Lifting a flathead - Unsure of pick points

So to clarify before I get jumped all over, yes, I did do a search on here, and on FordBarn. Came up with a lot of threads, and a lot of opinions, but I didn't seem to get my question answered.

I have a '48 flathead in my truck that I'm looking to pull. Using the intake bolts to pull it really isn't an option right now due to the gobs of paint covering the bolts/sealing it to the block. The heads are held on with studs and nuts, and I don't have the flat steel pieces that'll fit under the nut and connect to the chain. So, I can't just put in longer bolts and pull the engine the simple way, I can't put the flat pieces under the nut to pull the engine with the heads on, and there are currently two broken bolts in the exhaust manifolds, so I can't go that route. (Not making this easy am I?)

How should I pull this damn thing out? I was thinking about using washers to build up/reenforce the four studs that I'd connect chains to, but I don't want to bend or break them off.

Thanks in advance for the advice!

 

dig through the gobs of **** and pull the intake. then take the gasket down to your local metal shop and have them cut a peice of quarter inch to fit. Super cheap, super easy.

 

May not be the right way, but all I used was a 3" wide by 6 foot long nylon strap with the ends pushed up between the exhaust manifold and the block, and cinched into the cherry picker hook.

EDIT: I just moved 10 engines today around my garage. How does one ac***ulate so much? lol

 

I built a lifting yoke with a piece of 3/8" plate drilled to match the three 5/16" carb base studs and welded a lifting eye in the center. With tight 5/16" nuts this has a minimum tensile strength of nearly 18,000 lbs so the this will easily lift the weight of a complete flathead engine.

 

If in doubt that something is strong enough, don't use it (at least alone) for a lift point. Never had it happen to me, but it looks like a pain when a bolt breaks and things come crashing down. Maybe you could try tying in a few nearby bolts with a home-made steel or aluminum plate (preferably 3/8" or even 1/2" thick).

 

On a 8ba the upper head bolts are longer,replace one with lower headbolts,one in front and one in back,and use a chain.

 

I use a strap around the exhaust manifolds. works great.

 

under and around the water pumps in front. and sling a choker strap under and around the oil pan. but really, you should just hammer some sockets over the paint and grim on the intake bolts. you gotta take them off anyway.

 

All the above works and my personal favorite is the carb plate with lifting eye. It has worked for me 60 years with no broken bolts or dropped engines

 

X2 on the carb plate - I've even used a carb plate on fully dressed big block chevs - successfully.....

 

I made up a few of these for close friends and myself. Also useful for keeping the dirt out of a fresh engine and it’s the shape of a gasket so you can paint the block with it on.

 

Thanks for all the responses guys! Since I don't have any steel plate at the moment, I think I'm going to s****e all the paint off the intake and go that route for now. But this summer I'll be sure to make up a lifting plate like the ones Rehpotsirhcj and 296 V8 showed.

Hope to pull the engine tomorrow, so I'll let you know how it goes.

 

Pulled the flathead on Sunday. Took off the heads and intake to shave some weight, and used the intake bolts to lift. Added some washers to fill in the space on the bolt and to secure the chain and she lifted clear just fine. Was going to put it on the engine stand, but I've heard mixed advice about the bellhousing cracking. Some have suggested the adaptors that mount to the exhaust, so right now the flatty is just resting on blocks on the garage floor. Thanks to everyone for the advice, and if there are opinions out there on mounting the flathead to an engine stand, I'd love to hear them!

Thanks again!

 

Thanks for the pictures. It always makes it so much nicer to see how it was actually done.

 

He never said why he was pulling the motor---

 

you can mount the long bell flathead on a stand like normal engines but you need to keep a 2x4 under the front of it to help take some weight off the back of the bell. once you get all the parts off and out of the engine(if youre taking it apart) then you dont need the wood unless youre moving it around.

 

I took out the lower left short head stud and replaced it with a longer stud from the upper head and pulled it with the lower left and lower right side of the engine....clear as mud?

 

Well now, that's a good question. Motor is getting pulled to make room for a mid '50s Olds (once I find one). Then at some point the flathead will get rebuilt for the next project. But the main reason the engine is getting pulled is so that the frame can be replaced.

Thanks for the advice! Once I get back from overseas, I'll start tearing it apart and then get it on the stand.

 

They make a special Flathead engine stand/roller frame. They are a heavy ****** and this one allows the engine to rest on the flange sides of the oil pan, I can go through my papers to see if I have the original info if you're interested. And fyi... I pick mine by putting a sling around the front under the belly of the water pumps, and another sling around the back at the bell housing.

 

Well usaully when i need to move a V-8 60 i grab both exhaust manifolds and let out a grunt and lift it, i wouldnt recomend it with a bigger flattie though.....

 

You asked for opinions on engine stand mounting. I would not fasten a 59 style block to an engine stand by the bell housing. Others will disagree. Google Stumpy's Fabrication Works. He makes an exhaust flange mounting that will be better in my opinion. He also makes an intake plate for your future flathead lifting.

 

Also not recommending you put that 59A on the engine stand by the bell housing. They are known to snap off and that is not something you can just go to the junkyard and replace. There are a few outfits that make engine stand mounts that bolt to the exhaust side. I took mine (late model) off the engine stand after I got the crank and rods in and water pumps on and finished ***embling it on a cradle I made for it using the pump mounting holes and the back of the block with angle iron bolted to the bellhousing bolt holes. That was probably overkill but after $4000 in machine work the last thing I wanted to do was break something I couldn't replace.

 

Iv had a 59 on a stand by the back with no heads or pumps for 2 years.
Apparently it hasn’t got the memo to break.

I believe the real reason for the side mounts was so they could be fully ***embled with flywheel and clutch on the stand.
I don’t think a guy could get one of the big early flywheels on with a rear mount in place then …. Install the pan.

But iv never tryed.

 

Here is how I put my flathead on a motor stand. Made a bracket that bolted up to the exhaust port.

 

Nice job ls. That’s a cool idea.