by "Mercedes Streeter" (smart)
Published 12/12/2017 at 18:32
by "Mercedes Streeter" (smart)
Published 12/12/2017 at 18:32
Tags: Engines
STARS: 10
Soon I will be receiving a smart W451 engine that fell to leaky oil rings. I saved the little thing from being scrapped and got it for scrap value.
(Most of the unnecessary parts have already been stripped.)
There’s no use in flipping the engine, so I want to make it into a table! Of course, smart engines aren’t exactly large, so the end result will either be a nightstand or small coffee table. But, so far as I can see, I’ll have the first smart engine coffee table (for better or for worse).
Does anyone have any pointers for me? I plan on painting it white with pink cylinder walls and pink piston heads.
Also, I think I’ve gone fully crazy...
"benjrblant" (benjblant)
12/12/2017 at 18:35, STARS: 4
My coffee table spent its former life inside a BMW.
"vicali" (vicali)
12/12/2017 at 18:37, STARS: 5
Bright ideas abound..
"Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now)" (bman76-4)
12/12/2017 at 18:37, STARS: 0
Don’t
"Sweet Trav" (thespunbearing)
12/12/2017 at 18:39, STARS: 10
Take it to a machine shop and get the block cleaned, I would use clear coat where you want to keep the finish of metal intact. Take your time with good masking tape.
"themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles" (themanwithsauce)
12/12/2017 at 18:39, STARS: 7
You should totally put a tablet or old smartphone into it and have it control stuff in the room so you can have a “Smart” Smart table.
"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
12/12/2017 at 18:42, STARS: 1
For a cam-in-block engine with two valves per cylinder, it doesn’t make much sense for showcasing valvetrain stuff, but for a Smart engine, it does. Same rule would apply - take the head off for presentation and have the pistons sticking out, decoupled from crank - but the head needs to be doing something.
You might stick a plate to bridge the head bolts on one side of the block and the head bolt holes on the head, and bolt the head next to the block, upside-down. Remove all the valve springs and reassemble if you want to be able to turn the cam and move the valves by hand for fun.
The nice thing about V-engines is that you can build table supports into four of the bores and have a wide stable base for glass, which isn’t the case here. But - you might be able to attach a support to the exhaust manifold (leaving it on the flipped head) and lifting two of the pistons up and out to sit on the edge of their bores as supports.
On the bottom, you’d remove the oil pan and just bolt through the pan bolts to some kind of base frame.
"E90M3" (e90m3)
12/12/2017 at 18:44, STARS: 3
Camshaft lamp!
"Highlander-Datsuns are Forever" (jamesbowland)
12/12/2017 at 18:47, STARS: 2
I highly recommend an LS swap.
"crowmolly" (crowmolly)
12/12/2017 at 18:53, STARS: 4
I’d strip it to a bare block and get it professionally cleaned. Or at least be super thorough cleaning it at home. Definitely use a primer if you are painting it white.
For what it’s worth I’d probably go with a glass top and wire lights into each cylinder. Hey, why not? Colored LEDs are easy to get this time of year.
"If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent" (essextee)
12/12/2017 at 19:01, STARS: 1
That’s a very involved project. It’ll be a good distraction to keep you from dwelling on everything you’ve been going through.
"E90M3" (e90m3)
12/12/2017 at 19:08, STARS: 1
Also just remembered, my friend made a long time ago with a Subaru EJ20 engine.
"If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent" (essextee)
12/12/2017 at 19:15, STARS: 3
She could just turn it on end:
"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
12/12/2017 at 19:18, STARS: 1
Mayyyyybe. Kind of short, though. 3-cyl.
"XJDano" (xjdano)
12/12/2017 at 19:42, STARS: 3
You say it’s small and I believe that. My 1.0L metro engine was small.
Just think this is what it’ll look like after you take everything off.
And that’s why some folks are suggesting getting it professionally cleaned. It’ll ad to your overall cost but I think I’d be worth it.
Also consider it as a side table and facing on end with transmission bell housing area on the floor.
