I dropped the motor into my 68 Chevelle last night, bolted the trans up (powerglide) and was happy with the progress.....until driving to work today and realizing that I had forgotten to put the final snug on the flexplate bolts...........

Can I tighten these with an 11/16 wrench while the trans is connected......what a rookie mistake on my part, although it was after midnight.....

Are you talking about the flexplate to crankshaft bolts, or the flexplate to converter bolts? The converter bolts are easy to get to. The crank bolts, wow, not sure about that.

you should be able to unbolt the converter & slide it back enough to get a wrench in there. but a torque wrench will require unbolting & sliding the trans back.

thanks...i hope i can....it is the crankshaft bolts which i didn't put the final torque on.....i guess a torque wrench is out and an open end will have to do....

depends on how much room you get sliding the converter back.

IF you have a relatively thin Torque wrench, ( i think I could get my snap on one in between a converter and plate if i tried.

And you use a crowfoot socket, it might fit. I'd reccomend using a crowfoot line wrench socket tho, an open end style one might round off the bolts.

Now, gaining access to these tools is the question.

Using a socket beyond the drive of the wrench will in theory torque the bolt tighter than you set the wrench, but at such a short distance, it should be insignificant.

Ha! Rookie!

I did the exact same thing. (Just a month ago.... ) I was able to slide the converter back and get the open end/box end wrench in to tighten the bolts. I was not able to use a torque wrench tho. I had to use my judgement on the final tightness, knowing that the bolts were quality and if I overtightened them a bit, it would be ok.

Mike

Here is what you do: Grab a couple of spare starter bolts, or drop your starter and use those bolts. Remove the bottom trans bolt on either side. Install starter bolts in the holes. Unbolt remaining four trans bolts, yank the drive shaft, and remove the cross member to frame bolts. Undo the three torque converter-to-flexplate bolts. Slide the tranny back on the starter bolts. Torque your flexplate bolts. Reassemble. The starter bolts keep you aligned and make it easy to get the tranny back on the pins.

Here is what you do: Grab a couple of spare starter bolts, or drop your starter and use those bolts. Remove the bottom trans bolt on either side. Install starter bolts in the holes. Unbolt remaining four trans bolts, yank the drive shaft, and remove the cross member to frame bolts. Undo the three torque converter-to-flexplate bolts. Slide the tranny back on the starter bolts. Torque your flexplate bolts. Reassemble. The starter bolts keep you aligned and make it easy to get the tranny back on the pins.

Thats what we do, some cars you have clearance issues on the drivers side, some you dont

Here is what you do: Grab a couple of spare starter bolts, or drop your starter and use those bolts. Remove the bottom trans bolt on either side. Install starter bolts in the holes. Unbolt remaining four trans bolts, yank the drive shaft, and remove the cross member to frame bolts. Undo the three torque converter-to-flexplate bolts. Slide the tranny back on the starter bolts. Torque your flexplate bolts. Reassemble. The starter bolts keep you aligned and make it easy to get the tranny back on the pins.

i was going to suggest just this, but i wouldn't use the starter bolts you are actually using in the car. just the weight of a starter hanging on a loose bolt will tweak it enough to make you chase weird starter problems stemming from a slightly bent bolt- and a trans weigh a LOT more than even a heavy stock starter.. leave your starter bolted up, and get some 4" long grade 5 bolts at the hardware store (or pout of your bolt bucket- you do have a bolt bucket, right?) and use them to slide the trans back.
also, make sure you put a jack of some kind under both the engine oil pan and trans pan. this keeps things from moving around, and really makes it a lot easier to do it.
you should only spend a couple of hours doing this project if you take your time.