How to make an engine dolly

[highlandmurf]

So, I get a lot of really good info off of this site, and decided that as a way of saying thanks, I could put up a tutorial that revolves more around my area of expertise.

I found the plans for this engine dolly on the Type2 site here:

http://www.type2.com/library/engineg/vw-engine-dolly-hartranft.pdf

It is designed to allow the jack to get under the engine easily.

So, here we go, First the parts list:

Qty Size
1- 2 x 12 x 18"
1- 2 x 4 x 13” *
2- 2 x 6 x 16 ½”
1- 2 x 6 x 18” *
2- 2 x 4 x 18”
12- Lag bolts ¼” x 3”
12- ¼” washers
16- lag bolts ¼” X 1”
4 - 2” Casters

All in all, it was about $40 in supplies.

I got everything including the casters from Home Depot

First off, I bought a 2x 12 x 12' because, you can cut down all of the other narrower parts from it. More cutting, but if you have a tablesaw, it saves some $$.

Saftey First!! I guess, I should say, that you shouldn't use any power tools without proper instruction. It's up to you to make sure that you work safely, and I am not advocating any method of work in the following photo series. IT is for general info only.

That said, The first thing you want to do with your lumber is to check it for staples on all 6 sides ( 2 edges, 2 ends, 2 faces) The ones that were on the outsides of the bundle can be riddled with them.

Take 'em out!! Not only can they give you a pretty good cut, if they get hung up on your saw, you may find yourself in a pretty dangerous position. You can use a hammer and an awl and or some lathing pliers to remove them.

Next, I marked and measured for th crosscuts. I chose to crosscut first, because, I needed to get the one 2 x 12 piece, and I figured it would be easier to rip the remaining pieces if they were shorter.

Please note- the 2 parts in the cutlist marked with an asterisk *. The dolly is designed to allow 11" of space between the sides. if your jack requires more space you may have to make these parts longer.

Check your saw depth for the cut before plugging it in!

Parts roughed out:

The plans call for a 1/4" groove (called a dado in the woodworking world) to be made down 2 of the boards. This adds a little strength, I don't know if it is entirely nessesary, but It is on the plans, so here we go.

I did them on a tablesaw by making a series of cuts. (my routers and dado heads were in storage.)
Find the center of the board, and measure out 1 1/2" off of center to mark your 1st cut. Lay a piece of material against it to check that your measurements are correct.

Next set the saw for the 1/4" depth:

Set the saw fence to the marks on the boards. Make sure that your sawblade it to the inside of the line. Spin the board around to make the cut on the other side. It's a good Idea to check the width again before commiting to the 2nd cut.

Then, move the fence one sawblade width to the right. You can get 2 cuts per position by spinning the board around. Make sure you cut both pieces before moving the fence.

This will take several cuts. this is where your Aircooled VW patience kicks in!

If those pieces look a little wider than yours, It's because they are 2 x 6's. I forgot, and took 'em down to 2 x 4 after grooving them.

Here they are finished:

THe design requires that the ends of these pieces are notched on the ends to recieve the cross piece. This is illustrated in the height difference in the next photo.

I suppose you could just rip the cross piece down, but we are following the plans here so....

The height on the saw is already set for the sholder of the notch.

Layout the pieces like they will be assembled, and mark the sholuder (side) of the notch.

Next, set your fence for the depth of the notch. Make sure the blade is on the correct side of the cut.

Get out your saw's mitre square. It is dangerous to attemt this cut with out one. Check it for 90° and tighten it down.

No need to move the fence. just pull the wood away from the fence by the width of a sawblade and continue cutting and moving, cutting and moving untill the entire end of the piece is notched out.

Next fit the pieces together and check how they fit.

Assembly is done by means of bolting the parts together with the 3" lag bolts. use a 3/16" bit to drill a pilot hole for the bolts. you may have to go back and drill out the portion of the hole closest to the head, if the bolt has a straight shank (not threaded portion)on it.

Lastly, bolt the casters on to the bottom.

And we're done!

Note that I did not make the circular cut out on the top board for the oil sump clearance. This is not needed on the type IV engine. If you need this space, I think it would be easier to add some strips of plywood to the top.

Now back to the auto repair part of the job!
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1976 Westy Marigold Yellow
2.0 stock FI
My M-Plate

[bugninva]

great write up!!... I'm a carpenter and disagree with your picture of your blade being 1/4"...

just messin witcha....
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[highlandmurf]

Ahhh, ya got me.
That pic was pre saw adjustment.

I guess I'll get back to thinking about my fist engine pull.

If it decides to stop raining sometime this week.......
_________________
1976 Westy Marigold Yellow
2.0 stock FI
My M-Plate

[cdennisg]

Looks good. Thanks for posting the layout and build process. One point I would like to make, and I, too, am a carpenter by trade, is that there is likely no need for the dadoes on the bottom rails. A butt joint, some quality glue, and a few screws would suffice for that purpose.

I may have to build one soon. It appears that it would be quite handy.
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nothing

[19super73]

That is a great looking platform you built. I was thinking of building something similar until I stumbled across 1000lb capacity dollies for $19.99. I went the lazy way.
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1973 Super Beetle
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1974 412 Variant
1975 La Grande Bug
1984 Vanagon

[highlandmurf]

If I knew where to get a 1000lb dolly for 20 bucks there might be some memory left on my camera right now!!
_________________
1976 Westy Marigold Yellow
2.0 stock FI
My M-Plate

[Randall]

Here are pics of the dolly that I made from plans found in an August 1996 Hot VWs article.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/817257.jpg
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/817258.jpg

As you can see, mine uses steel channel and aluminum angle brackets. If the wood gets broken or termites weaken it, it's not much of a task to unscrew the bolts and put in new 2X4's.


