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engine chassis clearance
cd.thomson - 8/5/09 at 09:20 PM

How much clearance would you expect/actually need between the rear face of an engine and the perpendicular chassis rail between the scuttle and the engine bay? in pictures I see people generally have maybe 150mm+ with the bellhousing protruding well into the engine bay.

My setup sees the bellhousing terminating about 10mm into the engine bay. I will post pictures tomorrow if needed but does this sound too close? will it look ridiculous under the bonnet?

Alternative is to move the gearbox mount and lengthen the propshaft..


prawnabie - 8/5/09 at 09:28 PM

Id be looking to get the engine as close to the center of the chassis as i can!


omega0684 - 8/5/09 at 09:29 PM

mate that is how the dax is designed, better weight distribution, bulk of the weight is in the middle of the car, the back of my pinto sits about 15mm off the chassis rail at the back of the engine bay, gives you plenty of space at the front of the car for a big radiator, intercooler and oil coiler etc!





[Edited on 8/5/09 by omega0684]


MikeR - 8/5/09 at 09:32 PM

if you can get your finger in, you've got enough clearance - thats how i worked it.


cd.thomson - 8/5/09 at 09:33 PM

quote:
Originally posted by omega0684
mate that is how the dax is designed, better weight distribution, bulk of the weight is in the middle of the car, the back of my pinto sits about 15mm off the chassis rail at the back of the engine bay


cheers.. i was concerned that on turning the engine over it would rear back into the chassis rail! from looking at the gearbox mount i just couldnt figure why it would (apparently) sit so far back!

weight distribution makes sense though, follow question is that my clutch fork will not fit in this position. Am I right in thinking the cable moves forward from the gearbox, into the engine bay and up to the pedal box? I will have to cut into the driver footwell to allow the fork full range of movement.


omega0684 - 8/5/09 at 09:37 PM

there you go, i found a better picture,

yes the arm moves towards the back of the engine when the clutch is engaged. i had to cut my drivers side footwell panel and make a little box and glued that to the footwell panel.

[Edited on 8/5/09 by omega0684]


blakep82 - 8/5/09 at 09:45 PM

half inch is generally accepted as the minimum space around an engine i think.
just allows for vibration and stuff.


mcerd1 - 8/5/09 at 10:38 PM

quote:
Originally posted by cd.thomson
in pictures I see people generally have maybe 150mm+ with the bellhousing protruding well into the engine bay

yes, but the dax chassis is a bit different from most of the others on here
and the engine sits a bit further back too


Canada EH! - 9/5/09 at 12:28 AM

Don't do what I did, put the engine as far back as possible, then had to move it forward for clearence for the clutch arm. Originally intended to use internal hydraulic release bearing, had to go back to external release mechanism.


clairetoo - 9/5/09 at 06:24 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Canada EH!
Don't do what I did, put the engine as far back as possible, then had to move it forward for clearence for the clutch arm. Originally intended to use internal hydraulic release bearing, had to go back to external release mechanism.

Thats what I've done on my Fury - Corsa concentric slave cylinder , and about 5mm of clearance
But then , the Fury chassis is a bit different - there's not a lot of room at the front either


jacko - 9/5/09 at 07:57 AM

This is how MK do it in the Indy i would have liked it a bit further back if pos
engine  2
engine 2

Jacko


lsdweb - 9/5/09 at 08:11 AM

Here's my old car with the engine sat back as far as possible! I think the clearance was about 5mm but the engine was solid mounted.



Wyn


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