In my 96 Camaro I was able to replace the engine by the normal method of out the top. Here is how I did it. I was able to do this one in three days without any help.

1. Back the car on ramps and support the front on jackstands about a foot up.
2. Remove the radiator, fans, battery, AC condensor and air intake plumbing.
3. Take off the belt, alternator and belt tensioner along with the heater hoses and radiator hoses.
4. Remove the three bolts holding the AC compressor then unhook it from the filter dryer. You can the simply pull the compressor forward and out. Then remove the compressor bracket.
5. Remove the power steering resevoir from the inner fender, take out the 3 bolts holding the power steering pump to the block. The pump will then just slide forward. You can just set it aside without unhooking the lines.
6. Disconnect the steering shaft from the rack and move out of the way.
7. Disconnect all electrical connectors from the engine control sensors. You can mark these if you want but they are not that hard to get back in the correct location.
8. Relieve fuel pressure, disconnect the fule lines with a fuel line removal tool. Remove the 4 nuts holding down the fuel rail and carefully pull off the fuel rail and injectors.
9. Remove the thermostat housing, there is one long bolt that is included with the upper intake manifold mount bolts. Remove the plug wires and the coil packs and mount.
10. Remove the upper intake manifold, you can leave the throttle body on the IUM.
11. Now go under the car and remove the starter.
12. Remove the exhaust manifold to pipe bolts. If they break like mine, simply drill them out and put in through bolts or drill and re tap the threads. It's not so bad when the motor is on an engine stand.
13. Remove the inspection cover and remove the flywheel to torque converter bolts on the automatic.
14. Before removing the bell housing bolts, support the engine and remove the motor mount bolts from the block then remove the mount bolts from the crossmember. Take the engine mounts and brackets completely out of the car.
15. Take some cardboard and place it betweek the crossmember and the oil pan for a little protection. Then lower the engine so it rests on the crossmember. This makes access to the bell housing bolts easier.
16. Remove the 18mm 4 lower bell housing bolts. You will need a long extension and a swivel socket to get these. The top two can be removed from the top. Just leave the top two in the bell housing.
17. Now support the transmission with a wood block and a jack. Jack it up about an inch or so.
18. Set up an engine hoist to it fits just ahead of the cowl.
19. The raise the engine just a little, pull it back to separate it from the tranny then lift and move back a little. You will need to repeat the a few times until the engine is clear the cowl. Then simply raise it up and out.
20. Now just transfer the parts to the new motor, get all the needed gaskets, spark plugs, water pump and paint the engine if you want.
21. Repair the exhaust manifolds of needed and mount them on the new engine.
22. Transfer the flywheel to the new engine. Use loctite on the mount bolts.
23. Going back in just follow the above steps in reverse order.
24. Fill the fluids and start it up!

I may have missed some small details but this is a simple overview of how I did it.

 

nice job!!

 

Cool. I am assuming that you had to put the UIM on after you dropped the new engine in?

 

what no pictures? come on now we need to see... nice write up. hows it run?

 

It runs alot better than it did. Oh yeah, I did have to put on the UIM when the engine went back in... I do need to get the pics loaded when I get a chance.