Installing engine and tranny together?

[anlauto]

Ahhhh THIS is the one I saw on Bitchin Rides....it looks pretty interesting ....

[dodj]

If putting in from the top, I would drop the engine in separate from the trans and mate them up after the engine was sitting on it's K frame mounts.

[torredcuda]

Ahhhh THIS is the one I saw on Bitchin Rides....it looks pretty interesting ....

I like the small size of that one but I never feel comfortable just using the four small carburator bolt holes. I much prefer using the larger intake to head holes.

[tparker]

I have always just pulled the engine by itself. Although by always I only mean a few times. The tranny isn't all that heavy and is easy to install from below. The problem I would have with pulling both is removing the hood. I don't know if you need to remove it to install the engine and tranny together but it seems like it might be a good idea. So this might be a consideration. I just jacked up the side of the cor and pushed the tranny in through the bottom.

I like the idea of doing the whole thing from the bottom but I don't have a lift and the idea of lifting the whole car up to such an angle with a engine hoist freaks me out a bit. I am sure it is ok but I don't like it. It might be a good way to install engine with headers too. If I ever have to do everything again I might look into this method. But honestly, it isn't all that difficult to go from the top. For those being paid or have have the equipment it seems like it might be a superior method.

[CHL2T]

I did my Cuda and 69 Charger by myself from the top, Yes it sucked but easier than trying to wrestle the trans in from underneath. Of course I was 20+ years younger then |:

[ZippyZoo]

I have many times removed/loaded the engine and transmission from the top over the life of the car, until the most recent time this fall.
Yes - I always removed the hood - a few times by myself 
I used a cheap adjuster so I could reorient the engine/transmission after it cleared the radiator support.  I did do it once with just the engine from the top and the trans from the bottom, but, for me, it was a pain lining up the 727/converter and getting to all the mounting bolts, especially the top ones.  Definitely a two person job to position the engine/trans and keep it from hitting anything shiny.

This last fall, since the body was at a restoration shop, we did it from the bottom.  The body was on a two post lift.  Lots easier and much less time.  I built a one-use cart from left over 6x6s, long lag bolts and some 8" casters. 

Should I have to pull the engine/trans in the future  yes, I would probably go through the hassle of pulling the K-frame, leaving the upper control arms with the body.   

[RUNCHARGER]

I've lost count of how many I've done. To me the bottom up thing isn't a big deal, only thing is it allows you to leave the hood on. You don't need a fancy stand to do it. Using wood under the K straddling a couple of tire skates and a floor jack under the trans I rolled it under the body. Then dropped the body down using the engine hoist. The tricky part is when it's married you can't get the engine hoist legs in there to safely lift everything so you will have to do that with a floor jack.
I still prefer dropping the engine/clutch in and then sliding the trans forward into it. I always work alone and this works the best for me.
If dropping both in at once you should have 2 people and it will work fine. With 2 the 1 guy muscles the trans down and into the tunnel. I tried using a leveler once but it was junk and no way I would support the engine/trans using carb studs.
After 45 or so years doing this I'm not sure how many more I'll do.

[GoMangoBoys]

Thanks for the input here guys.  I guess I was not clear about why I was not putting it in from below.  We had already installed the K member and all the suspension when I learned of the method of putting it in from below.  I had no interest in taking all that back apart.  My purpose in asking my original question was to find out if there were any reasons why it was impossible or VERY hard to put the engine and tranny in from above together.  In the end, this is what we did.  It was not too bad.  The engine leveler that we used was kind of cheap quality but it got the job done.  The engine and tranny are in.  There was no damage to anything and the whole thing went well.  We removed the shifter since 2 of the rods go over the frame, but did not initially remove the shifter bracket.  Once we were partly in we decided that the bracket needed to come off.  We had ifhe car on the lift so that once the engine was in we could raise the car a bit for my boy to slide under and put in the crossmember.

[Rich G.]

Nice job, looks great!

[anlauto]

nice

[Blowout]

Exciting time I bet. Looks great!