Well, this was a big weekend for progress. Finally got the motor and transmission in the car and I'm beat.
Anything worth doing once is always worth doing twice. I realized I pounded in the wrong pilot shaft bushing (steel) instead of the bronze one I found. So, I tried the trick of filling the cavity behind the bushing with grease and using a deep socket that would just barely slide in the hole and then pound it with a hammer. What do you know - it popped right out. Also, the trick of putting thie bushing in the freezer for awhile before driving it in works like a charm.
I didn't remove the breather from the back of the block the first time and of course it wouldn't clear. So, it had to come back out and the breather removed. After that, the motor really did drop straight in although there isn't much room around it.
Also, I knew my weak back and 170 lb frame was going to need help hefting that iron toploader into place so I figured I would sling it and use the engine hoist.
Of course that didn't work because the bellhousing is just too far up under the dash and the sling was blocked by the dash cowl before the transmission could move far enough forward. I also discovered my Muncie transmission dowels I was going to use to guide the tranny in wouldn't work because Ford used smaller bolts to secure the toploader to the bellhousing than GM. So, plan 2 was to try to use the engine tilter but there wasn't enough room for it either. Plan 3 was a flat piece of steel bar the I tied to the transmission and secured to the engine lift with a chain. That finally worked.
Finally, everything is nestled in place although I have a lot of odds and ends to put back on the engine. It looks like the exhaust headers are going to be a lot of fun to install.
It't a relief to have all that done without scratches, chips or slipped disc. Miller time has started.
