James, please make some notes where you think the
idiots maintenance guide needs to be clearer.
The guide was written around a 2.5, I didnt know the flexplate spacer had been fixed to the flexplate for the 2.6 / 3.2 so that is worth adding.
Spigot bearing: the nylon bit goes down the hole first, then tap in the needle roller bearing. I think the nylon bit helps the input shaft to align with the needle rollers when you are fitting the box.
Fit the gearlever first....to the car! You can struggle to fit it all togeather and rivet it in place once the box is in if you want but I wouldnt recommend it.
Think you said you were waiting for a new oil seal? If this comes a a bare seal, without an introducer (plastic sleeve) inside it, then you need to make one yourself to aid fitting to the block. If you fit it without you will be stripping it all down again fairly soon to replace the seal you damaged.
Get hold of some brass shim or cut up a Coke
TM can etc. You want enough thin metal to form a tight fitting tube around the end of the crank. Wrap the shim around the crank tightly and secure the ends with sellotape, then slide it off and make sure all sharp edges are covered with a layer of tape.
Grease the seal lips then carefully slide the tube into the seal ..from the outside of the seal.
Fit the tube over the end of the crank and slide the seal up to the block, carefully tap the seal into place before removing the tube.
The reason for all this is that the crank face and the block face are flush so you cannot get the seal lip to fit over the crank until the seal is partly fitted into the block and it is all too easy to damage the lip.
One other point, the gearbox rear cradle will bolt to a different pair of holes in the car floor to the ones used by the auto....check the bolts scew into the holes first, mine had some sort of coating clogging the threads which made life difficult, wished I had run a tap through first.