Jordan's glass engine block coffee table project
Well ladies and friends, I have taken on the project of building a glass top coffee table out of an old engine block. I picked up this full engine from a shop for $50, it's a 2V 4.6L V8 out of a wrecked 2005 Mercury Mountaineer. I pulled the heads, oil pan, piston/connecting rod assemblies, oil pump, water pump, crankshaft... basically everything, down to the bare block. Next step is to clean everything up, sort through the parts, and get a better game plan. I think I'm going to use all 8 pistons - 4 on the bottom of the block to lift it off the floor, and the other 4 to hold the glass up. My apologies for the lack of pictures, hands were dirty and it got dark quick.
Mid-teardown:
https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net...60&oe=585130B9
Re: Jordan's glass engine block coffee table project
Thought about same idea! Love the ones I see around every now and then.
Also, keep this idea in mind....
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com...804bc12a78.jpg
Re: Jordan's glass engine block coffee table project
Re: Jordan's glass engine block coffee table project
That will look awesome in a lime green!
Re: Jordan's glass engine block coffee table project
I thought the engine block was glass? :whistle::nana:
Re: Jordan's glass engine block coffee table project
More progress - cleaning sucks. Picked up a bunch of wire wheels, brushes, and engine degreaser. Spent a few hours doing lots of hand brushing, and thought to myself... ya know, they make chemicals for this. So, I picked up a big plastic bin and a few gallons of purple power. Gonna let this bitch soak for a while.
https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net...45&oe=58530AD3
https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net...66&oe=58402CFB
https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net...2f&oe=5855AD24
The purple power is starting to be not-so-purple... I guess that means it's working!
https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net...c8&oe=58591CEB
Re: Jordan's glass engine block coffee table project
I have also decided to stick with bare aluminum finish - hoping to get it to a nice, shiny, polished look though.
Re: Jordan's glass engine block coffee table project
The purple power wasn't quite halfway up the block when I flipped, so there is a stripe down the middle. SO, I picked up a few more gallons of purple power and added them to the pale. I then let it sit for 24 more hours, flipped again, and threw the pistons/connecting rods in too. This weekend I will be pressure washing the whole block, and hopefully finishing it! I think I'm going to use an epoxy of some sort to attach the pistons.
Re: Jordan's glass engine block coffee table project
Well, I pulled it fully out of the soak today and pressure washed it. The purple power tarnished the aluminum, it's a gross dark grey. I did what I could to clean it off with a pressure washer, but I'm going to have it professionally sandblasted. That will get the finish I'm hoping for!
Re: Jordan's glass engine block coffee table project
Got the block and crankshaft sandblasted today. I called 4 different places and they wanted anywhere from $25 to $150 to sandblast the block... so I went with the $25. He did a great job, and it got the finish I was expecting! Now to clean up the pistons/con rods and get them mounted to the block.
https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net...5a&oe=58821E9E