lifting engine and trans
 

It's time to paint my 36 v8 engine. It has been rebuilt and has the oil pan and transmission attached and is currently sitting on the garage floor. The entire assenbly has been painted red and I want to paint the oil pan black and the engine/trans Ford green. I want to lift it to be able to paint the oil pan. Can the engine/trans assembly be lifted safely by the intake bolts and which bolt holes should be used or is there a better way? Thanks, Art

Re: lifting engine and trans
 

Yes it can be. I just posted about this in the last day or so. IF you can use 4 bolt holes of equal spacing that will center or balance your engine would be best. With the transmission on that will be near impossible though.

Re: lifting engine and trans
 

If you have a load leveller device, you can attach to four manifold bolts and adjust the lift centre to get a straight lift.

If no leveller you could use two manifold bolts but use a 90 deg bracket on each and a piece of chain. you might have to experiment to see which pair of bolts will give you a straight lift but it should be easily doable. The bolts will be somewhere between the carb and the rear of the motor.

Re: lifting engine and trans
 

I know it is late however, I just located a picture of my setup.

Re: lifting engine and trans
 

If I wanted to paint, an assembled engine/trans, that was just sitting on a garage floor, I would grab it by two forward intake bolts and lift it like a deep-sea fish on the dock. Unless your picker was height restricted in some way, the painting would then be (mostly) horizontal, (the best position to apply spray paint). As an additional benefit, the piece could be manipulated, with just a touch, making the job much easier and more efficient.
When you're finished, take a pose standing next to it, and have someone take a photo with the caption, "Catch and release? Not today!"