I'll give this more thought, and look in my toolbox for any single purpose
pieces worth mention, but one item I noticed in a JCWhitney sale catalog is
that they are currently selling their transmission jack for $71.  This is a
big scissors jack on casters, rated for 450lbs.  You crank it with a 1/2
drive wrench.  I've used it for Type 4 engines and for Porsche sixes.  The
deck on top is big enough that if you are careful you can move the jack
around with the engine up, which makes it easy to get squared away on the
transmission.  With the jack at its lowest point, you can roll a Type 4
engine out from under a Vanagon that's on ramps.

Normal price is over $100.
B.