and that's why you measure twice...

Ah yes, work continued on the '66 today...borrowed my brother-in-law's engine hoist, engine stand, and 5.0 engine for mock up. First we pushed the Ranchero out into the driveway...that was fun with no brakes, lol. Taking the engine out really wasn't that difficult, only the clutch linkage and exhaust proved to be a pain in the ass...just ended up cutting the exhaust off, we were gonna get rid of it anyway, so why the hell not? It took I'd say ~1.5 hours to get the I6 pulled out, coulda done it faster but we were no hurry to get it out. Went to drop the 5.0 engine in and realized that first off we're gonna need a drop front oil pan, and possibly a different oil pump or sump to fit the front drop pan. The pan was hitting the engine x-member and tie rods badly. Also realized that the tranny will not bolt up to the engine as originally thought...it looks as if it would, except for the starter...in two different locations on the two engines/trannys. Which, as it turns out, the tranny isn't in as good a shape as we thought, so replacing it with an AOD from a Mustang will be no problem, just a matter getting the tranny and getting a driveshaft to fit...the mounts should be close enough to where we can adapt the tranny mounts. Oh yeah, we'll also need new motor mounts, but we knew that already.

For your viewing pleasure, 7 pickies:
Gotta love the straight axle stance it has with no engine....




You can see the old I6 in the background...oh, and my truck-


You can see the mock up 5.0 in the background here-


Don't worry, the engine bay will be nice and cleaned up, wires and everythign hidden that can be-


Love this shot....