I have jumped back into my 914 revival project. I am looking at another engine/trans removal and wanted to get an opinion about a "proposed" project. I have enough room in my garage to to install a couple "I-beams" to roll the car up on to remove the engine. According to my measurements....20" is the basic height of the engine/transmission. So if I have two 18" tall I-beams I should have roughly 24" of clearance under the car to slide the whole mess out....right? Any thoughts or feedback on the I-beam setup?

My opinion: Floor Jack -- served me well for over a decade and several R&R's of engine & trans. Much easier to move around than I-beams too!

If you have some extra coin, buy the Tangerine Racing jack pad that support the engine & trans and has exactly the right center of gravity to keep it all perfectly stable & simple.

It was never too bad with just the jack. Now that I sprung for the tangerine lift plate, I have no idea how I lived without it. Can't recommend it strongly enough.

I feel you on the lift plate...I made one the first time I took the engine/trans out! The first time I did it I had the car on a lift....Just looking for info on how high the car should be the next go round in my garage!

I agree and there are a lot of write up and video showing you just how to do it. This one really is a no brainer. Get a nice low-profile jack at Harbor freight. They have an aluminum jack that is not bad for the money if you get a 20% off or sometimes a 25% off. Under a hundred.

Bob B

Ah, my jackstands are 16.5" and I usually boost them 8" on wood blocking. Max height would be 24.5" and I know I don't extend the jackstands all the way so somewhere between 20" and 22" would be about what I've been using.

I have some ramps that I put under the rear wheels and a wheel chock for the front wheels. Ebrake on. This setup raises the rear high enough but I feel more comfortable going under the car than with jack stands. I can push and pull on the car and it's rock solid. Tall jackstands on wood blocks scare me.

But I'd rather do it at the shop on a lift.

I just stacked four 2x8" boards under each rear wheel about 2 foot long each after jacking the rear of the car up. This kept the car stable on all four wheels and had just enough room to pull the engine out on a furniture dolly.

If you must do this do it the easy way.

2x4s screwed and the stacked.

Click to view attachment

Lot cheaper than iBeams

When I say "I beams" I really should have been more specific. I was going to build my "I beams" much like the new composite floor joists out there now that are essentially 2 2x4s with 10" of 3/4 osb between them glued into a slot.

My I beams would be 10' 2x10s with 2 strips of 3/4 plywood placed vertically between the 2x10s 6 inches apart. when placed on a concrete floor these will easily hold a 2000lb car. And with internal lateral bracing they will easily hold a 4000lb Chevelle 454 SS!

While I understand the ease of just blocking up the rear end, I will need access to the entire underside of the car. I also have a 79 VW beetle so these will come in handy there as well.

So back to the question at hand...What would be a good "working" height to remove the engine? 4 2x8 only give you an additional 6" to play with. The 914 engine I measured (without accessories) was 18" tall. I just went out to the garage with a tape measure, and it seems that would be close with the car tilted forward to clear the rear bumper. So my best guess is that 2 I beams 12" tall would do, but 14" would give me a touch more clearance. But going with 14" I would be inclined to do 2x12 at the bottom for stability.

Any additional thoughts?

This is how I supported the rear of the car. After lowering the motor and trans with a floor jack on to a furniture dolly it just made it out. But you may want to remove the FI connectors, mine were hitting when lowering the engine.

I use two tall floor jacks and a large furniture dolly.
Remove wheels, lower car until engine bar sits on dolly.
Unbolt engine, raise car.

Well it seems like 12" should be plenty of clearance. I am removing the engine to do a FI overhaul, so the engine will basically be down to a long block when it comes time to drop it!

On a side note I am thinking about running two strips of leds down the inside of each I-Beam. One thing I have found out being under a car working, you never have enough light!

I will post some pictures when I get the setup done.