Mark, thanks for your concern, but I think that the side protection on the drivers side will be quite substantial. I may add one more bar to complete the connection from the upper horizontal bar from the other side of the forward brace to the front hoop. May also add another horizontal bar on the passenger side as well.
So, had a friend come over today and in 4 hours we installed the engine and transmission, wish that we had more photos , but it was pretty busy work and not much time for photo taking.
Learned a few things, tried to install the engine from the front, and the boom on the hoist was just a little shy, so had to come at it from the side. Also tried to install the engine with the headers in place and that did not work. Too tight. Removed the drivers side header and was able to get the engine mounts in place with some work. Then when it came time to tighten the bolts realized that the header flange was in the way of reaching the bolts, so off came the other header.
The biggest fiasco happened when we we installing the transmission. I had removed the transmission tunnel and we installed the transmission from inside the car. After we had the transmission lined up for install and supported on the transmission mount crossmember, I crawled underneath the car and left my friend in the car to assist from that point. After several attempts we were able to get the input shaft lined up in the clutch and pilot bearing and had maneuvered the transmission forward enough that I could install a couple of bolts into the bell housing. The whole time I am doing bench presses with that top loader. As the night wore on it became heavier and heavier. As I tried to install the top bolt just above the opening for the clutch fork/hydraulic throwout bearing lines, the bolt slipped in my fingers and fell through the opening into the bell housing
Had to remove the transmission and retrieve the bolt. Several attempts and some tired arms later the transmission was finally installed!
It is going to be one short driveshaft!
Time for some rest, a much needed beer and get ready for more fun tomorrow.
Jim