A good set of casters/wheels for my engine run stand? When I bought this thing a few years ago, it came pretty simple, and I have upgraded along the way. The initial cast iron wheels for concrete/hard surface only were only 4 inches tall. I could not get my engine lift under the stand to put a block on it... quite frustrating. Anyway, I subsequently purchased a set of 8" tall pneumatic caster tires as you can see. They worked well for about 6 months... seems the SHEET METAL that the rims were made of were pretty thin and not able to stand up to the 300 lb rating per tire (maybe I overloaded them anyway). I continue to have trouble moving it around the shop but do not want to go back to the cast iron wheels. I have considered purchasing one of those small trailers like they have at Harbor Freight and then simply using a Tow Bar Dolly I have. This would mean I could hall this thing inside and outside and then simply hook the hitch to the ball and away we go with Y block Eye Candy. But then again, I would only use that small trailer for just this purpose.
Anybody have any good ideas?
By the way, the above pics show a new permanent tach, an electric switch operated cooling fan, the radiator I got from Alan Freeman (thank you Alan!), and the good Holley 390cfm from Cactus. This thing rumbles even if it is a 272. Once I get all of these kinks worked out the way I want them to, it will be ready for my 312, 30 over build that I am doing on that C2AE block. This 272 on this run stand is not quite an all out rebuild, but it has great compression, new bearings, a little head work, new timing chain, gears, etc. Pretty much stock, but she is for sale, lol.
Great story.... I live in a community where on a gravel road, we all have 2+ acre lots. Most of the time in the summer, the foliage is so dense I cannot even see any of my neigbors' buildings. Recently, I installed a new cam and lifters and ran the Y at 2000 rpm or so for 20 minutes like we normally do. This was in the afternoon about 4 pm or so and I had pushed this run stand outside on the driveway. After I broke everything in, checked for leaks, etc. I shut it down. It was quiet for a split second or two and then I heard this guy that had to be a few doors down from me... i did not recognize his voice and I know most of my neighbors... He yells out, "Thaaaank Yoooouuu" and that was it. I don't know if he heard me or not but I yelled out, "You're Welcome!"
Daniel JessupLancaster, California
aka "The Hot Rod Reverend"
check out the 1955 Ford Fairlane build at www.hotrodreverend.com