Incase you missed it:
http://www.pontiacbonnevilleclub.com/fo ... 12&t=22440
And here is how the drop went the other day(copy and paste from lesabret.com) Don't know if theres a limit for pictures in one post, I think I remember seeing that some where... let me know if I need to tone it down.
The engine placement went extremely well! From just fantastic weather to good company/help and plenty of beer.
So the day started with wheeling out the engine from the garage at 9:00am:
One last look at the bay without the engine:
Started figuring out the hoist brackets. I needed to shave down a head stud the slighted bit to get the exhaust stud to clear:
Installed dynamat on the knock sensors for good measure:
Got it off the stand and torqued the flywheel bolts plus 50 degrees:
Then installed the 2750 stall torque convert that I bought used. Only had 500km on it and plenty of fluid left in it, filled a couple coffee cups of ATF:
Once that was torqued, we pulled out the rebuilt transmission from under the stairs and bolted it on. Went on with ease:
With the tranny on, we started installing most of the mounts, passenger side rear dog bone pictured...I have a bone to pick with this one, literally, you'll see why. Also installed the tranny to engine bracket:
Driver side rear mount location, we left this installed on the sub frame because it would have been impossible to have it on the tranny and slip it past the power steering rack(location is where the three bolts are sticking out):
Driver side front, this bracket needed some minor grinding to fit properly due to poor manufacturing standards:
Passenger side front, no issues here:
This passenger side front removes requiring this gigantic TAM mount that surrounds the timing cover and rests on the frame rail.
In the mean time, my brother was installing his WRX JDM head lights:
Also added some tips for him
Once we were done with a little break, swapped the tranny pan and starting to lower:
and installed 8-)
Me as happy as can be:
so the only issue we had is the dog bone mount:
You can see how it is off by a good inch. And the dog bone is wayyy to long. I know there is an adjustable dog bone out there which should solve the long issue, and I'll get my brother to make me some spacers to push out the mount that is on the transmission end to match the subframe mount. Longer hardware will be required and it should be good.
My brother was well lubricated by this point and had the bright idea of wheeling the buick out for a wash. I was somewhat against it because some suspension things still needed to be attended to but everyone else was pushing me to do it so I did. And what great idea! The Buick had never seen a hand wash while in my possession and it needed it:
This allowed for some real nice shots and let me see how the wheels fit and how low she'll be sitting:
Not nearly as low as I thought it was going to be, which is what I wanted, I think its a perfect height:
6.5" clearance at the front spoiler and 26 3/4 at the top of the fender. Is anyone able to measure what the stock dimensions are? Would like to know how much of a drop it made.
Started to fit the headers, only got the front loosely fitted but looks good:
While the Buick was out, we gave the garage a well needed sweeping and a quick re-organize. Its still dishevelled, but with time I'll clean it out.
Having a look at what the headlight covers look like. Its been determined that they won't be installed:
Here are some nice detail/general shots taken by random friends:
I didn't have a chance to snap some pictures of the BBQ lunch, but here is everyone settling down for some pizza after a long day. Continued the night with more beers
Like I said It was a great day, 30 degree weather, lots of laughs and good times. Its amazing how someones infatuation will bring this amount of people together to help or just attend. It was really nice to have family and friends around the entire day and they all saw a glow in me the entire day. I hope to have many more of these days, regardless if its my project or someone else's.
