How to store multiple engines

[Drift_G35]

I have a really bad problem of tearing down engines before I have all the parts to rebuild them. I have 3 motorcycle engines, a ford 390, a ford 350 (? not sure if its a 350, its my father in laws, now mine), and two 4 bangers. I am running out of room to actually work in the garage and I finally have some time to start rebuilding some of them. I need a better way to store them. Any suggestions? Most of them are in a million pieces. All organized just spread across all my workbench space.

Pictures would be great.

 

[sberry]

You have any use for them? Some I conveniently store in the scrap, ha

 

[LutzTD]

I have a really bad problem of tearing down engines before I have all the parts to rebuild them. I have 3 motorcycle engines, a ford 390, a ford 350 (? not sure if its a 350, its my father in laws, now mine), and two 4 bangers. I am running out of room to actually work in the garage and I finally have some time to start rebuilding some of them. I need a better way to store them. Any suggestions? Most of them are in a million pieces. All organized just spread across all my workbench space.

Pictures would be great.

they sell some pretty tough 5 gallon bins in Walmart for cheap, then at least the pile of smalls is all together, and they stack. blocks and heads just go where its handy as you cant really mix those up

 

[Vegaman_Dan]

Those big plastic tubs are pretty good for all the loose stuff within reason. The more you can keep everything together in clean containers, the better chance of finding them later will be.

You can get pallet wrap (mover's plastic wrap also works) to wrap around greasy blocks and cylinder heads. That will keep them from getting dirty or making you get dirty from them. Even the greasiest nastiest block is easier to deal with once it's sealed in enough plastic layers. Then you can store and move them without too much worry.

Lastly, ask yourself when you plan to realistically do anything with them. Are you holding on to them 'just because' or because you have a real use for them sometime soon? Or would you pay someone to store them for you indefinitely in a rebuilt condition ready when you want them? For me, buying a rebuilt motor makes more sense than tripping over a big block in the corner for years before I get around to using it.

 

[RVDan]

I've been stuck with several of my brothers engine projects while he is away in the military.

I wrapped like objects together with pallet wrap, pistons, rods, etc. Wrapped other parts in bundles of a convenient weight to carry. Packed everything into Heavy duty totes to a weight I could just lift. Currently stored on the garage floor in a position that my Jeep parks over them and the engine blocks. Just one complete engine on a stand annoying me now. When I feel more motivated I'm going to build a closet sized shed to stuff it all into

As for my own engines, well I only have Honda and Lifan Z50 stuff, piled in Rubbermaid totes stacked in my spare bedroom

 

[Olliecampbell]

Something I've always wondered....Can you stand/store an engine sat on it's sump (assuming it has one!)? Or will it crush it?

 

[camarotoolman]

\Move into the living room, put an old nasty piece of plywood on them, and make a coffee table out of them. Your wife will love you for it.

 

[xtremek]

\Move into the living room, put an old nasty piece of plywood on them, and make a coffee table out of them. Your wife will love you for it.

Back in the day, I used my tool box for a TV stand and my summer rims were the legs of the coffee table.

Seriously though, what about some kind of shelving where you would put the blocks on the floor, the little stuff in bins just above it, the intakes and larger pieces on a shelf above that, and the heads on a shelf just below chest height(don't want to have to bend over to pick cast iron heads if I don't have to). I'm not big on 5gallon buckets or the big totes, to hard to dig through. Milk crates?

 

[Drift_G35]

I will take a few pictures today when it warms up and post them so you can see the mess. Maybe you can give me other opinions on everything I have done wrong with my garage haha.

 

[Jagmandave]

Well, I have a suggestion....

Dedicate the time to build them, one at a time. Find the easiest one to build, and do so - that way all the parts will be in one spot - in the engine!

Then either sell it or store it someplace else, like in the engine compartment of a car.

then build the next one......

lather, rinse, repeat till they'll all finished and working like they're supposed too.

 

[George in Rancho Cordova]

"As for my own engines, well I only have Honda and Lifan Z50 stuff, piled in Rubbermaid totes stacked in my spare bedroom"

Single fella, are ya?

 

[TwoInch]

Something I've always wondered....Can you stand/store an engine sat on it's sump (assuming it has one!)? Or will it crush it?

not sure if its proper, but its done quite a bit.

i have propped up the front of small blocks while they sit on the pan.

 

[rockchucker]

I like to set the Engine on a used Tire to support and cushion most of the weight as to not dent the Oil Pan. Mose Engines have VERY little clearance between the Oil Pick Up Tube and the Oil Pan. Even the smallest dent can hinder performance turning your freshly rebuilt Engine into a pile of glowing Metal due to lack of Lubrication.

