Installing motor Tuesday

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mitch340Duster

mitch340Duster

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Searched but found surprisingly little info. Motor going-in the old-fashioned way from the top. I'm hoping to bolt the motor and tranny together first with exh manifolds, starter, pulleys, motor mount brackets.
This is 1970 Duster 340 all original stuff. Most of the info I found was for guys with headers or engine swaps.
Any surprises I should be aware of? I will have at least 2 other morons helping me. Sorry and thanks......it's been a long time since I've done this.
I didn't want to go the "bolt it to the K-frame first and install from below" route since neither me nor any of the afore-mentioned morons have any experience with this.
 
Manchester CT? Which morons are you getting to help? I might know them...lol.
If you can, use an engien tilter - witht he trans it has to really be angled down to not scratch the firewall or radiator support. Also make sure it's up high enough to allow for the tailshaft to point down and swing up as the engine get's lowered. Do not install the distributor until it's in place. I'd also wait on the kickdown linkage until it's in.
 
Not sure if you have power steering or power brakes, but you might be close with that driver's side manifold. May want to pull that and drop it in after the engine is in place, bolt it on, then tighten the engine mounts.

X2 on the engine leveler. I used one and it works awesome. Went in smooth with me and two guys (Only needed two total, but it was helpful to have the third guy watch for clearances since the engine bay was painted).

-Mike
 
Sounds like you are set on the drop-in, so just an FYI...with a bit of planning, from the bottom is just so smooth ! - I had never done one before either. Put my slant in from the bottom the other day including suspension work. Had it in and sitting on the tires in about 6 hours - by myself. I would not even consider a top install flying solo.

mitch340Duster said:
I didn't want to go the "bolt it to the K-frame first and install from below" route since neither me nor any of the afore-mentioned morons have any experience with this.
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Hey thanks guys. I'll decide in the morning about the leveler. Both AutoZone and HF show them in-stock so those would be my only available choices. Did the research and MOST guys say they're OK. I'll have to choose between the risk of another possible weak link in the system, or trusting 2 inexperienced guys and myself to keep everything muscled into place if I don't use it.
I'll yank the manifold, distributor, and pulleys, and looks like the horn should go too. As you can see by the picture, I'm really hoping for no accidents.
Thanks again for the help. I will post ASAP with results.
 

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I installed my motor, with trans hooked up by myself back in 2003, with the use of the leveler device on the cherrypicker. Maybe use masking tape to hold some cardboard in place in the firewall?

You have lots of room, but I would suggest removing the hood.

Good luck
 
+1 for the tilt/leveler when dropping in...used one multiple times with different engines into different cars/trucks. Probably used one at least 6 times...always worked well for me...
 
Oh yeah I'm gonna cover everything real good and remove the hood. I'll prolly end-up going with the leveler. When I do the old party van in the near future I'm sure it'll come in handy for that too.
 
Get the rear of the car as high as you can, remove the battery tray, leave the pulleys and water pump off the motor.
You can leave the manifolds on, there is plenty of room, just take your time and go slow, it will slide right in.
 
Cool guys. I'll do all that you said. I was gonna raise the front of the car but I see now how raising the rear would make a lot more sense. I'm glad I asked. Last motor job was like 1982 other than the party van which is a whole different deal.
Seems like I've heard Sireland's final words of advice a few times but that was before I was married.
 
All-set in just over 3 hours, and most of the time was spent with some trans/TC issues getting everything mated-up. My gut told me to do without the leveler, but since I went right by Auto Zone on the way home from Taylor Rental I figured I might as well try it. Y'all are right, that's a great tool that made the job much easier. I left the water pump on and it was close but made it OK.
Even the morons did a good job. Thanks again for all the advice.
 

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Congratulations, and yes the leveler tool is a must do. I was happy to see this thread pop back up and see the good news this morning :coffee2:.
I could not ad any info because these members had everything covered :cheers:
 
Looks good - nice contrast. Is that 'correct' color, or just what you liked?
 
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