(The Author poses in his car with his favorite tools...)
The engine is out! I already got the gas tank out earlier, so the car is now officially gasoline free!!!!!
I ended up seperating the engine and transmission and pulling the engine out the top.
I have never worked on transmissions or CV joints before, and disconnecting everything in the transaxel looked daunting.
The engine did not snap my tiny, makeshift rope block & tackle system, and did NOT fall and crush me!!!
It also got above freezing today, and I noticed that my socket set is finally ice-free.
With the engine out, I rolled the car backwards, out of the way, and then lowered the engine down onto my bathroom scale. With the alternator, it weighs about 150 lbs. I got smart this time and put the scale back in the house when I was done.
Then I wrestled the engine onto a dolly, so that I could move it around as needed.
With the car now out of the garage (and light enough for me to push back uphill without the electric starter boost) I was able to clean my work area and properly put away all my tools.
I am very excited; I feel like I really got something done.
More photos
here.