Water works

Found some alloy tube with swaged ends to start finishing the plumbing.

No huge progress.

Few details below. Need to borrow a K-Series head from the engineering shop to make the water rail for the other side. Aim to get a wad of stuff ready for welding and get this bloke I know round to Tig it. Then its onto the ignition triggering.

That's basically the deal on oneside. Pump just dangles its pretty solid.
This little bracket will be welded to the tube this obviously holds the water rail in location.

Radiator fan sensor in background this always goes on the inlet side of the water system, I like this best, as it on the outlet it gives a false reading. On the inlet side it measures when the radiator is needing assistance. The black thing is stock thermostat housing I think I will modify this eventually but for now it will do for eyeing it up and testing. The open outlet is the standard bypass circuit inlet this will need blocking. I would like to knock out this whole housing and weld an alloy tube to the block but that can be done before the engine goes in finally, need the engine out for that. Its only weakness is at the redline, which is a funny rubber seal joint I don't like the look of.

Hardly an assault on it :)

Further progress

Made some small extensions ready to be welded to the suspension turrets, for the engine mounts rubbers to sit . Made the steel pins for the end of the mounts. Once my mount rubbers arrive I can get the lot cleaned up and welded.

I got a 5 .75" inch trigger wheel ready to fit on the pulley. It will need opening out to 95mm I/D.

Should have some alloy pipe sections arriving shortly. These will make a 1 piece water rail in alloy. This goes over the exhaust manifold from the back of the head. The swirl pot will have a mount plate welded on and it'll mount on the cam over. The water pipe on the drivers side will bolt to the engine mount.

I'd hope by the end of the month to have a fully mounted engine with ignition system, water system, electric system. Leaving bulkhead, exhaust, cams, propshaft...There are numerous other small jobs.

Lot of loose ends to tie up. I can't remove the engine again to play with the clutch or mod the rear gearbox extension, make the rear mount till the engine mounts are made, as the engine is perched in place, exactly as I want it!

I also need to check the existing timing marks for TDC and make new ones if needed? I needed a 16mm plug spanner which I didn't have to remove the spark plug.

Its coming on.

Arranging things

Another afternoon messing around with it.

Some good fortune with the ignition leads I was using before they seem to fit fine on the K plugs and such like. They are from a Ford CVH engined Escort injection 1990>on.

The coil pack sits neatly on the bulkhead and its lucky it all fits cause I can't fit the coil pack anywhere else close by withut longer leads. It looks very tidy anyway.

Best of all no rewiring needed!

I had hoped to get the engine back on the bulkhead more about an inch further back but this is the best location as to get it 1 inch further back needs serious mods to the handbrake area and mini crossmember under the prop.
Trial fitted some carbs, adjusted the levers and Magard linkage so it suits the spacing change, actually a bitch of a job as usual, cause the adjustment screw on the centre levers always hits the rod-end rod. Also had to take a small nick from the manifold as the levers were beaching on it at the back. Manifold spacing is very close, you can't run K&N backplates as they clash. I think my best option is to buy a thin'ish Pipercross 1 piece element and make my bulkhead to suit, I can make my own backplate for the Pipercross unit, I have a real knackered one here to rob the captive nuts off.

Shows where the carbs end up. Manifold needs some porting and also brass takeoffs adding for the MJL.

Overview from the front.

I want this install to have the same flavour as my 1300...Totally minimal and very neat.

Coming on. I am getting back into it. Its new year! Be summer soon!

I must admit after the amount of mods, repairs, fiddling I did last year I was hoping for the winter to just consist of swapping my head back to triumph valves, doing some lightening and nothing too hardcore. Its taken a while to get motivated to fiddle with it...

Mounting but not humping the engine.

Did a bit today.

Made some bridges for my mounts.

The polybush is just a dummy, its exactly the same O/D as the steel tube I will replace it with once I get down the engineering shop.....This is pretty much exactly what Caterham use.

The tube I will make for the ends where the polybush can be seen will have a just over 1/2inch hole through them for the 1/2" bolt. I will find and weld on two big flat washers on the bottom where the tubes sit on the engine mount, to spread load a bit eh?

I need to use the lathe to finish off the mounts.

The E-Type engine mounts need a small box section making up and welding on to extend the plane the mount is sat on, backwards, will also house a captive nut/bolt for the mount... this is so there is something flat for the entire thing to mount on!

I could have made a 100 different styles of mount this just ended up as is cause its made use of what I had!

Its a bit over-engineered maybe :)

Have to heatshield the alternator its gonna get smoked by the exhaust Not sure it'll end up sitting so low...Could rehouse it on the otherside if needed...

So to move on I need to buy some new mounts as they are not 100% in shape having had a 300kilo e-type engine on them! also make the flat sections they sit on, once thats done I can get them both in place and welded.

Then onto the rear gearbox mount, I'd like this to be removable rather than welded in...So will probably cut 2 recentangles of steel about 8mm thick, 4inches long by 12mm wide, cut two threads into each, at the ends ..weld them to the top of the chassis rails and run a "u" style mount that slips down between the rails and bolts in at the top...

Also cut off the straight outlet pipe from the water outlet manifold that goes on the back of the head...refaced the remaining flange ready to accept some alloy pipe sections I will make up. These will run from this outlet over the exhaust manifold, forwards to meet some flexible hose by the timing belt cover. This manifold and pipe will be one section and mount to the engine. You can buy a similar item from caterham as with the engine in RWD form the outlets are all wrong. Space is a bit lacking so custom item needed.

I can weld on a suitable alloy nut to this pipe so I can fit a temp gauge...

Once the engine is mounted at the front I can undo the 210NM front pulley nut and get the pulley on the lathe...I couldnt touch it with the engine loose on the floor! Too light even with me standing on it.

Did I mention a bare K is under 90kilos :)

Doesn't making titles get tiring?

Isn't working with steel fun, not!

Took me most of the afternoon to make two plates for the engine.

Hardwork! Arms like popeye.

Need to make the bridges to the suspension turret next.

Steels a bit heavy but its reliable!

Also had another look at the alternator, it will go on using the other boss/mount point on its body. It actually lines up perfectly with the bottom pulley, leaving 2-3mm between the belt and the cambelt cover. As the pulley has 5 small grooves for a flat belt I will need to machine it for a single groove belt.

The groove will go as far forward on the pulley as possible and cannot go too deep into the pulley as I need to have material left to bolt on the trigger wheel for the ignition system.

This other mount on the alternator isn't as strong as the proper one but I think it'll be ok. I can make a stronger 3 dimensional top mount/adjustment system that is rigid, probably some alloy thing, that should make the loads on the alternator even out. You'll see.

Best pickup the pace a bit soon!

I think it'll look a nice neat install. Exhaust is going to keep passengers feet nice and warm :)

Ordered a tube of "adheseal", that might assist in starting on the fixed part of the gearbox tunnel. Yes it'll be mainly bonded in, made from alloy. Good stuff for panelwork this adheseal sticks with such grab and its flexible, only downside it takes 24hrs to go off. I will make the rear part of the tunnel removable as per normal, but maybe 50% will be attached to the body.