I posted another post shortly ago asking for help in identifying my engine and then I thought maybe I should just pull it out and have access the the thing outside the car. So my question for all of you is this...

Should I pull the engine out to get complete access to it and see what the heck I have, then decided if it worth saving?

If the engine comes out so will the transmission.

If the engine and transmission come out I will update and detail the engine compartment.

If the engine is good I can have it rebuilt.

If the engine is no good I can replace it with a crate engine.

Decision on a transmission can follow the engine decisions.

So what should I do...Pull it out or leave it in?

Help!!!!

David
77Sleeper

 

If your ready to do the engine compartment ....yank that sucker

 

Pull out! Pull out!

 

Nothing quite like the feeling of yanking an engine out for the first time. You'll have access to a lot of things you never did before and you can do a thorough job of inspecting and cleaning.

 

Pull it out. Not that big of a deal. Yank it so you have access to everything.

 

Leaving it in is much better than pulling it out

 

Sounds to me like the start of a frame off restoration!

 

Lets be fair Wayne, you're not talking about engines...

 

 

Odd you should say that, I just mentioned it to my wife and said why not take off the body too...

She smiled, said "do what makes you happy" then rolled her eyes.
I am a lucky guy...
David

 

Just recognize what you will be in for. The work is fun for many of us, but the work will go on, and on, and on. Every thing you work on will allow you to see something else that needs to be done. My advice: if you want to do the car up right, pull the engine and tranny and plan on doing a complete teardown and rebuild. Also, you will spend at least as much time doing the engine compartment as you will on the engine and transmission together! Have fun!

 

I have given this a fair amount of thought and there is no better time than the present to dig in and learn. I have one 77 Corvette running and I used it this summer for shows, so why not take advantage of the lift now and just tear down the second one and have some fun.

Anyone have a check list for preparing the engine for removal? How about the tranny?

David

 

I think that's a good choice. I recently pulled my L-48 out to swap in a warmed over 355, and I must say I did a fair job in detailing the engine bay while it was out. You can really get to everything and make it look good with the motor out.

Pulling it is really not that hard, and this is coming from a first-timer. Just buy some tape and a sharpie and a bunch of plastic bags, and mark all the wiring as you disconnect, and put groups of nuts and bolts in a plastic bag and mark it well. Take your time and it'll go smooth. Someone else can probably help you out more with the details of the auto trans...mine was a manual...

 

Tape - Check.
Sharpie - Check.
Bunch of plastic bags - Check.
Mark wiring as I go - Check.
Camera - Check.
Take my time - Check.
Take off hood, mark hole locations, set on pad to prevent damage - check.
Disconnect at the manifolds and drop the whole system - check.
Remove the coolant drain plugs on each side of the block before you take the engine out - check.
Take off a front wheel, maybe the passenger wheel, and plan your jack stand locations based on the engine hoist. Test it a few times to make sure it'll roll under and it gets where it needs to be with any jacks or jack stands in position - Check.
Pull the drive shaft from the transmission so that when you pull the combo it'll be at an angle - check.
Either drain the fluid and drop the pan from the transmission or cap the tail shaft so it won't drain fluid on your floor - double check.
Have a friend handy, as well as a fridge full of beer. Take lots of beer breaks -hiccup, check.
Post-it sticker papers for notes and take pictures next to the item to remind what you want done, how you did it, how it works, where it goes, etc. - Check.
Keep everything if you can - I can, check.
Finances in order to move forward - check.
Beg borrow or buy an engine stand - check.
Buy a transmission jack - check.
Then...
Remove all the peripherals.
Undo the motor mounts.
Undo the bellhousing bolts.
Support the trans on a jack.
Lift the engine out with engine hoist.
Mount engine to engine cradle or engine stand.

David

 

 

I assume you're going to be upgrading the exhaust. Disconnect at the manifolds and drop the whole system. Then you can remove the trans separately before the engine. Thats what I did the first time I pulled the engine and trans on my 77.
One other little thing - After you drain the cooling system, pull the coolant drain plugs on each side of the block before you take the engine out. Otherwise a quart or two will end up on your garage floor.

 

Take off a front wheel, maybe the passenger wheel, and plan your jack stand locations based on the engine hoist. Test it a few times to make sure it'll roll under and it gets where it needs to be with any jacks or jack stands in position.

You'll need to pull the drive shaft from the transmission and then when you pull the combo it'll be at an angle. Either drain the fluid and drop the pan from the transmission or cap the tail shaft so it won't drain fluid on your floor.

Have a friend handy, as well as a fridge full of beer. Take lots of beer breaks.

 

Hey 77 Sleeper,
On your check list dont forget the Post-it sticker papers and a good digital camera.
Take tons of pictures from every angle and then take more. If your camera has a macro setting on it it will help with detailed close up pictures.
If there is something that I feel needs special attention then I'll write the info on the post-it and stick it next to the object stating what it is as a remainder to do something to this object then I take a picture of it then I can check it when I put it back together.
When I rebuilt my driverside seat in my coupe I took over 150 pictures and that was just for tearing it down and I had to go back and look at a couple of pics to see how things went back together.
I've never pulled a engine out of a car before (I know, my bad) but I'm detailing my engine bay with the engine in and it's a PITA but then theres no reason for me to pull it either, BUT if I had more equipment then I would pull it next time.
I find it easy to get several different size's of post-its and make notes on them and stick them inside the zip lock bags with the parts.
The other huge item I've found helpful is I bought a external 320 GIG hard drive for my computer and put all the pictures of all the different task or projects in different folders and it stays nice and organized and doesnt load up my PC.
Hope this helps.

 

This is a "No-Brainer"! Pull It Out. You already have another vette to drive while the other one is down...lol...unlike some of us...lol. I'm assuming you have the finances and time to take on such a project. As mentioned previously, be very organized and document your project with pictures. ZipLock Bags and Sharpies are a beautiful thing. Oh, keep everything if you can.

 

Another thing I thought of (that you may already have) is a leveler for your engine hoist. Makes coming out and going in with the tranny attached a thing of beauty.