looks fantastic

[Certified Lotus]

Here is one of my engine stands with a TC engine mounted on it.

[Kendo]

I was just on Ted Taylor's site. He does have a stand for sale. http://www.taylormadeclassiccars.com/partsselecttype/miscellaneouspartsother.html

[jlmullen2]

So this thread can be closed, I wanted to thank everyone who responded with suggestions and photos.

After looking at the photos, it was obvious what I was missing in trying to use the Harbor Freight stand. I needed to use washers to position the mounting plate away from the mounting arms to give me the space needed to thread the bolts into the block. The last picture posted (by Certified) is exactly what my engine on my stand now looks like. It seems a bit top heavy and I haven't tried to rotate the engine yet, which I will do as I need to remove the oil pan.

Thanks again for all the help.

Larry

[jbcollier]

If you look at Certified's photo, you'll see that it is most likely to tip over when you go to rotate the engine as the head will stick way out to one side.  My advice would be to remove the pan with the engine upright.  Put a large pan underneath to catch all the drips.  Once the head is off, you'll be able to rotate it with little risk of toppling.