Ever shipped an engine?

Hudsy Wudsy
Hudsy Wudsy Senior Contributor
edited November -1 in HUDSON
Have any of you ever had occasion to ship an engine? I have a '53 Hornet sedan with only 68,00 miles on it that I'll probably be of parting out soon. I've had it for several years now, and have yet to do anything much with it. It's a complete car with good floors and rockers, but someone stored it for many, many years in a poorly sited pole barn. Rain water drainage flowed right through it and under the Hudson. The result was that the rear of the car was always wet and eventually became saturated with rust. I mean "springs-through-the-floor"rusty. The rust goes as far forward as the crossmember under the rear seat and even beyond that to include the stringer between that crossmember and the one under the front seat. I bought it thinking I would eventually find a sound body or, at the least, a rear clip for it, but I'm too far behind on too many other projects and it has to go this summer. I rebuilt the carbs (Twin-H) and the fuel pump and it runs great. It needs a vaccuum advance (vaccuum chamber, in some parts of the country), but I'll fix that before I sell it. After some testing, I'm quite sure that it has no cracks and that the head gasket is sound. I haven't run it too much, though, because I think the pan should be removed and the sump thoroughly cleaned before long. I can tell already that it needs front and rear seals, but that's no surprise when you consider all of the years that it has sat. I'd like to sell the car whole, but I'll likely do better dollarwise parting it out. I'm thinking of listing the engine and trans (hydramatic) separately on ebay sometime before the end of summer, but I'm curious about what it takes to ship an engine. Have any of you had any experience with this? I know that people do it, but I don't know where to start.

Comments

  • Why not ask someone like Dave Kostansek who has shipped engines he's rebuilt.
  • Shipping engines is not difficult. The best advice I can give is to build a stout pallet and strap it down. The last one I made, I bolted the front motor mount stands to it and used a piece of 3'4" plywood in the back to bolt the bell housing mount to. Wrecking yards ship motors all the time.
  • As above, plus get a normal pallet (usually had for nothing if you ask for it!) to mount the engine to. Build a "doghouse" around it from 1x4 or 2x4 lumber and make sure the engine is strapped securely. Another thing to discourage pilfering is once all is done, to wrap the pallet in clear plastic shrink wrap and it'll ship very well that way. I've shipped a 383 Chrysler engine and a VW Beetle engine that way and had great results.



    If you have a BAX terminal nearby and are shipping from a business address, they are the best way to ship large car parts.
  • Perhaps you can check with your choice of shippers.. Ask if they have specific requirements that must be met before they agree to handle the item you wish to ship.
  • 66patrick66 wrote:
    As above, plus get a normal pallet (usually had for nothing if you ask for it!) to mount the engine to. Another thing to discourage pilfering is once all is done, to wrap the pallet in clear plastic shrink wrap and it'll ship very well that way.

    That's how I received my engine and tranny.
  • Hudsy Wudsy
    Hudsy Wudsy Senior Contributor
    Thank you all for your thoughts. I know of a guy who manages a yard. It was dumb of me to not make a connection.
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