engine and drivetrain Eric Kerman stroker install and puppet show Sat 7/31

[williamggruff]

For those of you who were following the "Serious questions for engine builders" thread a few months ago, I've posted an update on my progress.

http://www.bmw2002faq.com/component/option,com_forum/Itemid,57/page,viewtopic/t,342061/highlight,serious+motor+builders/

In related news, to celebrate the dog days of summer, The Ivy Street Red Car Gang will be performing a command performance of their tragicomedy, "Motor Installations and You, Electric Bugaloo" this Saturday in Arlington, Virginia. The show starts at 9:00 AM and will likely go in fits and starts all day, and there's more than enough fun for everyone to get involved.

Lunch, snacks and a variety of beverages will be served. All are welcome.

The play will be performed in four acts:

Act I: Jacked Up

The players are introduced to one another, fingers and toes are counted and scars noted for insurance purposes, and the body of the car is jacked up to a perilous angle using a collection of ill-conceived tools and methods.

Act 2: Rockin the Block

The players wrestle the subframe, motor and trans under the precariously supported shell, lower the body, and attempt to fasten the subframe to the frame, the trans to the trans mount, and the driveshaft to the differential. What could possibly go wrong? Wait and see!!

Intermission and Lunch Break

Act 3: Snake Wrestling

The players battle for position around the engine bay in an attempt to connect all the electro cardio schnooks, gamboozles and trablinkas. This act will feature a solo performance by Washington, DC's very own Jay Swift, whose recent performance in "Clay's 76 to 67 Engine Swap and Restoration Bonanza" received universal applause.

Act 4: Clean Sweep

The players loot the beer cooler and scramble to flee the scene with as many stolen parts as they can fit in their pockets, leaving the garage and driveway in complete disarray.

The Ivy Street Red Car Gang is currently accepting applications for the following positions on the crew:

Senior Project Manager

Junior Project Manager

Assistant to the Deputy Under Secretary of Project Management

Welder

Fire Marshall

Photographer

Medic

Stenographer

Horse Whisperer

Accountant

Beer Taster

Safety Neglecter

Soothsayer

For directions to this not-to-be-missed event, please email me via the link above, or call me at seven-oh-three, fore-4-seven, ate-six-seventeen.

I look forward to seeing your tormented looks of utter dismay this Saturday.

Grice

[M3M3]

great post!

i mentioned to clay that i may try to stop by. have to do belts/water pump/fan clutch/front control arm bushings on wife's e46 in morning.

[justinevert]

Hillarity should ensue, I did the very same thing earlier this year, hopefully I can pass on some bit tids of info from my experience.

I took my 4 jackstands and got 2 pieces of 4x4 the width of the car and laid them on top of the stands and then set the car down, the posts are soft enough for the body metal to bit into and not damage the car. This way you have some lateral stability and the car won't wiggle around when man handling it.

The back end is easier to stall than the front, just find the diff-hanger end and the trailing arm sub frame bolt ends and line them up and then bolt in.

I used a furniture dolly to place the sub assemblies on, that way they are easier to roll into position without the risk of scraping/damaging the assembly. The dollies are high enough that one can slide a hydraulic lift on each side and lift (at the same time) each side into position. as well as not letting the oil pan touch the ground.

As for the front it will be a bit tricky, if you are planning to have the gearbox allready mated to the engine as well, you will need two separate prieces of 4x4 so that the tunnel area is free and clear., if not then keep the exisitng 4x4 in place.

Once the back assembly is secured, using the Bill Williams technique of raising the front end just enough to roll the front assembly into position and then lowering the car down to a level positon where the engine/sub assemby are in place but just not raised and secured. Once that is done take your hydraulics and raise the assembly into position. Again if the gear box is attach to the engine, have a 3 lift handy to support the back end of it. Locate your guide pins and have your bolts ready, (use lock tight red on 10.9s).

As for the drive shaft, alignment is critical, get the first half of the guibo installed to the gear box. start with the back end first to bolt in, then front (new bolting I hope - lock tight blue), all that needs to be done is the middle (hanger) bearing. Since the back end is locked in and the engine is resting on engine mounts on locked in front assemblies (remember the guide pins?) keep the mounts loose for general alignment flexibility for there to have an equal measurement in the position of the engine to the trans-tunnel. I used a piece of square steel tubing with angle braces glued on as my alignment (if you have a level use that to check the square tube for trueness first. Use the alignment bar to measure both axis while dialing in the hanger bearing position as well as trans positon. Take your time in this aspect and use one of your puppet masters on the top side to help message the front assembly to the ideal position. Once dialed in, bolt in the engine mounts but before you tighten the hanger bearing, one has to push the bottom of it 2mm forward to the engine before final tightening. Why? I know but CD Diesel always post that pic when it comes to this kind of stuff.

