We'll be pulling Ken Lisk's drivetrain soon, but I've never done a Skylark, only my Rivvy. 1) Can the engine and trans come out together in these cars? 2) I suggest he pull the grille - wouldn't want anything to happen to his pristine grille. But are there tips? I understand the mounting studs have a tendency to come out before the nuts break loose. We'll have the hood off and stored so we can detail the underside of it. We'll be bagging and labeling every nut and bolt. We'll also take pics of various things - like harness routing and such. We'll also clean every part and also the bay. I'll be shooting black lacquer on his brackets and such. Thanks y'all!
Is it an AC car? When I pulled my motor and trans from my '71 (w/o cradle), the weight (once airborne) tends to shift toward the evaporator box. This results in a big crack and bad words. Keep this in mind when you plan your attack. Good Luck!
exit motor unless u have a car hoist & can remove the tranny while the car is in the air , then u have to pull the engine & tranny together . damn hard removing a tranny while on your back under the car . remember to remove your grill , first , as a safety measure . remove all the hardware in the engine bay , linkages , cables , fluids , etc. a 350 + th350 were fairly easy to remove from my gs .
Good time to first remove the battery box to see if the frequent rot has struck the lip of the inner fender. If it has you will have to remove the outer fender to remove the inner and replace or repair. Once you are that far along consideration must be given to the core support for the same problem. If it is present, off comes the fan cover. the radiator, and the core support. Now everything is really out of the way and a high lift is no longer necessary.
I was thinking of making my core support top rail a bolt-in. The it would be real easy to put motor and trans in at same time. But it might also weaken the core support. Jeff: I would pull the trans first then do the motor. It's alot of weight all together. I did both on a parts car Electra but I didn't care what I scratched. Bruce
engine pull Hi Guys I just pulled motor out of my 71 last week. If trans is good just unbolt trans and converter then pull out motor. Then get three inch bolts put them in trans housing holes and put heavy pipe across to frame rails it holds trans in place. Good idea to take grille out it is hard to lean over and reach fan and rad.That grille breaks just looking at it. good luck
Hey Yardley, I've pulled my motor and trans out of my 71GS 455 serveral times (to many than I like to admit). They always come out together rather the trans needs something or not. I've found it's just easyer to pull them both than to seperate the two and just pull the motor (and I have a lift in my garage with the trany jack). My car still has the nice GS grill on it also as well as pristine black paint...... Scratching / braking stuff just isn't an option . My car is also an AC car as well. JUST take your time and watch things real close as they both come out. A big tip is to remove teh valve covers from the motor before pulling it. This will give you a little more room by the AC box as well as the Power Brake booster. You will aslo want to stick a floor jack under the tail of the trany before lifting the motor and trans out. This will keep the motor from wanting to settle back into the AC box. I personally wouldn't remove the grill. Just don't lean on it and it will be fine. You could do more damage to it removing it that it should substain not coming out. The tabs on this grills are very brittle and where his probably hasn't ever been removed, the chances of twisting one or 2 off removing bolts it probably pretty great. Anyway.... that's my .02
drivetrain pull Yardley, I agree with larry on the pulling the grill using penetrant and vise grips should do the trick. Use a 6 point socket or wrench so you get a good grip. I would also pull the transmission first, then you can bolt the motor right on the stand. Sure is easier to manuver with less weight. Those so called "shortcuts" tend to cost you more in the long run.
Re: drivetrain pull Yeah, I'll more than likely "assume the position" and "go below" and unbolt the trans and support it on the frame rails. Just as long as we have 4 good jack stands and get that puppy high enough so I don't have to contort myself. It's a 4 speed, so it shouldn't be too difficult to pull it and just leave the bellhousing bolted up.
GRILLE REMOVAL Hi Guys,Tips for grille removal remembering it is a impossible to find 71 GS grille. First of course PB Blaster or WD40 a few days ahead of time.WIRE BRUSH threads of the grille studs,Use a tap and die set and chase treads before attemping to remove the nuts,WD40 again and hold stud with vise grips while breaking the nuts loose. Doesn't hurt to say a prayer beforehand as well.
make sure you guys have a good load leveller that can be adjusted while in the air. should aid greatly in pulling the motor and tranny at the same time w/o messing anything up.
Re: GRILLE REMOVAL In the 6 or 7 times I've pulled my combo out (engine and trans) I have not once even come close to hitting my Grill........ Removing it sure seems like a big waste of time to me. Personally there is more risk removing it, than you will face pulling the motor out with it on....... But to each their own.
If you are going to use vicegrips on the studs, I would suggest putting rubber between the jaws and the studs to prevent getting those teeth marks on there. you can still get huge grip but without marking the stud. Also, when you start to loosen the nut, WATCH the stud carefully, if it starts to turn, stop or you will break the grille. Loosen all the nuts, but don't remove until all are off, then remove everything. You know that grille will be tough to pull without loosening front bumper too since it curves under and you have to pull it a good 3/4" forward to get the studs out of the rad support....so back off the four bolts that hold bumper brackets to frame and simply slide it forward and down, it should go far enough that you can leave it like that without hurting paint but then the hoist might interfere depending on its wheel setup. Wouldn't life be easy if we could just buy grilles? One other thing, I usually pull just the engine unless tranny needs to be out. You can use a jack and some wood on the front edge of tranny, as you lift engine tranny will also lift some, you want to take the slack until the mounts start to pull. Once engine is out, use chain and bolts though housing to support it from firewall as mentioned earlier. I usually undo the mounts to the engine block bolts, then when you lift engine you can start moving it forward right away and avoid trying to lift it over the edges of the mounts (impossible on my car). I use chains to each corner of the engine so it comes out level, I can pull the engine and not even remove the hood. I find with tranny it always hangs tail low and you need to go way higher to get the thing out. Just some thoughts. Tim
Thanks gang. I'm not concerned with hitting the grille with the engine on the way out or back in; I'm worried about an errant "lean" from a hand landing on the grille without thinking, instead of the rad support or fender. If it isn't there then that is a big worry off my mind. Also, it'll make detailing the rad support and frame rails easier anyway. My main focus here is to pull the drivetrain without putting so much as even a scratch anywhere on the car. It is a 71 GSX, afterall.
Lifting plate Perhaps a lifting plate would be the best solution. That way you can lift engine/trans as high as possible and ensure the tailshaft will clear. A load leveler is nice but you have to lay your hands on one soon. Can you take photos? I dismantled my '71 long before digital cameras were available. BTW - I think this would make a nice featurette for the Build Sheet.
Those lifting plates that bolt to the intake scare the hell outta me, esp if you are trying to lift an engine AND trans! Bruce
I agree...... I wouldn't lift my combo with one.......... then again my intake is alum. If my intake were castiron, it wouldn't scare me as bad, but I still wouldn't lfit the motor and trans with one.
I would suggest unbolting the wiring harness at the firewall and removing it with the engine. It saves a lot of time disconnecting from starter, coil, etc. This also provides you an opportunity to clean/repair/replace the harness without leaning over the fender or grille. Likewise if the harness is already connected when you reinstall the engine, then you only have to connect it at the firewall. Good luck. Larry
