I assume a couple of you have spare blocks kicking around 
My own collection is about to expand, I'm going to be moving in the near future, and I'm looking to get away from the Rubbermaid bins I've been using. Do any of you build any sort of storage/transport cases for your spare engines, and if so, care to share your design ideas? I'm thinking of something along the lines of boxes comprising 2x4s and plywood, bolt the block down (mine are all slant-4s, not perfectly stable), cut-out handles, stackable (one more on top, max.). Nothing fancy.
Whattyaknow?
This may all be obvious, but:
Are the blocks clean? Oil/coolant will mess up unfinished wood pretty permanently.
Your idea seems pretty good, sturdy 2x4 frame, plywood walls, are all your blocks the same dimensions? It would speed the production process if all the boxes are identical.
Make sure you're using good plywood, not OSB, especially if some of your motors are a little dirty.
With small 4 cyls. I've had a lot of luck with real, rubbermaid brand plastic boxes. Most of my junk is of the <2L Honda variety though.
Well, my problem was wheels and tires, which are a lot easier to move and stack, but the aswer might work. I rented one of those storage places. Yeah, kinda sucks to spend more money. But I can actually get to my project car in the garage again. And the two blocks I have are there too.
ShadowSix wrote:
This may all be obvious, but:
Are the blocks clean? Oil/coolant will mess up unfinished wood pretty permanently.
Your idea seems pretty good, sturdy 2x4 frame, plywood walls, are all your blocks the same dimensions? It would speed the production process if all the boxes are identical.
Make sure you're using good plywood, not OSB, especially if some of your motors are a little dirty.
With small 4 cyls. I've had a lot of luck with real, rubbermaid brand plastic boxes. Most of my junk is of the <2L Honda variety though.
Yeah, they're all the same engines (Saab). The blocks aren't clean, but are prepped for storage with moly grease on the decks/cylinder walls. Not concerned with staining. Good call on not using OSB. The Rubbermaid stuff is nice but because my engines are laid over 45* I can only use the really large ones, plus I want to be able to stack.
Unless they are some super rare engines or you need them as spares ASAP for a race team you run, I would suggest selling them and storing them in the form of hundred dollar bills in your wallet. Dolla Dolla Bills stack nicer, are cleaner, look better, take up less space, and are far more useful.
93gsxturbo wrote:
Unless they are some super rare engines or you need them as spares ASAP for a race team you run, I would suggest selling them and storing them in the form of hundred dollar bills in your wallet. Dolla Dolla Bills stack nicer, are cleaner, look better, take up less space, and are far more useful.
A Saab B212 block with ZERO block pitting and cross-hatches still in the bores is a rare hunk of metal (most are junk). It's fifty bucks, and already pulled from the car. Besides, with Saab stuff, there ain't no such thing as a buyer wanting to pay me what I think my E36 M3's worth, cuz most Saabers are cheap bastards. 
Actually I find that Rubbermaid bins work pretty nicely.
You can slather on all kinds of rust-preventative goo. or just throw dirty parts in for cleaning later.
Snag a couple of Harbor Freight mover's dollies for the bins to sit on.
For really heavy or sharp pointy pieces, a chunk of plywood cut to fit flat inside the bin bottom, with the goodies bolted, chained, or otherwise secured to it.
Could bolt-thru the bin bottoms to the dollies, but then you have leaks to deal with.
Maybe hot-melt glue to mate the bins and dollies together, easy enough to disassemble if/when your needs change.
I like to number the bins with big sharpie, tape a big zip-loc on the lid, with a list of the contents.
Color coding the bins also helps.
Carter
