CHAPTER 4
ENGINE AND SHEET METAL PARTS PREPARATION
This engine arrived sitting on a pallet with the oil pan facing upward. I transferred it to one of my wheel dollies so I could move it around. This is a good beginning orientation. Once the head is removed, you have a nice, flat surface to set it down on.
The first order of business is to remove the oil pan. It should be bolted down with exactly 18 number-10 screws and four 1/4-inch hex-head bolts. Once you have that many screws in your hands, use a thick tool, such as a 1½-inch stout scraper, to pry it off the block. I don’t like screwdrivers for this because of making unnecessary pry marks on the pan. Use the same scraper to scrape all the gasket material and crud from the block. Once the oil pan is removed, you can see the condition of the inside of the block.
I haven’t found any better way to roll these engines around the shop. The low center of gravity makes it very stable.
Creating an Engine Cart
These engines are heavy and unwieldy. One good way to move them around is to use an engine cart. Also having an engine stand with hoist brackets allows you to lift and place the engine safely.
Materials
Start with at least 1/8-inch-thickness-wall 1-inch square tubing. Cut the pieces to:
| Quantity | Length |
| 4 | 26¾ inches each |
| 8 | 6½ inches each |
| 1 | 9½ inches each |
| 4 | 18 inches each |
You need 20½ total lineal feet of the tubing.
If you want to keep it right at 20 feet, remove 1/8 inch from the four 18 inchers. These are the wheelbases, so the difference isn’t noticeable.
You need two 1/8-inch thick x 2 inch x 11½-inch steel plates to put on the ends.
To finish it off, you need four wheels that are 3 inches in circumference with a 275-pound capacity plus all the necessary hardware (Harbor Freight is a good source). This allows you to cart as much as 1,000 pounds.
Construction Procedure
Place the wheels over two of the 18-inch wheel supports. Make adjustments until you match the steel plate on the wheels with the edge of the tubing, then mark each hole with a Sharpie for drilling. (I used 5/16 x 1½-inch bolts with nuts, flats, and locks.)
Be sure to drop the end plates to 4 inches, so they do not interfere with the oil pan. If this cart is for a 216 engine, drop the intermediate bar from 4 inches to 5 inches. Otherwise the oil pan does not clear.
The finished cart rolls smoothly, and because it’s made out of 1/8-inch thick 1-inch tube, it is very stout. Do not be tempted to use thinner-walled stock. This engine with all of its accoutrements can weigh in excess of 800 pounds.
Prior to making any decisions on what to use for a project, I like to consult these rings of the different sizes I have available.
Once drilled, assemble the two-wheel assembly rails and set them aside. Doing it this way results in a squarer frame.
Place two of the 26¾-inch side rails on a flat table or workbench for welding. Place four of the 6½-inch pieces inside and between the two rails in the following order:
• First one, flush with the edge of the long rail and inside of it.
• Second one, 6¾ inches from the first one (inside between them).
• Third one, 8 inches from the second one (inside between them).
• Fourth one, flush with the end rail and inside of it. (If you did it right, that gap also measures 8 inches.)
Clamp these pieces to the table for welding so you don’t end up with warped side rails. When everything is straight and true, the cart is amazingly stable.
Clean the mill scale and prepare the surfaces for welding. Do a really good job of welding these parts together because engines are heavy and you do not want a safety hazard around your shop. It’s best to clamp the entire frame to a table or workbench to avoid warping. In the end, you want all the wheels to be on the floor.
Once that one side is welded, make an exact duplicate for the other side. The 6¾-inch gap is for the front of the engine.
Orient the two frames so that the 6¾-inch gapped end is across from each other. Set these frames on their sides 9½ inches apart from each other.
At 4 inches down from the top of the side frames, place a 2 x 11½-inch steel plate across the frame. (In other words, you have 4 inches of air space before the plate starts.) Clamp this plate into place, then do the same on the back with another 2 x 11½-inch piece of plate.
Finally, the 9½-inch square tubing goes on the second support (closest to the front of the cart) and 4 inches down. This just barely misses the oil pan and gives the entire cart more structural support. Once you have everything boxed in, you should be able to set a level across the whole thing and verify that each side brace is 4 inches from the top. Weld the braces on and make sure everything stays square.
Turn the new box assembly upside down and lay the wheel assemblies across and to the edge of the frame rails. The wheels being outside of the frame rails offers a wider stance and much smoother range of movement. Weld those into place, and the difficult part is done.
To show quality workmanship, make sure to use a flap disk and clean off all the slag, grind away any welding imperfections, and clean the entire piece for painting.
To finish the job, spray with a rattle-can coat of etching primer followed by some durable engine enamel, then install 1-inch caps on the ends. These caps are available at Amazon, and they are measured by the inside dimension.
The thin end pieces should be placed 4 inches down from the top. They are thin because they need to go between the oil pan and the bellhousing.
If you have your engine sitting on the oil pan, which is never a good idea because it’s made from thin sheet metal, make a small stand for it. Now you can properly drain the oil prior to disassembly.
You also want to purchase a few engine hoist brackets, so you can lift the engine off the stand. I used standard hardware store hooks with 1/2-inch threads on all four corners. ■
The side rails