Dan's 1976 MGB

Today was the big day! I started by reinstalling the starter (you only put the bottom bolt in as the upper side of the starter is held in place with one of the bolts that holds the transmission to the engine - hence the screwdriver). I had to tilt the engine over to do this, and of course, when it was on it's side the oil mostly leaked out of various spots! Well, I need to do an oil change anyway.

Once the starter was in place, the boys and I then rolled the B out into the driverway, moved the engine and crane into place, and hoisted the engine up. Then we dragged the transmission over, lowered the engine and mated the two. It took a couple of tries to get the main shaft of the transmission into the right spot but once there, they slid together. Then we bolted it up. Back came the straps and we raised the whole shebang up into the air!

So we push the B back into the garage, and get the engine in place. I jacked up the rear end so we had some 'angle' to slide the engine in with. I also ended up having to jack up the front end, as the legs from the crane can't get under the spring pans. The last 'jiggling' to be done was to jack up the tailshaft of the transmission to get it to slide up over the rear crossmember. Then we did a bunch of pushing and shoving to get the mounts on the engine to align with the engine mounts in the bay. Total time for the install was about 3 hours. Not bad for the first time!






























































So next up is to reconnect the myriad wires, cables and hoses that make the thing run. But I'm in pretty good shape and on target for August 3!