LocostUSA.com

So, I've decided even though it's not an ideal car, my BMW E30 will become the major parts donor to a Locost project I have slowly been working towards over the last few years. My house has a garage that is large enough to fit the E30 and give me ample working space on all 4 corners with the garage door open. Problem is... I have a dirt/gravel/grass driveway after the garage slab and no space for a traditional engine crane.

I was thinking that a 4x4 A-frame bolted together on pneumatic tires + a 1/2 or 1 ton chain hoist might do the job. Since it's bolted it can be diassembled when not in use.

I searched here and google under engine lift and hoist and found a few topics but didn't find much in the way of what I was describing. I did find a few people pulling large big block V8's out of their boats using wooden lifts.

Thoughts?

When I broke my Isuzu up I made two A-frames with 8 foot 2x4s with plywood webs and had a double 2x6 'ridge-pole' from which I slung my chain hoist. It worked fine, but it should have been taller (say 10 ft 2x4s for the A-frames).

Sorry - no photos, since I took it to the dump when I bought my engine hoist.

The home-built thing was OK, but even when broken down into its three pieces (2 A-frames plus 8 ft long ridge pole) it took up a lot of space.

Actually, the true 'country way' is three or four poles (aka delimbed spruce trees), lashed together teepee style - hang the chain hoist from the top of the teepee and roll the car out once you lift the engine.

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Warren
Isuzu Pickup/SR20DE, +401 COLD frame
Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=11601

You mean like this...That's my '32 5-window circa 1958. Out came the blown flathead, in went the Hemi and LaSalle tranny...

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Cheers, Tom

My Car9 build: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=14613
"It's the construction of the car-the sheer lunacy and joy of making diverse parts come together and work as one-that counts."
Ultima Spyder, Northstar 4.0, Porsche G50/52

You lucky dog - it's a channeled '32 too. I must admit my taste runs to right-coast style 'rods.

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Warren
Isuzu Pickup/SR20DE, +401 COLD frame
Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=11601

IIRC, I channeled it 2 1/2" below the frame bottom. I really should have z'd the frame to get that last 2 1/2" of drop, it would have lowered the cg and left me some head room... then I could have chopped the top.
Boy, that was a long time ago...

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Cheers, Tom

My Car9 build: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=14613
"It's the construction of the car-the sheer lunacy and joy of making diverse parts come together and work as one-that counts."
Ultima Spyder, Northstar 4.0, Porsche G50/52

Cool picture, Tom! The car itself is great, but just look at the button-up shirts with collars, combed-back hair and I bet there's a pair of "penny loafers" in there somewhere! Looks like Ozzie and Harriet! LOVE IT!

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JD, father of Quinn, Son of a... Build Log
Quinn the Slotus:Ford 302 Powered, Mallock-Inspired, Tube Frame, Hillclimb Special
"Gonzo and friends: Last night must have been quite a night. Camelot moments, mechanical marvels, Rustoleum launches, flying squirrels, fru-fru tea cuppers, V8 envy, Ensure catch cans -- and it wasn't even a full moon." -- SeattleTom

I still have the triple gin pole frame that my wife's grandgather made to lift radial engines out of N3N planes when he overhauled them at the crop dusting field. His sons, (wife's dad and uncle) commandeered it for their flat head swaps in their roadsters in the early 50's to early 60's. I still have the 32 Tudor Sedan we inherited from him.

As far as chopping and channeling goes, the uncle (whose HiBoy is in the Henry Ford Museum) built dies so that he could stamp new dash panels, new window pillars and new frame rails; all to restore what they did in the 50's to their cars. I helped him punch out a dashboard once. It was incredible when it finally "popped" into place.

Tom

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Sometimes, I'm as confused as a baby in a topless bar.

My short term memory is absolutely horrible and so is my short term memory.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sG16m2e4O6I

Fantasic picture. I love 30's cars. Oh to have lived in a time when they were more plentiful....

