The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop 235 Engine Stand

I need to mount a 235 on an some type of engine stand to tear it down and repair it. Being on a limited budget I dont want to spend too much on a one time use.
I ask which engine stand could I purchase that would ensure we can it fits a 235ci engine block?

Whatever you get, make sure it has two legs and 4 casters, not a T shape with 3 casters.

This one is about the bare minimum to safely support a stovebolt engine.

www.ebay.com/itm/366079694035?

RUN- - - - -do not walk away from the stands with a single leg supporting the front of the engine- - - -they're tipsy, and you really don't want a 700+ pound engine landing on your foot! One trip to the ER will cost more than the very best stand you can buy!

Here's the one I like:

www.harborfreight.com/1500-lb-capacity-gear-driven-rotating-engine-stand-57745.html

Jerry

I know of some diesel guys who mount the engine (like a 6 cyl Cummins) sideways rather than long ways to the engine stand.

Stovebolts are a little short on sturdy mounting holes along the sides of the block. And it would take fabbing up a very custom plate, but it might work pretty well if you figured it out.

Jerry do think this one will do

I’d get the one with two legs that kinda V out from the base. Even if it’s not the fancy gear driven like Jerry linked.

I recently rebuilt a v8 on the type you just shared there. It never tipped, but I never felt like it COULDN’T tip.

Do I need an adapter plate for the 235 to enable bolting the engine to the stand?

Texas - Just my $.02 worth. First - no, you won't need an adapter for that stand. However - the long block length and very top heavy 235 really demands a much wider and longer stance 4 leg (U or H leg design) to best support your engine when mounted and being worked on.

The top heavy engine tends to roll/rotate (flops over) with little to no effort or warning because the rear mount legs are not centered for the blocks weight distribution. I know of several Bolters that have mentioned in the past having their engines damaged and or almost being severely injured when the engine flopped over on the type of stand you showed, with the stand ending up going over as well.

At the least, that stand needs to have the front half of the H lengthened to widen the stance to prevent the stand toppling over when the engine throws it weight over during rotation.

There are several discussions in previous threads that support this information.

For your own benefit, please think Safety First!

Thank you. I’m fully pro safety first. And your advice widen the H format makes sense I could purchase square tubes and add casters at either end. Guess it’s all about overall cost of materials and time.
Really I’m very appreciative of your advice

Because of the oddball bell housing bolt pattern on the stovebolt six, I add a piece of 3/8" or 1/2" steel plate about 3 X 12 inches to the back of the block to extend the lower mounting arms a little, and add a few flat washers ahead of the upper mounting legs to make the engine sit level. I've also added a front caster wheel that extends about a foot ahead of the harmonic balancer to prevent the stand from tipping forward.
Jerry

I think I'd want to extend the lower tube about a foot to make sure the engine can't tip over forward. NEVER put a stovebolt engine with the bellhousing attached on a stand like that. One of my students nearly lost a few toes when a 216 engine tipped over forward and hit his foot.
Jerry

The one you show will work as you buy it with a bit of adapting on the back end. As Jerry says, you will need to add some washers. I bought a box of 100. Use strong bolts/nuts. And get a block of wood maybe 2 x 10 or 2 x 8 and cut a piece to fit under the front of the engine while you're working on it. I think I may have had to make one or two other changes, but not much. I had mine on that same stand for maybe 2 weeks and as long as you use common sense you ought to be okay. Good luck.

Thanks I’ll buy the material you suggested.

Great info thanks.

I’m not Jerry, but I had bought that exact one from a yard sale and found it to be a bit shaky that I wouldn’t trust it. I borrowed one from a friend and ended up selling it.

I'll chime in to say that one is way too narrow on both the front and back. Attached is a pic of mine. I initially used two of them as a cab rotisserie, then back to engine stand. Notice that the front is much wider than that HF one you showed a pic of, and that I had widened the rear as well as lengthening the center beam. Even then I'm still very careful when turning the engine. i set it up so the pivot point is as high as possible (with the block upright,) so the top-heaviness is minimized.

i used a powerglide adapter to widen the base to bolt to the stand.

