Shipping engine

[Zrracer]

I need to ship my engine. Does someone make a ready made cradle I can buy?

Robin

[A26B]

Originally Posted by Zrracer

I need to ship my engine. Does someone make a ready made cradle I can buy?

Robin

Not that I am aware of Robin.

I've made my own crates to ship engines, from bare blocks to new, complete crate engines. I have shipped them on oak pallets. with blocks of 2x4 screwed down in front of the pan to keep it level & on the other 3 sides of the pan to keep it stationary. I would then strap it down with 3 or 4 ratchet straps & cover the whole thing with furniture pads from harbor Freight. I shipped a few this way a long time ago & they made it OK, but I can't risk it any more.

Lately, I make a fully enclosed crate with 4x4 skids on the bottom for complete engines. Make it yourself for a couple of hundred & some time. Then you can sleep at night.

[phrogs]

I just get a wood pallet, strap it down and wrap in plastic.

[Hib Halverson]

You put an engine on a standard shipping pallet and the weight with crush that sucker.

That's why GM along with engine builders who ship their engines to customers do not use standard shipping pallets. I was recently involved with a warranty engine replacement for a Cadillac ATS-V. I was astonished how how large and strong the crate was that GM used to ship the engine from a warehouse in Michigan to a dealer in California.

As "A26B" suggests, the best way is to construct a shipping crate.

Or start with a shipping pallet designed to carry 750 or more pounds. Then "build" a crate on it.

[WARP TEN]

This may be to simplistic, but have you checked with people who ship engines regularly like some dealers, Marc Haibeck, Jegs, Summit Racing,others? Hib and Jerry are right that you really need a strong crate for a 750 pound engine, I think starting with 4x4s. Maybe it will be up to you to build your own, but also maybe others ship engines and could offer a source.--Bob

[spork2367]

Originally Posted by Hib Halverson

You put an engine on a standard shipping pallet and the weight with crush that sucker.

That's why GM along with engine builders who ship their engines to customers do not use standard shipping pallets. I was recently involved with a warranty engine replacement for a Cadillac ATS-V. I was astonished how how large and strong the crate was that GM used to ship the engine from a warehouse in Michigan to a dealer in California.

As "A26B" suggests, the best way is to construct a shipping crate.

Or start with a shipping pallet designed to carry 750 or more pounds. Then "build" a crate on it.

This. We build our own pallets for our aircraft engines, and even at a relatively light 300-400 lbs. Part of it is just how weight gets distributed from the engine to the pallet.

[A26B]

Originally Posted by spork2367

This. We build our own pallets for our aircraft engines, and even at a relatively light 300-400 lbs. Part of it is just how weight gets distributed from the engine to the pallet.

This is true. I always decked the pallet with at least 1/2 plywood, screwed down to pallet stringers.

I shipped a new crate engine by surface to Japan, in a full crate I built. I sweated that shipment the 30+ days it took and all the different transports to get it there...... but it did :-)

[Zrracer]

Thanks for the answers. Does anyone by chance have any pictures?
Thanks,
Robin

[FU]

There are heavy duty pallets around , find a H/D one and strap it to the pallet then wrap it in plastic. I have shipped a few long blocks safely across the Country this way.

Then there are standard pallets. DO NOT ship a LT5 on these.

[Zrracer]

Thanks guys.