Getting close to putting 455 and turbo 350 into son's 72 Skylark. Currently engine is bolted to trans. It has exhaust manifolds on and ps pump on. Can we stuff them all in at once or do I need to pull trans and manifolds and ps back off?? Sure we will pull radiator back out, it is just in to get fitted is all.
I just installed a 455 with TH400. I had to slide the trans cross member back. It wouldn't make the turn in the tunnel. Not sure what physical size difference in Trans is either. I ended up putting it in with the drivers manifold bolted on, but the passenger off. That way I could wire the starter. Then I added the steering pump and RH manifold. It's a satisfying clunk when the motor mounts fall into place.
Ya son is really wanting to get it dropped in soon, the car is his high school senior project. Just got about a foot of snow last week so can't tow it across town to my shop yet. It's all down hill from the house and the brakes work now so come on snow melt.
Remove the rad for sure. I would leave it as is and use a laid leveller to help angle it in. If needed, pull off a few parts of you need to.
You may need to jack the frame and body up once the engine and trans are hanging in the engine compartment for the engine trans combo to make "the firewall corner' without the tail shaft housing jousting the ground. The factory put your engine and trans in as an assembled unit at a fairly steep angle on the assembly line. Mopar assembled horizontally with the body up high and hoisted the engine and trans attached to the K-member frame and cross member up into the body and installed with four big bolts on the K-member frame piece. Ford trucks and Chevy Corvettes bolted the engine and trans into the frame and then dropped the body onto the assembly. Don't know why anyone would want to know that though unless you have to pull the damn Ford cab off to work on the engine.
I use a u shape lifter that has bolt that goes through it in the rear casting above the bellhousing and then a bolt in the front of the head. I'm not a huge fan of carb lifters
I did one recently simply using a chain on the diagonal from the back of one cylinder head to the front of the other. Cherry picker directly on the chain, and a ratchet strap to help change the angle as I went. I do have a fancy load levelling attachment however it’s kit always needed.
Chain connected to ac alt bracket and loop on back of block Clears distributor and throttle body good Have a adjustable hanger I can hook to hoist as well to help hold tilt
Note: Super T10 is about 70 lbs plus clutch(50 lbs?). Automatic is 120-140 lbs plus the converter (25 lbs?) - so close in weight?
I just dropped my engine in the other week, and because of my SRE deep oil pan I wasn't able to drop the engine/trans as a unit. I had to remove the trans while the whole thing was hanging in the engine bay! Just a note in case anyone finds themselves in a similar situation. This was a 350 though, not sure if a 455 would have the same problem?
Assembly in plant with complete engine/transmission into the car was facilitated with a "pit" where workers were under the car. It is very difficult to "re-create" that in a garage with typical "cherry picker" and car sitting on the tires. It takes some finesse floor jack, jack stands and either out in the open, a high garage ceiling and/or removing the hood to do it. (Having done it about every other way imaginable, except having a pit.)
Do you remove the trans cross member, then reinstall it when everything is in? Doing this with a 2004r so the mount is at the back, but I'm not sure where the cross member will end up on the frame.
Yes. Once the transmission is in, you use a jack and lift it enough to set the crossmember. You may or may not be able to put the cross member in with the mount on the transmission. (I would leave it off) Gently lift the transmission until it contacts the tunnel and work the crossmember in to fit check it and put the mount in place to see if you need to drill the frame. I have done numerous swaps, and on a few, the holes (or "extra" holes) allowed me to set the crossmember with no issues. On others, I had to drill holes on the frame rails to move the crossmember. You might find you have to go a certain angle (fore/aft) to get the crossmember in, so be prepared and don't panic.
The ease of drilling a couple small pilot holes in the hood/hinge and or small bit of paint for indexing and the few minutes to remove and replace the hood. I only did an engine pull once with a hood on. ('62 Chevy II with a six banger) I hate fighting with the stuff at the back of the engine/firewall with a hood and hinges in the way.
