Flathead engine stand mounting

[dude]

Thats an old wives tale !!!!
I have hung every find of flathead V8 there is off the bellhousing over the last 44 years & never had a problem !!!! I have 6 right now that way .
I am in Charlotte nc reggie .
cheers
Tony

Why take a chance??

 

[JSeery]

I find it hard to believe that anyone thinks hanging an early flathead block on an engine stand using the bellhousing bolts is a good idea! But, if you can get away with it more power to you. As for the myth comments, guess they just haven't seen what this can do to an otherwise good block, so I posted some photos of what someone else thought was a good idea did to the bellhousing. If you look at how thin the metal is in this area and remember, it is cast, hooking up to a regular four armed engine stand is going to place a very large stress on a fairly thin mounting surface. If you used a plate to distribute the load, it would be a lot better. But I would have to ask the question, why? The side mounts work great.

 

[JSeery]

Files didn't up load the first time. It may be a little hard to see, but a piece of the bellhousing was broken off and repaired.

 

[Mart]

People say that having the motors fall off the stand if hung from the bellhousing is an old wives tale.

Try telling a friend of mine about this old wives tale. He's just posted pics of the engine lying on the floor after the bellhousing bolts pulled out. So on top of the spun bearing he was investigating, he now has to deal with a damaged bellhousing.

If you have hung them off the bell and not had one fall off then that's your good luck. But if you do, it's probably better not to discourage others from using the safer method. Ford hung em off the exhaust bolts, that is the safer way.

Mart.

 

[19Fordy]

HCO41 Here's an engine stand I made for my 8BA. Maybe the photos will help you estimate the measurement you need. I removed the block from the stand last week. Click on photo to enlarge. The stand works great and is for sale if anyone needs one.

 

[HCO41]

Nice work, Forty. I finished up the mods. on my, off shore unit, some time ago. Works great.
As I said in an earlier post I probably could have bought an OTC or Snap-on unit, (U.S.A. made ??), if I counted a dollar an hour for my time! However, I did enjoy the fabrication.
Howard

 

[29AVEE8]

Not Just flatheads like to be mounted from the side. "Sonny" Meyer, Lou Meyer's son on the right rehabilitating a 4 cam Ford Indy engine circa 1967. Kinda still on topic as Lou Meyer and Lew Welch of "NOVI" fame were partners in an authorized Ford engine remanufacturing business through the forties. Have always wondered if Henry had some $$$ in the "NOVI" venture??? It was a V-8.

 

[flatheadmurre]

Next stand i build willl be an 2 support like the old one i have but different front suppport so i can fit pulleys after crank is in place.
I love the dual support stands you can turn the motor by one hand instead of hanging on a lever...

 

[mercman from oz]

This is the Flathead Ford V8 Engine Stand that I have. The top picture shows the Base that has been attached to wheels for mobility. By standing on the Pedal, you can rotate the Engine in 4 different positions. The next photo shows the Cradle in the Base. The third picture shows one Cast Side Mount that bolts over the Exhaust Manifold. The last picture shows the Engine in place. The Engine can be rotated in four different positions and locked into place by the Lock Pin, which is shown on the left. I don't know the origin of this Engine Stand, but it is heavy and the Cradle is cast.
Did the USA produce any Engine Stands like this one for the Flathead Ford V8?

 

[big job]

I made a plate that picks up on the exhaust flange bolts, but it is made to fit one side only and uses all 6 bolts. I was worrying about it when I did use it on the other side and could only put 4 bolts in.

I see that the original Ford (KRW) stands use the exhaust bolts and only 4 of em so I suppose that's the way to go.

People have reported problems with hanging off the bell, no-one has reported problems with using 4 exhaust bolts and that is what Ford used, so that's good enough for me.

If you hang it off the bell and want to spin it upside down, how can you do that with a wooden prop at the front? It may be all right for one that is just on display, but for building up or tearing down it just won't work, unless the rear mount has a matching front mount that can pivot on exactly the same centres, and then it would have to be a well engineered piece to avoid getting in the way of fitting the cam or other parts.

Hanging off the exhausts is just so much easier, and a proven method.

Mart.

Mart I don't support the bell hanging idea, but to spin it we just have a
worker to pick up the front by hand, spin it & reinstall the support 5 seconds.
Without a front support I would'nt sleep, that goes for any engine. Picture
a 320 Buick straight eight, without the support watch the stand take a
nose dive worse yet a 7 cly Buick...............

 

[flatheadmurre]

Mercman thats a real nice one !

Gonna steal that idee for next build

 

[Mart]

Here are the pics my friend posted just a couple of days ago. This is a very highly spec'd engine.

Old wives tale? Tell my friend, I'm sure he'd love to hear it.

Mart.

 

[JSeery]

You can see how thin the metal is in the bellhousing area.

 

[32 ford barn]

I destroyed a 36LB by hanging it by the bell housing. It made quite a noise when it hit the floor because my wife came running out of the house to see if I was dead. They can break off!

 

[lonewolf]

People say that having the motors fall off the stand if hung from the bellhousing is an old wives tale.

Try telling a friend of mine about this old wives tale. He's just posted pics of the engine lying on the floor after the bellhousing bolts pulled out. So on top of the spun bearing he was investigating, he now has to deal with a damaged bellhousing.

If you have hung them off the bell and not had one fall off then that's your good luck. But if you do, it's probably better not to discourage others from using the safer method. Ford hung em off the exhaust bolts, that is the safer way.

Mart.

Pics please....if the bolts pulled out he did something wrong....why wouldn't the pull out the exhaust they are smaller bolts?

 

[JSeery]

Pics please....if the bolts pulled out he did something wrong....why wouldn't the pull out the exhaust they are smaller bolts?

The leverage on the side is much different than the bellhousing and the metal is thicker on the exhaust vs the bellhousing. If you look at the photos I think you can see that it broke the metal out around the holes, it didn't strip the threads out.

 

[Mart]

Pics are a couple of posts above.

Exhaust studs are the same at one end but bigger at the front. 3/8" - 7/16". The centre of mass is hung out a much smaller distance when side mounted.

He did do something wrong - he hung it off the bellhousing.

 

[35cab]

"Why wouldn't they pull out the exhaust they are smaller bolts"
I think you will find they are heavier but that is not really the point, it is the weight distribution that matters, all that weight on relatively thin metal, all forward of the load bearing surface. The exhaust port brackets spread the load.
Marts friend technically did nothing wrong, by that he was following the same procedures as a lot of you guys have done using bell housing method but it went wrong and whilst I have heard of a good few disasters using this method, I have not heard of any problems using the exhaust port brackets.
I would not presume to be an expert, having only had three engines on stands for rebuild, it was Vern Tardel who recommended the exhaust bracket, good enough for me.
Marts photos may not be enough proof for some people and good luck to them, but I would rather not take chances with flatheads and gravity.

 

[35cab]

Must type faster Mart!

 

[Ronnie]

This is all you will ever need just make a 3/8" plate to 59a bolt pattern and be done with it. No need for all the panic stories that will prove to be Chinese turd of an engine stand or something out of alignment. This will give you all the support you will ever need.I think Walt uses one similar to this.