Keep an eye out on CL for free glass tables and trash the table and keep the glass. Maybe not right in front of the people.
"HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles" (hondasfordsvolvo)
12/12/2017 at 19:43, STARS: 1
That looks like a very heavy table.
"MM54" (mm54mk2)
12/12/2017 at 20:01, STARS: 1
I made a lamp from a transmission case by basically attaching the important bits of a lamp to the transmission case. Someone else had already cleaned it very well, though.
"Mercedes Streeter" (smart)
12/12/2017 at 20:24, STARS: 0
Source three more pistons and raise it a little...or some legs of some sort. :)
"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
12/12/2017 at 20:26, STARS: 4
Makes me think of this:
"Mercedes Streeter" (smart)
12/12/2017 at 20:26, STARS: 0
Too late lol
"Mercedes Streeter" (smart)
12/12/2017 at 20:27, STARS: 2
Maybe weld two smart engines into one? :D
"Mercedes Streeter" (smart)
12/12/2017 at 20:28, STARS: 1
That’s the plan. The home situation isn’t getting any better, so I’m basically knocking off bucket list stuff. Built my own computer, now some sort of engine furniture!
"Mercedes Streeter" (smart)
12/12/2017 at 20:37, STARS: 0
Yep yep! It’ll look exactly like this if I decide to get rid of the oil pan and other bottom end parts.
"benjrblant" (benjblant)
12/12/2017 at 21:19, STARS: 0
Aye. Solid cast iron block. Definitely old school BMW.
"HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles" (hondasfordsvolvo)
12/12/2017 at 21:33, STARS: 0
A big ole slab of wood as well
"AfromanGTO" (afromangto)
12/12/2017 at 21:40, STARS: 0
Clean it up extremely well. And see how much it would cost to get it powder coated. Also run some leds or christmas lights inside of it with a pane a glass on top of it.
"yamahog" (yamahog)
12/12/2017 at 21:53, STARS: 1
if you dig back through my posts long enough (like February 2015ish), I did a write up when we painted our SBC coffee table.
"yamahog" (yamahog)
12/12/2017 at 21:55, STARS: 1
we have ours on a cheap little harbor freight dolly at the moment, better height and slightly less wear on the carpet.
"sdwarf36" (sdwarf36)
12/12/2017 at 22:06, STARS: 0
Thats what I was thinking from looking at the pic. Bolt 2 together at the oil pan rail To get some height.
You can try to cheap out with the cleaning with a couple of cans of brake cleaner-or some Purple Power cleaner + a midnight run to a self serve car wash. If not, find an automotive machine shop-probably cost $40-50 .
"Mercedes Streeter" (smart)
12/12/2017 at 23:18, STARS: 1
I’ll take a look at your post history! :) I may just put mine on casters since I do like furniture that easily moves around.
"Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now)" (bman76-4)
12/13/2017 at 00:25, STARS: 0
It’s never too late, car parts are not furniture.
"pip bip - choose Corrour" (hhgttg69)
12/13/2017 at 06:30, STARS: 0
please post finished product
:)
"Pickup_man" (zekeh)
12/13/2017 at 12:49, STARS: 0
I’ve got a flathead I6*, that I’ve been wanting to turn into a table for a while now. My plan is to make the block look nice, then hide a little electric motor in it somewhere to run the valves (because flathead) I also want to put red LED’s at the bottom of each cylinder and time them, in proper firing order, with the valves.
Anyway, I don’t have any actual pointers, but a white block with pink cylinders sounds pretty awesome, I haven’t seen any fully painted ones like the one pictured before but it looks awesome. Post pictures when it’s finished.
*I’ve got a flathead V8 as well, which I bought for $5, but I can’t decide if I want to table that block, or actually build it.
"CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever" (carsoffortlangley)
12/14/2017 at 11:48, STARS: 0
Find a DIY sandblasting place locally. Get it all cleaned up for cheap
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
01/07/2018 at 00:41, STARS: 0
Maybe you can have it boiled. Turn it on its end and you’ll have cubbies of the cylinder bores.
Send pictures.
Happy 2018