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Got the engine successfully mounted on the stand. With the mounting plate attached to the engine, all I had to do was lift the engine up, position the stand, then guide the mounting stud into the bearing and lock it all in place. Took 10 minutes. So far I'm very pleased with the stand. It feels rock solid. Zero flex, no wobbling. It's very easy to roll around...I can move the whole assembly with minimal effort.

Turning the engine over is going to require me to use the cherry picker or the lift to control the engine as it spins over. It is very top heavy. Removing the head and other things will help some, but I'm not sure if I can spin it by hand.

The hardest part of all this was getting the holes drilled in the plate. But now that they are done I should be able to mount any 51-54 straight 8 on the stand without and issue. I should also be able to mount the V8's using the original mounting system.

Do not attempt to spin that by hand. 😬

At least until the head and crank/converter is out.

Wow, yes. That is top-heavy. Even the bare block is going to be tough to spin. Judging by looks, I'd say the center of gravity would be along the brown to blue color change. Any chance to extend the pilot part of the plate into that area?

When turning this 90 degrees, does it extend beyond the footprint width of the stand? If yes or if it's close you might want to consider getting box tube that fits within the ID of that cross piece over the back wheels to extend the footprint width a couple feet on each side. Like a set of outriggers on a crane truck. Perhaps add some jack screws to the ends or block it up tight with wood. As you mentioned, keep the engine crane attached until you know how it will react when turning it.

Be careful when it comes to moving things that are heavy. If you've watched any of my other videos, I was lucky to not have my entire finger or hand severed in a moment of "insufficient situational assessment". Yeah, that sounds like a smart way to describe a stupid moment. Either way, be safe and keep us posted.


Mark

I won't be attempting to turn it by hand. That was made very obvious the minute I installed it on the stand. I'll be using either the vehicle lift or the cherry picker to effect a controlled rotation of the engine when that time comes. No rush on my end now that it's on the stand.

I threw together a video showing most of the steps to removing the engine and trans. Plus you get to watch me struggle to get the engine out until I figured out I needed to jack up the rear of the trans to get it off the frame. Hopefully this makes it easier for the next guy when it comes time to pull the engine.



-Kevin

Using Ross’s dimensions, I plan on making a custom mount including welding on the tube in an appropriate location for my stands and will probably use the one I have that is gear-driven just as soon as I finish assembling my 1965 Imperial’s 413. I don’t trust the cheap stands that I have which I use for transmissions.

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Welding on a custom mount would be nice. That way you could drop the mounting bolts lower and get the center of gravity closer. I didn't have that option on mine with the mounting plate as it came. I would have to get a much larger plate, cut the old one off, and weld the new one to the post. I'm going to see how this one works first, then decide if I want to do that for the next engine I pull.

So far this stand from HF has felt nothing but solid. I got it because of the 4 legs and wide footprint. The smaller ones would scare me. But so far so good with this stand.

-Kevin

I have the same stand and it's happy with an end mounted 320 motor on it so I'm sure yours will be fine.

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Just to clarify, that's 320 V8, not a 320 Straight Eight?