This is going to sound like a daft question, but has anyone got any tips on how best to get the engine & gearbox fitted? I spent most of yesterday
getting increasingly frustrated as I just could not get the engine and gearbox into the chassis - I'm trying to work out where to drill the
mounting holes & measure prop length.
It is a Stuart Taylor book chassis, and a 1300 XFlow engine with a Type9 gearbox attached. I tried lowering it in from the front at various angles.
Also tried detaching the gearbox & getting that in place first, then dropping the engine in, but there was not enough room to connect the gearbox
to the engine using this method! I can't have it all connected and raise it from below as the gearbox won't pass the mounting brackets...
Whatever I seemed to try, there just did not seem to be enough room to get it in (ooh er misses!). Any advice appreciated to stop me going insane!
Cheers,
Rob.
Raising the rear end of the car on axle stands helps provide extra clearance for the back end of th drivetrain without having the whole lot hanging at
a ridiculous angle.
You may find that with the engine and gearbox part of the way in you can lower the back of the car down to a more sensible height.
An assistant helps immensely at this point...
or try raising the front, drop the engine/gb almost verticly down then lift the rear of the gb into place.
Mac
I can only tell you how I get my 1600 x-flow & type 9 g/box into my std chassis...
This all starts with the engine complete, apart from the carb, starter, alternator and the exhaust manifold.
I attach the g/box to the engine, and lift with my engine hoist. I have a 'leveller' between the engine and the hoist, and turn its lever
until the engine & g/box are tilting back about 10 - 20 degrees.
If the chassis is on wheels I roll it under the engine & box until the end of the box is just above the start of the tunnel (otherwise I roll the
hoist to the chassis). I lower until the end of the g/box can go into the tunnel, then I start a sequence of down-back-down-back until the front of
the engine is clear of the chassis members at the front - here it helps to have another pair of hands guiding the end of the g/box down the tunnel.
As everything goes down the leveller is used to -er - level it out. Once the front is clear it's straight down and into position.
I've had to do this 5 or 6 times now, and I'm getting very good at it!
Good luck,
David
[Edited on 31/5/05 by David Jenkins]
when trial fitting my engine i've lifted the gearbox in and slung a ratchet strap under it and round hte chassis, then lifted a bare block in and
hooked it up to the bellhousing thats already on the gearbox. a vauxhall 2ltr is much bigger than a xflow and i also have a double tube 'r'
engine bay brace, so much be achievable. if doing it by yourself with a fully built engine a hoist or crane will be a must and an assistant strongly
advised to help guide the assembly into place as you lower the jib..
Ned.
I fitted gearbox to engine first. Engine had no ancillaries fitted (i even had the head off but only as i was re-building it). I used chains to lift
engine and had no levelling device. It took a few attempts to lift to get the angle somewhere near. It all went in relatively easily. The only
problem at first was that i had to remove the splined fitment from the end of the gearbox to get it to go into the transmission tunnel. (Oil will run
out of gearbox when this is removed).
Car was on wheels, i did this so i could roll it into place as i was using block and tackle suspended from a girder.
quote:
Originally posted by Robster
This is going to sound like a daft question, but has anyone got any tips on how best to get the engine & gearbox fitted? I spent most of yesterday getting increasingly frustrated as I just could not get the engine and gearbox into the chassis - I'm trying to work out where to drill the mounting holes & measure prop length.
It is a Stuart Taylor book chassis, and a 1300 XFlow engine with a Type9 gearbox attached. I tried lowering it in from the front at various angles. Also tried detaching the gearbox & getting that in place first, then dropping the engine in, but there was not enough room to connect the gearbox to the engine using this method! I can't have it all connected and raise it from below as the gearbox won't pass the mounting brackets...
Whatever I seemed to try, there just did not seem to be enough room to get it in (ooh er misses!). Any advice appreciated to stop me going insane!
Cheers,
Rob.
I put a 1300 x-flow with 4 speed box in as follows:
Engine and box joined and sitting on a wheeled trolly I made myself. Inlet and exhaust manifold off and alternator and starter off.
Chassis on axle stands, lift front of chassis and slide trolley underneath. Lower chassis back on to axle stands at front and then slid the trolley
about to get location for mounts.
Worked ok for meand I did it on my own.
Did it without an engine hoist as well.
Position for engine mount location easier to locate as well as you can roll the engine/box about to get the best position.
Thanks for the advice, you all make it sound so easy!!! 
As I suspected, it must be me...
I think I shall remove the remaining ancillaries (the manifolds are still on) and try again, along with a willing assistant.
Richyo, I like the sound of your method, and I think I may give that a go - although as the Type9 is a bit longer it may not work as easily.
Thanks for the suggestions chaps.
Rob.
TKS
imagine you need to fit a V8?? or an BIG six??