GT6 engine test stand

Have you found this site useful? ...Help keep it on-line

Just a couple of quick pics of my newest toy (yet another GT6 engine). This page though is more about the test stand than the engine.

The stand was originally designed simply as a carriage for the long block. The muffler hanger, radiator stand, and control panel towers are all recent 'bolt on' add-ons to the original stand. I just finished wiring up the control panel this evening around 5pm (7/23/05) and fired up this engine to see what kind of shape it was really in. (purchased off Ebay earlier this month).

gt6enginestand1_LF1.jpg (41328 bytes)
An electric fan wired to a switch on the control panel is all the cooling control there is at the moment.

gt6enginestand1_RF1.jpg (42246 bytes)
My lawn tractor gas can is the fuel tank for this test run. You can also see the radiator is simply c-clamped to the stand extension.

gt6enginestand1_LR1.jpg (37738 bytes)

gt6enginestand1_RR1.jpg (39809 bytes)
The muffler is a 'Cherry Bomb' (brand) el' cheapo I picked up at Pep Boys for $22 off the shelf. It actually sounds GREEAAAT!!! A lot better than I ever expected. Reasonably quite but a nice deep throaty sound. Maybe I'll use it on the car when done here.

gt6enginestand_CARBSIDE.jpg (37661 bytes)

I simply jammed a piece of that universal flex pipe over the broken off original exhaust down pipe to connect the muffler.
The muffler hanger hold the muffler via the rear most of the front two clamps, and the extension supports its rear.

gt6enginestand1_CTRLPANEL1.jpg (35229 bytes)

The control panel has a mechanical tach that was a spare I had here. The speedo is mounted mostly just to use the voltage stabilizer on its backside for the temp gauge. But also since the stand is designed to allow me bolt the tranny stand right up behind it, I can attach the speedo to the tranny to test the overdrive as well. There's a vacuum gauge, temp gauge, and oil press gauge, a couple of idiot lights, and switch for the electric fan. The key switch works just as you'd expect in the car, complete with starter solenoid. (visible just behind the panel under the key switch.

gt6enginestand1_CNTRLPANELBACK.jpg (43943 bytes)

Well I guess I really lucked out here. With a fresh batch of 20-50 Castrol GTX, the engine is maintaining a solid 45 psi of oil pressure at 900 rpm HOT. Having not even cleaned up or adjusted the points, I'm not surprised to find the idle floating around about 2-4 degrees. So tomorrow I'll clean it up and see if I can't stabilize it a bit.

I'll have to repeat the compression tests after I put a couple of hours on it tomorrow. But even after just 20 minutes she's starting to smooth out. I'll have to see if that #6 cyl comes down (wet comp was at 250psi) and see if #2 comes up a bit (wet compression was only at 200) All the other cyls were around 220 +/- 5psi.

OK...two last additions. These pics was taken by a client I'd been working with for the last three weeks. The funny part was he was a British chap, here in the U.S. to test some cell tower repeaters the company he works for was putting out into the field.. (we were performing compliance testing for field certification of these racks of equipment). Anyway...he snapped these pics while we were unloading the engine off the pallet and onto my little trailer in the shipping bay.

Oh... a few of you might remember Anton from the B.O.G. show. I figured what better way to make a client feel at home than to have him tag along to a British car show while he was here in the states) He got a big kick out of seeing a GT6 with a trailer here in the states.

gt6engine_at_metlabsmod2.jpg (31821 bytes)
(just unwrapped, and one of our guys moving the pallet over to the open bay door with the forklift truck. Yep...that's me, steadying on the engine)

gt6engine_at_metlabsmod1.jpg (36677 bytes)
All loaded up and ready to roll. (that's just a pile of rope on top the engine)

©1987-2010 All material copyright© Teglerizer 1996-2008	last edited 3/15/08	hits since last reset

It's alive!