Last week I tried again (no help this time, I'm getting good at this). Rats - now the flywheel is rubbing on the bell housing. Back into the garage for the motor.
Think think think... I noticed that the clutch diaphragm fingers were pushed in a lot, so the throwout bearing would not have a chance to push them in further. OK, I put the flywheel back to its original position and put washers between the pressure plate and the flywheel face under the mounting bolts, to push the pressure plate towards the bell housing. This made the diaphragm fingers move out some, and it looked like the throwout bearing would have a better chance of disengaging the clutch.
Also I wondered if I could install the motor from the ground up, on the floor jack. I made a wooden platform for the motor and screwed it on to the floor jack pad. I did notice that the engine compartment sheet metal that was causing us install/deinstall grief wasn't needed (it's for the rubber gas engine tin seal) so I got out the metal saw and cut it away.
Harold was over yesterday so we decided to give it a try. Jack the car up (hey that extra little floor jack I've had for years came in handy), and slide the motor under. Jacked up the motor, but it didn't seem to want to slide onto the pilot shaft. Jacked the car down to the ground and tried again, and that worked. Bolted the motor up to the transmission.
We put the rear of the car up on jackstands and got the battery out, and hooked it up. The wheels turned again. Harold stepped on the clutch pedal, and the wheels stopped turning! Success! Now I can move forward with the conversion - it was essential that I get the drivetrain working before I do anything else. Now there is nothing stopping me (except for daily life and work...).
