[pfilean]

Not sure why your dipstick is on the drivers side. Must be a most unusual arrangement. But in any case if the bolt is that inaccessible it sounds like it was installed as engine and trans already bolted together. Which looks like your only option to remove it.

[lust4speed]

Removed the engine one time without the trans on our '68 Firebird, and never did after that. GTO has about 2-1/2" from bolt head to firewall while the Firebird had a little over an inch. I know it was so close that while we could get the bolt out of the threads in the block it didn't have room to drop free out of the bellhousing.

[grivera]

Originally Posted by pfilean

Not sure why your dipstick is on the drivers side. Must be a most unusual arrangement. But in any case if the bolt is that inaccessible it sounds like it was installed as engine and trans already bolted together. Which looks like your only option to remove it.

It’s on the passenger side - if I wrote driver’s side somewhere it was unintentional

[JSchmitz]

You could make a removable panel in the floor pan.

[grivera]

Originally Posted by JSchmitz

You could make a removable panel in the floor pan.

I'm trying to avoid that

- one thing I haven't done is removed the motor mount bolts when I tried tilting the the transmission down. I will attempt that and a couple other things today.

[sdbob]

I talked to my friend Gary who has done alot he has never seen a stud. I havent either. Just saying. My 67 F hasnt a stud. Someone may have been in there previously. If you have about an inch from firewall too tranny flywheel housing mount bracket. I would saw stud off before nut. Then unscrew nut then take stud out with vicegrips and use a bolt. If lucky the coarseness after sawing will bring stud out too. Take your time

[grivera]

Originally Posted by sdbob

I talked to my friend Gary who has done alot he has never seen a stud. I havent either. Just saying. My 67 F hasnt a stud. Someone may have been in there previously. If you have about an inch from firewall too tranny flywheel housing mount bracket. I would saw stud off before nut. Then unscrew nut then take stud out with vicegrips and use a bolt. If lucky the coarseness after sawing will bring stud out too. Take your time

Good to know - this is what I’m working with (see pic). Also, took dipstick out by disconnecting it from the bracket. I’ll tack weld it back on later.

[grandam1979]

Originally Posted by grivera

using the hoist to move engine forward or removing motor mount?



It almost touches at the top so unless it could be tilted a lot not sure that would make it better

Just take the one bolt out of each side and slide it forward you don’t remove mount from engine.

[grivera]

I got it! Removing the MM to frame bolts allowed the clearance needed, albeit 1/4 turn at a time.

[sdbob]

Never seen that before. Looks like the bracket is spaced from trans by nut. Wonder why that was done?

[Sirrotica]

Not factory for sure, been a long time since I removed an engine and left the trans in a first gen, but I never ran into anything that I couldn't get out with conventional tools.

That looks like a splice nut that HVAC guys use on all thread when hanging HVAC from beams.