A Milestone

While waiting for the additional shims to arrive, I decided it was time to mate up the gearbox and engine and set them into the frame. Since Jay replaced all of the fasteners with stainless, that end of the frame was ready. So, the first step is to remove the engine from the engine stand and reinstall the flywheel and clutch. The flywheel was easy enough, however the clutch was a bit of a problem. It turns out, the Emme clutch disc has a different spline pattern than the input shaft of the Renault gearbox. Fortunately, the clutch disc from the original FrankEnSPRIT drivetrain matches the input shaft.

With the clutch and flywheel installed, the next step is to mate the gearbox up with the engine. This is a little tricky, as you need to work the bell housing around the exhaust manifold as you insert the input shaft into the clutch and spigot bearing. Once lined up, the bell housing is drawn up to the block with the bolts.

With the drive train bolted together, the whole shebang is picked up and rolled over to the frame. I removed the rear crossmember, as it makes it a lower lift to put the engine in place.

As you can see, it's a tight fit, even with the bodywork removed. The eagle-eyed readers will note that there is a plank holding up the gearbox. Tim has my gearbox mounts in order to make some drawings of them. The mounts are getting pretty rare, and as long as we have a loose set, it only makes sense to measure them up and make some drawings in case we need to have some made later on. Once the drawings are done, the mounts will be installed and the plank removed. I can also hook up the halfshafts when the gearbox mounts are installed.

Next up will be to install the hoses for the front of the engine compartment and make sure I have all the pipes and tubes to close the system. I also have to modify the shifter mount to make room for the new shifter. This will involve some cutting of sheet metal to make room. I will also be bolting up the major components of FrankEnSPRIT's original engine and puttint it on the engine stand. This will give me a little more storage space and help protect the engine mating surfaces, studs, and the liners. All of the internals, like pistons, crankshaft, rods, valves, and the like will not be installed at this time. I can also start working with the wiring harnesses I got from the Lotus garage sale.