grassroots engine removal

I was listening to Car Talk radio show with the Tappet brothers. They get a mail about how this guy pulled out an engine at a junk yard. The guys gets a front loader and chains the engine to the bucket. Then he lifts the bucket so the car is at a 45 degree angle. He gets out and takes a {I don't remember what he used} and stands under the car. He then goes and cuts off the motor mounts one by one. When the last mount is cut the car falls and he's standing in the engine bay. The guy crawls out and takes the engine away.

Cool, huh? Anyone happen to now what he might have used to cut motor mounts? I think it's some kind of grinder?

Sounds like asking for trouble to me, plus wasting a bunch of parts. The motor mounts themselves are usually pretty easy to get loose, as there is usually only one or two bolts per mount that you need to get off to keep the motor mount in tact. I'm not a huge fan of the thrashenyank process at the junkyard, it seems like it saves a negligible amount of time and destroys significant amounts of parts.

Bryce

I agree with you Bryce, I once bought a Junkyard engine.. I really could have used the exhaust manifold that came with it.. but the torched right through it.

And that mailer either has huge steel cajones or is really stupid to stand in the path of a falling car.. open engine compartment or not

Once helped a co-worker retrieve a SBC from a Cleveland yard The guy drove the '63-4 Impala around front, rolled it up one one side with a fork lift. Cut the mounts and exhaust with the blue wrench. And the engine rolled out and smashed the carb and distributor. When we bitched, he just handed us used ones off a shelf.

the engine went into a custom painted Vega, that ended up slower than the original 4 cyl!

Un-doing the engine mounts is usually one of the easiest part of removing the engine it's all the lines, plumbing, electrical stuff that's painful. Still I would never remove an engine that way in case a loose tie-rod or something strikes me over the head.

My BS sensis are tingling big time on this one. Think about your proximity to the firewall. and the front of the car and then factor in average height man at say 5'10". You would have to be in the exact right place not to get seriously damaged as the car comes down. In fact I am not sure that it is possible unless he was curled up in a ball on the ground as he should be when he realised that he was going to die. I bet that is the part of the story that they left out.

Somehow that seems like a really bad idea.

If you lift the car by the back bumper and shake real hard maybe the engine will just fall out.

phillyj wrote: I was listening to Car Talk radio show with the Tappet brothers. They get a mail about how this guy pulled out an engine at a junk yard. The guys gets a front loader and chains the engine to the bucket. Then he lifts the bucket so the car is at a 45 degree angle. He gets out and takes a {I don't remember what he used} and stands under the car. He then goes and cuts off the motor mounts one by one. When the last mount is cut the car falls and he's standing in the engine bay. The guy crawls out and takes the engine away. Cool, huh? Anyone happen to now what he might have used to cut motor mounts? I think it's some kind of grinder?

That sounds like demolishing a building and standing in an open window as it falls around you!

Possible, but most likely shenanigans