Easy Run Test Stand; Out of Business?
 

I know at least one member has one of these. I was going to build my own, as I have all the steel I need. Bought a bunch a few years ago at a surplus auction for about 5 cents on the dollar. Building one for just Chevy motors would be pretty easy; but I need to accommodate an SBC, a Supercharged Studebaker V8 and a Ferrari V12. That will be a bit more challenging.

But, the older I get the less time I have, and frankly, things I could knock out in a weekend when I was SuperDave's age, take longer now. So, I was considering purchasing one.

Looks like they may be out of business. Anyone heard anything?

I did request a quote from a third party vendor, but haven't heard anything yet.

Just received confirmation from Andrew at Easy Run that they are not making them.

I bought the USA made stand kit from Summit and am currently assembling it. Definitely recommend and I believe it would accommodate any engine with possibly some adapters required for the V12.

How long is it? I was looking at the 66 inch model of the EasyRun.
Would also like a feature that allows bolting up a transmission, either manual or auto.

Andrew just sent me another email indicating he is hoping to restart production.

If you have time, it would be nice if you could post some pics of the progress.

I know Eric (vintagemusclecar) has one he has used for years.

This one is 50" long and uses a bellhousing for the rear mount plate. I'm not aware of another stand that allows the transmission to be installed, unfortunately

While on the subject, I cannot find a universal radiator that has dual inlets and outlets.
Any kind of search for such a beast just yields results for a "dual pass" radiator.

Somebody made one, as that is what came with the EasyRun.
Where do I get one?

Resurrecting this thread. Looks like EasyRun is done, or at least MIA for now.

Decided to build my own. I have a good start. This is an extra body cart I got with a lot of parts I bought last year.

Really heavy "C" channel construction. The six pads on top are all 3/8 steel.

Figured I would build some dedicated stands for a Chevy. Then, when I get to the Studebaker supercharged engine, build some dedicated stands for that motor. Then, when I am ready to run the Ferrari V12.... well, you get the idea.

Anyone have some decent "plans" for an engine run test stand. I will adapt whatever is out there to this cart. It is 52 inches long and 26 inches wide.

Plan to put some larger casters on it with locking feature.

Very cool.

Made some progress on this today, before the heat got to me.

Still cannot find a radiator that has two outlets on each side. Figured this would be easy.

Only one I found on line is in Europe. https://races-shop.com/universal/404...2-outputs.html

Tempted to just purchase one for a 69 Camaro BB with four rows and a fan built in.
Found this one on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/HonorPower-Ra...1zcF9hdGY&th=1
I know; it is made in China; but it is the same brand as the big four row I put in my El Camino, and I was impressed with the quality. It also solved my problem of running hot when towing in hot weather.

I want a big a$$ radiator, as the last thing I need is for one to start puking while I am breaking it in.

Because I won't need to bolt up a fan on any of the engines I will be testing, I can just snake radiator hoses around to get it hooked up. Stupid idea?

Nice cart you picked up!

Seems like a great idea to me.

Jason

Any downside to using a Marine application fuel tank?

This is what I used, price was fair.

I got ready to weld the longitudinal square tubing on. Got to thinking; what if i don't like where I positioned it? Hmmm. Decided to bolt it together. Besides, sitting right next to the drill press and holes are pretty easy with a drill press... if you use cutting fluid and don't wear out your bits.

The two longitudinals are 66 inches long. I wanted a stand that I could bolt virtually any engine to... even if I had a trans mounted.

So far, I have not bought any steel for this project. The square tubing (some is 1.5, some is 1 inch) came from either the giant rolling doors or the door frames that were on my shop when i bought it. Gave away one of the three doors, but no one wanted the other two; so I disassembled them to save the steel frames. Gave away the corrugated tin. It was in very poor shape. Went to a good home; the guy made chicken coops out of if. Even the brake is repurposed. The PO of the building left some parts of an old Delta saw stand. I pirated the brake off of the lower frame and adapted it to this cart. That way, I can lock it down, and didn't have to buy locking casters. I used part of an old muffler clamp held down with a bolt that swivels in place to hold the brake in the "on" position. Forgot to get a pic.

There are three laterals. The largest lateral bar is 3 x 1/4 inch angle iron. Way beefier than I need; but it was free; so why not?
It will support the uprights that will mount to the engine mounts. I have some really beefy 2 inch x 1/4 angle iron that I will use for the uprights.

The other two are square tubing. I think one is 2 inch and the other is one or 1.5. Not sure. Both have 1/8 inch steel plate welded to them as reinforcements, so they are plenty strong.

One of those will hold the uprights that will bolt to the back of a bell housing for engines with no trans. The second one, farther back, will holt a trans mount.

All three laterals are infinitely adjustable. I simply used "U" clamps, similar to muffler clamps to locate them. Less than 3 bucks a piece. Had to spend SOME money on this.
Will be spending plenty on wiring, a tach, fuel tank and radiator. Loosen the nuts and slide it to where you want it. Tighten the nuts.

Yeah, with all this repurposed metal, it is pretty ugly. I doubt I will clean it up and have it powder coated. More into utility on something like this than looks.

I will be buying some plastic plugs or caps for the ends of those longitudinal tubes. Already cut my legs three times today running into them while working on some other things.

This project is on hold until I get the radiator ordered a 4 row for a big block 69 Camaro with integral fan and shroud. Didn't want to trust myself to make a mount for it until I had it here. Will probably set a spare block up on it with bell housing, then with trans to get it set up for SBC. After that, shouldn't be too difficult to make whatever pieces I need to adapt if to Studebaker, MG, Ferrari, BMW, or whatever comes along.

Haven't worked on this in a while.

I used the base of that Delta table saw stand for the radiator support. I had to cut out the gussets on one end and shorten the assembly, then weld the gussets back on.

