Huge News!
It’s In!!
Finally got a spare day and organised a trailer and got the engine to the car for the first time. Took almost 10 hours of working from arriving to engine bolted in! Granted about 5 of those hours I was alone but still.
And immediately ran into some problems.
1) bulkhead clearance
I’d done some sketches and some models and knew I had to trim the bulkhead around the gearbox, just thought it would only be a little bit but hat to basically square it of from its widest point. This wasn’t too hard except for having no power in my garage so had to run 30m of extension cables. Will just need to add more material to the gearbox cover later.
2) engine and gearbox mounts
I built the mounts around getting the dip in the sump to sit over the steering rack to try and get the engine low enough to clear the bonnet. In doing this, I put the engine really far back but what I’d assumed was enough to clear the bulkhead. But this was when the engine was level. now that it’s in the car with the gearbox on, when level, it fits beautifully. But, and it’s a big But, the output shaft of the gearbox is pointed directly at the crossmember just in front of the handbrake lever. Which means I’ve got to lower the back of the gearbox around 4-5 inches. If I lower the gearbox even 1-2 inches, the cam sensor plug in the p/s of the engine is smushed into the bulkhead, really close to the brake lines. Same with the Jaguars Fuel pressure sender, as it sits on the back of the engine. I’m going to have another look this week and see how much I can lower the engine over the steering rack and maybe redo my engine mounts. I’ll just have to cut off the welds and do it properly; with the engine in the car, sat where I need it to be... like I should have done.
But if you don’t make mistakes, you never learn
I’d taken the HVAC fan, clutch master cylinder, and the brake booster+master cylinder off as I was concerned that they’d be in the way. And yeah, they’re damn tight. The Fan and the brake master look like they’ll be fine to go back on but the clutch master is taking up the only room free the d/s exhaust needs. So my plan is to mount a more generic clutch master cylinder on the inside of the car underneath the dash with a reservoir in the engine bay. It looks like there’s enough room there, but will need to modify the clutch pedal, either bolt a small bracket or weld a tab to it.
But it’s in, and I am just so surprised how small the engine looks in the engine bay. I’ve been staring at the bare engine for the past 3 years and thinking “it’s way too big, it’s gonna be tight” but it just shocks me how well it sits