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The bellhousing is the least of your worries, The whole cooling system has to be modded so that it's similar to a pajero, otherwise you'll end up with an air lock in the front (highest point)and it will cook, Unless you've studied a pajero cooling system , then you won't know. The idea of a flange sitting between the sump and the block is a good idea depending on the motor. I know a guy who modded a stockcar that way , I think it was a ford straight 6 , it was done for both strength, reliability and ease of pulling the motor. He built a thick flange to go between the sump and block, That had pipes welded to it which you slip the engine mount bolts into. Tricky though with a Mitsi as you've got the front & rear curved bits for the crank. Steve

Just to wind up all the dumbarses on here like yourself. It's one of Newtons laws of physics, to every action there's a reaction, or something like that.So the action is the output torque on the driveshaft, the reaction is the engine mounts. Move them and you stress everything out possibly to the point of failure. It makes far more sense to leave them in the same place on the block and move everything else to suit. Well why bother doing something if it's only half arsed? Steve

Ideally you'd want to leave the mounts where they are. They're there for a reason and until you work out that reason you're not winning. Why do V8 blocks crack through the middle? Why do serious racers use end plates to mount them? Steve

Engine compartment is the best place for it because you can use the stock pump and lines. You're no more likely to pop a hose than with a stock setup unless you're rough. That's where my one is going when it's time to do it. It gives the advantage of being able to use more than one high pressure pump if running EFI without the need for more pipes from the back to the front. Steve

Solve all your problems in one go by running on LPG. Steve

The output from the igniter is a switched earth as already stated. Those components in the ECU which aren't needed, they're only there to detect a missed or faulty ignition event and then bring up a fault code, they're not there for the tach. Zener diode circuits are only for tachs driven directly from the coil. That's because the coil output is very high voltage spikes, back EMF and all that. So the zener diode cleans it up and creates a squarewave by clipping the signal, we've already got a squarewave from the igniter. But a switched earth won't do anything without a pullup resistor, again as stated, 1K to 10 K connected to 12V should do it. Chances are the reason it won't go is because you killed it by feeding 5V into it, either the tach will be dead or the output from the igniter. Steve

Sounds like it's got creeping death. Must be time to drop a japper in there? Steve

It's very important otherwise it'll lean out & detonate. It tells you how to do it in the "how to modify hollies" book. Vac secondaries are best too as you're less likely to get a flat spotwhen you open it up.Even better is LPG. Steve

Probably forgot to put antifreeze in there. That's what happens with water. Steve

What panelbeaters normally do is to slap a coat of primer over it after giving it the rust killer treatment. Even primer is porous so the safest way is to slap a coat of topcoat over primer to seal it. Once that's done you can go around the panels one at a time to finish off, then redo the paint. At least that's what I've been told by a panelbeater/bodybuilder/metalfinisher mate who's been doing it for 30 odd years. Never leave them in bare metal, maybe OK for an old ford but an old japper would disappear. Steve

Usually when you've bent a valve, you'll know because the rocker arms go loose with the valve closed. Steve

Well it's not like I haven't done it before, haha. It always pays to measure things beforehand, just to make sure everything's going to fit without needing anything cutting. But modding the manifold is never a good idea. Done that too. Actually the motor might need dropping quite a bit. Might have to measure it? Steve

Just drop the motor a bit. Remake the mounts, notch the sump. Easy as. Steve

Yes. If your car originally had a cat converter (which almost ALL Japanese import cars since the late 70s/early 80s did), and you require a cert then you will technically need to re-fit a suitable cat converter. However, until then, you don't need a cat converter to pass a WOF check. Seems silly I know. NO. all this emission stuff (at the moment anyway) only applies to vehicles with an engine swap. So if you have your original engine that is modified you dont have to worry about cats or emission tests. Cheers for that. So if I was to swap the block sometime in the future for it's "bigger brother" although 100% bolt in, the WOF man would know from the block stamping codes, that would be classed as an engine swap and I'd need a cat? Steve

The idea of the air pump is that the air reacts with unburnt hydrocarbons and CO to make more CO2 and less HC and CO. Steve

