thank you miko! Without your block it would have taken even longer. Thanks again for all your help.
here are more pics! Motor in!
New prothane motor mounts installed. These were hard and easy at the same time. Easy with all the right tools, but still complicated on some parts.
Empty engine bay, almost ready to put her in.
I have found it much easier to bend the dust plate slightly so it will hold itself on the dowel pins when installing the transmission. Otherwise, if you have not done it before, the tranny install can be a frustrating experience if that thing doesn't stay out of the way.
Don't ask why I decided to do this. I have never tried it before. But we installed the engine with the transmission on as a whole assembly. With the right angles you can do it! we thought about doing it on the ground and lowering the engine on, but after doing 10 motor swaps/builds you kind of wanna try new things. Overall it went smoothly, but the quickest way is from the bottom for sure!
This is just for reference. This is the GTIR/VE spacer vs the DE spacer. From this pic you can see a BIG difference so make sure you use the right one for your pump/pulley setup.
TAAAADAAAAAAAAH!