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Hello,
I'd bet with the fan and clutch off the front of the engine and the radiator and shroud removed you'll already have the room you'll need.
Has the transmission been unbolted?
Having it loose allows you start going UP without having to go FORWARD so far.
Regards....
I have a heavy duty cherry picker. But on my C3 I had to come in from the side (SBC/T400to LS1/4L60E) by the front wheel. I don't recall if the rad support was in or out.
The nose a C3 is quite long. Also get a engine leverler with the hand wheel so you can adjust the engine angle as you pull the engine.
Jack the car up a bit and put it on jack stands all the way around. Then remove the wheel/tire so the lower legs of the cherry picker to have more room to play with. I went in from the passenger side.
Oh and my wife really liked helping. Not. LOL.
I removed the radiator support on my '72 when working on the engine, trans, etc. during Covid. The support was out for a couple years and there were no problems with the body or getting it back in.
I removed the rad support from our '72 when pulling the engine for a rebuild. It was out for about 5 months, with no harm or damage. Gives lots of room for cleanup.
Hello,
I'd bet with the fan and clutch off the front of the engine and the radiator and shroud removed you'll already have the room you'll need.
Has the transmission been unbolted?
Having it loose allows you start going UP without having to go FORWARD so far.
Regards....
I planned to lift the engine and TH350 up at once.
the transmission is still attached to the block.
I removed the all fluids in both block and transm.
I decoupled all the lones and removed the bolts of the driveshaft and all the mounts.
Will this work? Pulling both engine and transmission at once?
I removed the rad support from our '72 when pulling the engine for a rebuild. It was out for about 5 months, with no harm or damage. Gives lots of room for cleanup.
Did you remove it before or after you lifted the engine out?
Go to post #165 of this thread.... Now the fun begins-78 Pacecar refurbish - CorvetteForum - Chevrolet Corvette Forum Discussion
Taking the support out makes sliding in the engine/trans combo easier. Measure the boom on your cherry picker to insure there is enough length to set engine on the mounts and not come in contact with nose of car. Having the front bumper off will help.
RickM
I removed the engine/bellhouse/transmission stack out of my donor 70 car by lifting if from the front of the car with a standard engine hoist. I used a load leveler so that I could rotate the engine/bellhouse/transmission stack in pitch. The top of the radiator frame did become an issue at times, but using the engine hoist in combination with the load leveler allowed me to remove the stack with no real problem.
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I used a Harbor Freight engine hoist. Cost $179. The look alike Snap On Hoist was $1200. I've used the HF hoist several times. It's main quality problem is the hydraulic ram. The piston hard chrome plating is very thin and the piston rusts easily. I've gone through 3 hydraulic rams, not a big problem since they are cheap. ~$70.
Do you mean this by a ‘load leveler’?
I had it already attached.
Yes. That's the load leveler. I think you're good to go.
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For the few times I've removed an engine, or installed one. I remove the engine/bellhouse/tranny as a unit. It's a personal thing. Apparently most people just remove the engine, leaving the bellhouse/tranny in the car. I once removed just the engine alone For me the problem came replacing the engine. To make a too long story short, laying on my back, under the car, I had a very difficult time getting the tranny input shaft into the clutch assembly which was bolted to the engine flywheel. It was such a terrible experience, I told my self I would always remove, replace, the entire engine/bellhouse/tranny stack as a unit. So I've kept my promise to date.
And, if this C3 was OE with an OE auto trans; it'll also have a removeable crossmember at the transmission mount.
Rather easy to remove Xmember from frame. Offers even further flexibility during motor and/or trans R&R.
And, while the trans is out, you can easily inspect +Positive battery cable and R&R as well. Otherwise, that's an unpleasant chore.
Last edited by Rebelyell; Nov 21, 2025 at 05:20 PM.
I planned to lift the engine and TH350 up at once.
the transmission is still attached to the block.
I removed the all fluids in both block and transm.
I decoupled all the lones and removed the bolts of the driveshaft and all the mounts.
Will this work? Pulling both engine and transmission at once?
Although I removed my '72's engine (BB) and trans (TH400) separately, I reinstalled as a single unit. As Rebelyell said above, your car should have the removable cross-member at the rear of the transmission. Dropping that out provides all sorts of room for the trans tail shaft end to drop and get to the proper angle to remove with the engine.
Originally Posted by Rebelyell
And, while the trans is out, you can easily inspect +Positive battery cable and R&R as well. Otherwise, that's an unpleasant chore.
100% agreement on that cable R&R if needed - you can't get to it without the transmission and tunnel heat shield removed.
Tip for reinstalling: make sure you mount the dipstick/fill tube to the trans and bellhousing bolts before dropping the engine & trans back in. The space is so tight between the trans, the tunnel, and firewall that you won't be able to angle and twist the tube to get it in afterwards. I speak from experience to this -- had to re-lift the engine and trans a bit to install the tube after everything was already bolted back in place!
The core support on a C3 is not like a C2. It does not support the body and can be removed and replaced without fear of changing the body alignment or having the fenders droop. I discovered that the best way of replacing the radiator in a C3 is to take out the radiator, support and shroud as a unit. It is certainly the best idea to remove the unit in order to get room to remove the engine and trans together.
The core support on a C3 is not like a C2. It does not support the body and can be removed and replaced without fear of changing the body alignment or having the fenders droop. I discovered that the best way of replacing the radiator in a C3 is to take out the radiator, support and shroud as a unit. It is certainly the best idea to remove the unit in order to get room to remove the engine and trans together.
100%!
These pics are re-installation after engine/trans back in place.
You may find that you need to remove one wheel and put the frame on a jack stand. Most engine hoists don't have the arm reach to lift or lower from the nose of the car, so coming in from the side is the only option and removing the wheel offers room to maneuver the hoist's feet and casters. I've always done it from the driver's side but I don't think it matters, so choose whichever side is most convenient for jockeying the hoist around.
Tip: pull the distributor out before lifting as the lift angle can cause it to contact the firewall and damage something.
Remove radiator support -> Extra space for engine lift?
