Installing engine and tranny together?

[GoMangoBoys]

We are about ready to drop the engine and tranny into the Challenger.  In the past with other cars, I have always put the engine and transmission in together.  I have seen the Graveyard cars approach to putting them in with the K member from underneath.  We are not doing that.  Will I run into any unknown difficulty if I drop the pair of them in together from above?

[anlauto]

If you put it in from the bottom you would never even consider putting it in from the top ever again....however I would suggest that if you don't already have one, get one of those adaptors for your engine hoist that pick up from four points and can change the angle of the engine/transmission assembly as you go down and in...

[DeathProofCuda]

I don't remember the details, but I tried to do it several years back without the tool that Alan suggested and it didn't work out for me.  Maybe I didn't have the front end high enough.  I ended up pulling everything apart and put the engine, clutch and bell housing in from the top and the trans in from the bottom.

[GoMangoBoys]

I have and intend to use the very tool that Alan suggests.  I can see the benefits of going in from the bottom, but the K member and suspension are already in, so I am not going to do that.

[Chryco Psycho]

I alway do it from the bottom , once you do it that way you will never even try from the top , cleaner & faster from the bottom .

[torredcuda]

I second getting a load leveler but te only issue with the type shown is that the back edge gets very close to hitting the firewall at full tilt. This style looks interesting, anyone use one? 

https://www.amazon.com/Oberg-Tilt-Lift-Engine-Sling/dp/B002LXQUPS?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&psc=1&smid=A32YJRIP0OSYOY

[Brads70]

SO, so , so much easier installing from the bottom. 

[anlauto]

I saw a third style leveler used on Bitchin Rides that bolted to the intake where the carb would be...but I can't find a picture 

It's been bottom up only for me since about 1993....I don't even consider pulling them out through the top any more   

[Katfish]

I asked this question before my Gen 3 swap, and all agreed going from bottom was "best".
There were too many obstacles for me to do that, so I did it from top.
- You need to build/buy a cradle for the engine/trans
- You need to buy/build something to lift front, and remove valance/bumper, at least I thought so to minimize chance of damage.
- Most importantly (for me), you need the space to store all this stuff before the install

I just didn't have the room to have a k-frame/engine/trans sitting for months, while I got things together.  I did have space for only the engine.

I'm not going to sugar coat it, it was a pain pulling and installing the engine 4 times while I worked out the details.  Would have been much easier to work on the assembly to fit check everything and then come in from bottom.

In a perfect world, I'd have a 3 car garage, know how to weld, so I could build the cradle and front lift, but you work with what you have.............

[Rich G.]

I've always put the engine in from the top and one day I'll build a cradle to put it in from the bottom but since you said your doing it from the top, I put just the engine in by itself because I feel it's a lot easier and safer not to scratch anything. Plus I usually do it alone. I did one big block Chevy all together and it was scary with all that weight hanging so high! Definitely need a few people to guide it in and work the jack and hold the headers up. Aghh!

[anlauto]

I asked this question before my Gen 3 swap, and all agreed going from bottom was "best".
There were too many obstacles for me to do that, so I did it from top.
- You need to build/buy a cradle for the engine/trans
- You need to buy/build something to lift front, and remove valance/bumper, at least I thought so to minimize chance of damage.
- Most importantly (for me), you need the space to store all this stuff before the install

I just didn't have the room to have a k-frame/engine/trans sitting for months, while I got things together.  I did have space for only the engine.

I'm not going to sugar coat it, it was a pain pulling and installing the engine 4 times while I worked out the details.  Would have been much easier to work on the assembly to fit check everything and then come in from bottom.

In a perfect world, I'd have a 3 car garage, know how to weld, so I could build the cradle and front lift, but you work with what you have.............

You guys that are building ONE  car really over think this plan....for me I welded three pieces of square tube together with four caster wheels on it. I've used this simple cart for all types of engines from 340's to 426 Hemis. Here's a picture I took yesterday of a Gen III hemi and an A41 that I'm putting in a 70 Charger next week....as you can see, it's 100% complete with even the front spindles and brakes....
I simply use my engine hoist with straps to lift the front of the car...usually with the complete front end, grill and bumpers in place....

You don't need big shops with fancy tools to get the job done....

[Dmod1974]

I asked this question before my Gen 3 swap, and all agreed going from bottom was "best".
There were too many obstacles for me to do that, so I did it from top.
- You need to build/buy a cradle for the engine/trans
- You need to buy/build something to lift front, and remove valance/bumper, at least I thought so to minimize chance of damage.
- Most importantly (for me), you need the space to store all this stuff before the install

I just didn't have the room to have a k-frame/engine/trans sitting for months, while I got things together.  I did have space for only the engine.

I'm not going to sugar coat it, it was a pain pulling and installing the engine 4 times while I worked out the details.  Would have been much easier to work on the assembly to fit check everything and then come in from bottom.

In a perfect world, I'd have a 3 car garage, know how to weld, so I could build the cradle and front lift, but you work with what you have.............

You guys that are building ONE  car really over think this plan....for me I welded three pieces of square tube together with four caster wheels on it. I've used this simple cart for all types of engines from 340's to 426 Hemis. Here's a picture I took yesterday of a Gen III hemi and an A41 that I'm putting in a 70 Charger next week....as you can see, it's 100% complete with even the front spindles and brakes....
I simply use my engine hoist with straps to lift the front of the car...usually with the complete front end, grill and bumpers in place....

You don't need big shops with fancy tools to get the job done....

Agreed 100%.  I built mine and it required minimal welding anyways.  Most of the work is cutting pieces with the chop saw and drilling holes.

Hell, you could make something similar out of wood if you wanted to if welding is out of the question.  I did my entire resto and assembly in a 2 car garage; it's doable.

[torredcuda]

I made a simple one using an engine stand I got off Craigs list for $25. I cut off the upright and attached it to the front with bolts to extend it to support the transmission. When I am done with it it unbolts in to two pcs and takes up less room than the engine stand did. I did mine in my 24 x 24 two bay garage with my Barracuda and my W100 in there plus all my tools, equipment and parts.

[7E-Bodies]

Having a fairly decent sized shop, no lift, but a gantry hoist (best money I've spent and cheap for it's many uses), I fully plan to put the axle (with tires/wheels) on the car first, than lift the front end like the purple 71 in Alan's pic, like a radical wheelie, then slowly lower the front end down on my 440/727 assembly that'll be already on the k-frame. It'll be my first under side install, but I look forward to it being way easier. Especially with shoe-horning a big block into an ebody.

[anlauto]

You can put the K Frame/Engine/Transmission assembly on a "heavy duty" moving cart (maybe with 800lbs cap.) Simple, cheap and efficient. No sense making a fancy cart if you're only doing it once in my opinion

Although none of this info helps the original poster going in from the topside...