Well I'm going to take the plunge and swap out the stock converter for a B&M 10" unit. My plan is to drive the car up on ramps then jack up the rear and place platforms under the back tires (my neighbor made them at work).

Here is how I thought I'd do it. Unbolt the converter, push it back into bellhousing, unbolt crossmember on frame to support tailshaft, place a jack with block of wood under trans pan, unbolt bellhousing, slide the trans back leaving the crossmember and jack (on wheels) supporting the whole thing. Remove old converter while on my back, replace with new one, reverse procedure. What do you think, realistic ? Do I need to be worried about the engine tilting back and damaging my distributor ? Am I correct in saying that once the converter is fully seated in the tranny, there should be 3/16" clearance to the flexplate once the tranny is pushed back against the block ?

Thanks in advance.

The correct range is 1/8" to 3/16". Any less and you push the pump drive gear into the pump and eat it alive. Any more and the pump gear may ride up on the tangs of the converter neck and be eaten up or broken.

Yes, you do need to worry about the distributor. I used a small post jack to hold the back of my engine up, but a block of wood would work just as well.

Hey, Steve, new tranny and converter you had set up for me are working great! No leaks, solid, and the stall works fine for my current application - can't wait until I upgrade to get it's full benefit!

Broken tangs are no fun, especially when you're 100 miles from home,:eek: just come over the peak near Big Bear (Calif.).
Luckily it was all downhill from there (and AAA+ tows 100 miles free!!).