Engine is in!!

[digitech]

Well, it was a long Sunday morning/afternoon but the engine is finally back in the car! It didn't go without a fight however as the hoist I rented wasn't very good and my driveway slopes away from the garage quite a bit. Still, it's back in the car and a bit of fun as well. Now, if it will only start and run! I should know in two weeks or so.

[dadandson]

Nice! Our "80 was just totaled 97 miles after we finished the restoration! We are going to put the insurance money into another spider - do a ground up restoration. Any advice about putting engine and gearbox in together? Would love a few pointers.

Thanks

[TulsaSpider]

Looks great! Congrats! It looks like you got the whole family involved!

[digitech]

My advice for tranny/engine installation is to get a load leveler! Failing that, do not center your pickup chains as I did but make the rear one longer instead. This way, when you pick up the ass'y., the tail end will drop far enough to aid installation - it's easily held up by a helper until you get over the front end. Also, remove the cam covers so you don't scratch the paint off of them at the firewall as I did. And don't forget to put the shifter housing back on before bolting up the tranny or you'll be wanting to cut an access hole in the tunnel!

[Fiat88]

That engine looks sweet!

[digitech]

Let's hope it runs sweet - I'm very apprehensive. It's a l o n g story but I should have shipped it to Jon Logan and I would have been time and money ahead - not to mention it would have been done right! We'll see.