While taking a break from my F1 builds I have been on a "non Ford" mini build that I am finishing up. Part of the work was to do a cam upgrade, and this was the perfect time to build an engine run stand, something I always told myself I would build but never did.
So I threw this together from scraps and spares, total of $50 in it for gauges and electrical parts. Mostly made of a 2x2 square steel cart I had sitting around for years. I still have to paint it and loom up the wiring harness, but some wires I left intentionally long for different styles of engines. This one right now is set up for SB / BB chevy engines but could be changed as needed.
Some details you may want to copy..
I looked at a bunch of stands that others have built, the one major thing I did different was to put the radiator at the rear of the engine so the front of the engine was open. This way I could run the engine first, do the cam swap on the stand, and break it in on the stand. Every run stand I have seen has the radiator in front of the engine, more work and less room to do a tear down. I left one side open as well so it is easy to put the engine on with an engine hoist.
Added a harness for a GM alternator so the battery stays charged and it also tests the alternator before it goes in the car.
To drain the coolant I put a petcock drain in the lowest point of the lower radiator hose which makes draining the system easy. Hoses are made from 2" steel conduit and radiator hose sections.
Radiator is from a 95 camaro, it has hooks on it for the fan setup so no extra mounts needed. Each fan controlled by a separate switch and relay.
Radiator is higher than the highest part of the engine so air is easy to get out of the system.
I put the controls on the side instead of the back so the carb could be adjusted with the gauges readable. Also keeps you away from the exhaust heat.
I left enough room for long tube headers but used some shorties for the SB since this made it even more compact, and actually was not overly loud with the turbo mufflers.
Rear mount is a 1/4" steel plate welded to the stand with holes to bolt up to a bellhousing in the same place the transmission would. So different holes can be drilled for different bells as needed.
Front mounts are removable so others could be fabbed and used as needed. I did not make the lower crossmember adjustable, maybe in the future but 90 percent of my engines will use the same mounts.
I did not make mounts for a gas tank or battery, only takes a minute to hook up a battery and use a 5 gallon gas can.
Lastly it seems a lot of stands mount the engine way up in the air, not sure why? I made mine so it is high enough for the exhaust but not crazy high. I have room to drop the oil pan if needed, and actually will be as the oil pan gasket needs replacing. Better to find out about it now than in the car!
Here are some pics, I broke in the cam today and it worked great. Once I remove the engine I will throw on some paint and call it done.

 

Well thought-out! Sure beats running it on an old tire!

I take it you don't live where exhaust noise is an issue?

 

Nice work Dave. I been wanting to do the same thing just haven't gotten to it yet.

 

Thanks!
Ross you wouldn't believe it but it wasn't any louder than a push lawn mower running while breaking in the cam, and I was running 2500-3000 RPM for 25 minutes straight. That is as long as you werent standing right behind the mufflers
I thought it was going to be super loud but it was amazingly quieter than I expected.

 

nice work. I like the access to the front of the engine.

 

Very nice. Nice enough to mount a dyno.

 

thanks guys, it was well worth building. I have some other engines that have been sitting around awhile and it will be good to fire them off before doing all the work of installation.

 

Well thought out. Thanks for the tips.