Engine Stand for Buick Straight 8

[kgreen]

What experiences exist for engine stand use with a Buick straight 8, specifically the big 320?  A couple things come to mind.

 

1) Will the engine block at the point it is bolted to the engine stand support the weight of the engine without breaking the engine? I know from other peoples unfortunate experience that a Ford flathead V8 will break at the cast bell housing if supported like a conventional engine.

 

2)  Engine stands are rated for the weight they will support.  How is that weight calculated and under what assumptions is that capacity determined?  The importance of this question is that a modern V8 is much shorter that the longer in-line Buick 8.  This results in greater rotational force on the stand.

 

 

For additional information, I've just read the following thread:

 

[39BuickEight]

We used pieces of unistrut and bolted a stand together.  Bolted the engine to it at the bell housing and up front.  (this was a 1939 248) 

 

The best pics I have of it are at post #79 in my restoration thread.

Edited February 27, 2017 by 39BuickEight (see edit history)

[kgreen]

Thanks 39.  I had already read your post start to finish and it serves as great inspiration.  Your stand looks great, how did you accomplish the bottom end work on the engine?  It is for that reason that I have been looking at those stands that rotate.

[39BuickEight]

Thanks!  I did not work on the engine on that stand.  A shop rebuilt it for me.  That was just to hold it until we were ready to put it back in the car.