Leaderboard

Thanks David. I too thought you were referring to the OP's past experience, and didn't see anything wrong with barnett's reply. I'll blame my lack of understanding on too many concussions. Unlike some forums, this is supposed to be a friendly forum where all can share knowledge and where newbies aren't run off. I have a hard enough time fingering out what folks are saying to my face, and typing on the internet only makes it worse. Happy motoring.

xlnt. i would rotate the torque converter 2 full turns while pushing on it lightly to make sure it is still properly seated in the trans then rotate it so the studs are approximately in the same position the holes in the flex plate are. make sure you have the converter drain plug lined up with the drain plug access hole in the flywheel. once the engine is around 1" away from the trans, check the converter stud alignment again. you can use a screw driver to rotate it a little if you can't get your finger in there but there are sharp edges so be careful. file or sand any burs on the big steel alignment pins on the back of the block then put a little grease on them so they go into the trans easily. the trans or engine may need to be rotated slightly to get the pins to align. rotating either a little is not hard to do. be very careful when turning the valve on the hoist to lower the engine as it can be very easy to turn it too much which can cause the engine to drop very quickly. one thing i do when tightening the valve is to tighten it just enough to keep the engine from lowering. if you close the valve pretty hard, it can be hard to open, and when you try to open it, it can suddenly snap open and open farther than you wanted to which is when the engine can drop quickly. with the trans jacked up close to the bottom of the trans tunnel, the engine mounts will be above the mounts on the body by maybe 1" after you bolt the trans to the engine. once you get to this point, you can lift the headers from the engine bay and see if you can install them if you want. this may make it slightly easier than trying to install them after the engine is all the way down. use the tilt bar on the hoist to tilt the engine to the same angle as the trans. i look at the gap from the top and from under the car to get it as close as i can.

Thanks everyone for their opinions and help. I have never installed an engine before so I was asking for advice, and am thrilled with the ideas here! Let us be calm and not pick at each other, as we all have information the share. It is up to the person that asked the question to decipher it all and make their own decision(s). Engine goes in today, with the help of my father (68) and son (23)! So looking forward to it, not only getting it done, but the time spent with three generations! I will report back with results, time it took, and hopefully picture with it installed.

The only portion of a coupe / fastback floor you would need to trim off would be the little angle that attaches to the inner rocker. The floor pan welds to the underside of the inner rocker on the convertible. Full floors are a wonderful thing, I would much rather install a one piece than patch a floor and do all the finishing work.

I've been installing engines for years with the transmission installed. It's my preferred method on all kinds of vehicles. It involves maybe a little more patience and back and forth than installing all at once but I sure wouldn't call it a "hell of a time".

The reinforcement plate went on the top of the cowl pinch weld. You can put it where ever you wish . . but for the Shelbys had it on the top. Let's keep the info accurate for searchers.

Yes, it was on yours. It will make it a zillion times easier to install the headers etc. It really is incredibly easy this way. Just plan on 4 hours and a 6 pack or so at a slow leisurely pace then you're done with the hard part hopefully forever. I also install the motor mounts on the engine before installing it but place them on the body first to make sure they go over the mounts because you can't trust aftermarket parts as much these days. I also sometimes raise the back of the car around 12 inches from its static position. I always jack the trans up until it almost hits the body.

How people install and remove engines is really as much personal preference as anything. I like to have the transmission and my long tube headers in and then put the engine in. But if the headers have never been bolted to the engine you are going to use, be sure to fit them outside of the car. There can be variances and it's really easy to grind out a bolt hole a little or whatever BEFORE everything is all in. I like to bolt as much stuff on an engine as practical before I put it in. To do so you kind of have to have had pulled the engine out with as much as possible still attached to it so you already know what you can leave on or not. It's not that big a deal bolting things on though.

Right, when I refer to “ key on hot”, I mean hot when the ignition switch is in the run position, or on position, not in the “ACC” position The anti-backfire solenoid is a great suggestion for a place to tap that electric choke from In my case, on one of my cars, I took the under dash energized in the “run” position wires, and installed a small, 4 fuse, power block, with modern fuses. I used this to feed my electric choke, audio, and gauges. I did this because I did not want to hook my electric choke to any existing “glass” fuse feeds, that could cause failure of other important items (lights, etc) if the electric choke drew too mich current for the existing circuit All of these cars are fifty years old, with 50-year-old wiring, and 50-year-old fuse blocks and technology Good luck, keep us posted on your prigress!