VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1937-1945 41 Coupe engine removal

Does anyone know of any articles on removing engine from 41 Chev Business Coupe? If remove trans with engine, must the vacuum assist be removed 1st?

The best way to remove the engine and transmission is to remove the front clip, fenders and grill as a unit. You will save yourself some grief if you remove the Vacuum unit from the transmission.

Thanks, Ray. If I don't want to remove front clip, would it be better to remove engine without simultaneously removing trans?

GWH,

The vacuum assist must be unbolted and moved to the side. The only thing you want on the transmission shifter is the lever (you could tap it off too).

The manual gives the procedure. Basically it is this:

a. Undo the battery cables and remove the battery. (unless you need the battery for the work you are doing, it is usually good practice to unhook it).

b. Drain the radiator. Catch the fluid so you don't have to move the car to a dry spot.

c. Remove the front bumper at the brackets to frame connection.

d. Take loose the light wiring from right side and over to the left side. Tuck it out of the way.

e. Undo radiator hoses and slip the bottom off. Top too, if you can.

f. Take out motor support bolts.

g. Take out radiator frame support rod. (2 bolts at front and two nuts and washers inside at firewall. CBA

h. Undo floor pan (transmission cover unbolt vacuum shifter and split u-joint. CBA

i. Take out transmission support bolts (4).

j. Disconnect wires and cables to carb and ignition.

k. Scribe and remove hood (4) CBA

l. Take out from fenders bolts. CBA

m. Ease off the rocker moldings. CBA

n. Remove front end. You'll need a buddy for this. CBA

o. Remove valve cover.

p. Remove two head bolts. One at front of engine and one at back.

q. Hook short chain and reinstall head bolts for lifting.

r. Run engine lift far enough under car to avoid it tipping over. Favor rear of chain for balance of engine/transmission combo.

s. Lift out engine after unhooking all the stuff I forgot to mention. Like exhaust manifold.

t. For reinstallation, reverse procedure. CBA

Good luck,
Charlie

BTW: It is easier to take the engine out than it is to put it in.

BTW2: If you have a knowledgeable buddy who will work instead of standing around making unnecessary comments about how you are doing, then the job of taking it out will take about 2 hours. (If you have good tools, air wrenches, etc.) Figure on half a day to put it in with same crew. If you work alone figure all day to take it out and all week to put it in.

BTW3: CBA = Can Be Aggravating!

BTW4: I noticed that you told Ray that you don't want to remove the front clip. Well, good luck with that.

Thanks for such detailed instructions, Charlie. Do not yet have shop manual, so your advice is really helpful.

I'll be taking my 41 engine out this week and next. I always videotape what I'm doing so that some of the small details don't confuse me when I put things back. I have about a three day memory, so rely a lot on the manual, Chevy of the 40's drawings, and the video reinforces everything. I will be replacing my front and rear seals, transmission front gasket, a lot of clutch parts, and the front bushing and seal in my drive shaft. Hope to have it and a few other jobs finished by the Flint meet. Good luck, Mike

P.S. I would carefully heed all the previous advice. Can not see how you could pull the engine without removing the sheet metal. I work by my self and plan on taking about 20 hours to pull everything. But, I treat all my Chevy work like foreplay. My Chevy responds best to "a slow hand with an easy touch."

Video is excellent, Mike. I don't have a video camera, but do try to take lots of still photos.

I must really be missing something -- thinking I can remove engine without removing front clip. I simply can't imagine 40's-era engineers designing car to require clip removal as precondition to engine removal, although that approach to design is certainly prevalent in today's vehicles.

I have a '40 Chevy and have removed and installed the engine 3 times by myself. I removed the engine only and left the transmission in the car. Since I was working by myself, I was unable to remove the front clip. Instead to get the clearance forward I needed I removed the radiator mounting bracket (frame) and the generator and generator adjusting bracket. To facilitate reinstallation I disconnected the drive shaft and slid the transmission back and then reinstalled the transmisssion to the bellhousing prior to final tightening of the motor mounts. This way takes longer but when you are working by yourself the front clip is too heavy for one person.

Great plan, Mike. I think that's the way I'll go, too.

Question..Considering the amount of trouble it is going to be to remove all this sheet metal,etc. What is it that requires the engine to be removed? If you remove the transmission you should be able to do about anything unless it requires machining or a swap to another type engine. I can see removing the radiator and maybe some brackets. BUT, MORE THAN LIKELY I'M WRONG. Just thinking outloud. I would listen to the guys who have done this before.

Wawuzit, I concur that radiator & radiator support & maybe grille are all that should be required. And the hood.

Careful reading of Chevy Shop Manual indicates NO hood removal, which may explain why that manual requires removal of front clip i.e., maybe they intended that the hood stay on. Maybe it's harder to realign hood than front clip. I don't know; just making a guess.

BTW, I'm a Mississippi Red Neck, always seeking the easy way. From the replies on this thread, it looks like the Tennessee Hillbillies and Louisiana Cajuns have this same trait.

We're on the same page. If the engine has to be rebored, then you have no choice, but if it needs honing that can be done with the engine in place. The head can be removed for machining or whatever with the engine in place. What would require removing the block?
Cracked block.
Thrown Rod.

But like I said before...go with the guys that have done this before. That's why I ask a million questions. I was just wondering.

