hi all...
So today I removed the trans and engine from my 4cyl 914.

I did it for 2 reasons...
1 - i am going to convert the trans to a side shift with parts I bought from Brad Mayeur.
2 - i want to attack a couple of the oil leaks that are annoying me...

The way I did this, was to remove the muffler.. then the heat exchangers..
Then undo the drive shafts and unbolts and remove the transmission...

Then I put the hydraulic table under the motor, undid the bolts, and disconnected the hoses and plugs and connectors... pretty easy, just a bit time consuming.

But this is the first time I have used an engine stand... is the normal convention to remove the engine tins and the clutch assembly first??

Also, I have drained the oil earlier, but when it is on the stand, and I turn it upside down, is it a bad thing for any residual oil to head to the top of the motor??

It will not hurt a thing. That's a clean looking engine.

+1

You'll enjoy rotating it freely. Oil will come out, but usually when you've stepped away or left for the evening, so you find it on your engine stand the next day.

You should be able to mount the engine to the stand without removing anything other than what is shown in the pictures. EDIT: I just noticed the standoffs are pretty short on your stand, you might have to remove the PP/clutch disk to get a flush fit.

Orient your mounting plate and arms similar to how the Porsche/vw engine holding fixture would mount. Those are designed to build a motor all the way up from a case half. Think about the tools you have and how they might fit (or not) to remove PP/clutch/flywheel if you need to get back there.

I bought the Porsche engine adapter and used on a standard eng stand like yours to rebuild the top end of my 930 engine. I had to install the clutch/pp after it came off cause there wasn't enough room to use the clutch centering tool, other than that, was really convenient, and easily held the weight of my fully dressed engine.