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I feel your pain. I did the same thing to put the TKO 600 in my 70 Nova, but I had the motor out of the car to do it and was able to put the motor on a stand and take my time. I don't think I'd try it in the car, on jack stands, in the street. Its a tedious process and you need reasonable access, good light and time to make the small adjustments necessary to the achieve the results required. I was able to get mine to less than 0.003 all the way around. Lakewood recommends less than 0.005, others say you need 0.001. Go by what your warranty requires/manufacturer says you need, so you don't void the warranty on the unit.
I used the weld-on style dowel pin kit versus the offset dowels and drilling the block for the set screws. Not sure if one is better than the other? I liked the idea of the weld-on kit being permanent once the adjustment was complete and when I remove the tranny/bell/clutch for service I'm not worrying if the set screw held, did the dowel pin move, do I need to check again?
One piece of advice, torque the bellhousing bolts to spec. If you don't it will have an impact on your results, and/or you won't get repeatable results. If you need small adjustments (which is likely), don't loosen the bolts all the way, simply break tension, then twist the offset dowels (if going with that style) or use a rubber mallet or dead blow to "nudge" the bellhousing in the desired direction (if going with that style), then re-torque and check your numbers again.
I would try to hook up with someone that can get the car on a lift, at least that way, the car is stable and you will have better access and be more comfortable while doing the work. This isn't a 15 minute job. It will take a little bit of fiddling with the dial indicator, some practice to get repeatable results and then you'll be set to go.
If it turns out bad, your nice new tranny will be toast. Don't rush this.
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1999 Formula 6spd (The driver)
1997 2500 Ext. Cab Dodge 4x4 CTD 5spd (The Earth Mover)
1970 Nova 5spd (The toy)
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