Shipping Engine

[John Straub]

Have any of you had to ship an engine from one coast to the other? How do you do it...and what's the best way?

Thanks,
John

[MoparBoy72]

Dear John,

At the Hot Rod machine shop that I worked at this past summer there were two main ways;

1) Strapped and Bolted to a Pallet then Stretch wrapped.

2) Same as above except a plywood crate was built on top to encase the engine. (only shipped two of those $20,000+)

The shop generally used Freight Quote.com (search?) to find the best rate; Insurance was also used through or the carrier or a thrid party depending on the situation.


Hope that helps,

[VintageExcellen]

This is always a fun one.

Couple methods of shipment. Door to door, or terminal to terminal. Often when doing a door to door the trucks do not have lift gates and the shippers often require a fork lift or loading dock. Door to door can be very expensive - sometimes not, although very convenient. Just remember the lift gate problem. Terminal to terminal is very reasonable but you will have to deliver the engine or pick up the engine from the terminal - the terminals all have forklifts so loading and unloading at the terminal is no problem.

Shipping freight has some of the widest range of price quotes. One place will quote $1200 to ship and the next will charge $300 for the same exact service so shop around. I have used ForwardAir.com and had great experiences with them but they are terminal to terminal only.

Packaging:
First you will need a pallet - get a good strong one. You will need to strap the engine securely to the pallet. I like using cheap ratcheting straps as you can get them very very tight. A secondary method of securing the engine to the pallet is highly recommended - use a heavy gauge wiring like re bar tie wire, wrap it many times around the exhaust & pallet.

Then the choice is to crate or not to crate.

I would crate anything with fuel injection or carburetion still installed. If is just a longblock with no peripherals then strapping tot he pallet works fine. To make the crate you just simply build a frame with 2x4s and add sides to it. Chipboard works well for side material as it is the cheapest sheet plywood available and plenty strong. I must emphasize use SCREWS not nails as nails do not hold the box together tight during moving.

Keep in mind logistics - the size of your truck vs the crates size - camper shells are not forklift friendly. Lifting a 500lb Porsche 6cyl with and extra 100lbs of wood can be tough for even 4 men to lift. I have boxed up engines while they were in my truck and I have had engine sit in my truck for a week or so until they can be unloaded with friends.

I have shipped many engines over the years - good luck

-Mark Allen

[kenikh]

freightquote.com works great.

[EARLY911ZOO]

I have shipped engines to Fla and Texas for $488 and $218 respectively and it doesnt need to be fully enclosed...
you can leave the top open or build side fences like in these pics of
trannies I sent.
I have engine crate pics however unable to find them
same as these essentially...quite easy to build

that tiptronic weighed in at 295lbs with the crate no wonder those cars need 400 horse power
a 901 weighs approx 100lbs

[John Straub]

Thanks guys for the ideas!!

John

[hoffman912]

I had mine shipped from columbus, ohio, to Duane Spencer in Northern California so he coudl rebuild it.

I used the shipping company he recomended -i can look it up if you need it.

I crated the engine up when i shipped it. best way to do this is to buy a palet from a warehouse or store. then drain teh fluids from the engine, place it on top of the pallet, and then build walls around it, and a top over it, basically boxing it in on all sides. the shipping company will advise you of any special directions (ie hwo to label it or put an address on it).

it was about 500 each way to ship my engine in 2005

using a pallet is an excellent platform, as it is about the right size for an engine, and it also makes it easy for teh shipping company to pick it up with a forklift or a fork jack.

[Mudi]

And, add blocking plates around the pallet, to keep the forks from getting pushed to high and into the engine.. Mark it so that they won't want to put anything on top of it.

Definitely go Terminal to Terminal if you can, will save a ton of cash.

I've shipped a few engines and some scooters, not cheap..

[911quest]

Not a lot to add but I had a Boxster motor shipped from Florida to Kentucky for 175.00 with Forward Air, they seem to be the most resonable.

[budge96]

I would second Tony's suggestion..I have used ForwardAir.com between
5 and 10 times through the years.
1. they have terminals throughout the country at most larger airports
2. they can give you terminal to terminal svc usually within 3 days CONUS
3. they will provide an estimate given weight and size dimensions including
fuel surcharge
4. If you prefer door to door they have local truckers with lift gate access
that will charge a minumum of 75.00 on each end
5. the only hitch can be if you haven't got an account to bill to they
require cashiers checks or money order upon drop off for precisely the
amount weighed.
They are reasonably competitive given the recent spike in deisel prices
my .o2 Bert