Anybody else do this to there fresh 440?? old style engine stand :(

[8WHEELER]

I thought maybe you guys would like a good laugh, and just maybe this has happened to you.

NEVER PUT YOUR BIG BLOCK ON THE OLD STILE 3 LEGGED 3 WHEELED ENGINE STANDS 

Just about any engine stand sold today can handle a small block, but I would never put an engine
on a three leg engine stand again. You need at least 4 points on the ground or this will happen.     

We torqued the heads down twice, while I was holding the engine, then I was half way out of the garage
and BOOOM, looked back and my friend had tried to do the head bolts one more time on his own, not a
good idea, he said he tried to hold it as it was starting to go then just got out of the way, he is a little
guy ''no offence'', but if it was me I would have been able to save it, I had many big blocks on that cheap old thing.

This is my 440, back in 1991, I first put this engine in back in 1979 and its still in the charger today. I know
the outside of the engine looked like crap. But its what is inside that really matters 

Dan

[ITSA426]

I've sweated it a lot.  Finally went out and got a better stand. 

[4402tuff4u]

I know exactly what you mean! When I took the engine out of my 68 this past year and bolted up to a three legged stand borrowed from a friend, I had to get the wife to help me steady it while I moved it. It was very close at times, especially if one of the casters jammed up in small stone or something. I asked my friend if he would'nt mind if I added a cross member with two additional casters. He was delighted since he uses it for his 454 cheby big block. So I welded a square tubular cross member and bolted up two new casters at each end. I also used a hydraulic jack on the front end of the engine to relieve some of the bending moment on the stand and the bolts. Worked out perfect with the modification.  

[8WHEELER]

I bought that engine stand in 1978, used it many times. Kept it in my loft for 15yrs then gave it away finally 3yrs ago.

There were 8 chunks in the concrete where every valve retainer hit the ground. I thought for sure
every one of my valves was bent on my fresh valve job    Took the head off, took every valve out
and we went to my friends shop, put every one of then on his valve grind machine, to my suprise not one
of them darn valves was bent in the least bit, they ran as true as a new valve  I suppose evan I get lucky
every so often   

Dan

[6pkrunner]

I also had a 440 fall over on a 3 legged stand about 10 years ago. Not again.

[terrible one]

When it came time to buy an engine stand, I went with a 4 leg, due to these horror stories I keep hearing about the 3 legs. Never have had it tip over or anything. Guess that is money well spent

[700HPCharger]

That makes me sick I better go get me a four legger!

[BigBlockSam]

be careful with a four Legger too. i bought a 2000 lb four Legger from ebay. i cheaped out  $40 with shipping.  couldn't hold the 440. it actually broke from the weight. i had to weld some supports in to hold the big block. Rene

[KMPX2]

I don't trust any of them. I always add a 2x6 under the front edge of the oil pan

[hotrod98]

I bought the 4 legged 2000 lbs fold up stand from Summit to be on the safe side. But when I started to set the hemi on it the stand just kept flexing downward so I chickened out and just set the motor back down on the floor stand. You would think that a stand rated at 2000 lbs would hold an 800 lb motor with no problem. I wasn't taking any chances after waiting that long for the motor to get here.

[70charginglizard]

Thats sucks Dan.

Was this the 440 your building for your new blue charger?

Man.....Id be sick. 

[Telvis]

The one I have came from Harbour freight. It flexed a lot when I put the 383 on it. It's been hanging there almost a year now waiting for my car to come back from paint. It hasn't collapsed yet. Hopefully it wont be much longer.

[8WHEELER]

Thats sucks Dan.

Was this the 440 your building for your new blue charger?

Man.....Id be sick. 

Hi Kelly
As I stated this is ''IN'' my car right now, meaning this is the 440 in my red 68 Charger. This picture is a crappy
scan of an old photo I took back in 1991 when this happened. I put this engine back in that same night in 1991
after making sure none of the valves were bent, still can't believe none were.
Yes everytime you have seen my car Kelly over all these years this is the same engine, it has not come out since 1991.

OK, how many of you guys have put your engine together in the house  yep I have a couple times.
We had a real small bedroom in our rental house, it was freezing outside so I figured why not stay warm 

Like I said this engine has been in the car since 1979, but I had it out for one year while driving the car a lot to
get gas mileage, so I had a 318 in it. After that one year without the 440 I wanted it back in, so I just checked
the 440 after being out of the car for a year, honed the cylinders put in new rings and bearings pump and the
normal stuff.
Here is another old picture while in the house, just got done gapping all of the rings, and checking the bearings
clearances. The only interesting part is getting the 440 out of the house down a ramp  had to leave the heads off.
Yes these are 11.5 to 1 TRW pistons with 915 closed chamber ported heads.

Dan

[RD]

I don't trust any of them. I always add a 2x6 under the front edge of the oil pan

ditto

[Charger_Fan]

So...how did you get that engine outta the house when you were done?

I don't trust any of them. I always add a 2x6 under the front edge of the oil pan

ditto

Double ditto.

[8WHEELER]

So...how did you get that engine outta the house when you were done?

Well lest say the wife was happy it was a rental house    I rolled it out of the bedroom, down the hall way
through the living room then the dining room to the back door, then down a ramp. I do all my work in the
garage now, now that I have a bigger garage and I own this house 

Dan

[Charger_Fan]

So...how did you get that engine outta the house when you were done?

Well lest say the wife was happy it was a rental house    I rolled it out of the bedroom, down the hall way
through the living room then the dining room to the back door, then down a ramp. I do all my work in the
garage now, now that I have a bigger garage and I own this house 

Dan

That's funny!
I bet the trip down the ramp was a little scary.

[Blakcharger440]

I have got a 4 wheeled engine stand as it was the best I could find at the time.
Where can a guy get a really,really heavy duty engine stand???