hoffman912

curious about engines and shipping..

hypothosize i want to ship my engine out from columbus ohio and to a sleepy town in northen california, have it rebuilt and have it shipped back when done.

how does one ship an engine? drain the oil, take the tin and carbs off, ship the long block, and send the rest seperately? or completely dismantle it, and send it piece by piece? what company should be used? what costs should i expect each way..

say i just buy a running motor rebuilt or slightly used in california and have it shipped one way to ohio (keeping my core).

should it be shipped all together? tin and carbs seperately? company? cost?


these are just meanderings.. still trying to figure out what i should do as far as my engine goes but who knows. either way i have to add shipping into my costs.

Steve Jensen

Put the whole thing on a pallet, build a nice secure box around it, and send it via greyhound. Someone has to meet the bus to put it on/take it off, but thats the cheap way.

RJT

H.......
Definately drain all fluids before you ship. But I would leave the motor completely intact. The person that is going to be doing the rebuild can and will SEE things as he is tearing it apart. Things that might not be noticed if the motor is shipped in parts. Another factor is if you ship parts separately, the shop can say they didn't receive everything, whether they did or not.
There are businesses that do crating services, but you'll save money doing it yourself. Get a good hardwood pallet and put a blanket on it before you strap the motor down. Find a trucking company that does door to door pick-up and delivery and make sure the truck has a pallet jack and lift gate.
We're talking about what? 250lbs? You are probably looking at a buck per pound for shipping charges each way. With gas prices these days, shipping heavy stuff ain't cheap. But call around, it might be less....hopefully!
BTW....No one that I talked to last week had any motors ready to go at this time.

R

hoffman912

yeah i struck out 3 times since monday with other leads.

i was talking with the the president of the registry last night to see if he knew of anything and he told me to give spencer a call. i told him i cant afford that quality right now.. jeff said i might be supprised, and i wont know til i give him a call. so im giving him a call tomarrow.. (i dont know why.. i know i cant afford it.. oh well)

hoffman912

Well, i think im going to do it and go with spencer. his quote for a rebuild shocked me -much lower than i anticipated from someone of his stature. it wont be the monster i dreamed of, but will be a good rebuild with more power than stock. pending a year end bonus i recieve in february, ill probably be shipping it out in march. if somthing else falls through ill have to go back to looking for a runner. but the way things are looking this is the way to go.

how long does it take for a motor to be shipped cross country. i immagine slower than regular ups or us mail.

Cupcar#12

I just shipped 400 LBS of stuff from seattle to Tx. for $275.00 - it went frieght and got there in about a week. pretty fast. The quote for my 964 motor x-country is 500.00 (about double the weight). The pallet cost about $75.00 in wood and straps to make.
I am basically shipping a disassembled 964 across the country for about $1K (including the motor above)
Not too expensive. IMHO for the right builder it's always worth it to travel to them. (Mine is in VA BTW)