65 Engine Removal questions

[3dale1]

I don't have much room at all in my garage, and I don't want to find out the hard way that I don't have enough room to pull the engine and trans together, so I am thinking about just pulling the motor by itself.

My plan is to unbolt the motor from the transmission, slide the engine forward enough to clear the transmission input shaft, and then lift it up and swing it out of the way. It looks like I have the room needed to do this...the radiator is out, hood is removed, and I'm ready to go except for the mounts and bolts at the bellhousing.

Should I unbolt the motor at the bellhousing, or unbolt the bellhousing at the transmission? How difficult is it to mate the two back together with the trans. still in the car?

BTW, it's a small block, 4 speed.

Thanks in advance everyone!

 

[captainrags]

Why dont you remove them both at once roll the car back then turn the er and gb sideways and bring the car back in then you can seperate them at any time and see what happening. I can rember doing thie with other cars years ago and trying to line up the clutch and fly wheel you wil have to roll the car in gear to turn the gearbox.
My views only

 

[3dale1]

What do you mean by er and gb?

 

[captainrags]

What do you mean by er and gb?

Sorry about that a little problem with fat fingers er = engine, and the other i dont know but i meant turn it side ways it would take up less room. Also trying to line them up used to be a nighmare.
Ray

 

[JohnZ]

I've always removed the left front wheel (to provide clearance for the cherry-picker legs) and pulled the engine/transmission from the side as a unit, using a leveler. Tried doing it separately once, and don't have the patience to go through the alignment procedure again. Others' opinions and experience may differ.

 

[orlandjoe]

I installed them together to avoid all the problems of getting the clutch disk aligned correctly. But then I few years later I pulled the 4 speed trans from the bottom and installed a 5 speed. It can be done either way with a little patience...

 

[3dale1]

Ended up pulling them as a pair, and glad I did. For some reason, the transmission and engine were VERY tough to separate after they were out. Required a ton of twisting and shaking the transmission before it finally came free from the engine.

Odd thing is, the transmission slid back into the bell like a knife through butter and bolted back up fine. Couldn't have been easier.

One thing that gave me trouble was the fixed front wheels on my cherry picker. I pulled the engine/trans from the side and had a hard time getting everything away from the car b/c of the lack of manuverability. Bought a pair of swivel casters for the front so the whole picker swiveled before I reinstalled everything and it made life a lot easier.

Thanks for the input guys!