Engine Stands

The Premise

We’ve all been there. You need an engine stand and don’t want to spend a bunch on it, but will one of the cheap ones really hold up? To find out, we tested three inexpensive Harbor Freight stands to see which was too strong, which was too weak, and which was just right.

The Stuff

We checked out the three stands offered by Harbor Freight: PN 32915, rated at 750 pounds ($54.99); PN 32916, rated at 1,000 pounds ($69.99); and PN 67015, rated at 2,000 pounds, ($139.99).

The Test

We wanted to test the actual weight capacity of the stands and also collect some impressions of how they work in regular use. For the weight check, we placed a junk V6 block on the stand, then put the stand on scales. We used our four-post lift to force increasing weight onto the block until we saw a failure with the stand.

The Results

The static weight capacity was significantly higher than advertised. The smallest stand, rated at 750 pounds, accepted 2,200 pounds before failure. We thought the casters would be the first point of breakage, but it turned out the mounting plate twisted and stretched. It bent until the block was almost vertical, but it never broke and dropped the engine.

The 1,000-pound stand uses nearly identical construction as the 750 (it only has a fourth wheel for added stability, while the 2,000-pounder is clearly beefier. Therefore, we stopped our weight testing after wrecking the smallest stand, as there isn’t a 2,200-pound engine on the planet that will bolt onto any of those stands

Analysis

Next, we observed the stands in typical use. We’ve never seen budget stands with bearings in the head or with tight enough machined tolerances to make it easy to rotate the engine upside down and back. With moderate weight on these stands, even the biggest one required two men to rotate the engine. The included leverage bars on all three stands are too small and short to help.

Rolling around the loaded stands was not too bad, though. The all-steel casters were good enough to be durable and smooth until you hit any big cracks in the floor. When we did hit a crack, it was nearly impossible to move the large stand loaded with a big-block without help.

We found the smaller stands too small to mount a big-block without having them feel tippy. The 750-pound stand has just three casters, and the 1,000-pounder is more stable with its two casters at the front. We noted that the smaller stands had fixed casters at the rear and swivel rasters at the front, while the 2,000-pound unit had the swiveling casters at the rear.

Bottom Line

Clearly, holding the weight is no problem. We’d pass on the smallest stand only because it’s most prone to tip while rolling. The 1,000-pound unit is fine for holding small-blocks or transmissions. For any big-block, get the 2,000-pounder.

Blog from: http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/engine/hrdp_1112_budget_engine_stands/

Budget Engine Stands

Can We Destroy ’Em?

From the December, 2011 issue of Hot Rod Magazine

By Jesse Kiser

Photography by Jesse Kiser

50th Anniversary - Carroll Shelby, Hot Rodder

Nobody likes a good story better than Carroll Shelby, so let's start this story with a story. In 1915, years after the racing exploits that launched both of their careers, Henry Ford and Barney Oldfield happened to meet again. As they shook hands, Ford, by then among the world's richest men, gave his former driver a wink and generously remarked that he reckoned the two of them had made each other. Oldfield winked right back and said, "I guess I did the better job of it."

No, that’s not Shelby in the... 

   

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That's sort of how we feel about our old buddy Shelby. As the Cobra celebrates its 50th birthday this year, we note that HOT ROD and the formerly skinny Texan go back a ways--to before the beginning, actually. And after all these years, we're still here, working the back-alley garage beat, while Shelby rose to the pinnacle of the automotive world. His career

 

has transcended hot rodding and the American car scene. Today, the Shelby name is as well known around the globe as Enzo Ferrari or Henry Ford. Not bad for an old chicken farmer from East Texas. But, as Shelby himself will be the first to tell you, he's just an old hot rodder--one of us, one of you.

Shelby's biggest win as a driver was his LeMans victory for Aston-Martin in 1959. But his first trip down a racetrack was on a dragstrip at Grand Prairie Naval Air Station in 1952, driving a Ford V8-powered hot rod for his childhood buddy, Ed Wilkins. Through the '50s, Shelby made a respectable living racing high-priced Ferraris and Maseratis for wealthy car owners including John Paravano and Lucky Casner. But he first made a name for himself manhandling a Cad-Allard, a thuggish contraption that consisted essentially of an OHV Cadillac V8 strapped into a crude Ford-based chassis. His favorite driving uniform? A pair of bib overalls. And his favorite cars for road racing were hot rod specials like Billy Krause's Chevy-powered D-Type Jaguar and Max Balchowsky's Old Yaller II. In Shelby's eyes cars like these, with the proper preparation, were more than capable of beating the world's best.

