Muncie removal first time

[John G.]

About to tackle my first M21 (72 LT1)removal have lift and trans hoist and confident for job have had a hunt through archives
but just a few questions that hope will avoid me doing more than I need to
1 Is it necessary to remove the shift leaver all together or can linkages just be removed from side of trans and pushed to one side?
2 have removed exhaust does starter need to be removed?
3 have read about need to drop rear of engine to allow easier removal does the distributor need to be removed? there looks to be a few tricky bolts to get to at the top of the bellhousing
and is it easier to remove transmission from bell housing first or just take the whole unit out
thanks from the garage down under
john

[Mike F.]

Re: Muncie removal first time

Removing the entire shift lever makes the job a lot easier. The shifter is simple enough to remove anyway. (I did not remove the shifter console, just removed the ball & T-handle, the entire shifter will slip out the bottom when disconnected.)

Starter does not need removed.

I did remove the radiator fan and ignition shielding from around the distributor/coil. It may not have been necessary, but when you tilt the engine it does give you a bit more room. Also disconnected the tach drive cable from the distributor.

I used a jack/piece of wood under the oil pan to raise/lower the engine as needed.

With shifter removed and all of the other items disconnected, I removed the four bolts that hold the transmission to the bell housing, I raised the engine a bit (this raises the rear of the transmission), slide the transmission back and rotate 90* clockwise, this should give you enough room to clear the bell housing.
With the transmission out, I lowered the engine as far as possible (until the distributor gets close to the firewall), then I removed the six(?) bolts that hold the bell housing to the engine (this gives you the access to the two top bell housing bolts from the bottom of the car).
With the bell housing off, everything else is easy.

Repeat in reverse order and you're done.

[John G.]

Re: Muncie removal first time

Removing the entire shift lever makes the job a lot easier. The shifter is simple enough to remove anyway. (I did not remove the shifter console, just removed the ball & T-handle, the entire shifter will slip out the bottom when disconnected.)

Starter does not need removed.

I did remove the radiator fan and ignition shielding from around the distributor/coil. It may not have been necessary, but when you tilt the engine it does give you a bit more room. Also disconnected the tach drive cable from the distributor.

I used a jack/piece of wood under the oil pan to raise/lower the engine as needed.

With shifter removed and all of the other items disconnected, I removed the four bolts that hold the transmission to the bell housing, I raised the engine a bit (this raises the rear of the transmission), slide the transmission back and rotate 90* clockwise, this should give you enough room to clear the bell housing.
With the transmission out, I lowered the engine as far as possible (until the distributor gets close to the firewall), then I removed the six(?) bolts that hold the bell housing to the engine (this gives you the access to the two top bell housing bolts from the bottom of the car).
With the bell housing off, everything else is easy.

Repeat in reverse order and you're done.

Thanks Mike for all the information task will be easier with this I particularly like your last words "and you're done" have had a few transmissions on my work bench these from my little English sports and they come out through cabin, now about to start the job cheers john

[Mark E.]

Re: Muncie removal first time

John,

From my experience, since you've already removed the exhaust, the most difficult step is done. Those exhaust bolts can be a real bugger, especially when they snap or round off.