Oh happy days the engine is here! I thought it would take a couple of weeks but it was just a few days to go from NY to WA. They loaded the engine into my pickup with a fork lift; there were no signs of damage to the box. Once I got it home I realized that the cardboard is just set on and held with a few lag bolts. There was enough movement in shipping that most of the bolts were torn though the cardboard. I looked over the engine and nothing seemed damaged. Now it was time to get it out of the truck by myself! I keep a hoist attached to a beam under my deck, my garage drive in basement type and the deck sits above the entrance to the garage, I use the hoist routinely to lift the lawn tractor to clean the mower deck.
There are three anchor points bolted to a wooden deck and the engine is bolted to them via the lower engine mount holes and two of the prop attach holes. I hoisted the engine via the hoist point on the top of the engine and the deck comes up with the engine. I lifted it up enough to drive the truck out from under and then lowered it down onto a mover’s dolly and that was it. I then rearranged the garage to find a nice spot for the engine, I wanted it out of the way but where I could admire it when I am working.
This should be a great storage location since my garage is somewhat climate controlled, the ducting for the house runs along the ceiling of the garage and there is some radiant effect on the garage. It stays a fairly constant temperature. It was 75 outside today with no AC running in the house and the garage was 65. In the winter it does get down to the mid fifties at night when the heat is basically not running much I keep it set at 65 in the house. Now I am feeling pressured to get this thing done, I may have bought too soon but I did not want to wait for prices to go up. I learned that with my finish kit, I had to money for the kit but stupidly did not buy it before Van’s price increase, which cost me $300 bucks. Ouch. Ok back to working on the plane.
Cardboard top was fastened to the 1x1lip in the wooden deck
After I pulled the truck out of the way
On the dolly where it will sit for a few months, maybe I will hang it by December.
