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Engine dolly for starting outside of vehicle


Tim240z

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Been wanting to make one for ages, so I finally just got into it. Since I don't have the space for yet another piece of equipment, I used my engine stand as a base. I still have to get the radiator, battery, gauges and wiring done, but this is the basic foundation......

 

I've seen others that use a garden hose attached to some kind of valving in place of a radiator, anyone know how to valve that up?

 

dolly1.jpg

 

dolly2.jpg

 

dolly3.jpg

 

BTW...I am not using that POS baby LT1 for anything other than pulling the intake (to convert to rear mount dizzy on my other engine) and template for dolly.....

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Looks good Tim. Nice idea on the dual purpose engine stand. Chances are you won't need both of those at the same time. That "baby LT1" crank could make a cool 302 ci 2nd gen small block! And the heads could make MONSTER compression on a 350 ci motor.

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LOL i was about to ask if it would fit in my car.

 

 

Wouldn't an open cooling system such as a garden hose get messy? Or is it the other way around? I thought that engines ran better when they were warmed up, and that's why I should put a thermostat in my z car. [edfit] nevermind, I just thought about it and realized... even if you do that, you can have a thermostat in there... but then it would get hot and cold on a constant basis? is that bad? What about just blocking off the heater and accessorie hoses? How about using a giant ball valve to regulate flow? you can water your garden or fill the tub with hot water for a nice bath with the heat generated from the engine! :D

 

Or is it all just boggleswotch? I remember seeing an engine stand in my friend's HS shop class... it was complete with a radiator and a 318... gauges and all! I gotta admit, it's a pretty good educational experience though! :) Your welding job actually looks really nice! If I could weld like that, I'd put a sbc in my vehicular transportation device!

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Very nice Tim. I like that idea of using the engine stand. I was thinking about making a stand, but now I'm thinking about doing it your way.

 

Hey, aren't the LT1's a reverse flow engine? If so think about keeping the coolant intake higher than the engine to avoid air entrapment.

 

Dale

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I'm only using that Lt1 for a template as my other 350 is in the back of the garage.

I know engine dynos use a water hose from a tap to a reservoir. As the water begins to heat up in the reservoir, I think they dump some while adding new cool water....maybe a JY radiator is easier.....

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On the engine dynos I've seen they just use a big tank (5 or 10 gallons) with attachments for rad hoses. The big tank has a city water input and a drain so its refilling at some rate less then what's circulating through the engine.

 

I think just a big tank by itself would work fine for the low load, short time testing stuff you'll be doing on that stand.

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