The Teepee idea is neat but I don't really have the room inside the garage. The car it's self was hit in the front corner and it's in my garage on jackstands. High enough for me to comfortably be under it. For some reason my garage door sits low. I only have about 75 inches from floor to the top of the garage door when it's open. And the open garage door sits overtop the front of the car (front facing towards driveway)

In my head I was imagining something like a yard swing type frame, only a little beefier and on pneumatic tires so I could roll it from the garage out into the drive way. Maybe a better description would be more like a wooden Gantry. I am going to cut the radiator support off of the vehicle so I can slide the motor and trans forward instead of having to lift it up and out. The chassis is done anyway.

According to a few enthusiast forums the M20 motor + trans with all accesories and shifter assembly is about 500lbs. I don't intend to keep the AC or PS. Do you think the 2 A frames with with a 4x4 and 45 degree brace would work? Or 2 2x6 beams together?

I found this image in google. This is basically what I have in my head.


Or something like this with air-tires to handle the gravel.

So is this going to be a one time thing just to pull out the engine and tranny or are you planning on keeping it to do other tasks down the road? The A frame with wheels will probably work the best for you. I'm not a big fan of using wood because of the dimenions it needs to be. Maybe you should buy that Horror Freight version and add wheel barror wheels to it.

Tom

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Sometimes, I'm as confused as a baby in a topless bar.

My short term memory is absolutely horrible and so is my short term memory.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sG16m2e4O6I

Either of those wooden ones would work, although stability while being moved could be in question. I'd prefer twice 2x6s over a 4x4 for the lifting beam. The HF version might be more versitile, but only if you wanted to keep it around for future use.

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Warren
Isuzu Pickup/SR20DE, +401 COLD frame
Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=11601

What about a normal engine hoist and a sheet of plywood...

I do intend to keep it for further use but will likely store it broken down. My garage is a oddly wide garage. I've got enough room for my big wooden storage shelf (2 ft wide shelves) on one side of the garage with room to work, a 6ft wide E30 (wheel to wheel width) and then about 3-4 feet on the other side + the width of a washer.

The price of the HF metal gantry hurts... $650 online, and it doesn't include the chain hoist. It is also 99.5 inches tall (8ft 3.5in) which is too tall for my garage door at only 75 inches. It would be a fantastic piece though.

A 4x4 locally is about $7 each and a 2x6 is about $4.50 each... Northern has 12in Pneumatic casters rated at 450lb ea for aroundd $35 a piece.



This isn't a bad idea at all. My only worry would be how well the plywood stood up to A 150lb engine lift + 500lbs of motor./trans HF's folding lift is on their website at $179, which is likely what the total cost of a wood gantry would be, possibly less. Anyone attempted the plywood trick with success?

I added the wood/casters together and it's about $60-90 in wood + $140 for casters + cost the chain hoist, so if the plywood is a workable idea, it's definatly less expensive and should be proven to 1 ton.


I was also thinking. All it would take to get the car moving again would be to reinstall the driveshaft and reinstall the exhaust (D/C at the manifold) I could pull the car out, turn it around, and pull the motor out inside the garage with a standard lift and then push it back into the garage for desassembly and destruction.

I have been known to strap a come-along over a limb out in the yard, roll the car over the grass and...... but that was years ago and it was a small TR Spitfire 1147cc OHV pushrod engine.

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Chuck.

“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman

Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

Or my Wankel powered Locost log : over HERE

And don't forget my Cushman Truckster resto Locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=17766

This is a pretty timely thread. I'm building my car in my basement which has only a 36inch door and steps up to the back yard. I plan to pull the engine and scuttle and lay the car on it's side, place on dollies and take it up the steps on a wooden ramp, and then lay it over on it's wheels. Then I will have to reinstall the engine. I've been debating how I will lift the engine. I thought of using my swing set to hold the hoist. Haven't decided yet.