Progress! The engine is finally in and all bolted down. It took a few attempts to get it right, but now it looks right at home.
I used the CPP sheet metal engine perches and sliding motor mounts which worked great, but I had to put them in the rear mounting holes on the frame and drill new holes in the cross member for the third bolt. I also got the front brake lines in and mounted to the crossmember while the engine was out (super easy with nothing in the way). I left the AC compressor in the lower position on the engine and it cleared the frame but there was no way to attach the hoses in the future. I ended up making a small clearance cut on the top of the frame rail to try and leave room for the AC hose fitting.... fingers crossed that the cut was enough because I don't have the fitting to confirm yet.
I also swapped the oil pan and used the GM muscle car pan. There isn't a lot of difference in the oil pan depth (maybe 1 inch), but it does keep the bottom of the pan just even with the bottom of the crossmember which added some piece of mind.
Original 5.3L L33 Oil pan
GM Muscle Car pan