As far as storing Small Engines goes I would use these Totes...


http://www.homedepot.com/buy/hdx-27-gal-tote-207585.html#.UNyPVnewV8E


I have a bunch of the old ones good for 400lbs per box that I store TONS of **** in. Literally.

You can even use plastic trays or sheets of thin plywood to fit inside so you can stack say...Head Parts, Valves, Bearings etc. So they stay with each other. I built shelving up high so everything could be up off of the ground.

The Plastic Shrink Wrap is a GREAT idea to seal Engines and parts so they don't degrade. Shoot the parts or block with a plethora of WD-40 or whatever then wrap it up. It will be good for years and when you open it, it will be the way you left it.

 

[Drift_G35]

The hole in the plywood workbench is for the dogs. That is their bed at night when its not too cold out that the tiny space heaters cant keep the garage warm.

Any suggestions. As you can see I have engine parts everywhere.

 

[rockchucker]

You have plenty of space. Bite the bullet and douche the **** out of your Garage. Time for Spring Cleaning only in the Winter. It seems like you just need to get out of the rut. I do it every once in a while. Then I finally pull my head out and spend a day cleaning and organizing.

Buy some of those Totes I linked to and make a stack against a wall space. If needed make 2. While you are filling the Boxes keep a Sharpie in your pocket and just label them with ALL of what is in them so you don't have to unstack and stack just to figure out what is inside.


Good luck with the cleaning!!!

 

[Perryk]

Keep the Toolboxes, jack, fire extinguisher, engine crane and Receiver/Cd player. Junk the rest and start over

 

[Engineer61]

I stored a Pontiac V8 for several years on a support made from 3/4 plywood and 2x4 that bolted up to the blocks standard mounting bolts.

 

[RVDan]

"As for my own engines, well I only have Honda and Lifan Z50 stuff, piled in Rubbermaid totes stacked in my spare bedroom"

Single fella, are ya?

At least I don't park my XR650l in the dining room anymore.

 

[jhelrey]

Hang it from the rafters by twine from HF...

 

[MegaManny009]

The hole in the plywood workbench is for the dogs. That is their bed at night when its not too cold out that the tiny space heaters cant keep the garage warm.

Any suggestions. As you can see I have engine parts everywhere.

nice looking cabinets id like to know how those were made

 

[Vegaman_Dan]

Move those rolling tool chests under the work bench where they fit and you can put your engines (even on a stand) in the place under the wall cabinets where they were originally.

 

[Drift_G35]

Which cabinets? The MDF came from my work when we moved in. They were going to go to the trash (nothing wrong with them) and the other wood ones were there when I moved in.

Also, the toolboxes dont fit under the bench, I F**ked up when I built them and measured wrong.

 

[justanengineer]

If you are serious about keeping them, pallet racking and/or strong shelves for the smaller ones would be your best investment. You may also consider welding up a few stands so that they stand upright on their own.

Not to nitpick but, assuming theyre nothing super rare/collectible/valuable, if theyve been open awhile you might consider scrapping a few and starting over with a different engine or two when you have time/money/parts etc. Thanks to my dayjob Im really **** about not leaving an engine "open" or uncovered, and would have to hot tank those engines and start over if theyve been open more than a day or two. At work we cover everything in plastic if its not being worked on within 30 mins.

 

[Drift_G35]

I havent started rebuilding the engines, and I'm not going to get rid of them. But I like the shelf idea, and heavy duty containers. Ill see how that works out.

 

[Doug1]

I have 3 or 4 motors each set on a movers dollies from HF. They get slid under the bench until I need to move them and then I just roll them to wherever they need to go. Works conveniently for a limited space.

 

[diggerrick]

I am a big fan of plastic tubs for storing stuff together.

For complete engines, diggerrick likes these rolling dollies (I got these for $29.99/ea from Jeg's 2 years ago):

I keep shirts/sheets/blankets over them when I'm not taking pictures of them...

 

[SGKent]

best way to store engines is on 2x4 cradles on the floor ASSEMBLED. Taken apart and left for a short while they can no longer be called engines; instead they are called a 'basket case' and make sense only to someone who works on that type engine all the time. Once you get much past 30 -45 days you will be unable to remember which bolt hole the special bolt went in and when you put the wrong bolt in its place it will either die of low oil pressure or a broken block.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I have my spare blocks set on small HFmovers dollies.

Then they sit along the wall.

 

[fringeofinsanity]

Looks like more than anything, you just need to organize. I see quite a lot of empty space in some of those cabinets. I'd probably use smaller totes for all the small engine parts, label them up, then store in the cabinets to get them out of the way. And move your small compressor over and put the larger blocks under the bench. Again, tag them so you have an easy identifier what's what.