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v8 coffee table

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pixelmonkey

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 21, 2008
Messages
137
Location
oklahoma
we have all seen them before and thought it would be cool to have.

at the house, we dont really have a coffee table. since moving into the house, a coffee table has been a gray plasic rubber maid tub, turned upside down.

in the garage is a spare sbc block with main caps. no crank, oil pump, or any other parts to it. is .010 over and hasnt been in a car to run in over a decade.

i'm considering having the block hot tanked, and then paint it silver. find a few left over rods & pistons, painting the rods black and leaving the pistons bare. tempered glass 3/8" thick with rounded corners. *almost $120*

havent decided if i should build feet off the front and rear main caps or cut a thick rubber pad and bolt it to the bottom of the block.

open for suggestions.
chris<pixelmonkey>:D
 
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Tom2

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 19, 2008
Messages
2,209
Hmm..A good idea for the garage maybe. I dont think I would do this with a good engine though. If one had a crack, was garbage, etc.. Then maybe that'd be a neat idea. Definitely wouldnt put in the house though..Would be too heavy to move around.
 
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cyclopsblown34

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 26, 2007
Messages
597
Location
Russellville, Missouri
Here's one I built for myself from an AMC 360. i got some threaded stem casters for the bottom and tapped the oil pan bolt holes to that thread. I used socket head cap screws and turned them down to bolt the connecting rods to the deck. I used some epoxy to attach a wire across the bottom of the cylinders so it can be used as a liquor cabinet.
P7250098.jpg

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You can use the oil pan for a BBQ grill
bbqgrillandgarnishmolding002.jpg

And the camshaft for a candlestick
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mikeyr

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Joined
Sep 16, 2005
Messages
1,971
Location
Santa Barbara, CA
Make a frame with casters so you can move it around. I had a frame that was only about 1" from the floor by putting the casters up higher hidden behind some ornamental fru-fru stuff welded to the frame. And the frame also has the glass supports on each corner (originally to protect the motor in the garage).

It looked AWESOME, those 3 2-barrel webers looked sharp and I had polished the cam covers and painted the exhaust headers with plain old chrome looking paint. The original idea was just plywood to protect the motor in the garage but then I put a piece of plexiglass and thought it would look good in the house, wife agreed but only with beveled glass.

Looked GREAT for about 3 years and then I needed the motor :)

I am not sure I would do it with a plain old everyday V8 however, those are pretty common and not very good to look at.

*** edit *** OK, I take that back about the plain old everyday V8 Not looking good, I like those pics (that were not there when I started typing) And I notice in the pics that you did not have the oil pan which would also help since you don't need to build a frame, my motor was ready to run so I had the pan on and had to build the frame... I prefer it the way you did it. Mine was just intended to be storage and storing it in the house gave me more garage room. I might copy what you did just for fun :) Next time I blow a interesting motor.
 
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cyclopsblown34

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Joined
Jan 26, 2007
Messages
597
Location
Russellville, Missouri
mikeyr said:
Make a frame with casters so you can move it around. I had a frame that was only about 1" from the floor by putting the casters up higher hidden behind some ornamental fru-fru stuff welded to the frame. And the frame also has the glass supports on each corner (originally to protect the motor in the garage).

It looked AWESOME, those 3 2-barrel webers looked sharp and I had polished the cam covers and painted the exhaust headers with plain old chrome looking paint. The original idea was just plywood to protect the motor in the garage but then I put a piece of plexiglass and thought it would look good in the house, wife agreed but only with beveled glass.

Looked GREAT for about 3 years and then I needed the motor :)

I am not sure I would do it with a plain old everyday V8 however, those are pretty common and not very good to look at.

*** edit *** OK, I take that back about the plain old everyday V8 Not looking good, I like those pics (that were not there when I started typing) And I notice in the pics that you did not have the oil pan which would also help since you don't need to build a frame, my motor was ready to run so I had the pan on and had to build the frame... I prefer it the way you did it. Mine was just intended to be storage and storing it in the house gave me more garage room. I might copy what you did just for fun :) Next time I blow a interesting motor.
Click to expand...

I like your idea of the frame so the casters are hidden. I'll use that idea on the next one I build from a junk 454 block if you don't mind. Thanks
 
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mad57

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Joined
Jan 30, 2009
Messages
1,698
i would take 2 part rubber and cover a complete block with it then pour it out of plaster let it dry paint it youd never know it was fake and alot lighter.
 
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rsanter

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Joined
Dec 22, 2007
Messages
18,489
Location
visalia ca
what would be even better is to get an old engine and turn it into one of those cut away engines and attach a motor to it so you will turn over and you can see all the parts moving through their cycle
put it on a metal base frame and have a class top on it and you will be in cool city

bob
 
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rsanter

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Joined
Dec 22, 2007
Messages
18,489
Location
visalia ca
mad57 said:
i would take 2 part rubber and cover a complete block with it then pour it out of plaster let it dry paint it youd never know it was fake and alot lighter.
Click to expand...

go to a race team and ask for aluminum heads and block from a blown motor

bob
 
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gunguy

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Joined
Aug 2, 2007
Messages
730
Location
Currituck Co. NC
As I recall years ago there was a show on Discovery or TLC about a company that made high end tables, desks and other furnature from old aircraft parts, i.e. wings, rudders, etc.

A variation of the theme?

Jim
 
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jsaw

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Joined
Oct 11, 2008
Messages
1,783
Location
Geneva, N.Y.
A couple I found, Don't remember where.
 

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climbtodescend

New member
Joined
Dec 3, 2011
Messages
3
Here's one I made a few years ago.

It's made from a 4.6L sohc block, heavy as hell, I made a coaster out of a piston also, got lazy and didn't make any more than 1 piston coaster thoguh, had to mill out the center of the piston.

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RobSmith

Banned
Joined
Feb 5, 2009
Messages
562
Location
NSW Australia
Brookesy said:
Clarkson made a coffee table on Topgear using the engine block from a porsche & used the seats complete with electrics.
Click to expand...
Clarkson couldn't make seat out of a seat...someone else made it for him and he dribbled on for ten minutes about it. That show is a car show for people who don't know anything about cars...it's simple entertainment like cooking shows. You should see the Australian version...terrible... with peanut hosts that think a hot car is one with mag wheels and cup holders.
 
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JimVonBaden

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Joined
Dec 2, 2011
Messages
15,716
Location
Northern Virginia
RobSmith said:
Clarkson couldn't make seat out of a seat...someone else made it for him and he dribbled on for ten minutes about it. That show is a car show for people who don't know anything about cars...it's simple entertainment like cooking shows. You should see the Australian version...terrible... with peanut hosts that think a hot car is one with mag wheels and cup holders.
Click to expand...

I kinda like the UK version. It isn't a serious car show, but funny at least. The American version is a parody of a parody, and not well done, though they have improved a bit since the beginning.

Jim :cool:

PS Very cool tables!
 
B

bad_idea

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Joined
Jun 11, 2011
Messages
4,332
Location
Pasquotank, NC
I think a fully dressed sbc would look nicer. Mount the glass top on top of the air cleaner. if weight is a concern, i am sure you could hollow out the block with a torch.
 
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mudhog

Well-known member
Joined
May 20, 2011
Messages
357
Location
south Bygod Texas
You can buy a plastic block that has threaded inserts to mount all engine parts heads, intake, etc. they were made to do engine fits as a mock motor. you can buy them from summit and jegs. they are light weight and exact dublicate of a real engine. I'm going to be building one for my shop it is going to be complete with headers carb etc. using the plastic block for weight. I got most of the used stuff just haven't purchased the block yet.
 
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