Installing the Engine and Gearbox

Next on the agenda was mating the gearbox to the engine. This was surprisingly easy. I guess Eric broke it in for me. With a little wiggling it all went together and easily drew up tight with the many bellhousing fastners. All torqued and loctited.

I hope the slave cylinder actually works once I bleed the clutch system...

After some careful consideration I decided that I could probably change out the AN4 fuel supply fitting just fine with the engine in place. (I was also a little nervous leaving the heavy engine/gearbox assembly sitting on the roll cart with my daughter and her friends ducking into the garage to retreive bikes in the afternoons). So I decided to go ahead and mate the engine to the chassis.

This process was a little more tedious, being a one man operation. It took a few tries to get the front studs aligned with the holes in the bottom of the chassis and then to pursuade them to slide all the way in. But in the end it all went together nicely with minimal muscling. Now it is really starting to look like a racecar again.

Rear view. The Honda engine isn't really as tall and wide as I my original impression. At some point in the future I will have to work on some new rear bodywork to take advantage of the more compact packaging...

I am really glad I decided to go with the overhead/center exhaust setup. I think it makes the package much cleaner.

Right hand view of the installed engine. Once the bottom studs were in place. I got to working on the top engine mount. This took a little time to get properly aligned. Thank god for the lift cart. Lots of raising and lowering was required to massage all of the fasteners into place. But with no drama they all eventually dropped into place and now the engine in firmly bolted to the chassis.

Eric needed to keep the engine bay "cradle" pieces in the shop right up to the end of the fabrication process. So they are out for plating right now. So for the next week or two, I will have to work around not having them. But Eric tells me that the engine pan is incredibly stout and I can fell confortable putting the car up on stands without the engine cradle in place. I think to feel safe, I will keep the cart in place for now to support the engine and gearbox, but it is nice to know that everything is so strong.

On a related note. It is nice to know that I am starting with a square chassis. Eric had removed the skid blocks during the fabrication process and the chassis sat perfectly flat on the surface plate. Eric confirmed the location of the pickup points were all correct as well. With a 15 year old car, you never know what you are getting into so this was good peace of mind.

So that is it for tonight.

Coming Soon:

- Test fitting a Panasport Megalite wheel (Neil Porter's 'demo' wheel should be in tomorrow).
- The Pegasus order has been placed, and parts are on the way to do the wiring and plumbing work.
- The AIM system is also enroute and should arrive Thursday.
- Installing the wiring harness.
- Fuel System plumbing
- Oil Lines and vent system plumbing.
- Measuring for and ordering the new throttle cable.
- And much, much, more...

Later,
Sean