The Start Of Something Big

May 15th 2013

I've alluded to the engine not having the guts to haul us all up hills before and the last trial  before the summer break really showed this. Ian is about 7 stone heavier than the previous owner's passenger and this really hits us when trying to trickle uphill. As soon as you apply any throttle, to avoid the inevitable stalling, the wheels break traction and you're scuppered. I've tried a bit more momentum from the bottom of the hill, but certain combinations of corner and slope drag the engine speed down.
Watching the 1300 and 1600cc cars you could hear them actually backing-off the throttle but maintaining progress on steeper or slimy bits  then squeezing the throttle once past those awkward bits.

I'd already sold the Imp engine before the trial, so it was it's last outing. That's why I didn't do the Monday event as it looked like it would have required a bit more blasting than I wanted to do, with someone else's engine.
Back home on the Monday it was engine out and ready for the buyer to collect on the Tuesday.

I'd already got a Suzuki 8 valve engine. It is remarkably similar in size and weight to the Imp one. It's from a Vitara so it's 1590cc. All that extra capacity is supplying torque. The peak power is less than the Imp, but available from lower down the rev range. The torque should be much more accessible.

Here is the hole waiting to be filled.

In fact as the new engine has a deeper sump (even after some planned modification) and as the old car kept whacking it's sump, I am going to raise the engine in the car slightly. This means taking out the bulkhead and altering the gearbox mounts.

As you can see this gives me an opportunity to alter a couple of other things, like the pedal mountings. I reckon moving them forwards an inch or so would give me a bit more space to operate in.

The new engine arrived on a pallet and I haven't seen it running so I am taking a lot on trust. I can always refurbish it once I've got it to fit the car. I cleaned it up and started sorting out the adaptor plate to mate it to my gearbox. I had considered using a Jimny gearbox to make the installation easier, but the gear ratios are not much cop and my existing box has an intermediate straight cut gear which will probably become my gear of choice. The extra work should be worth it.

And extra work there is. The starter has to be mounted on the adaptor plate as the flywheel has to be changed for a 10" Jimny one, to fit into my Talbot gearbox. The starter can't fit in the existing cut-out in the bellhousing as there is an important engine casting there, so I have to cut a new hole in the bellhousing.
The Suzuki spigot shaft bearings are too small for the Talbot input shaft. I may get away with using a phosphor bronze bush in the flywheel.

The initial lining-up shows how different the engine and bellhousing are. The weld on the lug on the bellhousing must be a repair. There is a new crack beneath the lug. This will need repairing.
The Imp engine was suspended on the gearbox without any engine mounts of it's own. I will make some engine mounts for the new installation to take some weight and shock loads off the adaptor plate.

With a proposed 6mm thick adaptor plate the spigot sits nicely into the crank end. The flywheel added on takes it almost up to the splines, so the clutch ( Imp plate) should slide nicely along.

In an attempt to get the two sets of bolts for the gearbox and the engine concentric I made a hole in a sheet of perspex, mounted it on the input shaft, and marked the gearbox mounting holes. Then I put the perspex on the motor with a simple aligning device in the crank, which I cobbled up, and marked the engine mounting holes.

Having got them in place I could cut out the centre of the plate to give clearance for the oil seal housing.

The circles with white around them are the gearbox bolt holes. I had been going to make the plate of alloy, but decided to use steel so that I can tap the plate for a couple of the gearbox mounting bolts. That way the adaptor plate can stay on the engine with the flywheel mounted and the gearbox will be removable.
If I make the plate so it remains on the gearbox when splitting it will need to have a hole big enough for the flwheel to fit into it, which I think would make it rather weaker.

Once the plate is made in steel I will fit a couple of dowels to locate it's alignement securely in place on the gearbox. Then I can move the plate about using the slogger of the engine bolts to get the (0.25mm) clearance of the spigot shaft in the spigot bush absolutely concentric. Nip up the bolts and drill some more adaptor plate /engine dowel holes to fix the position. That should provide me with repeatable, accurate, alingement.


The starter will go in a hole to be cut on the right in the picture. I'll have to make a spacer to hold it away from the adaptor plate in order to get the alignment with the ring gear correct. The starter solenoid will foul the clutch master cylinder reservoir, so I'll have to mount that remotely (the reservoir).

The gearbox mounts will need altering and some entirely new ones making for the engine.
It gets more complex as you progress.

Then just the carb, exhaust, cooling and alternator to go. Oh yes the ignition as well, but that should just plug into the existing pack (hopes).