Engine Shop Stand

I have this one in the basement, bolted to a flat plate that I welded onto a "universal" type stand. It's cheap (less than $50) but heavy enough to really hold the engine better than MANY I've seen.

The tube is 2 3/8" OD if you want to measure your stand, Gordon.

https://aapistons.com/collecti...h-mount-engine-stand

In the garage I have a factory VW/Porsche stand bolted to another "universal" stand. But good luck finding one of those.

It would be hard to go back to how I did it before. The yoke on the wall is pretty sweet.

Oooo, shiny!!!

Seriously, nice shop.

We have several traditional roll around engine stands that we use, but we have Porsche (VW) specific yokes for them.  Identical to the one SMC sells here

Thanks, Lane.

I just reread Gordon's query, and realized it wasn't the method of holding the yoke he was after, it was the actual head of the stand itself.

I bought mine from a guy on TheSamba. A link is here, but it's no longer active.

I know for a fact that Gordon isn't going to spend over $300 for a yoke.

Gordon, the $50 bench mount from AA is more than adequate...

I spaced the yoke out with an old bearing race due to my shortsighted mounting.

My base is REALLY heavy and could handle a big block V8(and used to).

@Stan Galat posted:

Thanks, Lane.

I just reread Gordon's query, and realized it wasn't the method of holding the yoke he was after, it was the actual head of the stand itself.

I bought mine from a guy on TheSamba. A link is here, but it's no longer active.

The link isn't active because the guy died.

Edit:  Fixed it, sorry

I built my own to fit a HF engine stand.  I like that I can roll the engine out of the way if I'm working on something else in my shop.

No image, Rick. You have to do the "attachment" thing.

Rick, your "image is not Found" for me, but I get the idea.  

I've forgotten where I got my stand from, probably a FLAPS at the time, because it was back around 1971 when I built my Flathead Hot Rod engine.   It has suffered through several V8 rebuilds and several VW builds but I just want to upgrade to a better mount.  Dan, I measured the receiver tube and it's 2-3/8" so I'll be all set - Just have to weld a nut on for the locking T-bolt in place of my drop-in stop-pin.

Danny's AA Performance mount looks perfect for what I need, so I'll order one today and adapt it to my roll-around stand when it gets here - Should be easy.

Thanks for the link, Dan!

@LI-Rick posted:

The link isn't active because the guy died.

That's no excuse. He built really, really nice yokes for pennies on the dollar. Dying puts everybody in a bind and is SO inconsiderate.

I guess I should have bought several, instead of the one I have.

Once you get it, go to the hardware store and buy some different length bolts and washers and spacers and nuts for 10mm x 1.5. Then you'll be good to go.

The flanges and tubing are thicker than the really cheap stands.

I have an el-cheapo also that I only use for transmission work. I wouldn't put a fully dressed motor on it, I'd be afraid for my toes!

In the meantime, I've been waiting for an able-bodied neighbor to show up to help me heft the engine up onto my current stand in the middle of post-Summer vacation season.  Neighbor #1 is recovering from dumping his race bike at Thompson Speedway (just before the bridge at turn 5, Dan ), the retired guy across the street is in Maine, the Dep. fire chief next to him is in New Hampshire, but the buyer for Reebok Shoes across from the Biker just came home from a business trip so I'll corral him later today.  

"The Leaks Will Be Stopped!"

@Gordon Nichols posted:

In the meantime, I've been waiting for an able-bodied neighbor to show up to help me heft the engine up onto my current stand in the middle of post-Summer vacation season.  Neighbor #1 is recovering from dumping his race bike at Thompson Speedway (just before the bridge at turn 5, Dan ), the retired guy across the street is in Maine, the Dep. fire chief next to him is in New Hampshire, but the buyer for Reebok Shoes across from the Biker just came home from a business trip so I'll corral him later today.  

"The Leaks Will Be Stopped!"

@Gordon Nichols can I offer my virtual hands from Cali 😍👍🙏🏼

Thanks, and here is a virtual LMAO GIF:

I tried to get one of these guys, but they look kind-a busy.  
But, HEY!  They have a ceiling winch like Danny:

@DannyP then he'd really hate the one from LN

@Gordon Nichols posted:

Thanks, and here is a virtual LMAO GIF:

I tried to get one of these guys, but they look kind-a busy.  
But, HEY!  They have a ceiling winch like Danny:

@Gordon Nichols Solid Jack stand 👍

@chines1 posted:

@DannyP then he'd really hate the one from LN

I'll bet. Is it gold-plated? In price I'm sure.

I just looked it up $1000 for watercooled 996-997 etc. yoke alone. I didn't see an aircooled one, but I didn't look hard.

@DannyP posted:

I'll bet. Is it gold-plated? In price I'm sure.

I just looked it up $1000 for watercooled 996-997 etc. yoke alone. I didn't see an aircooled one, but I didn't look hard.

I may have linked the wrong one, but they have one that is universal for watercooled and aircooled, and since early 911 and VW share a bolt pattern, in theory it would work for VW also.

