Hi all, I thought it was about time I signed up and introduced myself to you all. I've been building a Mac 1 Type ZR with my neighbour for around a year now. All is going well so far but this weekend the engine and gearbox is going in (I hope...). Any advice will be warmly received.
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Welcome to the mad house
Nice car, LOVE the colour

Welcome ( as said before) to the mad house.

Your build is looking good so far and we look forward to seeing it on the road and hopefully at some shows.


Enjoy.

Welcome to the madhouse Justin.... sure you'll enjoy the completed car. Looks like you're not that far off!!

There is plenty of help about building your kit and others on our website.... maybe see you around at a few Meets once you're up and about. Maybe even a few track days LOL!!!

What engine are you putting in a Bike Engine or just a piece of metal?

Steve

[Edited on 20-2-08 by Hellfire]

Cheers for the replies guys, I'm looking forward to driving the finished car and hopefully it will be done by summer. I will definitely be doing some track days in it, hence the Wilwoods all round and the R888's. Engine wise I have kept it simple for my first kit car build - a 2.0 pinto with a Kent cam. I'm also on the lookout for some carbs for it.

Hello Justin. NIIIIIICE!

Ullo Justin, and welcome

Hi Justin, hope you get all you need here..

You must have spent plenty on polish before you took that picture???

Hi and welcome.

You have a nice looking car there! MAC#1 are top blokes as you probably already know. Good luck with it and get it on the road for summer!!

Hi & welcome
The guy's on here (and girls maybe) are brilliant and are always ready with advice.
Good luck with the car.
Barry

Thanks again for the welcome guys, if I'd known you were all this nice I'd have joined up ages ago! I've added a link to a slideshow on photobucket if anyone's interested in seeing my build pics so far.
http://s9.photobucket.com/albums/a71/justinnewton/Kit%20Car/?albumview=slideshow
No polish used yet by the way, just a couple of lights in my garage making the car look all pretty and sparkly!

Welcome aboard Justin, the cars looking great . Keep up the good work

Rich

Hiya from Scotland. Nice car and love the avatar

Looking good. Welcome.

Ref fitting engine - nowt to it really. Get as much of the engine bay bits done before fitting (brake lines etc). Fuel lines down tunnel. A good block and tackle or engine crane will make job quite easy. Mine virtually just dropped in. Mounts etc were well lined up. Nice to fit new stiffer gearbox mount before engine goes in. Apart from that its one of the easier jobs.

Its worth using some old carpet etc on parts of chassis that may come into contact to prevent scrathing etc.


Sump is far easier to mod and fit when engine is out.

Take the gearstick off when fitting gearbox

quote:

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Originally posted by DarrenW
Sump is far easier to mod and fit when engine is out.

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the sump is normally cut back so its the same level as the lowest part of the gearbox bellhousing then a bit is added to regain oil capacity, its mainly for ground clearence though

im afraid so. Not too bad to do. Try a search on here, ive posted details before and Mark Allanson has an excellent guide on how to do it. If you want to throw cash at the solution talk to Mac#1 or try and get an RS2000 ali sump. You will need to oil pick up for this as well, and while you are on might as well fit the ali bell housing off same car (Mk2 Escort RS).



Basically on the sump there is a bit that sticks down with drain plug in - it is most of this that you remove. Re-fit drain plug and either add a 'big wing' (a side bit) or extend it forward to get some capacity back. No need to shorten it so its above the bell housing though.

I used 3mm plate on the bottom of mine and angled it up at the front to acts as a skid (ish).

Catching the sump is a very real possibility on all of these cars - especially with a heavy pinto up front. Its a sobering experience so do it well.

Hardest bit is getting the buggers to seal up. Oh and if you just hack the bottom off the mating face will twist so screw it down to a solid flat block first (40mm worktop worked for me).

Here is the best link i can find.
http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=26567

6 posts down and there is a link to Marks pdf. Excellent guide. You will note his vee cuts and holes are smaller than mine - id say Marks are a better size. Think how hot oil flows.






Here is another to wet your appetite.

http://nw.rhocar.org/sump.htm

Now is good time to think about baffles as well. AndyD has recently done his - try a U2U to get some info.


