Speaking of stuck ...

Now I'm pissed . Got the right side off , it was not fully inserted and came right out . So I figured what the hell , grabbed the left side gave it a big 'ol yank and it jumped out like it'd been snake bit . So I figured since I'm awaiting other parts I'd check the tie rod ends and ball joints . Both are on order now too . Looks like I'll be busy next weekend ...

I don't recall which vehicle it was. Might have been my 71 Caprice or maybe my 76 Volare wagon. Probably the Caprice. I remember rebuilding the transmission on that one.

I didn't have enough room to use a transmission jack. I had to slide the transmission under the car, then crawl under on my back, lift the transmission up onto my chest, and slide the rest of the way into position. Then I could lift the tranny with my arms and try to free hand push it into position. I knew the basic concept. Line the notch up as best as I could lift, slide, nope, rotate a tiny bit one way or another and try again. I fought that SOB for an hour. My forearms were burning, and that darn thing just wouldn't go. Finally I gave up and went to see if my dad had any advice. Nope. That was the only way he knew how to do it. I just had to keep trying.

I finally worked up the nerve to spend another hour under there screaming and crying if need be. Hopelessly I slid the tranny back onto my chest. Forearm lifted it into position, and it slide right in. In a panic with my forearms cramping I held it in place with one hand with as much force as I have ever used in my life while I scrambled around with my other hand blindly in the dirt feeling for the bolts.

Yeah, I feel your pain.

First trans I removed was a cast iron powerglyde - 61 chevy? about

He had a Land Rover which he got stuck on a trail I had driven in the VW.

I had a '65 F250 with a cast "steel" transmission. A local junkyard back then would transport stuff to Phoenix and back to a rebuilder for locals. When I brought it in to have it sent off to rebuild he said racers would pay a premium for it. It was enough he offered to trade me a brand new, not rebuilt, C6 for it. I figured I'd have to do some monekying around to fit a C6, and the trany I had would fit right back in where it came out, so I just had mine rebuilt. I didn't figure the zero dollars new transmission at the time would save enough to be worth the headache and maybe not get my truck back on the road right away. At the time it was my main service truck.

I can say the combination with the 352 industrial engine was just right for a heavy work truck. With a heavy steel utility body full of tools, and a heavy steel frame box trailer full of stuff it ran about the same as it ran running empty. It wasn't fast, but it was the same not fast with as much weight as you could put on it as it was with none. It wasn't a dog though either.

I don't recall it being any particular trouble to drop or put back in. Maybe I just had better tools and more room to work.