[JRC99]

Originally Posted by Too Many Projects

Merry Christmas.
You have a good start, but remove the radiator next and the long valve cover bolts near the brake booster for tipping/lifting the engine over the front crossmember. When leaving the trans in, I use a floor jack with a large piece of 2x6 under the pan and lift with the engine until it is almost touching the firewall. That gives you a little more wiggle room to separate the engine and trans. There are 2 alignment pins between them, so they need to separate about 1/2-3/4 inch to get the engine free from the bellhousing.
You may want to use baling wire to hold the headers away from the heads while lifting. Removing them with the engine in requires the car to be about 18" off the floor. Leave the collectors on, but the 3 bolts loose so the header can move over, but not fall on the floor.
Once the engine is out, have/find a piece of rebar/pipe/broom handle and cut it to span the frame rails right in front of the trans. Have 2 long bolts, 3-4" and insert them in the bellhousing holes just above the rod to set the trans down on. You can then remove the jack and push the car back out of the way to work.

Good advice, thank you! If I do pull the headers it's definitely after the engine is fully out. For now I'll just find a way to hold them away from the heads as you suggest