Engine Builders, what stand do you use?

Figured this would be a better place than "General"

I have an older engine stand that is sturdy and well built but is being occupied with another project, Looking into buying another but the local Northern and Harbor Freights pieces look like junk.

Every Stand on the websites look great, but pictures usually lie.

Can you recommend a good engine(build)stand that wont break the bank but is still a quality too?

thanks Henry

I have a harbor freight stand that I welded a small brace too.had it about 6 years and It's had multiple big block Mopars on it, the last was a complete 440 that was bolted to it for about 8 months. I use grade 8 bolts from tsc with thick washers to attach it with. The wheels got a little rusty but it still rolls perfectly

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B012USOOU6

I have this OTC engine stand. Pretty heavy duty, stable..... and of course, the wide legs interfere with my engine hoist.

I have 3 engine stands.. 2 are HF ones and one
I built.. the one I built I have had my diesel
engine on.. the 2 HF ones both have SBs on them..
I do weld the HF ones and I put a drip tray under
all of them(it sits on the stands)

These are pretty nice for the price
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200349940_200349940

I dont need the gear drive to turn over the engine
but I do like the spacers on the arms.. I'm always
looking for my 4 spacers(where the bolts attach the
engine).. I have wanted to make some steel ones to
weld on there but right now mine are alum

I will say choose wisely. This is an older stand my brother had and when I had my old 440 on it and was moving it to the corner of my garage it broke right here. Ron

Seems like store bought stands are always too short and are getting flimsier as time goes on so, I finally built me one. Sturdy as heck and plenty tall. Made the head to fit Big Blocks since that's usually all I mess with but, I can throw an adjustable head in it for other engines. Also put the casters in the back...better for high speed turns

If I had to buy one it would probably be an OTC 1726a http://www.summitracing.com/parts/otc-1726a

Lucky for me it did not let go when my 493 was on it. I had a block of wood under the eng to help support the front but the wood fell out when I was moving it to the corner and it broke. I myself like the one like J-body posted as we got one like that where the eng tilts back a little. And you can see in this one that broke that it did not have the plate with a hole drilled in it and the bar from the plate could have gone into the hole and been welder all the way around like that and been stronger. This stand that broke just had the plate up to the stand bar but the newer one I bought has the hole in it so the bar actually goes through the plate and is much stronger. This is the stand when I had my 493 on it as I was building it. Ron

I have 4 engines on 4 different engine stands right now. The Blue Point (Snap-on) is very nice but my rotating engine stand from Summit is my favourite. If it opens up I immediately grab another engine to put on it. It takes me hours to clean a block for final assembly and I can rotate it to any position. Same with piston installation. Went you work alone like I do the value increases. I bought a cheap Advance Auto stand once when I needed one quickly and I won't even put an engine on it. I bought a transmission fixture from Summit and that's all I trust on it. I bought both with a 10% off coupon.


http://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-908300ga/overview/



http://www.summitracing.com/parts/otc-7118/overview/

We have over 20 engine stands of various makes.The 1 ton four wheel are the best for stability,but the best stands we have are built in house.Stay away fron 3 wheel stands especially BB Mopars and Hemi engines.

I have a OTC Stinger and it is really sturdy, I just had a full dressed 389 Ponco engine on it.

http://www.lighttoolsupply.com/catalog/C...;categoryID=254

This one is nice for the money. I have 1 and my dad has 2....

http://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS+Performance+Products/555/80041/10002/-1

BEST stand in my opinion is an AXE. I have two

OTC Stands are nice and built very well, also quite expensive. While a couple here have the larger versions I had very good luck with the smaller ones as well. We used them at the Auto Hobby Shops I ran and trust me that is an environment full of people who abuse everything. Never had a failure with one. I also have a HF one at my house that have given me good years of service, but as I am getting older(or maybe lazier)I find myself looking at the gear models I admit

I just purchased a new HF 1 ton capacity with the fold up leg's for ease of storage, pretty nice stand for the money and seems to be pretty well constructed, only thing I did was add a longer handle for more controll in turning the engine over, old one was way short.

I have 5 stands all in use all the time

Generic 2000# 4 wheel unit I use for diesels, BBs and smaller

Generic 3 wheel pice of junk I only use for V6s and 4 cyls

AC Delco 1000# 4 wheel on I shaped lower that is pretty nice, I will use it for an ocasional BB but mostly SBs

Central machine and an evercraft seem like the same things that I use for SBs and smaller. The both have the I shaped lower.

If your gonna do BB engines frequently get one with 4 wheels on 2 legs not the I shaped ones. My big 2 leg unit is real nice, it don't even flex when you set a fully dressed cummins on it and still rotates easy enough if you adjust it low enough center of gravity when you bolt it on. Some of my other stands it is hard to get them low enough you can still flip it upright with the heads on. The big one is no big deal and since it is more stable I can use a big cheater bar to flip it when it gets top heavy and not worry about the stand falling over.

I picked up a stand from Northern tool, looks to be decent but I had to do some changes.

I narrowed the front beam 3" to 24" and moved the fixed welded wheels to the front and I moved the front Casters to the rear, I drilled a through hole in the rotating head to have double shear on the pin and I added a clamping bolt to the hinge point to make the stand rigid when in use.

$120, plus a couple hours of labor.

Typical three wheel 750 lb. rated stand. Welded a brace on a few years ago so it would handle my early hemi. Not enough to support/store a complete 440 though so I took 15 minutes and whipped up a front support that takes the stress off the rear mount. Completely removable in less than 5 minutes if necessary.

Nice welds.

I use an old cheap 3 wheel one my brother bought in the early 80s. It held the 454 out of his blow boat, but I did turn it over. It's had several big blocks and small blocks on it over the years. Before I started this engine I cut the three casters off and added an 18" piece of tube across the end of the leg that had the single wheel. Then welded four new casters on, it's a ton more stable now. It's still a cheap stand though.

A couple years ago I missed a deal on one with the gear box that rotates the engine. I still kick my self in the pants for that.

No reason to waste gas on a quickie brace. Especially when my flux core welder was handy. Tons of penetration but ugly has hell.

I bought a stand from Home Depot off their website.
Good price, Good quality, and they shipped it to my door.
I am very Happy with it.
David

When I got my 408 I needed a stand for my 363 , I got the Harbor Freight four wheel one to replace my old three wheel swap meet special. I like the Harbor Freight one it rolls easy and supports the motor well.