Another build thread - 1992 Base
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Feb 2023
Posts: 156
Likes: 175
From: Louisville, Kentucky
Big progress! Today was "put the engine in the car" day.
Plan was put the engine in from the top, then strap it so it didn't fall backwards, raise the car, and stuff the gearbox in from the bottom. Happily, it worked.
I did have a helper below guiding the motor mounts into the holes in the frame and zipping the nuts on for me while I controlled the crane:
With the motor bolted in, we put the SFI rated TCI Flexplate on:
Then stuffed the 4L60 back in its place:
This was my first transmission install using a proper transmission jack, and whoa. If you have a lift and haven't bought one of these, go get one NOW. It made installing this transmission a total non-event. Thinking about all those gearboxes I've done on my back with a floor jack makes me realize just how dumb I was when I was younger.
Then came the C-channel and driveshaft, and I have to express my disappointment at the internet. Multiple places told me the Dana 44 was a bolt-in replacement for the Dana 36. It is not. The D44 has about an inch more snount. So the C-channel needed to be modified to fit and I'm going to need to get the driveshaft shortened at my local diesel shop. Not a big deal, but it was annoying having to wrestle the C-brace in and out a bunch of times while we fitted and marked and drilled and cut it to fit.
But it's all in!
Now I get to start the real fun part: Wiring this thing up.
Plan was put the engine in from the top, then strap it so it didn't fall backwards, raise the car, and stuff the gearbox in from the bottom. Happily, it worked.
I did have a helper below guiding the motor mounts into the holes in the frame and zipping the nuts on for me while I controlled the crane:
With the motor bolted in, we put the SFI rated TCI Flexplate on:
Then stuffed the 4L60 back in its place:
This was my first transmission install using a proper transmission jack, and whoa. If you have a lift and haven't bought one of these, go get one NOW. It made installing this transmission a total non-event. Thinking about all those gearboxes I've done on my back with a floor jack makes me realize just how dumb I was when I was younger.
Then came the C-channel and driveshaft, and I have to express my disappointment at the internet. Multiple places told me the Dana 44 was a bolt-in replacement for the Dana 36. It is not. The D44 has about an inch more snount. So the C-channel needed to be modified to fit and I'm going to need to get the driveshaft shortened at my local diesel shop. Not a big deal, but it was annoying having to wrestle the C-brace in and out a bunch of times while we fitted and marked and drilled and cut it to fit.
But it's all in!
Now I get to start the real fun part: Wiring this thing up.
Last edited by turbo6inky; May 16, 2026 at 04:50 PM. Reason: Speeling
