I got the engine all buttoned up and looking very pretty sitting on the engine stand. Now its tranny time. Got her all cleaned and spiffied up with a fresh coat of silver paint during a previous visit, time for some mating action. Mating the engine to the trans that is. I dragged the cherry picker up out of the basement and used a couple tie down straps to hook around the transmission. I then positioned a milk crate so that it supported the trans kind of close to the height I wanted. I then lined everything up and engaged the shaft into the pressure plate opening but it would not fully find its way all the way in. As I grabbed onto the engine, I pushed the trans forward, trying to press the input shaft past the pressure plate and all the way home into the pilot bearing. I could feel and see that everything was going in only so far. The pilot shaft seemed to be getting past the opening of the pressure plate and to the splines of the clutch, but it was either hanging up on the splines or the pilot bearing. Since I had already checked that the bearing was indeed the correct size, I took off the pressure plate and clutch and re-verified that everything was lined up via a spare shaft. What I probably should have done... now thinking back...was to see if the trans would hook up without the clutch and pressure plate thus verifying that the input bearing size was OK. Too late now. What I ended up doing was getting everything in as far as it would go and then drawing everything up the last 1/2 inch with long bolts. No funny noises or clicks so I think it was just a real tight fit. All bolted up now.
Next step was to put the engine/transmission into the chassis. This is done from underneath so I had to get the assembly under the chassis which was up on the assembly dresser. To do that. I lifted the engine/trans up with the cherry picker and gently dropped it onto my trusty rusty little red wagon. This is the wagon I had bought for $6 at a garage sale about 25 years ago. It was beat up and tired then, it's much worse now. The wheels are worn and really wobbly now. I have big washers on the axles to try and keep the wheels from falling off because the holes are so worn. But it still works. So I plopped the engine/trans down onto a couple of big towels in the wagon bed to protect the paint on the oil pan and placed a tie down strap around the whole thing to keep it in place. I then had my able assistant assist me in the location of the engine/trans. She wheeled it into place as I stood ready in a wide stance with big gloves to try and catch everything should the wagon decide to give it up and collapse. Right! A lot of good I would be. It didn't collapse, and Sue wheeled it into position. Now that it was all in place. Sue could go on with her normal boring life and I would continue with the assembly. That's OK Dear; you can thank me later for this thrilling part of your day -right!
I strapped the engine/trans to the cherry picker and slowly raised it into place. Lots of moving this way and that to get it into position; once raised, I bolted on the large triangular plates that go between the motor mounts on the chassis and the engine itself. Took only a few minutes to get three out of four of the final motor mount bolts hooked up. That last bolt as usual took almost an hour. No matter which way I twisted, tugged, pried, raised, lowered and cursed at the engine, I couldn't get that last bolt to line up and go in. Finally, after a trip to the washroom and a little more prying with a small crow bar - it went in! That was it for that weekend. I hung the back end of the trans on a little ladder for support and it was Miller Time!
Next - Europa Euphoria, Part 18
