BLKMGK Posted March 19, 2001 Share Posted March 19, 2001 Okay, I've got my motor and trans bolted together and on the end of a hook. I've got one of those engine tilters but it interferes with my hoist when I try to tilt it very much. So, are folks installing SBCs and T56s together as a single unit or seperate? Bench pressing that darned T56 up into place doesn't thrill me - especially when I haven't checked for clearance yet but right now I'm having a hack of a time dropping them in together. Advice? I think I may swing th etiler around 180degrees, slide the hoist boom out further and maybe put a piece of chain between the boom and tilter for starters. Talk about frustrating! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueovalz Posted March 19, 2001 Share Posted March 19, 2001 I'm just a lowly T-5 kind of guy, but I had to put both in at one time (too close to firewall to comfortably stick the in tanny by itself) Terry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueovalz Posted March 19, 2001 Share Posted March 19, 2001 I guess a little more to the point is that I had the car front end way up high to get mine in due the the amount of angle that the assembly had to be tilted. I fact the top of the hoist almost rubbed the ceiling as I lifted it over the core support, but that got it in without dragging the floor with the tailshaft. Terry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modern Motorsports Ltd Posted March 19, 2001 Share Posted March 19, 2001 Putting the Lt1/T56 in and out of my dad's 240 during numerous dimensional checks was fairly easy with them bolted together. We used my tilter on the end of a hook. It can be tight on the hoist itself but you keep the crank on opposite end of hoist so the handle is exposed easily. Having it up a decent height in the air is handy (allows tailshaft room) and if you have the rear even higher than front can be even easier as your 'entry' angle is decreased. As well a mat or floorjack can hold that tailshaft and help you walk it back once it's 2/3's of the way in. Only thing we had to keep an eye on was the fuel lines at firewall that they never got crushed in any enginen rearward movements during install (they were moved up and sideways to be out of the way and rerouted). PS you have the headers installed? Can be done either way, I favour installing them ahead myself. Great to hear you're making steady progress Jim ! ------------------ Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pparaska Posted March 19, 2001 Share Posted March 19, 2001 Ross has some really good ideas/points there. One point of departure - make sure you have enough chain from the tilter to the engine if you want the crank of the tilter at the back of the engine. I learned this the hard way and ended up putting the crank at the front, to have less chain so the boom from the hoist would fit in the garage. There is so much room, I put headers (block huggers in afterwards. Easy. Get an engine tilter. I can pull the engine trans assembly in/out of the car without it touching anything on the way in or out by myself. The pics on my site of the 327/Tremec going in was me alone in the garage lowering/tilting and then taking pictures. I'd not try it without a tilter. BTW, the Tremec is almost as big as the T56, and it was not a problem getting it in there. The Z's long engine bay really helps out here. ------------------ Pete Paraska - 73 540Z - Marathon Z Project pparaska@home.com Pete's V8 Datsun 240Z Pages Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted March 20, 2001 Share Posted March 20, 2001 Exactly! You get what you pay for...I paid 10 bucks... But also, the thing about carbs is they have these cool tilters that attach to them. But I'm using an EFI tunnel ram and couldn't get the thing to bolt. I guess I need longer bolts. Owen ------------------ http://www.homestead.com/s30z/index.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLKMGK Posted March 20, 2001 Author Share Posted March 20, 2001 Well - it's ALMOST in!!!! Here's how it went... Put handle at back of engine, turn for EXTREME tilt. Swing engine over and bring tail up slowly, slide back. Whoops - handle nearly hitting cowl - doh! Set engine down in bay, swap tilter around, doh handle hits boom! Remove handle and use air ratchet to slide it back and forth. Note black paint dropping into exposed heads and onto sealed up manfiold - grr! Vacuum later. Tilt, move, wiggle, tily, shove, wiggle. Drat - hoist is up against bumper and engine has several inches back to go. Doh, not that one motor mount is on backwards instead of "setback". Drat! Reverse engine mount and twiddle with tilter to get more room to shove engine back - sooo close! Support back of trans with jack and it's slowly going back! Okay, at this point the front sump is sitting lightly on the front subframe and steering rack. To go back further I may have to remove the tilter and I WILL need a second person to lift and wiggle the back of th etransmission - I got this far on my own. BTW - so far I've done NO banging on the tunnel at all and the trans is nearly in there. I hope to have a bare minimum of banging to do - hopefully it can be done without fully removing it too. Will be working on it on Wednesday night and the clutch slave too. It looks so purty in there, have to post some pics here soon - including the backwards setback plate! (lol) P.S. Should I have the distributor in there already? I'll be running NO hood latch but want to make sure there's room to put th esilly thing in later! [This message has been edited by BLKMGK (edited March 19, 2001).] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted March 20, 2001 Share Posted March 20, 2001 I did my SBC+T56 into 240Z as one piece. Seems to be different for different people but I had to hammer a lot of the tunnel, especially for the lock-out solenoid and the reverse lamp connector. My advice is basically the same as everyone elses. Also, try to have your car raised or stock height so the hoist legs can slide under the car easily. My biggest pain was the tilter. Cheapo POS! Everytime I cranked it in either direction, the moving part would scrape paint off the tilter and it would end up in my lifter valley. Luckily I caught this right away and got it covered up. That thing is trash now! Good luck. Owen ------------------ http://www.homestead.com/s30z/index.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pparaska Posted March 20, 2001 Share Posted March 20, 2001 My tilter is the more expensive Transdapt unit. I didn't have any problems. I had a manifold bolted on, with a rag over the carb opening, so anything coming off the tilter, etc. would not have been a problem. ------------------ Pete Paraska - 73 540Z - Marathon Z Project pparaska@home.com Pete's V8 Datsun 240Z Pages Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted March 20, 2001 Share Posted March 20, 2001 Here is what I did by my self, with no assistance....five times: Get an additional length of about 12 inches of chain and extend the arm of thelift out a bit so you only have the booom over the engine bay (Not to far though...). The additional length of chain assists with the tilter knob and allows you to spin the knob past the areas it tends to hit. I had the knob up front by the front of the engine lift, and had no trouble cranking it. You should be able to do all this by yourself. You may find it necessary to wiggle the tailsahft of the trans to free it a bit, but seriously, it should be a one man show with the tools you have. Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted March 20, 2001 Share Posted March 20, 2001 About the distributor, even though you dont have a hood latch you might wanna put it in to either keep from losing/damaging it or to at least make user the hood closes all the way. I didn't have as much trouble as you getting the engine/trans in though, did about 5 times by myself. Make sure you got those motor mounts on the right way though...One thing, the driver side mount was rubbing the steering shaft so I had to grind part of the corner off. No biggie. Owen ------------------ http://www.homestead.com/s30z/index.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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