I'm going to pull the straight six out of my '55 chevy and it looks like the only way to get the thing out is to remove the front fender and radiator core support. Is there a trick to pulling on out without taking off the frontend? Dumb question I know, but thought someone might have some insight.
We used to pull the hood to lift it higher. It will go out with the nose on. Goes out even better on a 60's backyard no-bucks style 6 to V8 conversion where we just cut the top of the rad support off to use the V8 rad in a 6 cyl support.
Get one of those engine leveler/unleveler crank goodies for your hoist. That will help a bunch. Just keep tiliting it until it clears.
Lay a blanket on the roof. Unbolt hood, carry it back set on roof. You need a friend for this. Remove rad, unbolt engine, remove gas line, electric wires etc. It is easier to take out engine and trans together so remove drive shaft, don't forget the speedo cable. Lift engine with chain fall or engine hoist, tip it down at the back so it will come out, when it is high enough roll the car back out of the way or roll engine hoist forward. Lower to ground and separate engine and trans. There are other details to it, you can figure them out or someone will be along in a minute.
Usually not, at least I never had to yet. Depending on how much work you are going to do in there,especially fabrication, sometimes is so much easier to that stuff without the front clip on..
I strongly recommend removing the radiator and support to minimize colateral damage. Also, remove the distributor when installing the V8. The dizzy ends up being very close to the firewall.
I got one out of a '50 with the nose on, but the top of the radiator support unbolts on those. Lifting the motor around the 5th cylinder lets you get it fairly level once it's free.
i second removing the radiator.... they's expensive to replace and it's amazing how many holes you can put in one verrrrry quickly. i've never had to remove any sheet metal except the hood to swap an engine, but the oldest car i've done is a '59 Ford.
You take off the hood at the hinges, remove the radiator from the core support and unbolt and pull the engine. Don't forget the mounts on the bellhousing...
you don't have to pull the front end off to pull the engine on your 55. but if you pull the doghouse, it would be a good time to run disc brakes or at least new brake lines and a dual master cylinder
I should have added, the problem becomes when you take the nose off, you start seeing all sorts of other things you should do while you're in there. I took the nose off my '50 after taking the motor out - conversion mounts need the inner fenders clearanced a bit at the bottom - and next thing I know I had the steering out, was wire brushing and painting the frame, etc etc -
Uh... yah!!!!! BIG mess, and no where to go with the engine and transmission while fluid comes spewing out. Learned my lesson the hard way on that one.
Must be engine swap 101 if there's talk of fluids, radiators, wires, cables, drain pans, & kitty litter. First thing is don't get in a hurry. Ever!!! 8 out of ten times hurry = hurt. Little or a lot, can't tell until it happens. ER isn't fast, good or cheap. 1 out of 10 times you do something that costs you at least twice as much time. 1 out of 10 times you break something really expensive or impossible to find. Second thing, take everything apart in such a way re assembly will be made easier, never harder. Ever !!! Labled baggies, boxes, ext. Rummaging thru a bucket full of bolts isn't any fun and slows the process 10 times what it takes to bag & tag it. Keep a pad of paper and a marker handy to make notes, mark down things that break, you need or to keep track of those re work ideas. Rewrite you notes without the grease and oil on the paper. Don't work over any floor openings, you'll be chasing something down that hole.
You can remove the crossbar for the core support without cutting it. The U shaped radiator support is either spot welded, or rivited to the crossbar. Usually, there is only one spot weld/rivit at the top of each side of the U radiator support. Just drill out the spot welds or rivits, and then unbolt the crossbar from the fenders and radiator baffles. You will have to unhook the wires to the passenger side headlight, horn and turn signals. This wiring is clipped to the underside of the crossbar, too. It's a good idea to drill out the spot welds/rivits big enough to replace them with bolts. Otherwise the U shaped radiator support will be loose from the crossbar. This will eventually break the side brackets loose from the top of the radiator. This will make it ALOT easier to pull the engine. With the radiator crossbar removed, the engine will not have to be lifted as high. Attached are a couple of pics from when the 235 was pulled out of my 55, in about 1974.
Back when 55 chevys were just used cars, we used to cut the radiator support center out, and weld it back in when the engine went back in. I suppose most guys would frown on that today.
You can take the engine out with the radiator support in place but it is much easier to unbolt it along with the rad and means that you do not have to hoist the engine and gearbox so high to get it out, or indeed, get it back in. A quick pic that shows what you need to take off when getting a BBC in and out. The helper is an option but not obligatory... P.
I always liked pulling the core support out totally. Makes it so much easier. As stated above, always drain EVERYTHING FIRST!!!!!!! Later, Dick
Not sure how different a Chevy is from a Plymouth but I was able to remove my engine with the hood and front clip on.
For sure an 90wt is a mess to try and clean up. Ok, all the advice givers have given advice and half of them have never even seen a 235 in a 55 Chevy. The hood needs to come off and be stored where it is safe. The radiator needs to come out and be stored where it again is safe. On the 235 I would drop the driveshaft and pull the trans and set it aside. That saves fighting with it when you go to pull the engine. Do as the others said and take motormounts, fuel line, (plug the end in the car), take the wires off that connect to pieces on the engine like the generator, starter and coil. Take the motor mount bolts out Both front and the ones that go throught the crossmember and bellhousing. Lift the engine up and pull it forward or push the car back. You may have to turn the six at a bit of an angle to clear the core support bar. A lot of those were cut because guys couldn't lift the engine high enough to clear the bar. The engine and bellhousing and clutch come out as a unit and then you can take the clutch and flywheel off and take the bellhousing off. You could leave the bellhousing bolted in the car but you would have to take the clutch and pressure plate out and take the flywheel off so you could unbolt the bellhousing from the engine. It saves about eight inches of clearance problems though but don't drop either of those on your head as the flywheel weighs around 40 lbs.
That's what I was thinking about doing. The shaft for the pulley sticks out past the core support, so taking it off would help a bunch.
Do what Mr48chev says...^^^... I've never had to cut a core support, or take one out, always pulled the tranny first (no spilled gear lube), and hung the chainfall on an A-frame, a ceiling joist, a garage rafter or a tree limb (but never a swing set). The past several years I've had the convience of using an engine crane...
This is why it takes me ten years to do a job that should take a weekend. I had a hard time learning that even the hi dollar builds have woogies hiding beneath the shine.
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