Tech: how to install a motor

I helped my friend install the replacement motor in his Camaro yesterday and today. There are only about 3 tricky parts I had to help him with. No pics today, you will just have to envision this...
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1. Get the motor into the engine bay and positioned properly. While still hanging from the hoist, you want to have the back face of the motor about 1" forward of the front of the transmission case. You need to get the rear of the motor tilted down about 5-10 degrees. Now make sure that the motor mounts are straddling the frame mounts so they will drop down on them. Get under the car and jack the front of the transmission up until it matches the motor's tilt. Now gently wrestle the motor back onto the trans case, inserting the 5/8" dowel pins on the motor into the mating holes in the trans case. Put the 6 trans to motor bolts in and tighten them up. If you have it right, this will be easy. If it's hard, something is wrong. Back it up and start over. Take the jack out from under the trans, and lower the motor onto the front mounts.
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2. Get under and attach the converter to the flywheel. Just sayin', so you don't forget this step. Make sure the converter is sitting on there square and nice.
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3. Install the distributor. Here's how to get the static timing close, so the engine will start. Turn the motor over until cylinder #1 is moving to TDC; top dead center. Turn the motor until the timing mark reaches 12* before TDC, and stop there. This gives us 12* static spark advance. The motor is in firing position. Make a mark on the distributor body where the #1 plug terminal fits onto the body. Remove the distributor cap. Install the distributor so that the rotor comes to point directly at the mark on the distributor when it is fully seated. The motor is now in firing position on the #1 cylinder, and the distributor is in firing position to the #1 cylinder. See how that works?
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Reinstall the other stuff.
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My friend's car fired up immediately and ran smoothly right away. The timing on my distributor install was pretty darn close for that to happen! Thank you, thank you.
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Anyway, he's happy, and I was happy to help. I apologize for no photos, especially since they might have helped my explanations to make more sense. Couldn't find our camera at the time.
Thanks for tuning in. I also have this for you, something I'm selling:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p3907.m32&_trkparms=tab%3DSelling&item=150334163068&viewitem=

Any guesses of how high this will go?

Tech: How to pull a motor (short version).

I helped a friend pull the motor out of his 1971 Chevy Camaro today. He had never done it before, and I have lost count of how many I have done, so I was official advisor. I let him do all the work so he'd have the pride of accomplishment. This is a very simplified version of what to do. It's actually not too difficult. My friend already had the motor ready to come out. Disconnect all the accessories, exhaust, intake, fuel line, radiator, belts, wiring (labelling all the wires), hood off, etc. Take out the front motor mount through bolts. It is not necessary to remove the intake manifold, as he has done here, but he will be swapping it to the new motor later anyway. If you're going to use a chain across the top, like we are, remove the valve covers. Drain as much coolant as you can.

Other side, you can see the exhaust headers are off and out of the car. Roomy in there now.

Get underneath, and disconnect the torque converter to flexplate bolts. There are three of them. This is kind of a tough part. It goes way easier if you remove the spark plugs and have the nice flexplate turning tool, which I gladly lent. Push the converter back into the transmission as far as it will go; about 3/8".

Support the transmission from underneath with a floor jack and a block of wood, like so. Nothing fancy here; block of wood.

Attach a hydraulic hoist, and begin lifting the motor up. You can see how we used a chain across the top of the motor. The motor will tilt up about 2" in the front, then pull it forward about 1" and it will pull free from the transmission. Boop!

I'd rather see this than a dead deer on a hook any day. The hot-rodder and his daughter pose with the removed motor. It is, in a sense, that easy.

Perhaps I'll do a follow up on the reinstallation, highlighting one or two things to watch out for. It's only marginally more difficult to put a motor back in.

Thanks for tuning in.

Tech: Alternator swap, part 2 (plus bonus features)

Here's the finishing up of the alternator install. I had to modify the existing generator lower bracket to mount the alternator on it. I welded a piece of metal on it, moving the lower pivot point farther away from the motor.

If you squint you can see the part in the blurry photo above. No, squint more. That is actually a good weld, it just looks like a little ploop-ploop in this photo.

I modified the top bracket as well (see the weld). I don't mind the welds showing. Again, the contour of the bracket is better than it looks, and someday I will grind the bracket and paint it nice, and it will look much better. Now is not that day. I just want to get this thing going for now.

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That's the existing belt on there for now. I'll get a new, shorter one that will put the alternator more in the middle of it's adjustment, and then a second one to keep in the trunk.

Here's a quickie. A previous owner (henceforth; PO) used a too long, too big spring as a carb return spring, attaching it to the fan shroud. That was only a 50% infraction, but punching a hole in an otherwise unmolested 50-year-old fan shroud with a phillips screwdriver and hammer (I am pointing to the little cross mark) was easily another 50% infraction. Most PO bodges are benign, but this really steamed my vegetables. How cobby. I suppose we are lucky the spring was not longer, or it would be attached to the front bumper. Anyway, a replacement with a proper sized spring, attached to the top of the motor, closer by, solved this problem. No pic. I will undent and weld up the hole when I do the radiator.

Another worthwhile upgrade: New fuel line from pump to carb. The existing line was a kinked, rusty piece of incorrect size tube, with a big ol' length of hose. Using hose is not the worst thing you could do, but it lacks, shall we say, that certain elegance. I bent up a parts store length of straight tube to fit nicey-nice.

Here's how you do it, a tubing bender. I have also used old pulleys of various sizes very successfully. If you take your time, it's not so tough.

New fuel line, topside. Also, new fuel filter. Nothing fancy, a universal type, see-though plastic. If you go for a fancy glass one, it will break someday and spray fuel all over you hot engine, and your car will burn to the ground. That's why I like the plastic ones: cheaper, safer, better.

Fuel line, pump side. Notice the even, factory style bends. Lower radiator hose removed in this photo.

Last one for today. New battery. Advance Auto Parts actually had '58 Chevys in the computer application database, and they had the correct battery in stock. It was huge, so I'm taking a chance on a smaller, lighter one. Yes, yes, I know, no warranty for you! I later theorized that the huge stockers were necessary because the generators were not as efficient at charging, and since I now have a modern alternator, I can get by with this smaller one. We'll see. I made a sturdy mount, rods, and hold down myself. The rods are still long because I want to make a little non-conductive tray that will gang on top and cover the whole battery. That will be a handy tool tray, and cover the positive terminal of the battery, so wrenches and things don't fall on there and cause a massive short. The alternator feed wire is the red wire poking in from the top left there. Done.

Thanks for tuning in, see you soon.