mhnova65 Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Hi All. I'm pulling the nailhead out of my 64 this weekend as I continue my front end teardown and restoration. Where have you/ where do you recommend mounting the chain to the engine?I'm thinking the best place it to remove the upper housing where the thermostat mounts and use the front and rear mounting holes on the head. Just wanted to be sure that that area was plenty strong for pulling this beast without letting go.Thanks for your help.Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rob J Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Hi All. I'm pulling the nailhead out of my 64 this weekend as I continue my front end teardown and restoration. Where have you/ where do you recommend mounting the chain to the engine?I'm thinking the best place it to remove the upper housing where the thermostat mounts and use the front and rear mounting holes on the head. Just wanted to be sure that that area was plenty strong for pulling this beast without letting go.Thanks for your help.MarkI've always used one of these plate right on the intake manifold where the carb mounts, to pull an engine out. Make sure you use an engine hoist leveler as well to control the pitch of the motor as you pull it out. With having the front clip removed, it should not be that difficult.Buy Spectre Engine Hoist Plate 903 at Advance Auto Parts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhnova65 Posted October 14, 2011 Author Share Posted October 14, 2011 Rob, thanks for the input.I've never really been a fan of the carb lift plates. Bad experience long ago where a bolt pulled right out of an aluminum manifold and - blamo- the engine went right back in the car. Thankfully, it was only up a few inches and was just a small block chevy coming out of a Nova. That was enough for me not to want to lift anything up by the manifold anymore.I'm more of a meat and potatoes stick a grade 8 bolt in some heavy iron kind of fella. This is my first big block car and that alone is enough to make me want to anchor into the block or the head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Stoneberg Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 Good plan... When I move my spare engine around I use head bolts that are kitty corner from each other. I dont know how well it would work for getting it out of the car though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZRIV Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 (edited) There was a pretty big thread on this last year over at V8Buick. Several acceptable ways to attach were covered. This question is similar to asking what pizza you like best. I keep it simple and use the head bolts at front and rear as you mentioned. It helps greatly if you have an adjustable spreader to balance it but even thats not necessary. You do not have to remove the water crossover pipe if you have a couple longer bolts. Remove existing bolt and use one long enough to go through the chain link with a couple washers on it and still have 3/4" or so of grab into the head. I alway use a grade 8 bolt for this but a grade 5 will do fine. Do not use low grade bolts.I've pulled many engines using only one chain placed diagonally no problem but two chains attached in all four locations is preferred. Edited October 14, 2011 by JZRIV (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhnova65 Posted October 14, 2011 Author Share Posted October 14, 2011 Thanks, guys.I appreciate the input.Jason, thanks for the heads up at V8 Buick....I completely forgot to even look there. (water cross over pipe.....now I know what that thing-a-ma-bob is really called)and by the way.....I like sicilian pizza best.Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1965rivgs Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 I use small brackets attached to the front and rear heads on opposite corners. A chain with hooks is looped thru the brackets. Use good fasteners and be sure they are tight as you are pulling at a right angle to the fasteners, think shearing. I also remove the torque converter bolts and bellhousing bolts and pull the engine seperately from the trans. No need for levelers, balancers, etc...keep it simple and the engine slides in and out very easily. Tom Mooney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 (edited) On the '66 nailheads, the water crossover has a lifting ring cast into it on the right front. (There's also a lifting ring cast on the left rear of the block.) Apparently Buick considers the bolt holes in the head (where the crossover bolts on) strong enough to hold the weight of the engine. It might be simple enough to make some steel brackets that would have holes (plural) drilled to align with the two water crossover holes in the heads and another hole for a chain link. As far as fastening a chain to a hole, I've never had a problem using high strength threaded chain links to attach to both the chain and the bracket. They go through the chain easily and you don't need a large hole in the bracket like you would if you were using a hook. Just a thought.Ed Edited October 14, 2011 by RivNut (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhnova65 Posted October 16, 2011 Author Share Posted October 16, 2011 Well she's all done......I ended up going with the holes for the water cross-over in the front and back of the heads. I chased the threads with a tap so I could utilize the as much threaded area as possible and then attached the chain with grade 8 bolts and large fender washers. At first I just snugged the bolts down and once I put some tension on the chain with the hoist, I tightened them up to eliminate any twist or force on the bolts.She pulled with no issues...........and so the project continues......Thanks again for the input.Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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