The ends that I cut off already had angle iron welded on the ends, so I bolted them to the cart to mount the support to. Added a couple of uprights, and it worked out well.

No pics yet, but I hinged another of the Delta saw stand pieces to the radiator support for the dash plate. Had another piece of scrap tin that was the perfect size. It's painted yellow on one side and green on the other. Any Packer fans here?

Here it is before I mounted the dash. Will try to remember to post pics of the dash tonight. Forgot my camera yesterday, and phone pics suck..... they always come out sideways for me.

I should probably pay more respect to that old block... it is the original 302 block from my Z/28, but the only block I had down a the shop. The rest are in the garage at the house. That nasty bell housing is the original 621 for the LT-1. Just needed something for mock up. Oil pan is also off the LT-1. That's why the sump is so large.

Still need to make a battery mount, and mounts for the fuel tank and coolant recovery tank. Then need to cut holes for all my gauges. I bought a cheap Bosch Tach that has a switch for 4 cyl, 6 cyl and 8 cyl. I have an old set of RAC (made in Japan) gauges that I will never use on a car, so they are perfect for this project.

This thing is SO overkill, but, like I said, I don't plan to use two body carts at the same time, so it is basically free. I have STILL not bought one piece of steel for the project. All scrap. I MAY spring for another set of larger casters; some that lock. I do have the brake on it, but may decide I want the added security of four locking casters.

Unbelievably, I do not have a 2 1/16 inch hole saw!!!

Guess I have never had to cut a hole for gauges; always used the supplied bracket.

Any recommendations on a quality hole saw?

Not going to waste time hooking up the amp gauge. Besides oil pressure and water temp, was thinking a vacuum gauge, and maybe a fuel pressure gauges; one low pressure set up for carbs, and one high pressure for FI set ups.

Also, just because I already have a spare pair of AFR gauges, I will mount them.

Any other gauges I should consider?

Not looking forward to wiring...

No reason to get fancy with the fuel tank "bracket". Just zip tied it to the base.

Here is the panel and frame assembly for the dash. Cut down a couple of small gate hinges, drilled an extra hole in each and attached it to the radiator support.

Cut some 5/8 rebar to length for prop rods. Drilled a hole in one end and tapped it for a 5/16 stud. Drilled a 1/4 inch hole cross ways in the other end to pivot on a 1/4 inch bolt.

I wanted this to be able to fold down against the radiator support when not in use. Takes up less space that way. But, I needed it to fold up and out of the way of air flow, so the "puller" fan could get some air through the radiator!

I was thinking that I would make some gizmo to retain the prop rods stored in the straight up position; then saw that they hit nothing and were out of the way hanging straight down. So, I just let gravity handle that storage issue.

Coolant recovery tank mounted.

The framework for the dash panel has brackets welded on both sides. I think that makes a great place to mount a throttle control.

Haven't had a lot of time to spend on this, but pleased with the progress.

Planning on a 90 degree brass elbow in the radiator drain attached to a ball valve, with a hose attached for draining the coolant. I hate slow messy petcocks. Also plan to run the top overflow hose from the recovery tank to a secondary catch can, just to make certain I don't have any coolant spills.

That engine test stand is turning out pretty slick!

It is ugly as sin; but I don't think the ugliness will affect performance.

Looking at throttle control cables. I can really go overboard on this (as far as using salvage or scrap parts) and use the old knob and bowden cable assembly that I took off my 49 Studebaker dump truck when I converted the hydraulic dump control from PTO to an electric over hydraulic set up.

But for this I think I want a new part; something with a handle and lever so I can control throttle opening more precisely.

Can't find much other than lawn mower, marine and heavy equipment controllers.

Decided to just use the old PTO cable and handle from my Studebaker. It is 75 years old and way over built. Very thick cable. Moves freely, and I can cut it to size once I have everything dialed in. I can get about 4 inches of travel out of it, but shouldn't need that much.

Added an overflow system for the coolant. I already have a coolant recovery tank, but just in case THAT system overflows (I hate getting coolant on the floor) I ran a tube to an old antifreeze jug that sits snugly down in the channel iron.

Got the cutouts done for gauges and control panel. Control panel has a master switch and three accessory switches.

Also has a built in push button for the starter.

Have an extra gauge hole. I bought a dual Air Fuel Ratio set up thinking that it included two gauges. Well, it does, but BOTH gauges (left and right) are contained in a single pod.

I have a volt gauge on the way, and may mount a fuel pressure gauge.

If anyone wants a vintage RAC (made in Japan circa 1971) Amp gauge, it is yours for free.
I have no use for it.

Also mounted a low pressure fuel pump for carb applications that will be using electric pumps. It will go on circuit 3. I started to mount it on the outside, but figured it would be safer on the inside. It is right next to the fuel tank. Just need a couple of 90 degree elbows to get fuel to it.

Forgot to mention that I made a mount for the battery. Welded in two pieces of angle iron. You can see the burn through, so I know I got good penetration.
Laid a piece of 3/8 plywood on the angle iron, then put the battery on top.
Keeping with the budget build, I just used a left over ratchet strap for a hold down.

As you can see, I also removed my original 69 Z/28 engine block as the test fitter. I felt disrespectful.

Once I get all the gauges, then I need to wire it up. Not looking forward to that.

The fan set up came with a temp sensor. Planning to put that in line on the lower hose. Also included a bunch of connectors and a relay. However, it did not include any instructions. Hopefully, it isn't too difficult to figure out. Never put an electric fan on an old car before.

I HATE dribbling coolant out of a petcock. Did I mention, I don't like fluids on the floor?

So, installed an elbow with a 1/4 turn ball valve and some tubing. I can just empty this into jugs, and hopefully use in the car that the engine is going in to.