With regard to the Cat, Can I make the assumption that , say I've had a modified car for several years, it's had a modded exhaust with no cat and have never been asked for a cert as it's pretty much standard, with original...ish motor. So if supposing someone decides one day that my power is a bit more than stock and I need a cert, I would need to refit the cat? which I no longer have? So maybe an exemption if it's primarily used for motorsport? That's about it. So every time you go for a WOF in the future, you'll need to have your cat checked to make sure that it actually works? Unless it appears stock and you don't have a cert? Or will all cars be checked regardless? Steve

Cut the engine cover with a cutting disc for clearance, then build a reshaped piece to fill the hole, weld it all up. Leave the intake alone for reliability. Steve

Strombergs are just like SUs in that they need oil in the top and don't have an accelerator pump. The stromberg's diaphragm can split and they won't work. With the SU at least you've got to seat the jet/needle correctly otherwise if not centred correctly it won't go either because it sticks. The trick is to make sure the piston goes up (with your finger) and drops all the way to the bottom without getting stuck. Steve

Does the exhaust pipe have a partial blockage in it? The ONLY time I've ever blown out exhaust gaskets is when I've had a turbo sitting after the gasket which of course causes a build up of pressure at the manifold. Steve

A mate of mine had a Galant that did that. The motor had been cooked and it wouldn't fire due to not enough compression. So if it's got fuel and spark, you haven't touched the timing....give it a compression test. Was the gasket leaking because there was too much pressure in the sump? That's a common cause. You could have flooded it though, plugs will be wet with fuel. Steve

As already mentioned, although an alternator puts out more than a "generator" at idle, it still doesn't put out a great deal. They need to be revved to put out the max rated output. What you're seeing is pretty much normal. BTW is that the XJ6 that used to live in Wainui recently? Steve

I'm 100% behind this guy here. Re: Gauges, what and why? Being a builder and racer my self i find gauges a wast of time. When u are cruising it is one thing or after a race you can look as see where everything has settled. But when u are driving the piss out of something there is no time to look at a gauge, well they way i drive. What i like is things like STACK or AIM where you can have a configured warning light or a screen turn color, something that can alert you from your peripheral vision that something is wrong. Bering in mind that is you are at full tilt and something happens, 90% of the time it is to late anyway.. just my 2 cents ................................. With a stock Mitsi ECU I run MMCD datalogger. It's got alarms that can be triggered by almost anything that it can log.When it beeps, lift the right foot. Do a 2nd gear road pull, log it, go home look at it......try again. People are far too reliant on computers, most people have no idea about their limitations. Even MMCD isn't foolproof. Some of the numbers displayed are incorrect. Most are unaware of it.It's programming error.Then the batteries go flat, it turns off when needed. Has to be reloaded from a PC with palm installed. Laptop dies, can't reload palm, no datalogging 'til fixed. What a pain. Real instruments should be completely independant from anything software controlled wherever possible. A "real" vac/boost gauge for ALL cars, oil pressure, volts, that's all that's needed apart from what's normally factory fitted. all those other things are just gimmicks and a waste of time and space. That's "oldschool" ...Volts, oil press, oil temp, fuel., tach. boost/vac, speedo. Green oil light with blinkers either side. 2 ammeters missing from down below, I wouldn't use one these days because they cause a voltage drop and charging issues due to it. A knock light is pretty much essential these days, Link do the standalone "knocklink" which flashes lights. They work really well but need to be in a place where it blinds you so you can't miss it. Steve

Good read Fred. Just one point, PCV valves in turbo and non turbo applications are sometimes different. Certain Mitsi ones don't close with boost, they come in non turbo cars, need to be swapped to the turbo version to use with a turbo, otherwise they'll flow with boost. Steve

I was looking at one exactly the same as that some time ago on the "flower power" van with 18RG. That wasn't hooked up properly either. You'd really need to check the wiring diagram but as a guess you want it closed at idle so there's no leak, it should only open off idle so a microswitch on the throttle would be a good place to start experimenting. It's just a solenoid valve, on or off, no in between. Steve

You can cut anything with oxy aceylene. Just use a small welding tip and turn the gas up a bit, too much for welding but enough to blow a hole in and cut it. That way the melted stuff that doesn't drop out ends up thickening at the edges and is easier to join onto. A small tip can get into places that no other cutting tool can. Steve