Stuff happened. Dropped motor out in about an hour of goofing around. Would recommend this method to any X owner, it was almost painless. Only snag is really being careful about seperating the steering column.
Once we used the hoist to get the engine on the ground we bolted up to the engine mount points and started lifting:
Didn't have to go nearly as high as you would expect, only about a foot:
Then roll it out the side:
Engine is very stable on two wheel dollies and some 2x12's, can move it around without fear of tipping or anything.
Clear the decks, then lower chassis back down nice and slow.
End result is a bunch of shit out of the car, super easy to disassemble...:
...an empty engine bay...:
...and a happy scheides
Thanks Rosey, Spaz, Shawn, Murlo, and Anna! Having extra hands is always a huge plus--safety first!
Once it was out I spent about an hour or so and popped off axels, all manifolds, accessories, turbo system (as a whole), etc then put her to bed for the night:
Final shoutout to Ron@RS for giving me this idea of going 'out the bottom' it was way easier than I thought it would be!