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I still have my Stoopid Award leaning against my garage. I'm in no danger
of my reign ending. I decided to take the engine out of the Pantera with
the "help" of a six year old boy, instead of the traditional way that
involves 6 semi-drunk men with cheap beer, chips and salsa. The crew to
remove an engine should weigh at least as much as the engine. Here's why:

The engine and transmission come out of a Pantera as a unit, tilting the end
of the transmission up first so you can clear the shelf where the rear deck
attaches. The chain I had around the transmission dagled down and wedged in
the frame as I was jacking the engine out. The engine swung around, the car
rose up and rolled off the jack stands, and the engine hoist would have
collapsed onto the right fender along with the engine except...

My girlfriend was innocently repotting plants and instantly noticed my
distress. She acted as counterweight to the crane with me until I could
figure out what to do. We directed the boy to safer territory and since I
make a better counterweight (I weigh a tad more and I can swing out
farther), I managed to swap places with her on the hoist so she could
perform the rescue. She grabbed the floor jack, lifted the car a smidge and
removed the jack stands. She then pushed the car away from the engine and I
was able to lower it safely.

She's a keeper. I'm going to build her a Jaguar C-Type.

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