Engine rebuild in basement..?

[FastWoman]

FAIW, some piano movers will take on odd jobs like this. If you get the right piano mover, they're incredibly/amazingly strong. Three guys from Richmond moved in my concert grand piano, which weighs about 1200 lb. It took two of them to carry it through the house around doorways. The going rate to get something heavy from a basement to the garage would probably be around $150.

[conedodger]

I'm not sure if your basement is finished or not but having built several engines, I can tell you that even after the gunk from the previous life is cleaned off all of the parts - engine building is messy. If it looks perfect, you still need to spray it down with brake cleaner and wipe it then douse it in assembly oil before you bolt it together. I'm pretty sure I would suffer something between blatant stink-eye and sudden death if I tried to rebuild an engine in the basement and my wife is tiny and sweet. Bigger - meaner wives will probably take your head off. Ever smell brake cleaner???

Better to take the parts that you have cleaned down there and bag them up so you can assemble them in the spring. Engines don't have that many parts and once you have done the clean and prep it takes only a good day to assemble.

[Bonzi Lon]

At least it is an L6 rather than a boat or airplane that some have tried to build in the basement only to realize it wouldn't fit through the door when finished. Have to tear half the house down to get it out. :tapemouth

Bonzi Lon

[Diseazd]

ROFLI built an L-16 in my kitchen once.......I put down 3 layers of cardboard and built it with no engine stand. I was single at the time! Brandon has a picture of it on my FLIKR below(page 4).

Edited December 13, 2009 by Diseazd

[JohnnyP]

Well my basement is unfinished, and I reside with my parents, Im only 19! So I don't have a wife to worry about, just a concerned girlfriend who thinks Im getting in over my head .

With that said, I have already begun to prepare the area where the engine will go, and, where parts will be cleaned and kept until the reassembly process takes place - I have a few tables down there. The area stays fairly warm throughout the winter, and because its unfinished, I don't really have to worry to much about the smell, or mess.

John

[conedodger]

Well my basement is unfinished, and I reside with my parents, Im only 19! So I don't have a wife to worry about. I don't really have to worry to much about the smell, or mess.

John

If I were you, and this is just a word to the wise, I would start worrying about a wife even before you have one. That way, you will not be in such a hurry to get one. They are wonderful - and hell all at the same time! I'd worry about the smell and mess too. I can almost hear the conversation at Thanksgiving dinner when you are 35 and you're trying to raise your own kids and Grandma and Grandpa start telling them about the time you rebuilt that engine in the basement and stunk up the whole damned house!:stupid: Thereby undermining everything you have tried to keep your own kids from doing! :classic:

[geezer]

ROFLI built an L-16 in my kitchen once...

Is it soupt yet?

Ah yes, I've done all manner of inappropriate build activity all over the house when I was younger also. I once spray painted my Harley frame in the bath tub enclosure. By the time my wife got home, all evidence, other than the lingering smell of fresh paint was gone. I've lost track of how many carburators have been rebuilt at the kitchen table. I used to rebuild V8s on a heavy duty wooden table covered in linoleum. It wasn't much more difficult than using an engine stand. At the time, I just did what I could with what I had. We all survived.

[Jeff G 78]

Another word of caution about the smell. If you have a gas, forced air furnace, you need to keep the use of all chemicals to an absolute minimum. The solvents will quickly make the whole house smell like an old service station. If your work area is anywhere near the furnace or gas water heater, it will be even worse. Keep a window or two open and turn the heat down so the furnace doesn't fire while you spray.

This applies to all automotive chemicals like carb/brake cleaner, WD-40, gasoline, PB Blaster, etc.

[abruzzi]

I built an L-16 in my kitchen once.......I was single at the time!

But you repeat yourself...

Geof

[JohnnyP]

Another word of caution about the smell. If you have a gas, forced air furnace, you need to keep the use of all chemicals to an absolute minimum. The solvents will quickly make the whole house smell like an old service station. If your work area is anywhere near the furnace or gas water heater, it will be even worse. Keep a window or two open and turn the heat down so the furnace doesn't fire while you spray.

This applies to all automotive chemicals like carb/brake cleaner, WD-40, gasoline, PB Blaster, etc.

The furnace is in the basement, but I have prepared for that as well - considering the amount of chemicals that will be used down there. The furnace has been semi closed off from the remainder of the basement, enough so that it can breathe and be accessed, as well as keep MOST chemicals out of its way. The furnace is backed up to a wall, and in a corner, with two windows behind it, those will remain open. There are also other windows and a bulkhead that can be used if needed.

John