It's a 'poser' method. The reason they do it on Graveyard is that it probably has some benefit when you are attempting to restore a car to factory specs with all the paint marks and clips and tags. It allows you to assemble all that goo-goo away from the car then fit it in as a package.
The reason they do it on GYC, according to Mark Worman, is because that's how it was done at the factory. No sure how this translates to a "poser" method...easier is easier, in my book?
On anything else, it's of very dubious benefit. On the flip side, installing an engine and transmission from the top using a cherry picker (or forklift ala 99% of TV shows on Earth) is also lame.
You're not leaving a lot of options open here...If you try to install engine and trans as a unit from above, you're pretty much asking to scratch the firewall and tunnel (ask me how I know) and even with the spline coupling installed on the output shaft, your chances of dumping the trans fluid (in my case, gear oil) on the garage floor are excellent. Right in the place you need to roll your creeper around in next.
First drop the engine in from above. Then, install the trans from under the car, on a lift if at all possible. That gives you the best in terms of ease, lowest risk of damage, and making everything fit properly.
Installing a trans, even a manual trans, from under a car is a major PITA. At my age it's definitely a two man job. Filling a manual trans from down under is nothing less than a headache even with a pump. The reason I even have a pump is because it's such a *****. When I watch the GYC crew drop the car onto the K-frame, it's like a 3 minute operation to get the K frame under the car, to bolted in. It's not like I haven't done it the old way, more like "been there, don't like it, show me a better way." Hence, this thread.
