I got the engine all prepped and ready to go back in. Once it was up on the hoist I called the wife out to assist. She was not amused since the last engine install she helped on was with Gramma's Firebird and the motor mounts in a 1975 Pontiac are super hard to get lined up as compared to the older style used in 1972. That one took two hours of jockeying just to get one motor mount bolt in place.
This engine went in like a dream. I figured out the trick: Move the car to the hoist and not the hoist to the car. I had the engine in the driveway lined up with the center of the transmission tunnel. I then had the wife hold the back of the trans so it wouldn't rotate out of position. I then pushed the car to the engine and while she held the transmission in place, I lowered the engine a couple inches. I'd then push the car forward a few inches and lower the engine again. We repeated this around 10 times and the engine just popped right in.
The whole process took about 30 minutes.
All ready for the rest of the external engine parts. Those are the "stunt" valve covers instead of the newly painted ones.