What did your friend think about you selling his engine stand?

Funny, my mistake! I sold the shaky one I bought from the yard sale!

I was just teasing you.

We all need a laugh!

Thanks for all the inputs. I've fourn the attached engine stand on Amazon, stable I think and rated at 2000 lbs. Whta's your opinion?

Thanks for all the inputs. I've fourn the attached engine stand on Amazon, stable I think and rated at 2000 lbs. Whta's your opinion?

Looks like a decent one. It should work nicely.

Same design as harbor freight. I have an older model from Harbor Freight that doesn't fold up I really like, the legs are supported with full square tubes. These fold up ones put all the weight of the engine on two bolts. It's probably Ok like that, but looking around the web, I don't see any other type with four legs and that much weight. I would change out the four bolts on the legs for grade 8 USA made bolts. I replaced all the bolts on my hoist and stand when after I got them, I didn't like the metric non-marked bolts. My hoist even had few starting to bend after the first use.

One other thing, measure your hoist to see if the stand will roll into it so you can lift the engine off. Mine is really tight so I use a chain hoist off a beam in the garage to transfer the engine from one stand to another, then on to the hoist. If I had a way to bend each leg just a little bit inward, it would roll right into place, but I don't use them all that much so I just live with what I have.

Thanks for the observation and advise. Now I feel confident about this stand.

I'd suggest getting some square steel tubing that will be a snug slip fit inside the front legs, and extending them by 6-8 inches. Stovebolt engines are long and heavy, and a stand can tip over forward if the shop floor is a little bit uneven. One of my students nearly lost several toes when an engine on a stand tipped over and hit him on a foot. His heavy duty work shoes saved him from more serious damage, but he still needed 40-something stitches and got several bones in his foot broken.
Jerry

I just got through pulling my 235 with the engine hoist 2 days ago. I started to buy a Harbour Freight stand but found one on Amazon that appeared to be sturdier. It didn't attach on-center, so it is off balance. No other way unless you attach a plate like Hotrod Lincoln suggested. It will take some time to fashion one, but that would be the safest. Now the problem became trying to fit the stand inside the legs of the engine hoist. That took some jostling around and setting the hoist on 1000 lb. setting so it would extend out enough to be able to drop the engine and align it with the stand. Finally got it nestled but added a 2x4 cut around 20" with a flat board on top of it to fit under the pan to hold up the front of the engine.

Cleaning time but just not sure about turning the engine on the stand. Chances are I will end up putting the engine hoist back into action with a chain around something up front so I can remove headers, valve cover, side pan and oil pan for cleaning..... SAFELY.

I have several heavy Engine Stands that I use, rated for 2000 lbs. For an inline 6 I add a length of heavy steel Angle. The Angle is drilled to match the Bellhousing bolt locations on the 235/261 and 2 additional holes to mount to the engine stand ears. The Angle bolts to the ears on the stand and the Block bolts to the angle. I only use the 2 ears at the top of the Bellhousing pattern with the Angle, I use spacers with 2 lower ears. It works slick as snot..😁

Just a side note, I broke down and purchased gear drive engine stand from Harbor Freight, rated at 1500 lbs. As I get older the less I like wrestling with turning an engine by hand, the geared mounting head is a life saver.

Wow Gents! I never suspected that after decades of these engine stands being around that it be that cumbersome to place an engine on these stands.
Guess I have my work cut out for me. I’m inclined to use TUTS 59 approach since I have the angle iron.
Thanks for all contributions.

The injury accident I mentioned happened after the bellhousing, flywheel, and clutch was installed, and the engine was put back on the stand for final assembly. That changed the leverage just enough to make the assembly front-heavy.
Jerry

Darn, I wish I would have thought of using TUTS 59 idea. Very good solution.

I tend to use the KISS method a lot... Keep It Simple Stupid...😆