Indian Chief Engine Stand

[kenpell]

Is there anyone out there who makes an Indian Chief engine stand? I'd like to have something I can bolt the engine into while I work on it. It can either be free standing from the floor (height adjustable would be great) or be able to sit on a work bench. Any out there that rotate horizontally like a lazy Susan or vertically to get to the bottom or the top? Any leads would be MOST appreciated. Thanks!

Ken

[exeric]

Ken, I built an engine stand for big twin H-D motors with the ability to have one case half removed, and a pivot so the engine could be in a horizontal or vertical plane. These features would be very usefull for Indian motors as well. However, an Indian motor stand would be the most usefull if the motor and trans were mounted as a unit. The problem with this is, when you are setting up the bottom end of the motor, you want the motor cases separated from the trans., and you want to work with one case half at a time to set up bearing clearance and flywheel end-play. For final assembly and setting up the interface of motor and trans., you want the motor and trans. as a unit. The big problem with having a stand that holds a unit assembly is weight. By the time you get the cylinders, and trans. assembly together with the motor bottom end, you have major boat anchor. I think for all practical purposes, Indian motors are best built without using a motor stand, or at best, using a bench-top stand that keeps the motor from being tipsy during final adjustments.

[kenpell]

Indian Chief Engine Stand

Thanks Eric for the insight. Guess I'll have to work through it on a counter top. Seemed like a pretty good idea at the time...

Ken

[koanes]

I made a simple stand from angle iron. I can bolt the motor in alone with spacers in place of bottom trans lugs, or the whole assembly. Easily clamped to the bench for torquing head bolts. I'll try to get a couple of pictures posted.

[T. Cotten]

I use a typical box of pieces of 2"X4", with a scallop cut out on one side for the sump pick-up, lagged upon a chair swivel for a "lazy susan". The swivel is lagged to a square of wood for stability.

Actually, I have a couple: A veteran for disassembly that's well-oil'd, and one that stays clean for assembly. (Stays REAL clean if, like myself, you never use it.)

...Cotten

[koanes]

As with most of the tools I make this one was fashioned in a hurry, meant to be a prototype. I need to slot the mount holes so the motor can be lifted from the stand, as it is now I have to lay the motor over to remove the stand so I don't stress the threads in the trans mount holes. Simple and crude but thrown together in about an hour.

[micmac]

Kyle, if you were making a prototype, did you make any more of em that might be for sale?

[exeric]

This is the pivoting engine stand I made for big twin H-Ds.

[exeric]

Here's another view.

[koanes]

Nice stand Eric, I bet the swivel feature comes in handy. The motor for the 48 ready to see some attention? The finished work from your shop is always impressive.
Pete, I'll make you one if your not in a hurry, I'm a little pressed right now. I have a heavy duty seat swivel from a van I'd like to mount underneath. My prototype is small and narrow, when you try to rotate a fully assembled motor on it, its sort of scary, the motor being so top heavy.

[Rooster]

I picked up this little stand for my panhead motor on eBay, pretty cheap. What I like about it, you can loosen the locking bolt on the base, and it swivels 360*. Make's it handy in a cramped space.

[exeric]

Thanks Kyle. I can say the same about your work and attitude about restoration. Regarding the '48. I haven't done a thing with it since last fall but a good friend in Miami has helped me with the pinion bearing assembly so I feel the '48 tugging at me. I've been hard at work on the 1916 J and that has been a fantastic project but now it needs a money infusion and I would rather do things in the shop that need to be done. I like your Chief engine stand and I'll be making a copy of it for the day I pull the motor on my '40 Chief. As you were saying about the instability of an assembled motor, that's a big problem with making a basic stand as opposed to a delux stand. The reality is, these motor stands are going to be empty and collecting dust if we do our jobs and get these damn motors finished. It's fun to display a big old hairy Panhead motor or Chief motor but I would rather it was in it's respective frame, spewing oil and scaring the neighbors.

[micmac]

Nice stand Eric, I bet the swivel feature comes in handy. The motor for the 48 ready to see some attention? The finished work from your shop is always impressive.
Pete, I'll make you one if your not in a hurry, I'm a little pressed right now. I have a heavy duty seat swivel from a van I'd like to mount underneath. My prototype is small and narrow, when you try to rotate a fully assembled motor on it, its sort of scary, the motor being so top heavy.

Just let me know when and how much, I ain;t in that big of a hurry as I'm slated to have 2 rotator cuffs repaired directly, won't be doing any heavy lifting. Thank you so much for your generous offer. I have one made out of a shovel frame thats good for HD mills, but I'm outta the HD business for the forseeable future (cept the wife's Buell).