this weekend or next am going to put my motor (396) in my 68 when i got it the 4 speed was still hooked up, so never installing a 4 speed before whats easier with it in the car or taking it out and any tips would be great

 

you can install a motor with the 4 speed in the car but its harder to do than out of the car. you have to make sure the shaft is perfectly straight as it goes into the clutch forks or fingers or whatever its called.

 

I dont know how you would mount an engine with a four speed tranny already in the car. The clutch has to be held in place with an alignment tool while you install the pressure plate. You have to install the bell housing while making sure the clutch fork is installed on the throwout bearing, then the tranny slides into the whole setup. If you have a good engine hoist and can get the car off the floor a little you can install engine and trans together. You can also just mount everything up to the bell housing and slide trans into place once the engine is in the car.

 

i know you can because my grandpa and i did it on my 68 camaro when we had the motor out 6 or 7 years ago. it was a pain but we got it in and never have had a problem i dont remember much since i was only 11 at the time.

 

Nothing beats putting the engine and trans together on the garage floor, and slipping it all in as one unit. Hanging a manual trans after the engine is in is easier than with an automatic, but it's still a pain unless you have a car lift and a tall trans jack.