the starter assembly might just be stuck in the hogshead opening from years of sitting there, be it rust or dirt. The hogshead along with the bellhousing will end up in 2 separate pieces. The bellhousing is attached on the inside.

 

I think I figured it out.
When I said I removed the 2 bolts, I meant the ones on the side. Today, I removed the ones on the front a bit and I could tell the starter was coming loose. I read somewhere else they have to come loose (but not too loose) basically I understand now the bolts that hold the starter together also hold it on. I didn't pull it off today as I did not have time to pull the engine out.

 

another crazy question (I am sure it won't be my last)

What is the best way to hold onto this flat head straight 6 to hoist it out?
Does it have any place that is made for hooks? Somebody told me to put hooks on head bolts but that doesn't sound too safe to me.

Thanks again. I am hoping I get it out later this week and then I start tearing it apart (maybe you guys point me in the best direction for how to approach that then).

 

I have lifted a lot a bigger engines that way ,but i don't use the head bolts that are in it . I get a longer one out of my bolt bin and use it , then i know I'm not just lifting on 2 or 3 threads . I don't know that engine well enough to suggest any other place but there may be a better one.

 

If you make some angled plates, say 1/4" thick, to fit under bolts that like Jim says are not the stock head bolts (are longer like Jim said), that is as good as it gets. You want to clamp the lifting lug down to the head to avoid shock loads. Lots of cars came with these from the factory. It's important to either use a spreader bar or have a decent angle on a chain; the flatter the chain, the more stress on the bolts/lifting lugs. Spreaders are best where hook height is a concern.

When thinking about holding 600 lbs up high in the air, and swinging it around over bodywork I tend to be real conservative! On the other hand, I just picked up my flathead V8 short block at the machine shop, and they used a bolt threaded into the end of the crankshaft to carry it out to the dock. (I think it's a 9/16" bolt) I've seen pictures of how they handled them on the assembly line and it's honestly shocking.

 

I'v watched a guy, one the knew every thing, wrap a light weight chain around the crank behind the damper and the other end around the block in front of the clutch housing. I saw it later after it rolled over and broke the carb off too. Most of the weight was above the crankshaft center line and gravity took over just a few inches up ,so it rolled over. He was lucky it rolled then , higher up and he could have got it on himself. It was a inline 6 engine too.You can't be to careful moving chunks of iron around.

 

The chain angle thing is something I really hadn't realized until I saw this diagram. Since then I've made spreaders for all my heavy lifts.