1st LT5 engine pull, looking for tips and tricks

Well, I am making some progress though not as much as I would like with everything　else going on in my life. My trip to Thailand was delayed and I did not leave today so I decided to strip the top half for preparation.



All is going well so far, but can someone give tips about getting the A/C compressor out of the way without taking out the freon? I prefer not to have to charge it after putting the engine back in when repairs are done. I still need to pull the injector rail and get all of the wiring harness out of the way.

I am not looking forward to taking out the brake power booster. I already pulled out the driver's seat as I remember wrestling with this before and that might end up the hardest part of pulling the motor.

I think I am going to get the plenum and IHs ported professionally while this is out since it was a DIY last time and not quite ported for peformance. If I can afford to I want to pull the heads to get it ported and valve stem seals with competition valve work....we'll see.

The engine stand does not come with any bolts for stand to the block so I will shop for some grade 8 as well as some bolts for the points on the block to chain to.

It was amazing how easily everything came off since a alot of stuff was taken off recently. I did not have to fight with anything and the SAMCO hoses were easy to remove too. I learned a lesson on gaskets and will not buy from a source I did. The gaskets stuck and broke for the plenum unlike the factory ones that can be reused; I don't even have 500 miles on them. I have coolant bypassed so it was clean and not messy to deal.

Any tips and tricks are appreciated. I'm just taking my time actually enjoying this pull.

What about some tips for pulling the driveshaft, beam and trans? I think I'll wait until I get help to pull the trans itself. Is all that is needed to remove the clutch assembly is one of the tools that holds the flywheel?

Thanks!!!