Next Best Thing To A Dyno ~ DIY Engine Run Stand

Uncle Tony’s Garage gives you a hands-on tour of Dallas Brown’s home-built engine run stand. This type of setup is the perfect thing for people who build an engine or two a year or are obsessive perpetual tinkerers like Dallas and Uncle Tony.

The stand itself is constructed from a partial engine stand that’s permanently affixed to a box tub frame on casters. The systems are all completely self-contained and set up to be universal, with minor modifications, as Uncle Tony explains.

The stand has a mounted battery box, a radiator with dual electric cooling fans, and upper and lower hoses that articulate making connections easy. A fuel cell is mounted to the stand along with an electric fuel pump (Holley Blue) and fuel regulator. The rig a ready with a water temperature sensor and oil pressure fitting.

The control stand includes a tachometer, water temperature, and oil pressure gauges as well as toggle switches for ignition and electric cooling fans, plus a starter button.

Take a Tour of a DIY Engine Run Stand

This engine run stand is the perfect setup for making basic engine adjustments and checks, carburetor tuning, setting timing, checking for leaks, camshaft break-in, and so much more.

This type of DIY engine run stand can be built with a couple of hundred bucks in materials by anyone that has basic fabrication skills in a weekend.

Here’s a complete tour of the run stand with full explanation…