Got as far as drilling the hole for the console shift linkage. I don't have the linkage parts that are below the floor, so I decided to put off welding in console brackets as I really want to mock-up everything (seats, console, linkage connected, etc.) before I weld in the brackets, so I decided to go ahead and pull the engine and transmission.
First thing I did was put too much leverage on the radiator petcock, tweaking it and causing a leak.
Out of curiosity I dismantled the top of the engine before I pulled the short block. There are always interesting things to discover when dealing with a car of unknown background. Like this super tight timing chain...
Custom made bushing...
While unbolting the flexplate from the converter I noticed what looked like grinding marks on the flexplate and that some of the bolt heads looked like they were ground down too. I figured out why once the engine was out.
These things had to make a hell of a racket while they were tearing themselves up, but the p.o.'s fix was to replace the missing bolts. Oh well.
I apparently wasted time unbolting the passenger motor mount.
Extra credit for anyone who noticed the water infused engine oil in my homemade catch pan.