Thinking about pulling my motor and trans out of 1972 Convertible to repaint and touch up the engine bay. Looking for opinions on those that have done it.

Which option would you recommend for those that have done it:

Option 1 - Pull Trans from the bottom, Pull motor out the top. I dont have a lift - some challenges.
Option 2 - Pull the front clip off the car to pull motor and trans together.

Any advice, tips, tricks appreciated.

 

You can pull engine & trans together with just the hood off. Obviously fan and cooling needs to be removed, distributor cap as well. Crank pulley removal helps also. I did it a number of times over history with just chains but a load leveler and maybe a carb hook plate make it much easier, also helps if front end is raised a bit to give clearance for trans tail and underside access. Leveler makes it easy to lift engine off the mounts “level” and then angle the front up as engine is pulled forward. Once it’s out, get it lowered when moving it around, you can often turn things 90* and sit it on the legs of the crane.

Take some pics and mark wires/vac lines before starting if you have any questions about getting them properly reconnected.

Remember a tail shaft plug! On the plug, if the common double sided style, figure out which side fits trans (usually the smaller iirc) & cut the other side off so it doesn’t snag or get levered & pull out, not a bad idea to tape it in place either.

Power steering and/or AC, leads to decisions as to whether components are removed from engine and left connected or whether left on Eng and hoses disconnected. PS is easy to go either way, AC is pretty much left charged and compressor laid/wired in bay.

Get some 5/16 flare plugs for trans fittings and caps for lines to save some mess. Caps may not be easily available, can always use couplings and 2 more plugs. There are also line plug tools of various configurations but simple fittings are the easiest imo.

While I did many alone, it’s always nice to have someone underneath to wrangle the trans tail & crossmember, also nice to have an extra set of eyes and hands up top. A friend or two can also be used as counterbalance on the back of the crane if the boom is extended out towards limits.

Then again, many like to pull engine and leave trans though that has never been my preference. If it’s MT, I would definitely pull trans out first, leaving bell housing on eng, AT can go either way. If you have a deep sump pan, it can be tricky clearing the crossmember with eng/trans together.

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Be prepared for some transmission fluid to spill out whichever way you pull it. The engine is sealed up, but most if not all the transmissions I've pulled made a mess before I could get them out and on the ground!

 

A lot of readily available engine hoists are a tiny bit too short to reach the engine. "Not made like they used to" and all that. Way back when I found the break-down Blue ... Bird? I forget... anyways, hoists from a rental place that were much larger than anything I could reasonably buy. I was never willing to make an extended boom because I worry the ratings are questionable already, and having a boom bend or snap mid-extraction is Real Bad. There's a lot of variance in boom length, and the precise jack mounting makes a big difference also.
I usually had to remove the bumper and stone shield/grills, and the jack gets wedged right into the core support to finally reach deep enough. It can also be a challenge to get everything high enough to go over the core support. I've never removed the entire front clip, regardless of how crappy the equipment is.
I used to always to engine+trans together. I would always bang things around, so the firewall gets dinged. Once the trans tail actually punched through the A/C box. A leveler helped a ton, but same caution there - most of them are crap and harder to use than just muscling it.
After the body work and paint was done I switched to pulling the trans first, and using an a-frame hoist to pull the engine. We're almost just as fast doing it this way and it's much easier to avoid damaging anything. Getting the trans down is easy with a trans jack - just know that it'll want to slide around and land on you. Getting it out from under the car is the hard part. Usually have to put down some cardboard, put the trans on that, and slide it out. It's pretty tough to get the car high enough to get the trans out from under there while on the jack, but sometimes there's enough room to push it in from the front with the bellhousing going between the K-member and lower A-arm, and tip the tail way up to lower the bellhousing.

 

Its a stock original 350 engine and 350 turbo trans, Do you have a link to the right tail shaft plug?

 

I wouldn't pull the front clip if it is nicely aligned at the moment unless the frame rails need a lot of attention.

Wrap the wire harness in aluminum foil whilst painting the engine bay it works like a charm.

If the upper control arms need work you'll never have more access then when the engine is out. The down side is that the weight of the engine helps bolting them back in place.

Pull motor and trans together? Yes since you don't have a lift. Unbolt the converter whilst the engine/trans is in the car since it is well supported; otherwise you'll be chasing those bolts with the engine moving around on a hoist.

 

You can typically pick one up at the parts store or Harbor Freight, they used to be in every store but not sure these days.

 

Thanks for all the replies. Very helpful.

 

Either way you want to do it the front of the car needs to be as high as you can get it safely. For the transmission, I usually put a plastic sandwich bag tie wrapped to the tail to keep fluid from going all over the work area floor. I would not pull the nose off, but would remove the hood and pull the trans with the engine.

 

Here's some photos from the 1980s.

 

Those sum it up nicely!

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Now be careful the MAW don't get you after you pull the engine.

MAW. Might as well
You will see a leaking gasket on the motor and need to fix. Then you will be rebuilding the engine. Or the master cylinder won't look as good after the touch up and the brakes will be replaced. The next thing you know it will be a frame off restoration.

 

Regarding engine/trans removal/tools:

(1) I've routinely pulled a fair number of engine/trans combos under a large Oak tree. Gather three to four friends, remove hood, pull/place car under large Oak tree limb, sling a pulley block & tackle from a large limb/branch & hoist away. The newer styles are nicer than what I've used (steel + wood pulley). If you happen to have a front-end loader bucket/back-hoe that works great, as well.
(2) Consider how you're going to maneuver the engine after removal. Purchase an engine stand - now. You can use a back hoe/front-end bucket loader for removal &/or moving the engine for placement on the engine stand

Options for DIY back-yard mechanics.

 

I have an intake plate. Is it ok to hoist motor and trans from the intake of better to chain the sides of the engine?

 

If you have an engine intake manifold lift plate use it.