Underneath Engine install tips

[dodge68charger]

Im gonna drop my engine and transmission into my 68 charger and i heard the easiest way to do it is to un-bolt the K frame and drop it in from underneath the car. The only suspension parts i have hooked up is the K-frame bolted to the frame and the torsion bars which aren't coming out Has anyone done this and has any tips before i give it a try. What i should put on the engine, etc. I have the car sitting 3.5 feet in the air and i do have access to a forklift with extended forks which im gonna use to life the assebley into place. . Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks

 

[kb67mopar]

You can't drop the k-frame in or out without removing the torsion bars. So you will have to get them out.

 

[dodge68charger]

Im gonna try to get them out this weekend

 

[earlyrides]

use the right tool for the right job

do yourself a favor and get the tool for removing them.
you can borrow my tool if you are anywhere close to Disneyland.
you can also get them through many suppliers including classic industries
http://www.classicindustries.com/mopar/parts/mf1744.html

 

[dodge68charger]

I checked out a few sites n am gonna make a tool this weekend. Thanks

 

[Gpuller]

I have heard guys doing it with a couple 2x4's and bolts.

Stole these off another site.

 

[dodge68charger]

Thanks guys. Any tips on the engine install?

 

[kb67mopar]

Thanks guys. Any tips on the engine install?

Sorry I put mine in from the top and its too wide to fit out the bottom but again I am not running a stock motor combo.

One of these guys will have done it, good luck.

 

[rocky61201]

This thread might help.

http://www.forbbodiesonly.com/moparforum/showthread.php?65082-K-Frame-Cradle

 

[Plucked Chicken]

Made a wooden tool like that and it just slipped. Figured out no torsion bar removal tool is needed when removing lower control arms too.

---------------------------------

Remove A-arm bumper (Before raising car).
Raise car / Remove wheels.
Release torsion bar tension by removing adjustment bolts.
Remove torsion bar rear clip and clean out grease from rear socket.
Remove strut rod front nut. Then remove strut rod rear nut.
Remove lower ball joint nut, and tie-rod nut and break them both free with pickle fork.
Remove LCA pivot shaft nut.

No torsion bar removal tool needed when removing the LCA and torsion bar together as follows:

Tap pivot shaft back and pry LCA out of K-member, driving torsion bar out of rear socket.

Knock lower control arm free from torsion bar with large rubber mallet.

:glasses3:

 

[67 coronet]

biggest thing is to make sure you can move the assembly around a bit in order to line up the k frame bolts.it will be almost impossible to get it right with the fork lift alone,so make sure you can nudge it around on the forks.some wood normally works good.make sure your steering gear box is in place before install as well.watch the steering column as well.remove if it is easy.ruff to fight that thing.

 

[tallhair]

check out 71AirGrabberRR's thread and how he did it .. very well described

 

[bigblock]

If you have a bigblock, remove the dipstick. lol My engine/tranny was ready to run when I dropped my body over it. Cost me a dipstick and tube. Otherwise worked great and skinned no paint.

 

[WP29440SE]

I have never had to use a torsion bar "tool" . slide the LCA's back out of the kmember (after removing the clips from behind the torsion bars)and then tap them off the torsion bars.

 

[dodge68charger]

Thanks guys. I ll give those threads a read tonight

 

[Meep-Meep]

Once you do it from the bottom you will never go back from the top.

 

[Garys1969RR]

I have removed the torsion bars by backing off the tension adjuster bolt, removing the shocks from the Lower Control Arm, and the clip from the rear of the torsion bar. Let the LCA hang down, and the torsion bar will slide out the back pretty easily.

 

[Pistol Pete]

Get a few cheap bolts from the hardware store of the same pitch and diameter as the K frame bolts. Cut the heads off and grind them down until they are somewhat tapered, but not all pointy and ****.

Take a hacksaw and cut a screwdriver slot in the tapered end. Thread one in front hole of one frame rail and one in the rear hole of the other frame rail. These will act as guide pins when you lower the car down onto the motor.

Once the K member is in position, install the original bolts in the two open holes and remove the guide pins with a screwdriver and install the remaining two bolts.

- - - Updated - - -

Also, if the rear is in the car, you may want to put it up on jackstands to pick up some needed height. Place some cardboard or old carpet on the pads to protect the paint on the diff. Having the stands under the rear will allow it to pivot on the axle tubes making it much less likely to fall as opposed to under a frame rail.

Please keep an eye on what's going on at the back of the car when you perform this operation. You have to lift the front end pretty high to get the motor under there and it's easy to focus all of your concentration on the front and neglect the back.

 

[Gpuller]

Once you do it from the bottom you will never go back from the top.

I hear ya...I like to lay back and let someone else do all the work once and a while too.

(sorry it's Friday...had to say it)

 

[Meep-Meep]

I hear ya...I like to lay back and let someone else do all the work once and a while too.

(sorry it's Friday...had to say it)

That's something Marpar would say!