Tigers List Archive

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Mail From: "Tigerman" <(email redacted)>

I was wondering if anyone had any ideas for engine test stands.

I saw a guy on ebay recently selling an engine with an interesting home made
add on to an engine stand to make it into a test stand. Item 130039287806 on
ebay if you want to look at what he built.

It looks like an interesting idea, although I have no idea if it is really
stable enough or not.

Basically I have the original 260 V8 sitting on an cheap engine stand The
PO said that the only thing wrong with it was that the valve seals leaked,
and it made a huge smoke cloud behind it when you let off the pedal. Who
knows how true that was, and how long then engine has really been on the
stand not running. I doubt I would feel comfortable enough with that
evaluation to simply replace the valve seals and then stick the engine back
in the car.

My Tiger currently has a 5 bolt 289 in it that leaks like the Exxon Valdez,
and burns some oil on the passenger side bank. So it sound like I really
have two engines that need a rebuild.

So my plan would probably be to rebuild the 260, and once done, swap with
the 289... then rebuild the 289. But I think having an engine sitting around
that is never run, probably isn't good. Would it be better to have it on a
test stand and fire it up and run it up to operating temp once a month?

Any thoughts on the usefulness of an engine test stand and a cheap way to
build one?

Thanks,
Steve

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Mail From: "Theo Smit" <(email redacted)>

Back in the day we built a brake dyno using 2.5" square steel tubing in a 2
by 3 by 6 foot frame. A big radiator was set into a tank under the engine,
with a cold-water fitting feeding the tank. On the flywheel end we had a
disk with a variety of bolt patterns connected to a short driveshaft that in
turn connected to a pair of 12" diameter steel wheels. The wheels were
braked using a couple of calipers mounted on a reaction arm, which was
connected to a hydraulic ram. Doing a dyno run entailed running the engine
up to a given RPM at wide open throttle while applying brake pressure (using
a handwheel) and then recording the fluid pressure in the ram. It was a
low-buck but very effective setup. It was most useful for aspirated engines
in the 200 to 300 hp range, and as the racing went on the group I was with
got more and more into turbocharging and high power levels, so the dyno
eventually got retired.

If you're not going to run the engine at high power levels you don't need
anything this elaborate, but I would recommend starting with something that
has at least a 3 x 4 foot perimeter frame. Engine stands (especially cheap
ones) are way too tippy. Doing the radiator in a submerged tank is great -
you can very effectively control the cooling by regulating the cold-water
flow into the tank.

Best regards,
Theo

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Mail From: (email redacted)

resend, original did not post

Steve,
Back in 1999 I needed a dolly to move the engine around the garage, roll under the Tiger to raise it into car, hold the transmission. The dolly needed to very low to limit the height the car had to be. I started with a recycled 1 inch plywood (found in city recycling-very cheap) and mounted four casters under it (found in recycling-also cheap). The upright pieces were attached to the plywood with angle iron available any hardware store. These were also came recycled (cheap). That worked good to move the crate motor to from the car and do many trial fits. Much later (like a year) I wanted to test the motor prior to installing and eyeballed this dolly and said, "would it hold a motor running?" I fastened some radiator supports to it (recycled lumber), hooked up a fuel pump, connected an oil cooler, an oil filter, added some mufflers to the headers, added a w ater temp and oil pressure gauge. an ignition switch (just ! a toggl e switch) and a started switch (toggle switc!
h). Th
e upright pieces sit under the oil pan side lips, the back supported the tranny. It was not bolted down, it did not move (nor did I wildly whip the the throttle). I used this contraption to break in the motor, test accessory configurations prior to installing, test radiator fans, confuse my neighbors, make noises at night, check out the motor. The dolly was very useful and when not in use, disassembled to a couple boards and wheels and stored out in the shed. I've used this dolly a few times since then. I have one of those inexpensive engine stands, I thought it would very unstable for a running motor and dismissed that idea quickly. Anyway, your email made me smile, especially when you said 'cheap'. To amuse you, I put some pictures at the below website. Just for the stand, the only thing I bought was lag screw s. As Jim Barrett used to write "use what you got".

.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=137959353/a=28433465_28433465/fromupload=true/t_=28433465

Curtis
(more photos available)

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Mail From: (email redacted)

The only thing I'd do, and this has worked for years and on an Alfa that sat
for 30 years, is to use Marvel Mystery Oil (upper cylinder lub). Remove plugs
and put an ounce or so in each cylinder and then rotate with the plugs
reinstalled. I use a squirt can with flexible nozzle.

Moonstone