How Dofusdaddy replaced the engine in his 1967 Mustang Coupe

First you need books. Try looking in www.books4cars.com and www.bookfinder.com. for the dealer service manuals for your car. Then get the Chilton's and Haynes Mustang manuals at Autozone or somewhere. I also recommend you read the Haynes Ford Overhaul Manual. Autozone has a good selection of rebuilt engines for about $1,000. You will need an engine hoist ($200), a leveler ($50) and two engine stands ($50 each). You can use their free tool rental to get a torque wrench, and harmonic balancer puller (same thing as damper pulley - it is the pulley on the crankshaft at the front of the engine - the one with the timing marks). At Home Depot you can get five cargo straps rated at least 300 lbs. per strap. ($20 for 5 straps).
Be sure you have proper length bolts to hold transmission end of engine to engine stand. You will use the holes and same size bolts as hold the engine to the bell housing of the transmission. You may need extra washers to take up slack and insure a snug fit to engine stand. (WorldWide Auto Parts has one of the best assortment of bolts.)
You must block the back wheels, and support the front end on jack stands to allow access to the transmission underneath. Be sure to use a small jack under the transmission to support it. I strongly suggest taking pictures of the engine from various angles before disconnecting the accessories, just in case you forget where something goes. Disconnect accessories as described in the manuals.

Tips

1. When removing damper pulley or pressure plate you must hold the crankshaft from turning. Do this by placing a bolt or screwdriver thru the damper pulley so that it binds with the front housing when you turn the bolts.
2. When removing fuel lines, elctrical connections, and vacuum hoses, use paper masking tape to tape the ends and label with a Sharpie marker.
3. When removing bolts, use paper masking tape to tape the bolts and mark where they go and what they go with a Sharpie marker.
4. Lower the engine extremely slowly by just barely opening the hydraulic release valve. Be patient.
5. When the engine gets close, put screwdrivers through the holes from the engine to the bell housing and from the engine bracket thru the mounts. They help guide it into place for the last couple inches.
6. When you are ready to mate the transmission and engine you must turn the crankshaft in front to line up the bolts in the transmission with the holes in the pressure. The mating pin on the engine and the transmission bolts must fit into the adjoining holes at the same time or it won't go together. Do not force it, just wiggle everything till it goes to place. Take your time. The straps will hold the engine for weeks.
7. You can use one of the extra cargo straps to ratchet the engine up or down on one side, right and left, or forwards and backwards to fine tune its postion.
8. Use the engine leveler to adjust the tilt angle of the engine as it goes back in. Mark the leveler with a Sharpie so you remember which direction of rotation brings which end down. If you are like Dofusdaddy, you forget which turning direction lowers which end of the leveler.
9. Some gaskets such as the oil pan gasket require a bead of sealant. I used High-Temp Silicone Gasket Maker by Permatex.
Some bolts require thread locker. I used Thread Locker Medium Strength by Permatex.
10. There are two parts that will not come off the old block easily, but are needed on your new block. One is the oil dipstick tube. I used a section of tubing from a gas line repair kit ($8). The second is the threaded nipple for the oil filter. Napa autoparts had a $12 kit used in conveting oil canister filters to threaded filters. The threaded nipple in this kit worked fine.
11. The easiest place to access the flex plate to transmission bolts on my 6 cylinder long block was thru the hole where the starter was taken out.
12. If disconnecting the transmission and engine, it is suggested to put a dab of paint to mark the position of the flex plate and transmission. (This doesn't matter if you are replacing the engine or transmission completely.)
13. The first step in putting in a new distributor is to be sure the number one cylinder is in top center of the compression stroke, or the number one firing position. Usually you know where this is because of the timing marks on the flywheel. (You can also check for this number one firing postion by taking the spark plug out of the number one cylinder and watch for the top of the piston as you crank the engine. Both valves will be in the up position during this stroke - valves closed. The number one cylinder is also at the top during the exhaust stroke, but the valves will be rocking in a lowered position - valves open. ) With cylinder one in the number one firing position, insert the distributor so the rotor points towards number one. Important: The distributor rotation is in opposite directions for a V-8 and a 6 cylinder long block. For a V-8 rotate the distributor body clockwise until the breaker points are just starting to open. For a 6 cylinder long block rotate the distributor body counter clockwise until the breaker points are just starting to open.
14. Dofusdaddy drove himself crazy trying to find a rotor that wasn't loose on the distributor shaft. Finally he gave up and filled the rotor with Bondo. Mark the distributor and engine with white out correction fluid, so that when you put the distributor back in you know where it goes. Take the distributor out of the engine, and grease the the distributor rotor shaft so the Bondo won't stick to it. Mix the Bondo and fill the inside of the rotor. You can put a small piece of fiberglass cloth inside the rotor first, if you want extra strenght. Holding the distributor upside down, fit the rotor onto the distributor shaft. Let the bondo harden around the shaft. After the bondo gels, gently loosen the rotor from the shaft, so it doesn't stick, and reseat the rotor. Allow to harden overnight. You know have a tight fitting rotor.
15. Electrical problems are a major headache with older cars. Dofusdaddy recommends using a one wire voltage regulator. You disconnect all wires from your alternator. The one wire voltage regulator screws onto the back of your alternator, with only one 10 gauge wire leading to the starter relay to charge the battery. It works slick and saves a lot of headaches. The one draw back to the one wire voltage regulator is that it doesn't charge until the engine is above 2000 rpm. This means if you idle in traffic for a long time, your battery will discharge. Do this by reving the engine after you start it. The high rpm's get activate the one wire voltage regulator to start charging. You know your battery is being charged if the voltage between the positive terminal of the battery and an engine ground is greater than 13 volts. The one wire voltage regulator costs about $30, and you can order it through a mustang dealer. You can also order it from www.falconparts.com.
16. Dofusdaddy highly recommends using Slick 50 High Mileage Automatic Transmission Treatment when replacing the fluid in your automatic transmission. It works great.
17. Remember when looking for parts that the mustang engine was used in Fairlanes, Falcons, and some other models. Jess at Ramona Auto Dismantling, Ramona, CA (563-6655) was the most knowledgeable person I talked to.

