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Project 2B

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>Project 2B: Install the Engine

Having dragged the lump out of the donor we now get to fit it into the 2B chassis. This time we take the sensible option and borrow an engine hoist...

Fitting the engine looks straightforward. We chose not to fit the front suspension and wheels, more because of timing (i.e. we only had the hoist for the weekend) than any sound engineering principles.

Installing the Engine

Well for a start you need to remove the passenger side engine mounting arm to actually get the engine into the chassis and transfer the rubber engine mounts from the donor to the 2B chassis, oh yeah and take off the fan. We decided that as the engine had been running well that we shouldn't mess about with it too much, obviously now is the time to fix any stuff that you know is wrong, but we'll just cross our fingers.

	Ah, nearly forgot to check that the drive shaft supplied with the kit actually fits on the splines from the back of the gearbox, you'll be disappointed later if you don't check now. Remember, prior preparation etc..
	Having removed the left engine mount and the fan we hoisted the engine up and then bought the chassis to it..this is easy mate...
	The decision to leave the front suspension off looks good as the chassis is angled down and the engine fed in very easily.
	Once the engine is roughly in position above the right engine mount, reattach the left hand mount. Note the location of the rubber engine mounts as the have locating pins that must be aligned with the mounting arms (we didn't, and had to lift the engine back up to fix it).
	One issue to consider is whether you have a four or five speed gearbox. Our's is a five speed and the gearbox mounts on the 2B may need to be taken back to allow enough clearance. The video chassis differed from our chassis so we decided to check the fit and then remove some metal if necessary - it was.
	As we hadn't fitted the front wheels we kept the engine attached to the hoist, bolted up the mounts and tied off the gearbox (this will later be bolted in place using part of the old gearbox mounting plate) then lifted the whole thing back up and put it on axle stands. The engine fits well within the chassis and there is plenty of room to work on it, our only concern is that the weber carb looks very high and will it fit under the bonnet with a filter in place or do we go for the hot rod look...
	hmmm...not sure about the ground clearance...

The costs so far...

Amazingly, still no more to spend, unless you want to paint the engine before installing it or replace the belts, filter etc..


1	Get the Kit

2	Watch the videos

3	Find a Donor Car

4	Strip the Donor

5	Fit the rear axle

6	Fit the Engine/Gearbox

7	Build front suspension

8	Fit inner panels

9	Install wiring loom/rad

10	Fit exterior panels

11	Fit interior

12	SVA test, MOT etc

What we learnt this time...

With the right tools any job is easier. OK time is money and all that, but the engine hoist makes this job a cake walk. OK just bolting the engine in isn't going to win us any prizes, but at least its starting to take shape - rear wheels, an engine we're almost there...

the next installment is Build the front suspension >