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bcliff

bcliff

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I'm posting this here for everyone's benefit. There has been some discussion in the "New MGA" thread about MGA engines being far from the car that needs a motor. I have used Forwardair (forwardair.com) to ship some heavy stuff, and found the price reasonable.
Examples:
Midget motor from Milwaukee-Denver-$93.
Transmission from Seattle-Denver-$75
Mini front & rear subframes-San Diego-Denver-$118

In these cases they were items that either nobody else (FedEx etc) would handle or were really expensive to truck.
Shipping is from depot to depot, Usually at a major airport. If you are in the middle of Montana, you're out of luck, but if you are near a big airport and your shipper is too, it can be a cheap way to go for the heavy stuff.
You can find a map of their terminals on the web site.
Bruce
 
Thanks, that might be good to know as the originator of the MGA post and still engineless.....
 
What do you have to do to the engine for them to take it? Wooden box? drain fluids?
 
The midget engine was drained, then strapped to a half pallet. The shipper put a couple of eye bolts into the wood, then strapped the engine down using a rachet strap. It was then closed up using really cheap plywood. Transmission shipped pretty much the same way.
The mini subframes were strapped to a pallet. When the sender got to the terminal, he was told he needed to enclose them. They were wrapped up in stretchy shrink wrap when I got them. They seem to be not too particular about container, as long as some common sense is applied.
Most of the handling is done with a fork lift, so as long as there is something substantial on the bottom they can handle it. All fluids should be drained.
When I was in the process of finding out shipping costs on the items, I just called them up, gave approximate dimensions and weight, origin and destination, and they would give me a quote right over the phone. One important thing to find out is method of payment. Payment needs to be made when the item is dropped off. The subframe shipper had to use a money order, so check on that detail first.
Rileyleft.jpg

Bruce
 
I shipped a Spridget engine from San Francisco to Detroit a few years ago, and just knocked together a simple wooden box, with the engine securely bolted to the base.
Shipping cost then was in the $110 range, when truck freight was over twice that.
Jeff
 
I was just reading the basket case MGA post. With regards to Tony's comment about something making it hard to ship, I'll add this:
I am as basically lazy and cheap as anybody, but when I found out I could get the midget engine here for $93 I was thrilled. Really the hardest part of the whole process was going to the terminal to pick stuff up. There were no "hazardous material, did you pack this yourself, blah blah blah" hoops to jump through. It is actually frightening as to how easy the whole process was. Waaayyy easier than shipping a car. Shipping time for items was usually three or four days. NOW--- get stuff packed up and START SHIPPING!!
 
Well, I contacted the local office here & gave them the dimensions of an engine sitting on a pallet (48'x40'x24')...they charge by the higher of either the dimension price or the weight price...price for a box that dimension was $185 - but it was $310 to ship a 500 pound engine from Huntsville, AL to any of their locations in CA (Sacramento, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego). Remember: you have to pay for the weight of the pallet & the box that's built around it; that's how I came up with an estimate of 500 pounds.

Not that great a deal! Truck freight is about the same.
 
[censored] that almost makes it too expensive for anything that it more than a big paperweight. I'll have to think about this when I get my trailer sold... Main issue is I need a tranny too, I was too late in moving the three I had and they got hauled off for scrap...
 
One thing that Bcliff said was that he used a "half pallet" when he shipped. Don't know if that makes a difference but may be worth checking into.
Bill
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]"half pallet" when he shipped[/QUOTE]

Doesn't matter...the guy said they charge the higher of: "either the dimension price or the weight price"...so, whichever size pallet you choose, the engine weight price is gonna be far more that the dimension price!
 
Some dimensions and weights of the stuff I shipped:
I shipped an MG Midget engine. This should be smaller and lighter than a 1500, but not much. The dimensions of the crate were three feet long, two feet wide, two feet high (Engine laid on its side). This is quite a bit smaller than 48'x40'x24'. Total weight for my box was 300 pounds. Quarter inch plywood with minimal bracing. No need to use good stuff.
I just looked at the invoice for shipping the engine, and it really was $93. Sometimes my memory isn't that great, but it was accurate in this case.
The engine did include flywheel, clutch, carbs, starter, gen, the whole works.
I guess I'd suggest looking at packing the MGA engine a little tighter, and throwing it on an accurate scale. It might make the difference.
Of course, it is a long way from Alabama to California.
Keep trying.
Bruce
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]Of course, it is a long way from Alabama to California.[/QUOTE]

Therein lies the problem...Milwaukee-Denver are almost next to one another compared to Alabama-California.
 
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