Engine stand

[George S L]

Hi folks I'm looking for an engine stand quite a few for sale from various suppliers but unsure of quality any recommendations.

[jono]

I have the Clarke version and it absolutely does the job but there are other suppliers like SGS who I've had decent stuff from in the past.

However I suspect they all come from the same Chinese factory so I don't think it matters much where you source from.

[SimonH]

I’d say get what you can get the best deal on these days are they are generally all the same items it seems but painted in the relevant colours of the company.
But I would avoid any that only have 3 wheels as they always seem very unstable. We have an sgs folding 4 wheel at work and it’s fine with a v6 on it. There is a little 3 wheel one as well but it’s only good for small light ally engines in my experience.

[JonB]

I have a Clarke stand as well, it is perfectly suitable for the Twin Cam engine though it took me a while to work out how best to mate the two. The Clarke unit can be easily dismantled and put away when not in use. Mine is at least 20 years old and still going strong. You don't need anything more expensive than that. I am very happy with it, and I will add that it is not unstable at all (despite being a 3 wheeler).

[George S L]

Thanks guys

[RichardHawkins]

George,

I also have a 3 wheel Clark engine stand, I very nearly had my stand and engine topple over. I have converted it to 4 wheels, fitted an integral drip tray and use a large plastic bag as a dust cover when not working on the engine. I think stability depends on how you attach the engine to the stand, the centre of gravity needs to be within the area framed by the wheels.

Hope this helps

Richard Hawkins

[rgh0]

I always mount the engine via the exhaust side engine mount to the engine stand as this gives better access to the rear for mountng the rear seal / flywheel / clutch while still on the stand.

cheers
Rohan

[jono]

That's a good point Rohan, but I seem to recall the only way to do it with the standard mounting adapter is via the flywheel end.

..I did make a side adapter for mounting Mini engines (A series) but never though about seeing if this could be re drilled to facilitate side mounting of a TC.

[2cams70]

I always fit the flywheel and clutch last after the engine has been lowered to the ground. There’s no need to fit them whilst the engine is on the stand. In fact it’s best to keep the assembly as light as possible whilst it is on the stand and the flywheel/clutch are heavy items.

[gjz30075]

Jono, here's a pic of a side mount for our blocks.

[elancoupe]

Also a proponent of the exhaust mount adaptor.

[jono]

Jono, here's a pic of a side mount for our blocks.

Brilliant, thanks for that - virtually the same as my A series side mount but with a smaller plate so it must be possible for me to drill a separate set of holes on my Mini mount for TC use!


...can't think why I never thought of it!

[jono]

...another suggestion, it's a good idea to mod the tube on the stand to a pinch bolt format rather that the pin an hole format to enable invariable positions and much quicker manipulation.


...slit the tube and weld some lugs on with a capitve nut on one side.

[2cams70]

The engine is better secured if you use the bellhousing bolts at the rear (i.e as per the stand's original design). The bolts there are much larger diameter than the engine mount bolts and the mass is concentrated along the centre line so it's less likely to tip. When you are doing up bolts like crankshaft mains and head bolts you are applying a fair amount of torque to the stand. I find you can still rotate the crankshaft from the rear by loosely fitting two flywheel bolts and using them as a fulcrum for rotation by using a lever. Each to their own though.

[HCA]

If you buy a stand of obvious Chinese origin like I did (purely on price - it was going to be used only once, then ditched) do check the four tubular lugs that bolt onto the engine back face. They may well be, like mine, quite badly out of line, so that all four would not be flat on the engine face. They were out of line quite a bit, enough to fear that when tightening everything up, something would/might give...

Not a hard job to reposition them if you are good with a cutting disc and welder (cut them off, bolt them onto the engine face and re-weld accordingly), but a nuisance nevertheless.