Removing the Engine - Part 1

I never thought that removing the engine was going to be simple, but I didn't think that it would involve as much as it does. So no, the engine isn't out yet, but I'm on my way...

Firstly, unbolt the clamp between the exhaust manifold and the exhaust downpipe...

remove the carburettor from the inlet manifold...

Remove the heater hose from the engine...

Unbolt and remove the engine steady between the engine and the bulkhead...

Remove the ignition coil, dynamo, and starter motor...

Inside the car, remove the gearbox cover. This is possibly not needed to remove the engine, but it'll make it easier and I'm going to remove the gearbox anyway. I wanted to remove all of the brass screws that hold it in place without drilling them out - this will make it easier when it comes to putting the cover back on.

Remove the bolts that hold the gearbox bell-housing to the engine...

Loosen the bolts on the bottom of the engine-mount towers. To avoid losing them, I wont remove the bolts until the engine actually comes out of the engine bay.

I gave the engine a bit of rocking, but its clear its still pretty stuck to the gearbox. I think the plan next is to undo the clamp holding the gearbox to the gearbox crossmember under the gearbox cover. Then jack up the gearbox a little to take its weight while the engine is hoisted with a block and tackle out of the engine bay.

Best laid plans and all that though...

Pig Ears Gone

In the interest of originality, I wanted rid of the after-market indicators that came with the car. It should have semiphore indicators but at some point in the past someone has disabled them and replaced them with these...

They were attached to the roof on some vans (I think because the van back made it hard to see the semiphores from behind - or something like that) and were also used on the BMW Isetta.

Anyway, I stuck them on Ebay and they went for £17.50 to a nice chap in Australia. Result!

Grill off

This took me longer than it should have. Mainly because I was so particular about saving the original nuts and bolts, that I took each of them off carefully with plenty of WD40, and cleaned each with a wire-brush afterwards. Still, I eventually got it off - even though I had to writhe the grill off the last bolt.

Next job will be to take the engine out - at least that's the idea anyway...

Removing the Radiator

After a long long long break from doing anything, I've finally managed to start back on the car. I've decided to start removing the engine, doing a little bit whenever I get the chance.

The radiator was pretty easy to take out. First, drain the water (there's a tap at the bottom of the radiator - it was seized, but I think it's brilliant anyway), and then remove the bottom hoses...

...and remove the top hose...

...then undo the two retaining bolts on each side...

 

..then slide it out!

With the radiator now empty, there's the chance it might rust from the inside out. So to stop it rotting, I covered the pipe ends with the fingers from a marigold, then re-filled it with water and anti-freeze.

 

I was well-chuffed with myself for coming up with this idea. Unless I discover that the anti-freeze eats through the glove, the radiator rots anyway, and I've cut up a perfectly good pair of Marigolds for no reason.