I took the transmission cover off to change the bands. Don't know how the cover came off but now it goes part way on and will not go down and seat. I have pushed and tugged but no luck. Is there a trick on getting the cover back on ? Seems it either hits the exhaust man. , bump in back of block or hits the lower lip of the body. Looked at ford manual but does not work. Has to be an EZ way and not just bull work and hope. Thanks in advance

From reading past posts, I think removing the exhaust manifold will make things easier. See this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTvzA7QLbZ8&list=PLYG_lIhIwKyLG8WQm4tGmKK1nA0Yct p6G&index=40

Eck, removing the exhaust manifold will make it an easier task. You might also hook up a tiedown strap to the front of the driveshaft and put some tension on it to drag the rear end back a bit. This will give you a slightly wider window at the back of the hogshead. It may give you enough wriggle room to let the cover pass the exhaust manifold without having to remove it.

Hope this helps.
Allan from down under.

Making a little progress today. I removed the exhaust manifold and got the hogshead to come back off. I re cleaned the gasket area and loosened the bolts on the shaft bearing. Tomorrow i hope to try to install the cover again as I have a new set of gaskets, Thanks for your help again. I have worked on cars for over 50 years but my 26 is the oldest I have restored.