I always knew bodywork clearance would be an issue when I decided to fit the BMW engine in my Haynes. Today I found out to what extent. The engine's about as low as it can go, with the oil pickup already 25mm below the bottom rails. There's not much to be gained from modifying the sump / pickup as the flywheel then becomes the lowest point. So it looks like I need to gain about 50mm from somewhere and I'm pretty sure I can't get anywhere near that by dropping the engine / box. The easiest / obvious solution is to raise the bodywork (nosecone / bonnet / scuttle) on 2 50x25mm alloy box sections fixed on top of the engine bay top rails. But is this going to look all wrong? Should I try and lower the engine 25mm (major pita!!) and raise the bodywork 25mm instead?

Thoughts please.

BTW the bodywork is a brand new Equinox kit and I'd prefer not to chop it up and make a dogs dinner of it

I have the same problem with the Jag engine, have managed to reduce the height needed to 20mm by "modifying" the inlet manifold.
Could you gain some space by fitting a Power Bulge?

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Originally posted by 40inches
I have the same problem with the Jag engine, have managed to reduce the height needed to 20mm by "modifying" the inlet manifold.
Could you gain some space by fitting a Power Bulge?

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Same problem when fitting the "tall" Volumex engine to the F27 chassis.
I made ali channel, albeit tapered towards the front, to fit under the scuttle, bonnet and then raised the nose-cone accordingly - aprox. 25mm was sufficient.
I rivetted and Tiger sealed it on then painted the whole lot so it doesn't show from the outside.
Attaching the bonnet was achieved by fabricating longer upright brackets for the 4 duez fasteners (1 each corner plus one centre middle nearest the scuttle) to latch into. The one in the middle is a last resort one - if you can see that's sprung you know to stop quick before the bonnet takes flight - at least that's my logic!
I suspect the only person who'll ever know/realise it all sits higher is me and given the rest of the build I'd all-but forgotten that mod until you asked.
HTH.
Cheers, Pewe10

I was going to ask what body kit you had because the equinox is about the most spacious. Shame it's still not enough!

The additional box sections probably will look a bit odd tbh.

I'd lower the engine more. You can always raise the suspension slightly if necessary.

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Originally posted by Ben_Copeland
I was going to ask what body kit you had because the equinox is about the most spacious. Shame it's still not enough!

The additional box sections probably will look a bit odd tbh.

I'd lower the engine more. You can always raise the suspension slightly if necessary.

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Stick the scuttle on and take a picture from the front so we can see how bad it is

I'm using an mx5 mk 2.5 with the large bulge bonnet from Gillham as was (now kitcar direct) and my sump is 40mm below the bottom rail and I still had to offset the engine for the plenum to clear the bonnet - bulge corner
The only way to see if raising the top rail line is acceptable would be to cut a couple of spacers and the mock up use offcuts of wood and tape in place, add bonnet nose scuttle if you can live with the look, try 25mm then the 50mm to decide which is more acceptable, then you may have to use ali sides to blend in the extra height (probably easy to sell on your fg side panels)
don't beat yourself up just accept this is one of a few compromises that we have to be deal with when we stray from the norm
good luck

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Originally posted by Ben_Copeland
Stick the scuttle on and take a picture from the front so we can see how bad it is

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If I go ahead with the 50mm raise then I'll colour code it and drill large holes along its length for ventilation.

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Originally posted by gremlin1234

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If I go ahead with the 50mm raise then I'll colour code it and drill large holes along its length for ventilation.

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or make it a feature, nice stripe down the side.

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Just thinking, the front chassis will end up exposed below the nose cone if I raise it this much which the IVA man won't be too happy about

What about angling the engine down slightly at the front? How far before it creates problems with the oil return / pickup and prop angle?

Hang the engine 2.5" below the chassis, do the sides as standard and rework the bonnet and cone to accommodate the big lump.

It may feel harsh chopping your new bonnet up but anything else IMHO will look worse, raise the COG or stuff ride heights up.

On MGC's they put in a bulge for the big 6 lump

I wouldn't use 25x25 box to lift the lines
Very heavy and not needed as it's not structural
Drop engine a bit raise bonnet a bit
Add bonnet bulge, the long MK type looks good
All these mods together will get a better result than just 1 option

. It might be worth getting the car on it's wheels with the ride height roughly sorted before worrying too much about how high the engine sits? Do a search on here for sump clearance, it's been covered several times ,

Thanks for all your input

Today I decided to drop the engine and see how things look. So I removed all the Land Rover engine mounts which gave me an approximate 40mm drop. The bodywork now fits, JUST!! The oil pickup is now 50mm below the chassis at its lowest point. I haven't tried the sump yet but I reckon it'll be too low so I'll either need to cut it down or make a completely new one in steel. The flywheel isn't the issue I thought it would be and the gearbox is currently the low point and is about 20-25mm below the chassis.
I reckon this is where the engine is going to sit now so I need to chop off the engine mounts and lose 40mm from them. I suppose this is what happens when you mount your engine before you have any bodywork.

2 inch / 2.5inches below the chassis shouldn't be a major issue

And dump the inlet manifold for some nice TB's will save a bit on one side and make it sing

nosecone slice

Would slicing the Nosecone and adding some fibre glass be an option? This is what we did to clear the V6 with it's plenum.(granted we made our scuttle to suit and we still need a little bonnet buldge)

Regards Dan.

It's a shame you already have the bodywork - GBS made me a bonnet and scuttle 25mm taller than standard for very little extra cost over their standard price. I'm sure they could do you a 50mm raised one.

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Originally posted by mark chandler
And dump the inlet manifold for some nice TB's will save a bit on one side and make it sing

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Originally posted by Nickp
Thanks for all your input

Today I decided to drop the engine and see how things look. So I removed all the Land Rover engine mounts which gave me an approximate 40mm drop. The bodywork now fits, JUST!! The oil pickup is now 50mm below the chassis at its lowest point. I haven't tried the sump yet but I reckon it'll be too low so I'll either need to cut it down or make a completely new one in steel. The flywheel isn't the issue I thought it would be and the gearbox is currently the low point and is about 20-25mm below the chassis.
I reckon this is where the engine is going to sit now so I need to chop off the engine mounts and lose 40mm from them. I suppose this is what happens when you mount your engine before you have any bodywork.

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Ta Badger. I've got plenty of sumps to go at (3 at the last count).
I'm going to get my engine mounts sorted based on the bodywork clearing the engine before I tackle the sump. I think I'll aim for 50mm below the chassis then work out how much oil capacity I'll lose if I just shorten the existing rear sump bowl and re-plate it. If the oil capacity is going to be too small doing it that way then I'll look to extend the bowl forward to increase it.

You need about 100mm ground clearance, so that might be a good place to start measuring.