The Serious Freshening
Go to <Last, Summary, Next>Engine—Engine Weight & Stand
 Lynn in Bugsby, September 5, 2005 |
Completed: 2006-02-19 — Started: 2006-02-12
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| WEIGHING ENGINE: Using levered scale (left), Lynn weighs the engine. Perched on the scale (left center), the engine registers 126 pounds on the scale (right center). Due to the 3:1 mechanical advantage of the apparatus, the engine weighs about 378 pounds without head and accessories (right). |
Work Completed:
Engine stands come in various maximum weight ratings. Engine stands with maximum weight ratings of
750, 1000 and 1250 pounds are common. As you can guess, cost and bulk of the stand increases with
higher maximum weight ratings, so there's some disadvantages of buying a stand with a lot more capacity
than is needed.
When Lynn decided to buy an engine stand to work on Bugsby's engine, he wondered what weight rating
he should get. Not knowing the actual weight of the engine, Lynn finally decided on a 1000 pound rated
stand, reasoning that Bugsby's engine surely didn't weigh more than a big-block Chevy engine (about 700 pounds).
However, Lynn was spooked by a comment make by Dan when the engine was picked up after the resurface of the valves and seats. Dan asked Lynn what the weight rating of his stand was, since the engine was really heavy. After this comment, Lynn became concerned that his 1000 pound stand might be too light duty, and that it might break under the load. Lynn decides to weigh the engine using the same technique that he's used in the past to weigh Bugsby.
Dusting off his levered bathroom scale, Lynn balances the engine on the board using two small wooden blocks. These blocks will decrease the precision of the measurement (due to the broader position of the weight on the board), but Lynn doesn't need a highly precise answer. He's greatly relieved to learn that the engine only weighs about 378 pounds, less than 40% of the maximum weight of his stand rating. Now Lynn will be able to work confidently without the constant fear that the stand will crack and dump the engine on the floor.
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| ENGINE & TRANSMISSION WEIGHT: This table summarizes the weights for Bugsby's Model 6-55 engine and transmission. |
Lynn weighs the other engine accessories, flywheel, clutch and transmission. As noted in the table, the fully assembled engine weighs a little more than 500 pounds. The flywheel, clutch and transmission weighs about 1/2 that. The total weight of engine and transmission is about 730 pounds.
Work Remaining:
None.
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Last updated: May 24, 2009