There is a guy in Rapid City, SD (Brian Errea) who builds suspension and brake conversion parts for VW busses (both early and bay window) -- beams, IRS conversions, and some very clever and sensible brake kits, etc. He also does head work and some engine builds.

When Rick pointed out that the guy who built the yokes and sold them on TheSamba was no longer alive, I texted Brian to say, "hey, I think there's an opportunity for you to fill a gap in what is available".

He responded by saying, "you're going to have to get up earlier in the morning if you want to say ahead of me!" and sent me this picture.

This is his prototype. It's sized to fit the Harbor Freight red roller stands. The finished pieces will be painted and will sell in the $165 neighborhood. He'll also have a bench/vice mount he'll also be selling. The prototype is available unpainted for $135. Brian says there's zero flex in it with a fully dressed turnkey engine on it.

That, my friends is a steal.

@Stan Galat posted:

There is a guy in Rapid City, SD (Brian Errea) who builds suspension and brake conversion parts for VW busses (both early and bay window) -- beams, IRS conversions, and some very clever and sensible brake kits, etc. He also does head work and some engine builds.

When Rick pointed out that the guy who built the yokes and sold them on TheSamba was no longer alive, I texted Brian to say, "hey, I think there's an opportunity for you to fill a gap in what is available".

He responded by saying, "you're going to have to get up earlier in the morning if you want to say ahead of me!" and sent me this picture.

This is his prototype. It's sized to fit the Harbor Freight red roller stands. The finished pieces will be painted and will sell in the $165 neighborhood. He'll also have a bench/vice mount he'll also be selling. The prototype is available unpainted for $135. Brian says there's zero flex in it with a fully dressed turnkey engine on it.

That, my friends is a steal.

It would be nice to have a water jet or plasma table!

I’ve been spoiled by a laser.

Push Rod Tubes!  

Who'da thunk that they LEAK?   😉 🙄   I've never liked the whole design of push rod tubes - Like a leak waiting to happen.

That's been the biggest thing so far - The rest was just "weeping".

#1 - 2 is done with #3 - 4 done in short order.  Got a weep at the hose connection for the full-flow hose coming back from the filter/cooler and that'll be it (it could just be the connection wasn't fully tight, too).   The internal oil cooler o-rings, which I kind-of suspected, are dry as a bone but the pushrod tubes beneath it certainly weren't, making me think it was worse than it was.  

I'm takin' a break.  Beautiful day, outside, but just a tad too hot to be pleasant.  Inside the shop is about perfect while I get oil all over everything in sight.  

So far, so good.  Nothing broken and no blood let.  

@Gordon Nichols posted:

So far, so good.  Nothing broken and no blood let yet.  

Fixed it.

This is for you other people who pull your engine to work on it ( at least you Air Cooled folks - I don’t know Subaru engines ).

Under the cylinders on both sides of the engine and right in between the barrels is a small, 4” square piece of tin that is positioned in the middle to literally snap onto the long head bolts to hold it in place.  I assume that it is there to deflect the fan air sideways across the bottom of the cylinder barrels to eliminate hot spots on the bottom.  You pick it up, position it and snap it in - Takes maybe five seconds.

On my engine, one side was in there nice and tight, while the other side was flopping around loose, so once the pushrod tubes were out of the way I tried snapping it back in to clip onto the head bolts, but it wouldn’t latch in and stay put.  I must have screwed around with that thing for over 30 minutes and STILL couldn’t get the thing to clip on.

About that time, Kathy wandered out there asking if I wanted to walk around the ‘hood, so I gave the engine a disgusted look and we took off.  When we got back, I went back in to make sure everything was turned off, but that little piece of tin was jeering at me, telling me that it had won, so there!  I went over there, picked it up and, believe it or not, it snapped right in, first shot, in less than 5 seconds.

Friggin Lawnmower engine, anyway…..

Last time, I worked with one on one side or the other for an entire evening -- reshaping, filing, etc. to get it to snap in just so.

I feel your pain.

I have had them vibrate loose in the past. I like to safety wire them with stainless wire.

Ooooooo......  

I like that!

I can see I'll be busy tomorrow.

Those tins are important! I've never had a problem with them. Something for me to look out for in the future, though.

It was the little square ones in the heads I was talking about. About the size of a matchbook.

@Stan Galat posted:

It was the little square ones in the heads I was talking about. About the size of a matchbook.

I don’t understand why new heads don’t come with these. I’d guess very few people put them in.  I made a pair from aluminum and tigged them in.

You can "adjust" them by bending the plate and/or the tabs that catch the head-bolts to make them tighter or looser on the bolt shafts.  I try to avoid modifying the part at all - Careful bending is usually enough, once you figure out how they work.  The tabs with the locking notches can get hung up on casting marks here or there that can make them a PITA to get in there and snap in, hence Stan's (and my) frustrations.  Best thing is to walk away and come back fresh and then they usually pop right in.

The one side that was hard to get in there was maybe never seated right in the first place and just fell off after a while.  It seems pretty darn tight, now, and the plate is flush with the cylinder fins so I'm moving on to the next thing that fights me (there seem to be many on these Lawn Mower engines).