well the plan is to have the engine and trans sitting in the 'ol mav early this week. im doing the motor and trans as a package deal. i hope to have the engine buttoned up tuesday when my parts come in, bolt up the new flywheel, bolt up the trans and slide them in. im also doing headers too. should i wire up the headers to the shock towers and drop the block in between them or just fish them up when the motor is at rest? im guessing the shock tower braces have to come off right? the I6 didnt have any problem getting out with them in place but i understand the 302 is a little bit wider. also how should i position the car? get the front as low as possible by jacking the rear up? i actually had the front end up when i pulled the 250 since i was also doing alot of suspension work. where does the belly bar bolt up? im guessing somewere foward of the lower controll arms? up untill today i thought it ties into the actual motor mounts. i never actually looked under a v8 mav and paid enough attention. should i tackle it before or after the motor is in? im thinking i should TQ it down before the weight of the block is present on the frame? hmm well thats all i can think of now i figured some of you guys who have been here before me could lend some valuable pointers thanks
Putting both in as a unit, you'll need to lower the front end, most likely. Careful when you get the M/T assembly jacked up that high, the hoist will be easy to tip over. I put my headers in after the motor/trans were in place. Had the car lifted up on jack stands, raised the motor up as high as it would go (trans bell up against the trans tunnel roof) and the headers slid in like butter from underneath (Hedman long tubes) As you guessed the tower braces need to be off. Under motor tube member goes on just behind the lower arms, there's a large about 1/2" threaded hole per side for it. The bolts have a 7/8 or 15/16 head with a chamfer on the underside. It can go in last, after everything else is buttoned up.
You can put the car on jack stands or leave it sitting on the ground depending on how high your engine hoist will lift. Leave the headers out until the engine is close to being bolted to the motor mounts. Then you can fish the headers up from underneath the car. Once the headers are in place you can install the motor mount bolts and tranny mount. While not really necessary I would remove the shock tower braces for easier access. The belly bar can go on anytime after the engine is installed. There should be some holes on the frame rail under the engine oil pan that are prethreaded for the belly bar bolts. Hope this helps, Ken
If you are putting the headers in while you install the engine,Be sure to keep the car off the ground high enough to allow room for maneuvering the headers from underneath.Do you have a helper,It makes it alot easier to install if you do.Be sure you have all parts/fasteners tools you will need on hand at the time of install.Plan it out,So everything goes in when it should and you dont miss anything.Hate to get it all together and then realize you left a bolt off one of the engine mounts.(dont ask)Go slow, be deliberate, and have fun.
an "engine leveler" is like having someone helping.. for me the tailshaft was the biggest problem... do you have a ...floorshift ? ...Frank...
ok thanks guys. yea i do have a leveler as far as a good helper tho... ehhhh.... im sure i can dig someone up. i did have to rely on the army of one for removal of the 6 lol i already bolted the frame mounts in place and was going to bolt the motor mounts to the block and drop it in that way. the car is a colum shift auto but i removed all that linkage since im going with a floor unit, another piece that's yet to be purchased
I usually put the rear of the tranny on a jack or dolly so that it roles and dosen't scrape the floor. Also, one time I had trouble getting the motor mount bolts in. I found an easy way to get this done was to loosen the mounts up and tighten them up after the bolts were in. And when you put the headers in from the bottom have the helper put the first and last bolt in on each side. The gasket I usually use will slip right over these 2 bolts and then you can start the rest of them. Good luck, Be safe.
I install mine all by my lonesome. Not by choice, but by neccessity. Done 2-3 like this since my son left to join the Marines. Being alone, lets you slow down and think things thru and do it safely.
