355 Engine Height

I have my engine on a dolly at the moment. The surface of the dolly is 10.5 inches from the ground, and the top of the plenums are just under 38 inches from the ground, making the engine 27.5 inches tall. That's without the cradle attached; I think the top of the cradle might be either the same height or slightly higher.

Be careful about making a super low dolly if you have clearance issues. If it's too low you'll find it very difficult to undo the 6 cradle bolts on the right hand side.

 

If you take the wheels off you can also lower the engine as you raise the car if you use a hydraulic engine dolly like sears sells for 150 bucks.

 

A lifting table lets you make small adjustments. This really helps when reinstalling.

 

This was my thinking as well.

Grant what have you seen for $150 that will do the job.

I've seen a 650lb unit from HD for 350 and then much more expensive ones with higher capacity.

Does anyone know what the whole engine out unit weighs?

 

I think thats what I paid for it. I will try to find pic.

1500 lb motorcycle lift at sears

http://www.sears.com/pro-lift-hydraulic-motorcycle-jack-1500-lb/p-00914148000P?plpSellerId=Sears&prdNo=30&blockNo=30&blockType=G30

This is what I have used twice.

 

Thanks Grant. That is certainly the least expensive one I've seen with that capacity. The others have a table like platform but I'm sure you could figure something out on that one.

 

You could certainly make the uprights less tall.

I have a motor out now - if I get a chance on the weekend, I can give you some basic measurements but my heads are off so you will need to add to the dimensions I provide.

The hydraulic tables are handy. I helped Mark (gooble) come up with some out riggers to bolt to a table to make it more safe and that worked well for him.

For me, having a 2 post lift, it was not needed.

 

Yes, one thing people don't seem to mention is working height. I have zero interest to lay on the ground to work on my motor. It's much better to stand and it's nice to have access to the underside too - A lift table will block underside access.

What is your ceiling height in the garage?

 

Here are a couple pics I have that might provide useful references
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Another
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Here is a photo of my engine on the stand and you can see the car was lifted higher than needed - my lift goes 6' high. My ceiling (prior to vault) was 120" (10 feet). The car would go full height prior to vault but it was too close for comfort.

I plan to put my project car back on the lift when the weather gets better so I may be able to provide you better info at that time. I think you could do a stand like mine (perhaps as-is) or just a bit shorter.
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My pleasure. Regarding the tiles - I hate them They looked nice when new but too much crap gets under them. I would never do them again and would like to just do a textured epoxy but the idea of moving all the crap out of the garage to do it is daunting to say the least.

 

That's not my garage. That's a guy in the UK on a FB group.

I am in the planning stages of doing mine with a 4 post lift so your concerns mirror mine.

I like the hydraulic table/lift idea for more control as opposed to only the car lift alone. The ability to raise it to working height is great as well. The underside of the engine is readily accessible when installed in the car so I don't see that being a negative to the table top.

I'm still curious what the whole mass weighs. I found a weight of the engine online of 168K. That's without the trans, wheels, subframe, etc. I would think

 

The car weighs 3000. A good assumption is 1500 for the engine and subframe. Finding a cart to handle 1500 won't be an issue as that is not much for a hydraulic table.

And, underside access and having the car higher is very helpful to removing the subframe. I've done it so I have experience. Again, laying on the floor works but it's not how I like to work and owning 2 cars means I will use the tools multiple times.