Engine mods

After much worrying and putting it off, today was the day to start the engine. It needs a number of modifications as the car is tiny compared to what the engine normally goes in and the ground clearance is much less.  I started with the sump.  Ive bought a new lowered sump from GBS and it gives quite a bit more ground clearance so when going over raised manhole covered and speed bumps it doesnt rip the sump off.

So first thing was to get the current oil out. Not an easy job, but again not overly hard, just awkward as I had it on a rolling set of wooden pallets. Anyway, once that was empty, I laid the engine on its side and removed the air intake / fuel manifold.

Just a few bolts so nice and easy. I then covered the area with tissue and stuck it in place with a bit of tape.

Next up was to remove the sump. Its in 2 parts, an aluminium part and a steel part. First i had to remove the steel part which allowed access to the oil pick up pipe which I then removed before taking the aluminium part off. This was where the new sump would now fit.  I added the new pick up pipe and then dry fitted the sump.  Some of the screw holes were slightly off so widened them with a file before a final dry fit.

Next up (no photos) but I added some gasket sealant around the new sump and added the cork gasket.  I held it in place with the bolts and then added a layer around the top of the cork gasket before fitting it to the engine. I bolted it all up and admired my work.