anyone here ever build an engine cradle?

bikesandcars

bikesandcars

True Classic
Has anyone here ever built an engine cradle? I obviously can't find ones for sale, so I need to make one.

any pictures?
 
I have been thinking about that

check out the photo of the "engine stand" in left column of the "service tools" page of the shop manual. Is that kind of what your are looking for?

http://www.midwesternmedicalmachine.com/~damonfg/X_FSM/PDF_Files/X1-9_10A_10-127.pdf

Looks like it is built to sit on a workbench. I was think of trying to build one at the same height as an engine stand. It would probably need some serious extra weight near the ground for better balance.

I am getting ready to put my engine back together and it would be nice to be able to work on both ends. This would give me an excuse to buy a low end HF welder too. I think it would make a good learning project.
 
Very similar. Also something like the one shown in this link: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-910057/

I was even thinking of making it a box for stack-ability and strength (maybe even shipping). Not sure if I want wheels or not... maybe just bushings for removable wheels.

It's really to store / transport engines. You need to drop it into a cradle that sits on the floor..... you can't safely transport an engine on a rebuild stand in the back of a truck.
 
Cool

I had never looked for anything like this, so I had no idea you could just buy one... for a Ford, Chevy, Dodge V8... :) Strange that they don't have one for any Fiat.

I will be interested to see what you come up with. Bernice had a picture of a wooden cradle.stand that she used to cart an engine around, but I haven't find that old post. Yet.
 
I made an engine cradle / engine stand for the x1/9 engine and transmission together. It didn't take very long (as you can see my design is simple).

this will allow us to transport spare engine/transmission from our parts car. You could probably test run the engine on this too.

as a bonus it lets 2 men pick up the engine pretty easily (one from the front bar, the other from the transmission).

It's hard to see in the pictures, but it's a couple inches off the ground. It's supported by 2 transmission housing/motor mount bolts in the back and into the block with 2 bolts up front. Nothing is supporting the exhaust side up front because of the angle... if I did anything there it would need to be bolt-on. Everything is fully seam welded

skids are 1.75 x .120 DOM leftovers from a roll cage. Angle is 1.5" x 1/8" (I think). square is 1" x 1/8" square. plate to the engine on front is 3/16" x 3" flat stock.... all made from stuff lying around.


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Me too Tom

I am going to make a cradle too. I got a cheap HF welder over the weekend. I got the 90amp flux core wire welder for $90. (BTW that price looks to be in effect again for the upcoming HF parking lot sale June 10-12)

http://www.harborfreight.com/welding/mig-flux-welders/90-amp-flux-wire-welder-98871.html

Seemed like the right price for a hobby welder that would plug in to a regular 120v outlet. I am sure it will be able to handle any light task I might want to use it for.
 
Not bad at all

I am going to give this a try too. When I finish my 1300->1500 swap I will have an extra engine hanging around the garage. I am going to try to make one with casters so I can keep moving the engine out of my way. :)
 
Even better - Wheel Dolly

A steel harbor-freight car wheel dolly with a cleanly cut piece of thick plywood board across the shallow section works great as a rolling X19 engine cradle, even with the transmission.

It will sit upright on the flat oil pan, and a ratchet strap around the whole thing pulling the motor from each side and hooking to the little grab handles keeps it steady. It looks like it will be top heavy, but really it won't wiggle, or tip over, even when you try... lol

-M
 
Yup.

Engine%252520Dolly%252520X-128%25252001A.JPG


Engine%252520Dolly%252520X-128%25252002.JPG


Hope that helps.

John O.
 
But... but... but

I can't play with my new welder with your plan Matt!!

I got a small HF mover's dolly to use for now. Says it will move up to 1000lbs, so it should work OK and I was planning to use a strap to keep the engine on board.
 
That's exactly what I did, Jim, a HF moving dolly.

b_102158.jpg


I took the ratchet strap off for the picture, but it kept it pretty solid.
 
I was already watching that welder on the HF ad!

Up till now everytime I've needed to move something around that was heavy like a motor, transmission, 150 pound pumpkin, etc... I've just gotten out my trusty 1979 vintage 10" Sims Superply with Indy trucks and Sims Snakes... That old skateboard has moved tons stuff around and hasn't snapped yet!
 
JimD said:
I can't play with my new welder with your plan Matt!!

I got a small HF mover's dolly to use for now. Says it will move up to 1000lbs, so it should work OK and I was planning to use a strap to keep the engine on board.
Click to expand...

hehe... there's always an excuse to weld! just need to buy the wheels and make a frame out of angle for the wood to rest in ;)

I like the dolly approach for rolling engines around the shop, I actually use a plastic HF dolly for that.

I needed the more serious attached cradle for wrestling the unit around outside the shop and for truck transport. It could also be used for shipping engines/transmissions. No plan for wheels right now, but if I needed to move it in the shop I would just place it on a dolly as other folks mentioned

Matt, how do you ship your engines? wood crate?
 
mine was similar

wish I would have took a picture. I created the cradle to slide onto a "table" that had the HF dolly under it. the "table" had one side that extended out to allow me to wheel it up to my van and push it into the back without an issue. I built it because I sold the engine and tranny and needed an easy way to move it from one vehicle to another. Worked perfect.

If you can rig things, HF can be your best friend. if you want top notch last forever quality, then not so much

Odie
 
JimD said:
That does help. :)
Click to expand...

I forgot to mention ...though I don't have any good pics, I have complete engines on four of this style dolly (two are SOHC, two are DOHC) and they easily wheel about. Also, the SOHC trans axle can be left on without the bell housing fouling on the dolly, and since the engine is significantly heavier and far counterbalances the transaxle, there's no need to additonally support the tranny.

John O.
 
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Engine Dolly

John O:
Great photos! Would you go one step further and give us dimensions to save us from reinventing the wheel, er, that is the dolly?

Is that 2" square tubing?

Thanks,
Sasha
 
CollieLover said:
Would you go one step further and give us dimensions to save us from reinventing the wheel, er, that is the dolly? Is that 2" square tubing?
Click to expand...

Hey Sasha and all,

I haven't had much time 'til now to take any measurements, but I put together a little construction sketch, drawn (so to say) over top of the photo of the dolly. I hope it is useful. I've indicated the length to cut on each tube. "Typ" indicates where a measurement is typical and to be repeated for other obviously similar locations.

Keep in mind that the whole dolly is based around the X and 128 oil pans, so if you don't have a spare pan on hand to test fit, you might have trouble ...I had to make a couple minor adjustments while welding since I'm not the best weldor and steel likes to shrink/distort/do whatever the hell it wants sometimes.

When I dropped the motor out of my 128, the dolly was physically positioned underneath to catch it. Worked like it was built to do exactly that ...'cuz it was!

X%252520Engine%252520Dolly%25252002.jpg


also, here are a couple pics of what I call "engine world" which is just under where the bicycles are stored in the garage.

Motor%252520world%25252001A.jpg


Motor%252520world.jpg


If anyone needs measurements for the Twin Cam dolly, let me know.

Cheers

John O.
 
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