OK - I put the engine and transmission in today. That U-shaped thrust plate (That's what the shop manual named that mounting plate) at the rear of the transmission, I took off and lightly seated the 4 bolts so as not to distort the torque ball cover as the shop manual said not to tighten these bolts without that part in place for that reason. It may have barely cleared over the cross member, but would have made lining the transmission up with the driveshaft splines very difficult, if not impossible, as the driveshaft and it's torque tube were forward about 2 inches farther than they should be. I was stumped by that for awhile until I noticed the rear tires were not centered in the wheel-wells and the coil springs were leaning stretched forward; as the rear axle assembly was too far forward. I must have pulled on the rear end taking the old motor/tranny out - maybe I didn't see the torque tube bolts right away - or maybe the whole mess just moved once the transmission was removed due to the angle of the car with the front wheels on ramps and no transmission to restrict forward movement of the torque tube.
I was working alone and and had the front wheels up on ramps. I crawled under from the side about 50 times to get the drive shaft splines lined up and into the tranny; with a floor jack under the tranny as I adjusted the cherry picker equalizer bar, the floor jack, and pushed the whole thing farther rearward. I was careful not to bash and dent the torque ball cover. Had to put the tranny in gear and turn the engine a small amount to line up the splines, once I had them touching with some tension.
Tomorrow, I'll tackle moving the rear axle back where it should be, as I'm a couple inches short of having the motor mounts and that transmission mounting thrust plate back far enough . I'm thinking I can do this with a heavy duty "come-along" and chains or heavy straps between the axle and the rear cross-frame or bumper.
Feeding the engine and transmission in that way, I also had to remove the starter, as it wouldn't clear the motor mount towers.
Dave
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