Get that engine in part one
Once again the progress on this build has jumped forward by leaps and bounds, sorry sometimes it’s difficult to photograph everything in sequence.
Catching up:
To get here, I’ve installed the sump, rebuilt the valves and re-space tappets for the cams, installed the head, attached the engine loom and bolted on some of the brackets.
So what your seeing here is basically a complete engine and it’s almost ready to install.
I decided it would be a good idea to reattach the gearbox then do a test fit. Getting the clutch into place was pretty easy.
Something I didn’t think about until I begin tightening the flywheel bolts was that the crank spins and turns the engine over! You can’t it torqued up. My father had a great idea which involved holding the flywheel using a gearbox bolt and a bracket which locked into the teeth and stopped it from turning. If I had decided to fix the other end at the pulley it could damage the crank by pre-loading it.
I didn’t have an aligner tool but i did have some copper pipe.. which as it happens is all that’s needed. Yep it was just the right size to slip over the crank end and a wide enough diameter to hold my clutch plate central so i could tighten it up.
When it came time to connect the gearbox to the engine I decided to unite the two using the engine crane and some teasels under the gearbox. For some reason i thought it might be easier to connect everything up off the ground (a luxury you wouldn’t get with a larger engine). This process was a bit problematic because i forgot to remove my special flywheel locking bracket.. After a few attempts I work it out and we were home!
Next I installed the over driver pulley and filled the super charger with oil.
The test fit went well. I jacked up the MR2 and used a $30 trolley from Masters to position the engine under the car.
To be continued..