I made a simple bar that fits in the location you described. I reinforced a few furniture dollies to roll the engine and trans on.

The cherry picker works great for this technique without having to remove the bumper & grill. The last picture is the 408 Magnum from my '68 on the dollies. I didn't have to remove the bumper or grill for that install either.

This was the first time in nearly 40 years that I didn't drop the engine in from the top. I'll never do it the old way again.

I did this in my garage with an 8" ceiling by myself.