need your opinions

[steve from staten island]

Im sorry to post this again but im still undecided. Im very close to putting the eng/trans in my 69 satellite. I still dont know if i should go in from the bottom or through the top. All i have is a engine crane to lift the body. I am going to were the car is located next week and i was going to put my welder and some angle iron in the truck and fab up the lifting devise as some of you described. I also have a low dolly to mount the K frame and engine on. I have one friend to help me,but i just dont know if its practical. The only reason im asking is my engine bay looks as good as the outside of the car. What do you think and thanks again. Damm as i get older im always going back and forth,when i was younger i just dove right in

 

[mopar12372]

without the engine mounts go from top , install exhaust /headers transmission torqueconverter.
install engine mounts .
going from the bottom is alot of work too you just do the work out side the car and you have some work when its put up into place and you need to jack the car way up in the air to clear the engine .

in my openion the top , install trans forst then engine same work . none of it is easy or less time

 

[mmissile]

I've always dropped the engine/trans thru the top. Just be careful, and pad out the engine bay and tape a towel over the trans tail. I've done this several times on an acid-dipped front-end car....without leaving a mark. Just have 2-3 people who'll really help and watch.

 

[Roughbird72]

now this is just me, but i have found it easier to install trans & engine separately.
it does take more time, but there's less chance of gouging/scratching things up. on my 72 it's easier to install the engine separately from the side with an lift plate on the intake. my .02

 

[super-bee_ski]

Go from the top....

 

[mopar12372]

Go from the top....

hey hes got a HEMI!!

 

[Cranky]

I've always gone in from the top with the trans bolted to the engine. If you have a load leveler, you're a step ahead but if not, I would let the tail of the trans 'land' on an old creeper and it would roll back as the engine came down and just as the motor mount brackets were close, I'd jack up the trans a bit and lower the engine the rest of the way. Just make sure the trans lands on one end of the creeper so you still have a good area to place the jack or use a car dolly instead of a creeper. Btw, seems like whenever I needed to install an engine, all my buddies were at work so I became a one man band. It was me that always had the strange work schedule and is pretty much why no one was around much and over time, having help only slowed me down.

 

[coloradodave]

I always put the rear axle up on jack stands as high as I can get it and remove front wheels/tires and set the front end as low as I can get it (rotors an inch or so off the floor), but so that a floor jack can just slip under the K member. I use a cherry picker with a load leveler and install the motor and 4 speed together and let the tail shaft land on my floor jack, aligned so that it will roll backwards. Always by myself, slow and easy. Everything on top covered by heavy moving blankets ($3.99 on sale at H/F). Works for me...

 

[Ron Ward]

from the top!!!

 

[super-bee_ski]

KOOL Ron!

 

[67 coronet]

as long as you have an eng tilter for your hoist and put the cars rear up on stands,the eng and trans will go in easy as an assembly from the top.lots of potential prob loading from bottom without a rack.

 

[Ron Ward]

Here's how it went in from the floor to the header installation..... Pretty straight forward, even without an engine tilter.

View attachment 217411View attachment 217412View attachment 217413View attachment 217414View attachment 217415View attachment 217416View attachment 217417View attachment 217418

 

[67 Mopar]

I guess I must be all bass ackwards... I pulled the bolts on the k-frame, the upper control arms and trans mount, then slid everything (engine, k-frame, suspension, trans etc) out the bottom... piece of cake. It's going back in the same way.:mornincoffee:

 

[GTX MATT]

67 Mopar, you lift with the hoist by the rad support? Anything else required?

 

[Ron Ward]

67 Mopar, I like what you did there. That's a pretty slick deal.... but what if you want to move the car while the engine is out? Say you wanna take it to the car wash and blast the everliving dog snot out of the engine bay. I've found it's easier to move them around if they still have the front suspension under them.

There's plenty of ways to skin a cat.... ya just gotta figure which one suits your needs best.

 

[67 Mopar]

67 Mopar, you lift with the hoist by the rad support? Anything else required?

I slid the rig (HF ATV lift) under the k-frame, unbolted everything, and lowered it all down before lifting the body. After that, it's just a couple of jack stands to hold it up there once you've lifted it up high enough. Now you can roll the lift out of your way and get busy. (see images)

67 Mopar, I like what you did there. That's a pretty slick deal.... but what if you want to move the car while the engine is out?

I was starting a resto there, so the body went on the rotisserie shortly thereafter. However, I could have just as easily mounted two wheels to the front bumper attachments if I wanted to move the car around. No biggie really...

- - - Updated - - -

I didn't have to lift it very high... I couldn't even if I wanted too... I've done the entire resto so far inside one of those temp shelters... the electric twinkie!

 

[steve from staten island]

Great posts! Thanks !

 

[HawkRod]

Steve,

I took mine out from the bottom, as one large assembly with engine, trans, K-member, suspension, etc. Now I do have a lift, so that makes it easier.

Having said that, I think going from the bottom is still the way to go - why? How much of a PITA is it just to install headers? What about every other bolt on? When going from the bottom ALL that stuff can be on the engine and trans and ready to go. I believe it will save you TONS of time overall to go in from the bottom. Yes, you have to figure out how to lift the body, but as 67 Mopar showed, it can be done quite nicely.

Just my $0.02

 

[Ron Ward]

Just as an FYI, Total time from the engine/trans on the floor to the headers installed on my Road Runner was an hour and a half. That included shifter, clutch linkage, driveshaft, starter and headers. I have yet to install radiator, hoses etc.

Granted, I'd done it a few times before and had all the necessary tools laid out, but that's not too bad of a time...


Again, it's going to be a question of how much effort do you want to put into it and what tools do you have at your disposal?

- - - Updated - - -

.... and 67 Mopar, I really like the job you did on your rotisserie. Do you have any more pics of it you could share via PM? That looks slick!

 

[67 Mopar]

.... and 67 Mopar, I really like the job you did on your rotisserie. Do you have any more pics of it you could share via PM? That looks slick!

Thanks Ron
Sure no problem getting those pic's to you, but it'll have to wait until tomorrow or very late this evening... but I'll get'm to ya!

Mike

P.S. Here's a quick shot of the worm gear drive for you... HF Boat winch cut up and put to good use.