Engine and gearbox ready for assy into car.

I now had sufficient space in the garage to think about Engine and Gearbox, I had decided at this stage not to go for the V8 or 16V option, mainly due to cost, the car was already costing too much!
 
I thought about a new short block and a rebuild by myself, but cleanliness, dirt, and dust within a draughty domestic garage was a cause for concern. Luckily I had met Simon and Steve from S & S Preparations who recommended a full unleaded engine rebuild, which would be ported and polished, to Stage 2 Tune condition, with +0.040” Piston set and Kent road cam to provide extra performance at a reasonable cost, all I had to do was strip the engine of ancillaries and take to Manchester. 

Easy? I hired a van and picked the worst day of the year to travel from Norfolk to Manchester, blizzard all the way there, torrential rain all the way back. The engine was soon ready and back in my garage, complete with a really good second-hand 4 branch manifold and sports exhaust stripped from a wrecked TR7 I had seen in their workshop along with other goodies.

I then started to reassemble parts to the engine, I reconditioned what was repairable but again the word new keeps creeping in, to include water pump, oil pump, thermostat, spark plugs, distributor cap, spin on oil filter adapter, water pipe, Recon carburetors with BAL needles, K & N filters, the costs soon add up.

By now I am now trying to hide bills and get parcels sent to my neighbour as the "when are we getting new carpets" question keeps arising from the wife. Dare not tell her how much I am spending.

The gearbox was deemed to be OK, apart from new oil seals, so this was degreased, along with bell housing, new oil seals fitted, hypoid oil added. 5 speed gearboxes are known for their longevity. The input shaft bush was also renewed. The engine and gearbox where then mated together with new clutch assy, including thrust bearing which was worn, the clutch slave and master cylinder where checked and a piston repair kit bought and fitted for both. Be careful not to pull the slave cylinder pin back once the engine and gearbox are mated together, if this drops off the lever arm or the lever arm comes off the locating pin there is no option but to split engine and gearbox again and re-insert the lever on its pin. Once assembled the engine looked very good, all clean and shiny, hope I can keep it that way.

With the car back from paint and before the engine was dropped in I refitted the brake master cylinder and servo, clutch master cylinder, these where fitted with new piston repair kits, the pedal box was cleaned, painted, and refitted, a new brake balance unit obtained, and new copper brake pipes to engine bay and under car to rear axle fitted. I also took no chances and fitted a new copper fuel line to the tank, with new flexi connection at tank end.

Next the engine was hoisted into the car, this requires a very steep angle, I generally jack up the back as high as possible, let down the front tyres to allow engine more clearance as it passes the nose, and use a chain sling with a ratchet so the chain lengths can be adjusted by turning a ratchet, and the angle of the engine altered, this allows the engine to be tilted down and then up under the bulkhead. So much easier and safer than resting the gearbox end on a trolley jack

                         Chain Sling with Ratchet Drive

 New engine mounts where also fitted. 

With the engine now fitted it was on to the easy and enjoyable part, finishing off.
The wiper unit was cleaned, greased, and re-fitted and the limit switch cleaned, checked for wear, and adjusted, the wiper blanking plates under the scuttle where then de-rusted, painted, and screwed back in. New wiper blades where obtained and fitted.

Other details like washer bottle and header tank where cleaned and refitted, header tank was painted with black Hammerite.

The radiator was dragged out of the shed, this had been steam cleaned when removed from the car, checked for leaks, painted, and dry stored, so on with a new set of hoses and pipe clips and fill with coolant, hey presto coolant all over the floor, the radiator leaked like a sieve.

I thought I had made sure it was dry when stored so there’s another lesson to learn. A new uprated version was now bought along with a Kenlowe Fan, this was of the type where it is fixed through the radiator with plastic ties, this is best fitted off the car and very carefully, taking care not to puncture the capillary tubes, also ensure it is fitted to the correct side as this is a pusher fan fitted on the outside. Again I filled with coolant and all is now correct, hope it is ok when engine fires up.

Next to the oil, a modern spin on filter was fitted to the spin on filter conversion, this makes oil changes less messy, I poured small amounts of oil into cylinders and turned over by hand to lubricate cylinders, on reflection this was probably done by the engine builders, but best to be safe before firing up. The distributor was then fitted with the optical unit for Lumention Electronic ignition; this involves pulling the distributor apart to fit the unit but is quite easy to do. The Electronic unit was fitted to the engine bay just in front of the Brake Servo and above the coil, and wiring neatly connected. Static timing was then set up.

     Servo, Master Cylinder, Coil, Brake Balance Unit, Ignition Unit.

This was a really enjoyable stage of the rebuild, as progress could be easily seen.

Next the prop shaft was fitted, 4 branch manifold and exhaust attached, I had heard tales of owners having to use heat and great force to fit aftermarket manifolds, but there was no trouble, perhaps as this manifold was second hand from another car.

The bumpers where striped of plastic covers and shotblasted, I fabricated a new bottom lip on the rear bumpers which was badly rusted, and fabricated some of the plate fixings, the bumpers where primed, and painted with chassis paint, plastic covers where thoroughly cleaned, and treated with "Back to Black"

The rubber impact shock absorbers on the front bumper where splitting from their metal backings, on enquiring with TR7 suppliers these are no longer available new and ridiculous money was asked for second-hand items, I therefore fastened the 2 metal plates together with the rubber sandwiched between, They where fastened with countersunk bolts on the bumper mounting plates.These are a federal item for impacts up to 5mph carried over to the UK market and with my conversion should still absorb 5mph impacts. The whole bumper assys where then put back together looking like new.with gaps aligned, I had to fabricate a new hanger at the rear for the exhaust tailpipe, as the original seemed to hold the sports system too close to the rear bumper. At last the car is now taking shape and the thrill of open top motoring is getting nearer-

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