After all that is done and all the necessary connections are done underneath (gas & brake lines etc.) lower it down and continue with the wire connections, or if you are feeling really ambitious, you can start tackiling the exhaust system since the car is already jacked up.

I know you can rent dollies at the Home Depot and hydraulic lifts from part store like AutoZone or O'Rielly's. Hopefully the puppet masters you have Shanghai-ed will provide them.

Hoep that helps, keep us posted.

Justin

'75 Lola (cause what Lola wants, Lola gets)

[williamggruff]

Justin,

Many thanks for your guidance!

We played the engine swap game in May, swapping Clay's '76 2.0L into his '67 1600. It didn't go quite as smoothly as we might have hoped, but we learned a lot and we managed to get Clay's motor and 5-speed trans in place with less than 3 EPA sanctions. Several kittens were mistreated, and the local constabulary was called out on more than one occasion to break up our impromptu wrench-throwing contests, but it was a fun-filled adventure for all.

Here's a link to an annotated version of the carefully orchestrated removal of the motor from Clay's '76. It should give you some idea of how smoothly the motor installation was performed on Clay's '67.

http://picasaweb.google.com/grice.mulligan/RemovingFrontSubframeFromClayS76?feat=directlink

This time around, we'll be paying more attention to the guidance in your post, the tome of info we've gleaned from posts by the Right Honorable Senator Williams, His Majesty Emperor Demarest, and numerous other FAQers who've suffered and sacrificed for our sins. We'll also draw on our combined experiences with motor swapping, child rearing, goat herding and tree surgery. If all else fails, I'll ask Clay to don my lederhosen and lead us in prayer from a well-worn copy of Atlas Shrugged.

We're equipped with:

3 jacks (and several jackasses)

6 jack stands

2 lengthy 4X4's

half dozen bricks

a cinder block

a makeshift dolly with 6-inch wheels

at least one impact wrench

3 or 4 sets of metric wrenches and sockets

several cases of beer, water and soda

6 metric tons of determination, zeal and bravado

I expect we'll be breaking out the BFH to massage the trans tunnel, and I've cornered the local market on Loctite Red and Blue. Blunt hooked me up with a new guibo, center support bearing, guibo-to-trans and driveshaft-to-diff hardware, along with several boxes of trans seals, shift linkage parts, and other assembly essentials. I note that he either failed to include the crack cocaine, or he disguised it so cleverly that I haven't identified it yet. Perhaps I should try smoking the shipping materials...

Grice

[eurotrash]

I would claim dibs on the photographer spot were I near enough.. :|

[justinevert]

Well, it seems that you have things well in hand, I wish I could participate with the festivities but I am stuck in the oven known as Texas (tomorrow's forecast: 103) I am suppose to get my car back from the wiring Jesus and will try to channel my acquired wisdom for some cold beer. If available I can of use as

Fire Marshall

Horse Whisperer

Beer Taster

Safety Neglecter

Soothsayer

if not been already taken for.

Good Luck and remember the A-Team mantra: "I love it when a plan comes together!"

[justinevert]

BTW, the cinder block is a nice touch!!

[mcaden]

Grice,

Sorry I can't make it tomorrow as I would have been an excellent court jester. I am excited about your car and look forward to seeing it on the road -- will you be at Chapterfest in Sept? If so, I will look forward to seeing you there.

All the best.

-Marc

[williamggruff]

Marc,

I certainly hope to have the car ready for Chapterfest. I'm going on vacation for a few weeks between the motor installation and Chapterfest, so the schedule will be tight.

I hope you have a productive, safe day!

Grice

[kris]

Here's a link to an annotated version of the carefully orchestrated removal of the motor from Clay's '76. It should give you some idea of how smoothly the motor installation was performed on Clay's '67.

http://picasaweb.google.com/grice.mulligan/RemovingFrontSubframeFromClayS76?feat=directlink

Pictorial is awesome. I needed a laugh and your ballsy placement of the cement block did it. Keep up the (good) work.

[jgerock]

Grice -

Looks like we might have a new writer (scribe) for the NCC newsletter der Bayerishe.

Sorry I will not be able to assist this time - busy with home projects this weekend.

Will you be wearing the steel-toed flipflops?

