I decided to install the engine into the car with the transmission still mounted in place. This is sometimes
said to be a bit of a pain. But I made the job a bit easier on myself. First, I enlisted the help of Jim Butterworth
and Russell Guss. And second, Jim and I designed a homemade "balance-bar".
The balance bar is visible in the photo. It consists of a 24" length of 2"x2" steel angle iron, three large
eye-hooks, four carabiners and two short lengths of climbing webbing. The webbing is rated to something like 3000 lbs
and is more than strong enough to carry a 250 lb engine. The beauty of a balance-bar is that it allows the engine to
be tilted at an angle even while it is entirely supported. For a permanent change in the angle at which the engine
hangs one can adjust the length of the eye hooks, which are held onto the angle iron with nuts and washers.
This made is much easier to get the input shaft of the tranny to slide into the rear of the crankshaft. It would have
been even easier if I had remembered to take the car out of gear first 8^)
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