With aircooled Porsche and VW specialists become few and far between, there have been several times in the past few years where I’ve seen the need to ship an engine to have it reworked or when it’s being sold.

In this article I’m going to walk you through an affordable way to build a nice shipping crate on a standard 48×40″ pallet.

Please note that your safety is your responsibility. Use the proper ear and eye protection.  TMJ is not liable for your safety!

Tools and Material

You will need the following tools and material.

• Battery Drill with the appropriate bit for your screws (I use T-25 Torx)
• A box of  1.75″ wood screws (sheetrock or decking) Apx 60-70 screws needed
• 1 Countersink bit/drill
• 2- 4×8′ sheets of 3/8″ plywood  (you can use 1/2 for more stability
• 7- 8 foot 2×2″ framing support studs
• Standard size pallet (48×40″)
• A level
• Measuring tape
• Square
• Pencil
• Skill Saw
• Miter Box
• 3 Ratchet Straps for strapping the engine down

Cutting

I started with my 2×2 framing. With the aircleaners off of the engine I had a total clearance height of 32″ to give myself a bit of space to clear the fan shroud.

• Cut 8-2×2′s at 30 and 1/4″ long
• Cut 4-2×2′s at 6″ length
• Cut 3- 2×2′s at 37″ length
• Cut 2- 2×2′s at 48″ length
• Cut 2- 2×2′s at 16″ length

Now onto cutting your plywood. If you’ve done this right, you will only need one sheet to cover 3 sides of the crate. The other sheet will be used to cover each end (2 sides).

• Mark and cut the sheet in 32″ increments. This will give you three identical pieces (32×48″) to use for the wider, 48 inch sides and top of the crate.
• Mark and cut the sheet at 32″ by 40″ for your sides. You will need two of these.

Building

Note-If you do not countersink your screws prior, the wood will most likely crack!

1. Take the 2-16″ 2×2 pieces and lay them out so they are at each side of the oil screen cover. They rest on the bottom side of the engine case. Screw each piece of wood to the palet.Note that you can add some rubber gasket material if you feel necessary as this wood will be in direct contact with the engine case. I’ve never had any issue with wear/tear with the case resting on the wood in this fashion…
   
2. Now is the time when you want to strap the engine down with your ratchet straps. With this engine, since it will be restored I ran a soft rubber backed carpet over the cylinder head tin and a strap over each side. I then ran a third strap over the transmission mount flange on the back as shown in this picture below.
    

   

3. Countersink  6″ 2×2 pieces so that they can be screwed to the pallet at each corner along the 48″ sides as shown in this picture. These are used to screw the upright supports to as well as screwing the side sheet panels on later.
   |
4. In the above picture you can see the 6″ pieces now mounted at each corner. Off of those pieces I screwed the base of each of the 8 upright 30 and 1/4″ supports.
5. Your upright supports are standing now and though they may seem a bit wobbly, they’ll firm up soon enough. Take your 48″ cut 2×2, measure 6″ in and countersink accordingly to drill down into the upright supports.  Screw them together.
6. Now you can grab the 37″ supports which run between the 48″ pieces. As shown in the photo above I countersunk and screwed them in from the 48″ pieces.
7. Countersink and screw down into the 37″ side pieces into the uprights accordingly and make sure now that all framing is tied together. Add addition supports/screws where you feel necessary.
8. Now onto the side panels. Since you have them all cut this will be pretty straight-forward. I started with the 48″ panels first. Make sure everything is square and begin screwing them together. Start with a screw in each corner (4 total) and move onto the other side. Save the top piece for last.
   
9. The following photo shows your side pieces screwed in place and then the final top piece.
   
10. At this point you can choose to take an additional step in supporting the engine. It is possible to build a crossmember out of 3/4 plywood that mounts onto the transmission/engine mounting bolt holes. This piece runs the width of the crate and would mount to the side panels. This step is not shown in the pictures.
11. Finish screwing off all of the panels and check to make sure everything is sound and secure.
     

    

Tags | 356, Building, Engine Crate, Porsche 912, S90, Shipping