Re: alfa engine stands

[Jay Mackro <jmackro@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

At 10:56 AM 1/25/99 -0500, Brad Harris had asked:
>
>I am about the pull the motor out of my 1986 Spider..... What kind
>of engine stands does everybody recommend for an aluminum block 
>engine?

I just use a plain, generic, $49.95 engine stand - the kind that
bolts to the bellhousing flange at the back of the block, and
that allows you to rotate the block around the crankshaft axis.

Yes, there are nicer engine stands - the kind that attach to
the motormount flanges, and allow the rear seal and flywheel/
clutch to be installed while the engine is still on the stand.
But, those puppies don't cost $49.95!  And, yes, there are
horror stories out there about aluminum blocks that fractured
when cantilevered out from an el-cheapo stand.  But, A) I
doubt a little, stubby inline four is heavy enough to fracture
in that manner, and B) unless you are pounding the #1 cylinder
barrel out with a sledgehammer, I can't imagine that mounting
the engine to a stand imparts more force on the bellhousing
flange than do the dynamic loads the engine-transmission get 
when your car hits a pothole at 60mph.

I did need to make some modifications to my stand, which, of
course, was designed for cast-iron, V8 engines.  The block
bolts to four tubes, which are in turn, welded to adjustable
arms, that bolt to a flange on the stand.  These tubes are
about three inches long (that's 4.65432 kg for you metric
types) - fine for the bolts that hold a big-block Chevy
together, but a bit long for the 8mm studs on the back of
your Alfa block.  A bit of hacksawing will shorten these tubes,
and you're set.  Of course, an alternative is to back out the
studs, and install longer, 8mm bolts - or even long 1/4-28 
bolts + nuts.  

Jay Mackro

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