Has anybody else had an engine block on a stand do an unintended quick flop while you're turning it over to install the cylinder head, or maybe do a final check on connecting rod and main bearing torque before installing the oil pan, or bolting on accessories? I have, and it can be pretty hazardous to fingers and other appendages.

I just had a brainstorm. Stewart had a very fancy, brand new engine stand at Wrenchfest, one with a gearbox and a hand crank on it so an engine can be turned to any convenient position and locked into place. Now, I'm going to wager that his checkbook needed a little CPR after that purchase! Being the dyed in the wool cheapskate that I am- - - -why not bolt or weld a surplus automatic transmission flex plate to the head of the engine stand, and do a little creative bracketing to mesh a recycled starter drive gear and a hand crank with it? A 168 tooth flywheel and a 9 tooth starter pinion gives nearly a 19:1 mechanical advantage over that heavy engine, especially if it's turned with a hand crank about 10 or 12 inches long!

Comments, suggestions, modifications, etc. from the peanut gallery are cordially invited!
Jerry

"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln
Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt!
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway
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