Finally got the motor out. Thank you all for the very helpful advice/experience.

[siteunseen]

I've been stressing this for 2 months now. Had good compression but couldn't clean and paint what I wanted to with the motor still in. I had decided to leave the block in and enjoy driving it for a while. But I don't do very well in the cold months so I figured a good project would keep me from going crazy this winter. So I decided to rebuild the motor and clean up the engine bay over the winter and have the car painted this spring. Would have never thought I could do this by myself but after reading hundreds of post and asking for advice and tips on the removal I finally did it, by myself, and it was very easy. Thanks again to all.

[Z Greek]

Good job siteunseen. "don't do well in the cold months?" I didn't know it got cold in Alabama?! everything is relative, I guess. It looks like you have an engine stand in the background there, you're in business! Have fun with your project.

[esmit208]

Yes......Good job indeed SITE. I remember my first engine snatch. I was really worried about getting all the connections right during the reinstall. My solution was to place a tag on everything that had to be reconnected. Worked like a charm. During the reinstall I was afraid to lift the engine with the A-frame for fear I would drop it. If people think it doesn't get cold in Alabama tell them to go anywhere north of Interstate 10. It's cold north of that route at Thanksgiving. The engine bay refurbish should just about get you through the winter. Good Luck!

[siteunseen]

Thanks guys. Hey it snowed one day last winter! We all complain about weather down here, it's 70 degrees one day and 40 the next, but over all I love our seasons. Anyway I was so nervous raising that hoist (I used 2" yellow ratchet straps for leveling) I ran around that car and crawled under there enough times to wear out a pair of soles on my boots. The worst part was the engine stand. The bolts I bought were too long so I had to put a wad of flat washers on each bolt. Doesn't look very strong and I was scared to release the pressure off the hoist to the stand. Honestly I left the strap and hoist hooked up for an hour to make sure the engine stand would hold the block. It's holding fine and I've rotated it over and pulled the pan. Black as coal and almost as hard (the sludge) so I'm really glad I decided to go ahead and rebuild.

[Ted.]

Thats how Ohio is! For instance, here in Columbus it was around 39-40 degrees, and today its high 50s. Congrats on your first engine pull! Rebuilds are a blast, and if thats the stand from harbor freight (looks like it at least), it holds the L6 engines just fine

[Z Greek]

12 degrees F here over the weekend, right now it's a balmy 28, and sunny!