On a related topic, there is an article in the April 2000 Hot VWs about how to build an engine lift assist that allows one person to lift an engine from floor level up to a rolling engine stand using only a hydraulic jack. It's kind of hard to describe without photos and drawings (and I have never built one). Briefly, two boxes are used in a "stepping stone" fashion. The engine is placed on the jack, then it is lifted atop the first box. Next, the first box is lifted on top of the second box. With the second box resting on the floor the engine is at the right height so that the engine stand can be pushed into place to accept the yoke attached to the engine. This plan is of use if you don't have a friend around to lend a helping hand or if your woman isn't up to the task of lifting half the weight of an engine.
You can see the cover of that Hot VWs issue at this link. http://www.hotvws.com/images/Back%20Issues/2000%20...0Cover.htm
At the bottom of that page click on "Contents Page" to see the article titles. Page 70 is the one I'm talking about.

Here's where you order back issues.
https://www.nsfsmagazine.com/secure/hotvwstore/backissues.html

Here's a link to a site with useful information on the same topic.
http://www.ratwell.com/technical/EngineSupport.html#dolly

[cdennisg]

[vwracerdave]

I saw on your plans that you take a piece of 1/2" inch plywood the size of your top 2X12 and cut a hole in it to clear the oil sump plate. This will help spread the load across the bottom of the engine. You could go one step further and also install a piece of 1/2" plywood on the bottom with a hole cut out the size of your floor jack cradle. This will keep the engine from sliding off the floor jack when raised up in the air.
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2017 Street Comp Champion - Thunder Valley Raceway Park - Noble, OK
2010 Sportsman ET Champion - Mid-America Dragway - Arkansas City, KS
1997 Sportsman ET Champion - Thunder Valley Raceway Park - Noble ,OK

[VWKDF]

[Collie]

Just to add to the topic, here is a dolly I had made about a decade ago. It does pretty much the same job but its metal.

[anthracitedub]

Yep, I made a steel one too, about the size of a shoe box…no wheels, my small floor jack slides right in the middle…you drop the engine on it and wheel it out with the jack, then pull the jack out…engine sits firmly on the steel box.

[highlandmurf]

Success!
Just got my bus back together after using the dolly to pull the engine and trans.

Just a heads up, you have get the vehicle up fairly high to account for the height of the dolly. It was on the last notch of my 3 ton jackstands.

I pulled the engine and trans together. At the last minute I decided to turn the 2 X 12, 90° to catch the transmission as well. This balanced nicely, except it left me scrambling for another piece of 2X to bridge the span between the dolly frame.

All in all, I think it made a considerable convinience.
_________________
1976 Westy Marigold Yellow
2.0 stock FI
My M-Plate

[ilustr8tor]

here is one you can make for 12.00:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzuLrZqzfWI
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I love this analog addition to my over digitzed life.

[Cusser]

Or buy, $40 https://www.ebay.com/i/132010139021?chn=ps

I just lowered my engine using the floor jack and used an inexpensive mover's dolly from HF to move the engine around and take off heat exchangers, etc., then lifted it for my bench-mounted engine stand.
But I may try to make that HF dolly into such engine dolly https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzuLrZqzfWI see below

I mean, these specialized things are cute and look useful, but it's not like I currently R&R VW engines every year or three....and everything one buys or makes, he has to store !!!


Link

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1970 VW (owned since 1972) and 1971 VW Convertible (owned since 1976), second owner of each. The '71 now has the 1835 engine, swapped from the '70. Second owner of each. 1988 Mazda B2200 truck, 1998 Frontier, 2014 Yukon, 2004 Frontier King Cab. All manual transmission except for the Yukon. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335294 http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335297

[mark tucker]

I have a hole in mine for the sump plate. also good idea to add some straps to hold it firm. I made a plywood unit to go on my ATV lift..well i made 2 of them for the ATV lift, both have holes for the sump plate to go through. one is for engine removal&instlation. the other one is for engine and trans removal&installation. works great.. you can also go the the swap meats ( non vw) and buy new engine dollys for $15& up and do a little extra for use with vw engines. just remember whatever you make it needs to be solid and hold the engine good by the bottom of the sump or bottom of the case with no rocking.or it may end up on the floor in a mess.also those pushrod tubes are kinda delicate. you also dont want to hold it up by the heads. by hand that may be ok, but not by a fixture that is "hard" that may damage the head seal, cylinders, pushrod tube seals or whatever.hands are soft&giving wood and or steel isant. just slap your self with you hand then again with a 2x4 and see witch knocks out the most teeth

[Glenn]

Or a moving dolly and some boards.

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Glenn
74 Beetle Specs | 74 Beetle Restoration | 2180cc Engine
"You may not get what you pay for, but you always pay for what you get"

Member #1009

#BlueSquare

[heimlich]

I use a harbor freight wooden roller. They are about $7.

I have to dance with the engine on a jack for a little while. Just don't let it slide off and especially if you have removed the sleds.
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[mark tucker]

[ach60]