did it once with a few good buddies and a 1st gen rx7 with the engine stripped to the block.... we put it back in with a hoist and I'd never take one out without a hoist ever again but when the engine pops and the autocross race is in the morning you tend to take desperate measures in getting the backup engine in there for the next day

 

Mess up your back once, and chances are you'll be hating life down the road. It's not worth it.

 

two ways

a 2x4 and chains, one person on each end.

the other way is to drop the subframe and just lift the car high enough to pull the subframe with motor from underneigh....

the car is very very light once it is stripped...



if your garage has something to hook onto from the roof, you can tie a rope or a chain and just ratchet it out....

of course, a cherry picker would make it so much easier...

 

strip it to the bare short block, disconnect the tranny and you probably can lift it out yourself if you are strong. A buddy will make this pretty easy. there was a thread in the single turbo section where a guy just curled the motor out