Painting engine on hoist?

Hi y'all, I'm going to be swapping a flathead from one '49 ford to another. I figured while it was out, I would give it and the transmission a good cleaning and a fresh coat of paint. Now, I've never pulled an engine before, so is it ok to leave the engine/trans hanging from a hoist for a day or two? Or do I need to put it on some kind of stand (even though I'm not doing work on it)?

 

sure , as long as chains are of the proper size and are properly attached to the engine/trans , the hoist is structully sound ,it would be fine

i have a 327 hanging on my hoist right now...been on it since last wednesday. the oil pan is only about 6" from the floor

 

If possible lower hoist and put it on dolly or stand but leave the hoist hooked up to it if your worried about it falling over. I just don't like to leave things hanging.

 

It all depends on what you've bolted to on the engine to yank it out. I'm always more comfortable having the weight resting on something when you don't need the clearance.

Clean it, paint it, and then give it some support until you're ready to install

 

A decent engine stand doesn't cost much and it makes cleaning and painting an engine so much easier. You can pivot the engine 360 degrees to help get all the hard part, but I'll caution you to have someone to help you with that. I don't know what your budget is but I'd look into it.

 

that's a saying to live by....

 

Do yourself a BIG favor and either make a cheapo cradel out of 2x4's or at least lay it on some old tires when your not in the shop. The last thing you need is to come in one day and find your engine laying on the floor with a crushed oil pan or worse. It's even not a bad idea to work on it on a stand rather then leave it hanging. What if a chain breaks while your s****ing or painting it? Yourlife is worth more then the couple of hundred bucks ofr an engine stand. If you are going to buy one don't waste the $50 to $100 on one of those cheap chineese knock offs go the extra bucks and get a heavy duty one that will hold the weight. A flatty out weighs a small block chevy by just a few ounces...

 

I seriously doubt you will find an engine stand that will fit your flathead that will allow you to pivot the entire ***embly. There may be some stands that allow this but finding them will be an exercise in futility. Mostly a special item order. If you have a 59A type flathead forget the engine stand. Most have the integral bellhousing and won't allow for any type of engine stand mounting. The 8B may adapt to the more modern type stands, but I am not sure. I have only dealt with 59A flatheads. 8B type flatheads have a different type of bellhousing and may mount to the standard engine stand.

Get yourself a furniture moving dolly with carpet on the width side and let it sit on that overnight or for a few days. Letting it hang, imo, is not the best thing to do. The dolly will have four wheels and let you slide the engine around a bit easier. Most are rated at 1000lbs and Harbor Freight has them for $15 bucks. It will allow you to set the motor down in a steadfast position. You can then paint the top end on the dolly and put it back on the lift to paint the bottom end. Just my suggestion. I had a flathead sitting on one of those for six months and it made moving/painting/loading/etc. a bunch easier.

 

Yes...I want to do the engine/trans together, and all the engine stands bolt to the bellhousing I'll check out a dolly...

 

What i do is put lots of cardboard down to catch the grime/solvents, & clean & paint them on the hoist (if I'm just swapping one out). I always keep in mind that there is a *possibility* of a sudden failure in the hoist, & try not to put anything other than a hand under the engine (in a way that it will hopefuly be knocked aside should it drop). I never leave the engine hanging in the air overnight; I always drop it to within a couple inches of the floor or rest it on 4x4s.
~ Paul
aka "Tha Driver"

Since I gave up hope I feel much better.

 

My bad, I'm not that familiar with flatheads of any type. But a 2x4 frame on a furniture dolly sounds just as good.

 

Sometimes we simply must consider those "unintended consequences"!

 

I have 6 of those things. They may possibly be the most used tools in my shop.

Had to actually move about 8 months ago. And man did those things save a back!

 

Yeah I am storing an engine + ****** ***embled on a 2x6 frame that I built for that purpose. It has casters on the bottom and makes it handy to move. You could build something like that and make the mounting areas higher so you could get around the pan etc easier.

 

i made a mount to put a flathead on a regular stand....it hooks where the exhaust manifolds go and welded to a tube that will go into the engine stand...
and can be pivioted 360 degrees....

actually worked out really well