[garage_engineer]

BIG MILESTONE IN THE PROJECT! ENGINE IS BACK IN THE CAR!

I decided to put the engine and transmission back into the car as a unit from the bottom and it ended up working out awesome. I was able to do it myself in just a couple of hours. Here's how I did it:

I had the transmission on a small scissor lift and put the engine and K-member on a cheap $20 moving cart I found at Harbor Freight. It was awesome, the whole drivetrain rolled arund the garage pretty easy!



To get the engine under the car, I had the rear wheels up on ramps and lifted the front end using my engine crane attached to the lower radiator support. I reinforced the radiator support by ratchet-strapping a 2x6 underneath it to help spread the load:


Getting the motor in place under the car:




I then started lowering the body to meet the engine:


I ended up not being able to get the front of the car low enough to meet the K-member, so what I ended up doing was placing the body on jackstands and using my engine hoist and transmission jack to bring the K-member up to meet the frame. Ended up working like a charm!


Engine coming up!


Motor, transmission and K-member in place and bolted up!




If you can't tell, I'm super fired up to get this done! I still have a long way to go but it feels like a big milestone to get the engine back in. I can't wait to start putting parts back on for good, knowing everything is one step closer to getting this thing fired up!