I removed and replaced my engine and transmission in the bugeye using the
time honored method of attaching the hoist to a rope wound round the
engine. There was a fair amount of tugging and pulling involved, even
with the bonnet removed. It was possible working alone, but not a lot of
fun. It would be worse in a Midget with the front clip on.
After a month, we had to remove it again to fix the transmission I had
bought from a "mechanic" at the Healey conclave. The mechanic who rebuilt
my engine helped. Usually, one just attaches a chain to the head bolts,
and the angle of the engine trans assembly is adjusted by where you put
the hoist hook on the chain. Jay brought along a nifty gadget that has a
worm gear and a traveling hook whose position can be adjusted. Thus it is
childs play to adjust the angle of the engine/trans. This simple gadget
made a world of difference, the engine/trans just slud out (and later
right back in) without touching any of the sheet metal, slick as can be.
These tilters are available for only $50 or so. The next time I have to
remove an engine, I sure will buy one of those gadgets first.
Removing the engine/trans as a package has advantages. The big
disadvantage is that it may not be easy to get the back of the trans to
mate up with the front of the driveshaft in these cars when you put the
whole thing back. It is especially tough if you have a new seal on the
rear of the tranny. Supposedly, you can unfasten the drive shaft at the
differential, attach it to the transmission while the engine is out of the
car, and feed the whole thing in through the tunnel. When I was using the
rope hoist, I could not get it all to go in, perhaps because it was hard
to change the angles. The second time, the rear seal was worn a bit, and
it was not as hard to get the drive shaft to mate with the rear of the
trans.
Ray Gibbons Dept. of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics
Univ. of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT
gibbons@northpole.med.uvm.edu (802) 656-8910
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