Preposterous Home Made Shop Crane

[tmate3]

Some 30 years ago I built an engine crane based on an old Chevy 283 bare block. I knocked the center main bearing web out with a sledge hammer, and used the center main bearing oil holes to attach a steel cable. I used the starter motor/flywheel to wind up the cable up around the main, raising the load. I then used a long handle which released the clutch to slowly lower the load.

A highly impractical, but fun project. It worked too.