Drain oil and transmission fluid. Place hoist under front of car. Extend the hoist arm to its full length and hook on the leveler. I use one strap around the front engine brackets, one under the oil pan near the transmission, and one around both as a back up, in case either of the others releases. You must rachet at least two wraps around the cylinder of the buckle so the straps don't slip. If you can bolt chains onto the block to lift it, do it. But a 6-cylinder long block is asymetrical and this doesn't work. (Dofusdaddy took the engine out and put the new one in by his self.) Undo pressure plate bolts that connect transmission to engine. Jack hoist up gently so there is upward pressure to support engine. Undo bell housing bolts from engine to transmission and engine mount bolts. Seperate bell housing from engine about 1/2 inch with large screw driver and the engine should be free. Carefully jack up the hoist and lift out engine. Roll engine stand between legs of hoist and lower engine carefully to allow it to be bolted to engine stand. You will have to use the leveler to get the right angle. Bolt securely and use washers if necessary for a snug fit. Lower the hoist slowly so the whole weight is supported by the engine stand and release the straps. Everyone tells me it is OK to hold the entire engine weight with the four bolts. But for insurance, I then removed the engine brackets and supported the engine with 2x4's bolted to the bracket holes and a cross-member underneath that rested on the engine stand. (See pictures.) You got the engine out and in the engine stand. Take a breather.
Hopefully you already have your new engine from Autozone on the other engine stand and you can transfer extra parts from the old engine block to the new one at your leisure.
Reverse the process and put in the engine.

And of course I pulled a Dofusdaddy when I put mine back in. First I lowered the engine in too fast and bent the pressure plate. So I had to take the engine out, get a new pressure plate, and put it back in.
Then I pulled another Dofusdaddy. I bolted the bell housing back together, which is a bitch to line up working alone, and discovered I forgot to put the seperator plate back in between the engine and transmission. So I pulled the engine out, put the seperator plate in, and put the engine back in. (There is a lot of profane language and curses against God in this process. I feel comfortable enough in my relationship with God to curse at him.) Finally. Done.

Anyway, here are some pictures. Click on the picture to enlarge it.

Front of car with engine hoist underneath, and straps around engine.

Floor jack and jack stands.

The Dofusdaddy tire blocks are in white.

Screw jack supporting transmission.

Jack stands supporting front of car on the structural rails of the car.

Picture of engine leveler with straps. A card board box sits behind it, so you can see the picture better.

Another view.

A picture of one type of torque wrench.

Picture of engine mounted in engine stand. Notice the 2x4 supports bolted where the brackets go. I forced a thin shingle under the bottom 2x4 so that it carries some of the engine weight. The 2x4 supports are optional.