[BillWilliams]

The Right Honorable Senator Williams will be advising Senator Charlie Rangel today and not be available to observe the bafoonery and the throwing of the wrenches.

[williamggruff]

Jim,

Given the nature of the activities that take place under my supervision, I strongly urge the staff of Der Bayerische to retain a team of seasoned personal injury attorneys to review any and all editorials that I might submit.

I'll be sporting the havaianas today. These all purpose sandals serve two key functions during auto repair projects: they make it easier to identify which toe(s) have been smashed. and; they aid in counting past 6.

Grice

[williamggruff]

Puppet Show update

As usual, things went off without a hitch. Unfortunately, our plan was predicated on the existence of a hitch, as we intended to employ a jackass in our efforts to pull the motor into place. So our plans were screwed from the beginning, and my incompetence with all things mechanical would only serve to exacerbate the situation as the day got longer.

It was a long day.

Actually, things started off really well. Clay arrived shortly after 9 AM, and we chatted about politics for an hour while Clay made himself a breakfast of scrambled eggs with tortilla wraps and a generous helping of his good friends' spicy homemade habañero salsa. Rising to this culinary challenge, I successfully brewed a pot of German coffee. "Wait, did I just read 'German coffee'?" you ask. Yes. German coffee. And as noted above, I brewed it myself.

Little else of substance occurred for the next few hours. Well, we did drive around in Clay's car a bit to get a blade for my circular saw. And I cut up one of the 4X4's to make some 8X8 blocks to rest on the jackstands. And we moved the motor around the yard on the makeshift roller.

Then Marc Spicer showed up and things got exciting. Marc and Clay poked at some stuff and did some fancy things with wrenches and other shiny tools while I drooled on myself and tried not to fall asleep or drop anything that looked expensive. Then Dudley arrived and we got down to business. (Please note that I'm taking significant artistic license when I use the word "we" rather than "they".)

It took an hour or so of cursing and hand wringing to get the motor in place under the shell. It was then that I suggested that it might have been a good idea to attach the exhaust manifold to the motor before pushing the motor under the shell, at which point some strong, handsome men pulled the motor out from under the shell and got the manifold squared away. Dudley and Marc put some muscle into it and the motor was ready to go back under the shell again.

Then Clay noticed that the top nuts to the K-MAC adjustable strut bearings weren't the right thread for the Bilstein Sport strut inserts, so he removed the K-MACs and replaced them with a new set of standard strut mount bearings that I had ignorantly purchased at some point over the past year. This was my other shining moment of the day.

That was pretty much it for the morning, and since we were exhausted and hungry from a grueling and artistically draining Act 1, we went to a local BBQ place for lunch.

We got back to work around 3 PM, at which point we really started on our method acting. We grunted and groaned like chained beasts. We cursed like love-jilted pirates. We spat in the face of destiny and carved our initials on the face of the sky with tip of an eagle's wing. [Note to Blunt: I finally got around to smoking the bubble wrap from that last package you sent. Man, that's some good shi7!]

By shortly after 4 PM the motor was in place, with the strut mount bearings bolted to the fender tops and the subframe bolted to the frame. We didn't quite get the trans bolted in place, as I still have a bit more massaging to do on the trans tunnel. And by "a bit more", I mean some, and by "some", I mean I didn't do it at all before we put the transmission in place. Clay struggled valiantly with the trans mount for about an hour before concluding there's something amiss with the funky square nut with which the trans mount bolt must mate. Given that the funky nut has been trapped in a little cage in the trans tunnel for the past 33 1/2 years, I can understand why it would be finicky about mating with a rusty old bolt. I'll hose the pair down with PB Blaster tomorrow and give them a good pep talk to see if I can move their relationship along a little. It'll be like encouraging pandas to get frisky while a crowd of popcorn eating mouth breathers stares vacantly from behind a plexiglass window stained with hand and face grease. Except that I'm not a zoologist, I probably couldn't cook popcorn without burning the house down, and I find that when I breathe through my mouth I tend to choke on my tongue. But I think you get the picture.

That's pretty much the story for the day. The motor's in, and it looks pretty. I'll post some photos if and when I acquire them from Marc, or I'll draw some pictures of my own using the crayon set my wife lets me use.

I plan to spend the next two weeks shouting at the unconnected schnoodles and wuzzles, pleading with them to connect and work their fancy magic.

Grice

[jgerock]

Wow - I really missed out on some (more) fun in Arlington (and BBQ for lunch!).

I laughed out loud while reading your update.