This is from: http://www.hotrod.com/thehistoryof/hrdp_1202_cobra_50th_anniversary_carroll_shelby_hot_rodder/

Saints Patrick’s day at Edgewater with Daisy

Ok so on Saints Patrick’s day March 17^th 2012 I was supposed to go to a Military Ball with my JROTC class. A couple of days before the ball I realized i didn’t want to go anymore so I asked my friend Krystal if she wanted to hang out that day. I thought I was going to be slick and let my mom step mom and dad all think I was going to the ball and then not go and hang out with Krystal. I’ll tell all of you now I got BUSTED big time, I was going to try to spend the day with her and then when my brother Matt came back to our buddy’s house we were going to take picture because my step mom said take pictures. It didn’t work I found out later that night they knew I didn’t go so that’s why I can write this because if they see it they already know.

Well The night before I think I went to bed late and on Saturday I didn’t wake up till like 1 o’clock and around 3 to 3:30 I left Jerry’s house to go and get Krystal. When I got to her house to pick her up she had to get ready so I sat around and talked to her family some. After she was ready to go the next adventure was up how would she get into the truck she’s kind of short but its ok I think it’s kind of cute anyhow she didn’t think she could get in. So she came to my side the driver side because I was parked next to the curb and it was closer to the door and she still didn’t think she could make it, so I offered to give her a boost but she wouldn’t let me. She had some tires on the ground so I grab one and she used it for a boost to get in. Now we were headed off to Edgewater for thoughts of you who don’t know what that is it’s a drag racing strip.

We got to Edgewater a little after 4 I think but I guess you could say we parked in the back but it was out in the grass so on the way to the stands we could look at the cars. We’re walking around looking at the cars and trucks and just everything there. We watched the competitors warm up some then walked around more and I saw jerry’s cousin there Dane he was one of the racers so I wanted her to see his car we found him he wasn’t with his car. I only knew it was him because his golf cart and car are painted the same. She saw the car and liked it. At one point during the night she said to me Brett I kind of crossed to the dark side some and I was so confused even more than normal but she said I crossed over just a little and I asked what she was talking about she said she like one ford that was there because the color it was and the kind of mustang it was. I didn’t know whether to cry or puke don’t get me wrong I love you Krystal by Ford really ggggggggggggrrrrrrrrrrrooooooooossssssssssss. So you know I am a Chevy guy then dodge anything foreign then ford. She said that about crossing over because she a Chevy girl. It just the way my dad is somewhat and it’s one of the thing that he passed on to me when he passed the wrench.

So we stayed till the racing was over and then headed out to where she used to live where a dock is down by the river and hung out there till I took her home. We were laying there by the truck on the side of the road doing nothing just enjoying the night and a cop drove by and I guess we didn’t know what to do so we sat still and then he came back and in my head I was like o poop I’m already in trouble if I have to call my dad to get me from jail I’ll never be able to go outside again. We didn’t get in trouble the cop said he was driving by and saw us and saw how we didn’t move and came back to check and make sure ever thing was ok he left in peace and we did eventually some of the time we were there we talked about daisy and decided to build: a couple of race cars, a big truck like daisy, a bigger truck like grave digger size, a motor cycle and I think that’s it I can’t remember what else. I finally took her home around 3:30 and on the way driving back to jerry’s’ house I think I looked a little drunk from driving tired. Don’t drive tired people it dumb and that’s how so crashes are caused.



Daisy

When I first got daisy the outside was in ROUGH shape and still is somewhat I’m planning to come up to the school on Wednesdays to start working on her. When I started to take care of her everything was done the wrong way I’ve already talked about some things like the motor and rims and stuff but nothing really cosmetic other than the rims. The bed is gone like if you open the tail gate it falls off it makes me cry by the way. The bed supports are gone like there is nothing left to them so when I’m driving it down the road and I hit a bump it hits hard and the bed shakes like no other. It’s so bad that it looks like the bed is going to fall off that’s how bad it moves up and down. I started to weld in angle iron as a quick fix for now. When I drive around other people they either speed around me or stay like 400 feet away. The Chromo was all like spray painted black over the whole truck other than the rear bumper and the mirrors. The other day I took the bump off and put a new one on it and took the chromo off around the head lights and steel wooed it took the paint off and bring that great shine back to the front of the truck I still have to do the rain guards around the doors and all the chromo will be back.

The inside had a 90’s dodge ram seat in it the seat looked bad and it wasn’t even wide enough to be bolted to the floor. When I took it out to put in the right seat I had to unbolt it the cut the dodge seat mounting bracket in half to make it bolt down. They took a 4x4 block of wood and put it under the middle to keep the seat from falling to the floor it was bad. Since it wasn’t bolted every time you sat on the edge of the seat the seat spread apart. It looked like in the movies when the roof of a house opens or the drive way opened up to let a rock ship fly out from under the house. To make things worse they also flat blacked every single panel and trim piece everything other than the gauges that doesn’t even work right. They put a manual shift tack in the truck and bolted it to the dash now I have to get a new dash to get rid of the big hole in it the truck is an automatic. You can still use the tack don’t get me wrong but I think it is dumb ugly and I hate it. About the engine I forgot to say that the oil pan was leaking so I put a new pan and pan gasket on it and while I had the pan off I put a high pressure oil pump in it so now if there is a leak anywhere ill know and I do know now. When the put the valve covers on they tightened them to tight and broke the covers and so now oil sprays out on to the intake manifold.



