nzvohc Posted May 2, 2018 Author Share Posted May 2, 2018 Ok, next was to get the engine home and start the transplant. It's going to be tight in there! As you can probably see in the background, I had pulled the engine and subframe out of the Firenza by this stage to clean it up and paint it. This is the engine bay as it was before starting. Got to get rid of that green! And the old donk out. The process involved using a engine crane to lift the car up away from the subframe with engine in place, then place jackstands to keep the car in the air so that the crane can be wheeled out of the way, then roll the subframe forward and out from under the car. I could then use the crane to lift the engine of the subframe . It's a process that's for sure, but has worked well and it's great to have the subframe out of the car for pre-fitting the new engine. The next step I took was to prep the engine bay for painting. Before that though I installed a new clutch master cylinder and converted the clutch pedal from a pull-cable to push-rod. I don't have pics of the pedal mods at the moment, but here is the cylinder in place, tucked nicely in alongside the brake booster. Yep, it's snug! Then everything stripped out. . I could see problems lurking under the battery tray and knew that it would have to be removed to investigate. Sure enough, nasty stuff but thankfully only surface rust. Will relocate the battery to the boot and remove the tray permanently for a less cluttered look. After that was taken care of, the fun begins with prep work. Got to love all those fiddly shapes and edges in an engine bay! I decided on painting the engine bay black, as that was how the "Droopsnoots" were factory done back in the day. Borrowed a compressor and gun from work and squirted it. I'm not entirely happy with the finish up close so it may get another shot later, but for now it is much improved. About this time I also acquired a personalised plate for the car. This plate had been on the car many years ago when it originally had a very rare & genuine Vauxhall TC engine. The engine and plate were removed by a previous owner and used in a Chevette HSR replica rally car. A shame not to have that engine now, but this new one will pay homage to it nicely I think.I have a pic somewhere of the old TC engine which I will find and post. He still had the plate and I was able to convince him to part with that. Next up is numerous trial fittings of the engine and subframe to get the engine/gearbox in the right place. More tomorrow. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nzvohc Posted May 2, 2018 Author Share Posted May 2, 2018 Found pic of the original TC engine this car once had. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post nzvohc Posted May 4, 2018 Author Popular Post Share Posted May 4, 2018 So as mentioned earlier, the front end got a tidy up with a coat of paint. This should help the leaking oil clean off easier in future. One benefit of these engines is the fact that they were developed and modeled off the Vauxhall slant engine, which includes the exact same mounting points on the block, so it was a simple case of swapping the Vauxhall mounts onto the Lotus block to set the engine up in the same location. This was really important to me as it meant that the gearstick location would end up in the same position as before, but more importantly the driveshaft length stayed the same with no need for any mods. (I was already running a W50 gearbox behind the Vauxhall engine, so the yoke matches too) This the first fit to subframe. Note the exhaust manifold was removed by now as it fouls the mounts and can't be used. I had hoped I could avoid the need to replace these simply to keep the initial cost down and replace it later with some headers. So it just means I have to do it sooner rather than later now, likely to be in S/S. I am going to attempt mocking up a set of extractors while the engine/subframe are out of the car as it's so much easier to get around, and then have them made off site, we'll see how that goes...this is a pic of the header flange I have had laser cut in MDF to check fitment, which once happy with will be sent to engineering shop to be cut from 10mm plate. Of course I would like to just buy a set of these...anybody want to chip into a GoFundMe account?? Worth a shot...but don't they look sexy??!! A couple more pics of first fit. Although it looks good here, the sump is actually touching the cross-member. The Lotus block is quite a bit wider at the bottom end than the Vauxhall, so there will be no avoiding cutting the sump to make clearance. The headers you see at the bottom of the photo are a spare set I have from friendlyfire's Chevette from when he had a Vauxhall engine in that. I was hoping I could possibly adapt these for this conversion, but they would require changing so much that I may as well start fresh, in S/S. I gave the cam covers a tidy up around this time too by carefully sanding the paint off the raised lettering etc, which looks way better. They really need refinishing and will be done at a later stage as not a high priority at the mo. May change the colour also, any suggestions? The orange filler cap will have to go too. So before tackling the issue of the sump I want to check my theories that the engine/gearbox would sit in the right position and clear the bulkhead etc. I rolled the assembly under the car for the first time and carefully lowered the car back down onto it. By the way, I am not lifting the car from the slam panel, as it might look like here, I am lifting it via a heavy steel tubing that is tucked under the chassis rails you can just see in the next pics. Almost there... And in! Yes, the bottom cam housing is millimetres away from the bulkhead and too close to leave like that, which I have a plan for. But hey, it's in! Next the sump cut. 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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