Engine and gearbox - how hard to fit to car?

[Chicagowil]

The leveler makes a huge difference. Without it you will struggle and most likely chip/scratch your paint. And measure how far a reach your hoist has to the center of your engine bay without it hitting the nose of the car. Some of the hoists do not have much reach.

When I installed my motor, I made sure I could reach beyond the center of the bay. I had the back end of the car on dollies with the front tires on the ground. That raised the rear about 3 inches but it also allowed me to shove the rear of the car around if needed instead of trying to wrestle the motor, trans and hoist around for final alignment.

I also place a trans dolly or a car dolly under the car that the trans tail can rest on so as I insert the motor/trans, I can place the tail on the movable dolly instead of it gouging into the pavement. Saves the tail of the trans and replaces the 2nd set of hands to get the tail in place. The trans dolly has the added advantage of being able to lift the tail as it gets in place. Go slow and inch it in, then down, then in again. Too often everyone wants to rush and that is when mistakes happen or someone gets hurt!

A 2nd set of hands are a big help. But I remove/install my motors by myself (at 67 yrs old). Go slow and let the lift do the work. Make sure you test how the release valve works (how fast it will drop with the load) before you are over the car, Best to know before you have it over a fender or nose and when you go to release it to slowly lower the load and it drops! Scares the hell out of you at best!




Thom

[1795]

Glen,

I just remembered something. Check your side to side clearances for the headers. I could not install my engine with the headers attached, as there was not enough room. But I also could not get the headers in after the engine was installed, not enough room from the top or bottom. I had to place the headers in first at their respective sides out of the way, and then pull them up for install after the engine was secure on the mounts. Each car is different, you may not have a problem with this, but it is better to check clearances first than to find out half way through that you need to pull the engine back out.

Jim

[xb-60]

Originally Posted by 1795

....Check your side to side clearances for the headers. I could not install my engine with the headers attached, as there was not enough room. But I also could not get the headers in after the engine was installed, not enough room from the top or bottom.....

Thanks (again) Jim. I never would have considered that potential problem. Will definitely do some prelim. measurements before starting.

Cheers,
Glen

[xb-60]

Originally Posted by Chicagowil

The leveler makes a huge difference. Without it you will struggle and most likely chip/scratch your paint. And measure how far a reach your hoist has to the center of your engine bay without it hitting the nose of the car. Some of the hoists do not have much reach.

When I installed my motor, I made sure I could reach beyond the center of the bay. I had the back end of the car on dollies with the front tires on the ground. That raised the rear about 3 inches but it also allowed me to shove the rear of the car around if needed instead of trying to wrestle the motor, trans and hoist around for final alignment.

I also place a trans dolly or a car dolly under the car that the trans tail can rest on so as I insert the motor/trans, I can place the tail on the movable dolly instead of it gouging into the pavement. Saves the tail of the trans and replaces the 2nd set of hands to get the tail in place. The trans dolly has the added advantage of being able to lift the tail as it gets in place. Go slow and inch it in, then down, then in again. Too often everyone wants to rush and that is when mistakes happen or someone gets hurt!

A 2nd set of hands are a big help. But I remove/install my motors by myself (at 67 yrs old). Go slow and let the lift do the work. Make sure you test how the release valve works (how fast it will drop with the load) before you are over the car, Best to know before you have it over a fender or nose and when you go to release it to slowly lower the load and it drops! Scares the hell out of you at best....

Thanks Thom. Good points, particularly about testing the release valve beforehand

Cheers,
Glen

[t walgamuth]

Originally Posted by Chicagowil

The leveler makes a huge difference. Without it you will struggle and most likely chip/scratch your paint. And measure how far a reach your hoist has to the center of your engine bay without it hitting the nose of the car. Some of the hoists do not have much reach.

When I installed my motor, I made sure I could reach beyond the center of the bay. I had the back end of the car on dollies with the front tires on the ground. That raised the rear about 3 inches but it also allowed me to shove the rear of the car around if needed instead of trying to wrestle the motor, trans and hoist around for final alignment.

I also place a trans dolly or a car dolly under the car that the trans tail can rest on so as I insert the motor/trans, I can place the tail on the movable dolly instead of it gouging into the pavement. Saves the tail of the trans and replaces the 2nd set of hands to get the tail in place. The trans dolly has the added advantage of being able to lift the tail as it gets in place. Go slow and inch it in, then down, then in again. Too often everyone wants to rush and that is when mistakes happen or someone gets hurt!

A 2nd set of hands are a big help. But I remove/install my motors by myself (at 67 yrs old). Go slow and let the lift do the work. Make sure you test how the release valve works (how fast it will drop with the load) before you are over the car, Best to know before you have it over a fender or nose and when you go to release it to slowly lower the load and it drops! Scares the hell out of you at best!




Thom

hard to believe that will go in!

[xb-60]

Thanks for the comments Dan and Jim.

I was awake last night thinking about whether it was just a wild, stupid idea to install from underneath. Now I'm thinking that it is not only do-able, but in my particular case, a no-brainer to seriously contemplate going that way.

I had already done some rough measurements a couple of days ago, prompting my comment yesterday.

So....went out this morning for more accurate measurements:
- Widest point on the engine is at the edges of the rocker covers….465mm (18.3”)
- Available space at engine mount pads….540mm (21.26”) with mounts removed (shown fitted in pic.)
- Available space at forward end of chassis/engine area (refer pic.)….515mm (20.27”)

....and here's the pic. of the empty engine bay:




Thoughts?

Cheers,
Glen

[1795]

Glen,

How easy would it be to replace the engine mounts with the engine in the bay? How much room would you have with one motor mount removed? If there will be enough room it might be easier to hook the engine up to one mount, rotate it upwards, install the second mount and then lower the engine back into place. I just wonder hw easy it will be to have the engine in the bay with no motor mounts in place and then had to install them and line things up. Maybe it is not that big of a deal, except how easy will it be to install both motor mounts from above? While the mounting bolt to the engine block through the mount can be done from above, I am not sure if you can install the mounts to the frame from above with the engine in place. I had to change out my motor mounts because they were the wrong ones and was able to disconnect one at a time, rotate the engine and install the new mounts. From what I recall, I had to do this working from above and below the engine.

What do you think Dan?

Jim