Any transport tips for an engine?

what is a poor man's way to pick up a flathead engine that is 160 miles away?

is there a cheap way like an all in one engine stand/roller?

I don't have a pick up truck, but a suv that has room in the back, is there a short chained hoist method i could use?

i live in cocoa beach but the flatty is in sarasota

 

find 3 guys to help you lift it?

 

Ramp and skateboard. Dad used my skateboard for engine moving more than once when I was a kid back in the 60's. But really, how about one of those wheel dollys and a ramp.

 

Bear in mind, an assembled flatty weighs in the neighborhood of 550lbs dry.
If it has a car oil pan on it, it'll sit in an empty tire of 6" width and sit fairly stable there. I have a friend who used to run them on the ground like this

Flatman

 

I currently have my flathead block sitting on an furniture dolly -- a wood frame padded with carpet on 4 casters.

I do have an engine lift, but if you have a few strong friends, you guys could move it enough to get it home. Because I have a bad back, and I'm human, I prefer to use tools.

 

Sorta like Cougardan's Dad:

I put a flatty shortblock (~375-400 lb?) in the back of a Subaru Outback by myself with just a 2"x12" x6' plank.
1. Lean the plank against the tailgate, like a ramp.
2. Roll the engine onto the lower end of the plank. Then push/roll it up the plank as far as you can.
3. Lift the bottom of the plank up (using your legs, not your back).
4. Slide the plank/engine into the back of the car.

 

Just like the Egyptians!

 

you could rent a trailer....one with a tilt bed would work great , you could cum-a-long it up

snowmobile trailers work great for this , but i doubt there are many in florida

if you use a trailer , you could also bring a long your engine hoist...if you don't have one think about geting one. if you mess with cars ,you will need one

 

Uh.... That would be COME-a-Long...... You can do all the CUM-a-Long ing when you get it home.....

 

Rolling the engine itself or rolling it on anything with casters will do the job--but, in my experience, I can lift and move a flathead long block (complete internals, no heads, flywheel, clutch, or accessories) with just me and any of my friends except the one with degenerative arthritis of the back. We are all old and not particularly strong. Three or four people (about the max who can get close enough) are a luxury. Heads and flywheel constitute a LOT of easily removed extra tonnage, and of course you should NEVER leave on carb and distrib unless you have a good cradle, for fear of breakage. Leave on exhaust manifolds--they are the best handles! I think some of the published weights may have come from Ford, which rated engine weight as the whole shebang with trans and clutch.
Pay some attention to lashing the thing to the tailgate...should you have a crash, you seriously do not want to be in between a rapidly moving engine and your airbag!
A good tool to know about: small block Chevy main bolts of the type for big journal engines with windage tray. The windage tray end will screw into both ends of most engines and give you a beautiful handle.
By the way, it is a fact of physics that two good hotrodders can move anything they set their minds to moving. Period.

 

Put it in a 55 gallon barrel and move it with a dolly

 

I would be leary of hauling a 600 pound chunk of steel in the back of an SUV, especially for 167 miles.

 

No different than having a fat ass mother-in-law in the back....

 

Unless she's a mute, there's a HUGE difference....


Mutt

 

thanks for all the tips guys, i'll get back to you on how it goes.