Some pics of mine here on pge 3. Ignore the other crap about catch tanks - my breathing issues were down to wrong dipstick being fitted in block and resultant chronic overfilling of oil.
You may like to fit catch tank and better breather while you are on (unless you are running standard carbs for now).
http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=74956&page=3

[Edited on 22/2/08 by DarrenW]

[Edited on 22/2/08 by DarrenW]

Cheers for the sump info guys, I decided to fit the engine anyway as I'd already organised a crane and some mates for today. The engine went in fine although the gearbox bellhousing was really tight and with all three mounts where they needed to be the clutch release arm was digging into the chassis underneath the brake bias valve. I ended up drilling a new hole in the gearbox mount to reposition the gearbox further over to the left (after getting no joy from Mac 1). I also fitted the gearbox mount over the chassis as opposed to under it, don't know if that's right or not either. I now have the problem of what to do with the gear selector as it is currently touching the dashboard in 1st, 3rd and 5th gear. Oh, and reverse.

[Edited on 24/2/08 by justinnewton]

Doing sump with engine in is very doable - just a bit more fiddly getting it to seal etc. Bit of a pain modding the oil pick up to correct length.

I didnt need to reposition gearbox mount. Mine is ontop of chassis too.
Im puzzled why gearstick is fouling the dash. The good bit about ZR's is that they sit far enough back so this doesnt happen. On mine the gearstick is in a fantastic position.
Drivers side footwell is angled. Back of bellhousing where starter sits there is a cast in lump. Is this under the footwell (ie within the angled back area). If not then engine isnt back far enough.

Do you have any pics to see how the engine is sitting in the engine bay?
I dropped mine in by myself (with hoist) and only took an hour max. Sounds like you have had some chew and im trying to find out why. something doesnt sound right.

What gearbox is it? Type 9 bellhousing shouldnt be tight in the chassis. Are you fitting MT75? From memory your reverse position is different to mine ( i get confused hough as i drive too many different cars)
I think there are 2 different type 9 bellhousings too. I seem to remember clutch release fork or the starter is on opposite side with one of them. On mine starter is on passenger side, clutch release fork on drivers side
Give us some more info Justin and we will soon have it sussed.

I'm certain the engine is in the right place because it can't go anywhere else basically! The mounts lined up fine and it dropped in. The only problem was with the allignment of the gearbox which was half an inch too far to the right. I driled another hole through the mount so that the bolt now runs up left of centre. I have replaced the gear stick with a Quafe short shift which is straight, I can't remember if the old one was bent back or not? If it was then that's why the gearstick hits the dash. I can get around it by pinning the dash forward towards the front of the car but it does mean putting unnecessary strain on the dash.
Below is a link to my photobucket page but I don't think there are any pictures that show the issue with the gearbox or gearstick.
http://s9.photobucket.com/albums/a71/justinnewton/Kit%20Car/

Engine position looks Ok from those pics. Cant see how the starter bulge on back of bellhousing fits under passenger footwell but seems Ok from those angles.

Gearbox and bellhousing looks same as mine.

I dare bet its a bent gearstick. The position of mine is fantastic, ive fitted a short shift kit but no need for remote extension. Try and get a pic of the stick and how it fouls the dash.

My father managed to get away without a remote extension on his MK locost (one of their early products) by simply bending the gearstick. Have a think if this will solve your problem.



Is your sump sitting on the road? or can you get a fag paper between?


Car looks nice by the way.

I'm back in the garage on Thursday so I'll take a pic then, I haven't fitted the dash permanently yet so I reckon I can pin it back out of the way of the gearstick. I also have the later 2007 type dash which is more shapely than earlier dashboards - this may be another factor.
The sump clears the ground, by a fingers width! Watch out snails...
Thanks for the compliments on the car, I've taken my time trying to build a quality car and I hope I've spent money in the right areas to improve the end product.

Well I had a good chat with Mark at Mac 1 today and he will be modding my sump and pickup for me. He also confirmed that I need a bent gearstick and advised against a remote extension. I may well take the same route as your father Darren and try to bend my shortshift. Otherwise, I've started playing with the seats too and they should be finished next weekend. I also need to contact Bogg brothers about some bike carbs this week...

Sounds like you are making good progress.

I have boggs manifold and bike carbs too. You wont regret this mod. Not sure if its wise to do before SVA though, in theory should be ok but might be worth discussing with someone who has passed the test with bike carbs fitted.