Packard Forum Index » General

I'll start rebuilding the 320 engine from my 39 Super 8 soon and have been told I should not use a traditional engine stand because of the cast aluminum block possibly cracking under the strain. It was suggested that I rebuild it on top of a table.
I've decided to build a strong table about 3 feet off the floor with cast iron casters. I'm thinking it needs to be about 30" wide by 40" long and even considered the possibility of putting a lazy susan supported by large ball-bearings on it to make it easier to work with (all of the tools in one place).
Has anyone had any experience with using an engine table or building one of this nature? All comments welcome!
Gene

By the way, here is a little humor I found recently.

"Poor white trash: engine block out in front yard as lawn ornament. Rich white trash: engine block inside as coffee table."

While rebuilding the 288 from a 51 200, I built a shop table on wheels from 4x4's and 2x4's. The top is made of slats of oak from surplus pallets. The casters were from Harbor Freight. Cheap and ugly, but it sure worked well and saved my back as I made it fairly tall, so I could work standing up. The only difficulty is when you want to flip the block over to work on it. But it allowed me to concentrate my limited funds on Packard parts rather than engine stands.

I also made a wood frame out of 6x6 timbers so that I could set the completed engine )with oilpan) upright in my flatbed trailer and haul it to my friend's shop when it was time for engine and car to get back together.

I now use the table as a portable work bench. I'll shoot some photos later today and post them.

Remembering that this is a two-piece block and you'll probably work on each part separately and assemble them together when the crankcase is already in the car, you don't need to be too concerned about strength of the table. The bore section is the heaviest, two people can lift either section, though 4 would be better for the bore section. After the pistons are removed and the bore section removed from the crankcase, I lift the bores by laying it sideways, running a 4 ft. length of 2x4 thru #1 and #8, and use a person at each end - easy enough.

Good comments so far! Keep them coming.

I do plan to use the table as a good portable work stand after I'm finished and I can use it working on tractor engines and transmissions also.

That sounds like a good plan if you have the help available. I'm fairly new in this area and live out in the country. I do not get in to town often and spend most of my time teaching Internet courses at TSU.

But, I do have a 2 ton shop crane and a gantry crane in the shop and I depend on them to do all of the heavy lifting. I plan to position the gantry crane over the work table and use a strap in the front and back of the block when I need to turn it over or get it off the table for a while to work from all sides.

I know I'd keep the straps on it at times I was not working on it just for safety sake. I'd hate for that big o' thing to roll of the table if we had another quake around here.

Gene

As promised, here are some photos of my scrap wood worktable. I put a spare head on it for scale purposes. The table is 36" high. The timber frame on top of the later photos was used to hold the finished engine in a trailer for transporting to the shop for installation. The 2x4's underneath are dual purpose - to hold the pan off the ground, and to allow the frame to be screwed to the wood deck of the trailer. Total cost was about $15 for the casters and some star head screws. All the wood was in the scrap bin out back. Hope this helps. Just don't forget the cross bracing on the ends and the horizontal pieces on the bottom to keep the legs steady.

Attach file:

---

  (46.15 KB)


  (69.76 KB)


  (76.00 KB)


  (75.34 KB)


  (74.51 KB)

David, are those 4X4s on the lower pictures? They look about right to hold the oil pan as you have it shown. A person could build a table with a cutout in the center allowing you to set the engine upright and get below it if you were agile enough. My back is not quite up to that but it might be an idea to incorporate. What do you think? If you don't mind I think I'll grab you pictures to my HD. Gene

Those look like 6x6's

Kev, you've got to be right. I was not comparing them to the 2x4 just below them. I guess I can only blame it on a slow mind after coming home from the physical therapist. They have me doing pool therapy for my back and it will tire you out. Still, I should have caught that. Thanks, Gene

Yes - they are 6x6's. I would suggest that you build the table at 30" high, with 2x4's across the top with a center support, or 5/8" plywood with intermediate supports. Then you could fabricate a second top with the hole in the center, using vertical 2x6's as long as you support them from rotating. One way would be to fasten 3 boards together on each sides, or to just see if you can find a warped 6x6 at Home Depot they'll sell cheap. The 6x6's do warp sometimes. Just make sure you have plenty of horizontal support - wood is cheaper than new Packard blocks. And use 3" star head screws and not nails. That way you can adjust things when necessary. Removing nails is not fun.