New job

Saturday march 10th iI passed my driver’s licenses exam. That following Monday i came to school late because i had to go to the DMV so i could get my license to be able to start my new job, March 12 it’s the first day that i started my new job. It is the first job I've ever had. I work at Modern Sheet Metal Works Inc. it is right next to the off road center on 128 in Cleves Ohio. So far it has been pretty cool. The first day I met people and learned something’s about the shop. Also Monday I helped a guy there clean and stack railings the made on a fork lift banded them together and helped move them to the garage. The next day I helped move more rails and help remove welding splatter from some the parts they made swept the shop floor and that’s about it for Tuesday. On Wednesday I cleaned and painted some electrical boxes, taped off some more boxes the get ready to paint today, the last thing I did was help clean and band 5 more railings together. That last day when I showed up Daisy was running kind of funny and when I went to back up to park in a spot and she died and I had to roll down the hill and stop on the curb so I didn’t block people in. I had to use the curb because when it died the power brakes and steering went out well I didn’t have to use the curb I just chose to.

My Truck

From now on I'm going to be referring to my truck as she because I have named her Daisy with the help of one of the coolest people I know. She has a 350 small block in her backed with a turbo 350 transmission. The front axle is a 10 bolt eight lug. The rear axle is a 14 eight lug full floater I'm not sure what gears she is running like I said i got her at the end of last year and I haven't had the time to check. She has headers and dual exhaust ran from front all the way out the back. I'm not about to lie to you guys she was in rough shape when i got her the motor looked like Shreck throw up all over the motor, the wires are all hacked together i have no clue how it was even running. So last weekend March 10th 2012 Me my Dad (Richard Bernard Jr) and  step Brother (Matthew Owens 11) Took out the hacked together wiring harness for the motor and lights, then we ran all new wires the right way through wire looms and plug everything the right way simple things like that.

This is a picture after i first started to work on it. New pretty air filter (: ugly nasty green motor ):. I don't have a recent picture ill come back later and let you see how it is now

Also when i got it the exhaust way falling off who ever ran it like this: headers there about 2 1/2 inch pipe and they cut off the collectors and welded pipe right to it witch was about the same thickness, then that to a 2 inch pipe to a little 10 series muffler to a 2 1/2 to a 3 inch the rest of the way to the back of the truck. It wouldn't be to bad but going from a 2 1/2 to a 2 restricts flow if it started small and worked it way up it would be better. They welded all the pipes together and held it up by welding the exhaust to the bottom of the floor broads under the cab and bed. this is a bad thing because when you hit the gas and go the motor tries to twist and torque when everything is welded solid there is no place to release that energy with out braking something, I've all ready had to reweld the exhaust up in the back because it broke thoughts welds holding it up, and after i fixed that it keeps blowing the header gasket causing and exhaust leak witch to me is a vary bad thing and vary annoying.

My truck

A couple months ago around November 30 2011 I got my first truck. Its a 1985 Chevy k20 pickup truck, when i got it there was a lot of things wrong with it. I was told it was a ex military truck I'm not sure if it was or not and the only thing i know that was from the military is the tires. The rims and tires are 37.5 12.5 16.5R the was said to have military run flats. The front rims were bolted together and really heavy when i changed the rims they did not have run flat in them. When i got to the back they where also bolted together and they were three piece rims and had run flat. The run flat was about a 50 to 75 pound block of solid thick rubber. after i changed the rims all the way around the truck lost a easy 300 pounds.

A tip if you cant set the bead on a tire and rim because of any reason you will need (after you get the tire around the rim) like brake parts cleaner or any spray can that the cleaner inside will ignite when hit with a flame, you will need a torch or something like that. What you need to do is put the rim on the tire and if it bead doesn't set while the tire is on the tire changer machine put the tire in a open place and shoot the cleaner inside and around the rim and tire where the tire and rim would meet. After that go right from spraying around the rim down the side wall and then the where the tire tread is to the floor and away about a foot from the tire. Remember the whole time make sure the everything you sprayed stays wet then ignite the cleaner and step back. the tire will explode into the air popping the tire out and setting the bead to the rim. after you do this hurry and put the fire out and air the tire up before the tire pressure becomes to little and pushes the tire back off the rim.