Thread: Am I nuts???.

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I am thinking about dead lifting a sbc short block into a engine stand.I was wondering what the wt. of that would be and if two people could handle it??.

get 2 more people to be safe........unless you were on the strong man show, you're taking a huge chance trying to lift it on your own.
BTW..you are going to need a cherry picker to take it off the stand and into the car, why not have a cherry picker now and save yourself.

A few tips...bolt the stand adapter to the engine first, then back the stand against the wall so it doesn't roll away when you try to put the engine on it. And find a BIG dumb friend to help! SBC short blocks aren't all that heavy, but lining things up on a stand is a lot different than just putting it in the back of a truck.

I did it with a 351W - and will NEVER do that again. A couple trips to the chiropractor, a bottle of aspirin and two weeks sitting carefully (couldn't bend over)cured me of even thinking about doing it again. Two guys - works fine. Oh yeah, 180 pounds for that bare block (the Ford was "only" 165#)

at least make sure you have the right size and length bolts for the engine stand---its a good circus act to balance the short block under one arm/on knee while you screw the bolts in, also seems that it always ends up that that is on my left side and I'm right handed, then I left the racket on the floor-------

I do it just the way that Ron Pope suggests, bolt the engine to the adapter plate first, then all you have to do is feed the entire assembly into the big round hole. I also put grease on the snout of the adapter so it spins easier when you are rotating the engine for work. I use my engine lift to pick the motor up to put it on the stand, but I have done it with two guys, three is better, two lifting and one feeding it onto the stand.

What IC2 says about injuries is a very real concern. I tore the bicep off of my arm bone just lifting the corner of my 39 Dodge cab to put a shim under it one time.......something I had done a million times. It only takes that one time to cause you some serious, long term damage to your body. The older I get the less I lift without some mechanical helper.

Don

Some of my "helpers"
1 2T come-a-long
2 2T chain falls
1 very long 4X rope pulley arrangement
4 2T jacks
1 12T jack
2 scissors jacks.
2 very long 1.5" nylon rope
1 long 1" nylon rope
several various lengths of case chain

I also have 'points' in my shop ceiling to hook up the chain falls

My back - no problems now since I use my "helpers".

Since it next to impossible to find help when I want to do something, I figure out a way - my car body went on with one chainfall and the come-a-long;

Dave's got the plan, and Pops suggestions are what I follow with the engine stand thing.

The other alternative? When I was MUCH younger one of the things I did to make a few extra bucks was move pianos. My partner in this operation was about the same size as me, say 6', 175#. Most moves went smooth because we didn't fight each other, teamwork is always better. On those rare occasions where we had to move one out of a basement we'd get one of my pards employees to help. He wore a size 3 hat and 54 coat......we put him at the bottom.

Ya, and make sure the stand has the wheels locked or blocked, a few years back when I was younger and dumber, a buddy and i chased the engine stand across the shop trying to shove the head into it.

If it's a full dressed block it'll weigh in at about 535 to 575 pounds depending on if it has w/alum. intake or not. It will even less w/alum. heads. So unless you want to be picking your balls up off the ground when you do it I wouldn't even think about it.
That is unless you're about 20-25 or so years old & have the muscle to do it.
I know when I was in my 20's I could do it, but now a days I ask for help w/just the heads, unless I'm having a really good day & even then I am very cautious.
My advice even to the young ones here & I have said it several times.
USE the K.I.S.S. method "Keep It Simple Stupid" and my advice is use a chain hoist..joe

I just sat the BBC block in the camaro this morning by hand. It had the heads, mid plate & motor plate attached also. It was a piece of cake. But then it only weighed about 30 lbs.





I did set a bare block in a P.U. & assembled it in the truck because I didn't have a cherry picker available at the time. I was younger then.

A two ton cherry picker is only a few bucks to rent, and about 149.00 to buy at harbor freight. Money can be tight, but a broken foot or a strained back can plague you a long time, and make money even harder to come by. When I was a kid, I didn't have a lift and had to pull my 289 out of the mustang. We took the heads off, and all the peripheral stuff and then mounted a chain across the intake bolts. We then got a strong 2x4 and hoisted it out between two of us. The bad part about doing what you want is trying to attach it to the stand! That's hard even when the hoist is holding it! I'd take Don's suggestion about having the backing plate already bolted to the engine.

yep but your spring rates are too strong for that 30 lb block

Originally Posted by jerry clayton

yep but your spring rates are too strong for that 30 lb block

Yea, I am beginning to wonder if they are too strong for the "real" deal too.
with cast iron block & heads they still barely compress & I have the adjustment rings completely backed off. Maybe when I put water in the radiator it'll level out.

Another one of those "I used to do that" guys here. The short block will weigh about 400 or so, so were I you, I'd definitely get a friend, best in the form of an engine hoist - unless, of course, you are one of those "Worlds Strongest Man" competitors. If you do decide to do it by hand, turn the thing top side down and grab it in the cylinder bores; also, fastening the stand head to the block first is a must. As a qualifier, I was a power lifter in my younger days, up into my forties, and I only hung a SBC short block on a stand by hand by myself one time; said "never again", just too much awkward bulk and maneuvering for a safe lift. Be real careful.