I removed the hood, radiator shell, and radiator. I left the front fenders on and left the transmission in the car when I took the engine out of the 37. I unhooked one side of the cowl to radiator brace and swung it out of the way. You may have more room on a 41. You need room to move the engine forward far enough fo the bell housing to clear the firewall. I suppose if you have help to lift the entire front clip off it is just as easy to take it in one piece. This was for a complete over haul and rebore with new cam bearings etc.

Hi GWH, Please get a manual ASAP!!! You are not doing brain surgery BUT? There is a complete 41 manual on line at http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/

I have not started removing my engine/transmission yet. Hope to start by the weekend. You can buy a used video camera on ebay for under $80 dollars. It's one of the best tools you can own!!! Couldn't be in the hobby without it, my mechanical skills just aren't good enough!!! I have over 12 videos that I have made into DVDs on work I have done on my 41. Let me know if you need a camera recommendation. I have been filming high school football games for over 23 years. Good luck, Mike

GWH,
I hope the engine removal goes OK for you. I just want to remind you that its not that hard to remove the front clip. Then you are able to get to everything except the transmission real easy. When you go to split the u-joint lift up a rear wheel. That way you can rotate the u-joint to get to the other bolts from the top.

I pulled my engine and reinstalled with no help except lifting the fenders and hood back on.

Charlie

BTW: You don't actually have to split the u-joint if you don't want to. It and the ball will slide off the torque tube with the reansmission. You can also reinstall it the same way by having positive pressure on the rear of u-joint to splines on drive shaft. Merely, rotate a rear wheel 'til it aligns up and slides on. Yep, it works.

Good suggestions, all!

Yes, Mike, I'd appreciate recommendation on video camera to get. My still camera has a flash that I've set to go off on every shot. What do you do for lighting on a video camera? Do you keep it on a tripod, running all the time?

Thanks to all.

GWH I can send you this info in a private message. You need to set up your personal profile for me to do this. I need your e-mail address? Click on your name GWH to go to your profile, then fill it out. Be back this afternoon-MIke

Ps This type of info-camera recommendations- could be best handled in private posts between the interested parties.

GWH, ebay has a Canon ZR 900 Camcorder for sale. Its bid price is now $27.61. The camera is probably worth around $75. It looks like a good deal. The auction is over in 1 day and 19 hours. Have you bid on ebay items before? The camera is the same one I have. You can call me at 989-832-7634 and I will be glad to discuss this with you. I can also be reached through my chat site profile. Mike

Mike, just click on his user name and select Send PM.

Mike, I added my email to profile. I'll go to eBay & take a look at the camera. Yes, I've bought on eBay previously. Thanks.

Today I removed the engine from my 1941 Chevy Business Coupe. Here are some notes of what I did/didn't do:
1. Removed engine & trans as a single unit
2. Did not remove front fenders, but did remove hood, radiator, radiator surround/support, grille & gravel pan as a unit. Also removed bumper but wasn't really necessary.
3. Did not remove shift vacuum assist
4. Did not do anything with drive shaft or U-joint
5. Head had been previously removed, but its presence would not have made any difference
6. Disconnected shift linkage and clutch linkage
7. Lifted with forged eye with same threads as head bolts, at position of 5th head bolt from rear on left side. Repositioned to different lift points as needed to get engine to take steeper incline or "roll" to avoid hand brake linkage
8. Removed starter pedal linkage that runs across top of bell housing
9. Removed entire left rear motor mount from bell housing bracket to clear hand brake linkage

Biggest problem was interference with the hand brake linkage. Terrible primitive design.

On exit from compartment, in order to clear fenders at front, folded generator in against block on left and lifted high enough for breather/oil fill pipe on right to clear inside front edge of right fender. Probably would have been better to remove the breather/filler pipe.

GWH, You're the man. I am following the manual and worked for about 3 hours pulling off the grill, bumper, bottom baffle, and passenger side fender and inner fender. Still have a lot to do to catch up with you. Took a lot of time shooting video so I could share it with others. Please keep us updated as you continue. What are you doing to do on the engine and transmission? I will replace engine seals and front transmission gasket, clutch, and put in a new bushing and seal to the front of the drive shaft. Good luck, Mike

Mike, let me clarify: I spent two full days studying online manuals, planning, disconnecting, removing parts. Then a full day was devoted just to lifting engine & trans out. While not a total stranger to pulling engines, I consider myself a novice. I try to learn by OJT, proceeding slowly to hopefully minimize expensive mistakes.

The car was recently bought, with head & rockers in trunk (since 1970?) and with engine locked up. Oil level was only 1/2 qt. below full. No visible defects in block. Do not know why head taken off nor why locked up. In trunk with head was extra water pump, so maybe they had a cooling problem, but no visible sign of overheating or blown gasket. My seller did not remove head, and unable to contact owner who performed the removal. Attempts to free up engine while in car were not successful, so no choice but to pull engine to discover problem.

Progress Update: engine now completely dismantled, and still no clear reason why someone removed the head and stored it in the trunk some 40 years ago.

Only now did I examine the head more carefully. Crack in head running left-to-right (from water passage on right to water passage on left) between 2nd & 3rd combustion chambers (counting from front).

Can this be welded, or will I need to replace the head?

Will also post on engine forum.

You can look for another head while you check the advisability of having the current head repaired. A 1941 head should not be too difficult to locate.

I would use it as a boat anchor.
It possibley could be repaired but I would not trust it just the same.
Tony