The Auto Parts Shuffle

It finally happened.  All of the empty floor space in the garage was gone with the addition of the new engine and transmission.  I also recently removed the old engine and transmission, which compounded the issue.  So, I have four big hunks of metal staged around the large truck-sized hunk of metal propped up on jack stands with various other smaller hunks of metal and appurtenances strewn about.  After working in the garage for a few hours today, a small narrow aisle appeared through the clutter.

C6 automatic transmission prior to removal: 

 Shot of the new 302 engine hanging from the hoist:

 The old big block engine is in the background on the engine stand.  I had to shuffle them around while cleaning the garage to get the new engine on the stand and the old engine on some blocks.  This is a cumbersome process in a cramped garage with a bulky engine hoist.

 View from the front of the truck frame. Now that it is free of power train components, it will require a deep cleaning and a coat of new paint:

 I killed two birds with one stone while moving the engines around.  I needed to get the new one off of the blocks and set it down somewhere while I move the old big block off the engine stand, so I decided to set it down on the truck frame for a test fit.

 The engine mounts I purchased for the new 302 appear to have the mounting holes on the outside of the mount, but the hole in the frame perch is on the inside of the mount.  I will scour the internet to see if there are other mounts available with the opposite hole locations.  Otherwise, I'll probably have to match drill some new holes to get down the road.

 Here is a head-on view of the engine compartment to highlight the new amount of clearance between the engine block and the steering gearbox.  It looks good now!  I should be able to bolt on some standard exhaust headers after the engine and transmission are set in place.

 Here is a view of the garage after cleaning.  Old engine in the front, new engine in the middle, and the new transmission in the back by the recycle bin.

 Another shot of the new engine with the wrapped-up carburetor and fuel pump on top:

 New manual transmission on top and old automatic transmission on bottom for comparison.

Today was lots of work for little forward progress...