Heavy Lifting Saturday

It was a busy day. I started the day by threading the horn wire through the steering column and then installing it and the pitman arm with its attached power steering control valve and reach rod into the car.

Next, I hooked up the leveler to the engine, pulled out the hoist and got the engine off the stand.

Then I installed the flywheel. When I was torquing the flywheel nuts, I noticed the pilot bushing was still in the crank. Hmm. Well, that shouldn't be a problem, I'll just grab my little hooked screwdriver-like tool I made to clean out the coolant passages in the block and get behind the bushing and pop it out.

Not so much.

Then I tried the old hydraulic method. I packed the opening with grease, slid in a tight fitting dowel rod, and hammered on the end of it. Has always worked like a charm for me before, but not this time. Time for more drastic measures.

I went to Auto Zone and borrowed a pocket hole puller. Took more time to put the tool together than to pull the bushing. What is that saying about having the proper tool?

After that old bushing was out of the way, it was on to the clutch and pressure plate...

Then the transmission is matched up. I always struggle with this a bit, but after a great deal of wriggling, wailing, and whining, it came together.

And now for the fun part--that needs to go into the car. First, of course, I had to remove the shifter. Then it was just a matter of getting it to the right height at the right angle.

With the transmission attached, it was a very tight fit. More cursing ensued, but 30 minutes later, after several adjustments of the angle and height at various stages, I was able to maneuver it into place.

I really need to get that ugly old fan out of there.

Today I'll get everything bolted down--then there's some cleanup to be done around the garage.