8BA on the Engine Stand?

L

leon bee

Well-known member
Howdy, I'm a new guy trying to catch up fast. I've now read almost 250 pages of old threads..........you get good at remembering the questions, answers take a little longer.

So, we hauled an 8BA engine home today and I'm eager to dig in a little bit, check and clean, etc. And in those old posts I read how you DON'T want to hang the earlier engines in the typical manner on your stand. I don't have an old engine to look at, I guess pan comes off leaving fewer bellhousing bolts? And I guess this 8BA has more bolts, but I DAM sure don't want to bust it! So do you think I can mount it as is, or should I fab up that piece to bolt in place of exhaust manifold? Four of those manifold bolts gonna be enough?

Appreciate any thoughts, and I really appreciate this Ford Barn. Thanks!!
 
I really like the side mount and makes it so much easier to work on both ends of the block. I made my bracket but there are some very fine units available and not overly expensive.

Fourdy
 

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Sidemounts are nice, I guess, but you can hang an 8BA from the bellhousing (like any modern engine) with no problems. It's how I do it.
 
tubman said:
Sidemounts are nice, I guess, but you can hang an 8BA from the bellhousing (like any modern engine) with no problems. It's how I do it.
Click to expand...

Sounds right to me.
I just made my side mount , works well, just have to offset the centre holes as they are not the same side to side.
 

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The side mount issue relates to the early bellhousing area. There are several reasons this is an issue. One is the weight of the engine hangs out further from the mounting point putting more stress on the mounting bolt hole. On the later block the holes you use to mount it are drilled/taped into the block itself. On the early bock the mount holes are drilled through a thin casting.
 

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The extension of bell on the early engines is actually relatively thin cast iron. It can have metal fatigue from years of hard service or could have small cracks lurking in corners and such. When bolted together with oil pan and transmission it is bolstered by the extra items added. When bolted to a stand by itself, there is a long arm acting on it that can cause breakage by just hitting a bump in the floor while rolling it around.

The 8BA is not affected since it's rear bolt up is conventional to modern engine blocks with less arm/leverage effect.
 
I've never used a manifold mount on an 8BA, because it isn't necessary. However I do with the early blocks and it works pretty well. In your case it's not necessary.
 
I do both with the 8BA. Your OK from the bellhousing but I just like the side mount for ease of access and it takes up a little less room. Probably just a personal thing.
 
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