Gollum Posted November 7, 2023 Author Share Posted November 7, 2023 This is about as level as I can hope for, measuring several points around the car, I think the car is about 0.5 degrees tail up, so I'm probably within half a degree difference between the engine angle and the chassis. Positioning isn't perfectly square, and I'd like this to go back another 1/2", but it's close: Will definitely clear the hood at this height. Next time I'm out in the garage (hopefully tonight) I'm going to swap the sump support with another scissor jack so I can get a bit more precise on the height. Might weld some extra supports on a jack to give it a larger footprint and be less tippy (will still shim with wood for softness but would like it to not want to lean more than a few degrees. In this position, The shifter would just barely make it into the OEM opening, but definitely sticking up a bit proud. Overall this is definitely close to where it needs to be, but I would prefer being up another half inch or so, and another half inch back, but I think I might already be making contact in the tunnel somewhere. Going to investigate that, along with looking at what exhaust manifold clearance looks like in this spot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gollum Posted November 14, 2023 Author Share Posted November 14, 2023 Didn't snap pictures, but got the engine back in again after some firewall massaging and it's definitely sitting a bit better. I still feels like I'm hitting somewhere and it's not quite sitting where I want, but it's close. Also opened up the shifter opening width a touch which will definitely be required to fit the MGW shifter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gollum Posted November 30, 2023 Author Share Posted November 30, 2023 More fiddling, I think I'm going to actually end up with the engine tail down around 3 degrees. Everything just ends up fitting better. I can't get the engine as slammed back, but I can run it higher up (solving not just pan, but also exhaust clearance issues). It had been a while since I'd refreshed my memory, but my pinion is sitting at 4.6 degrees nose up already. I planned on making an RT style mount, but seeing that again highlighted just how important that will be in order to keep angles in check. I'm sure engine down 3, diff up 4.6 wouldn't be a huge deal on cruise, but we all know how much the nose of the diff wants to rise under accel, and that's a level that's getting to be concerning. So I'll add that to the endless todo list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gollum Posted December 13, 2023 Author Share Posted December 13, 2023 The good news about running a bit more engine angle and getting the engine up higher and all the way back, is that I can move the engine mount attachment points on the chassis side down and away from the top side of the frame rail box. So I cut off the tack welds and I'm making new sections to attach down on the side of the frame rail box and the TC rod attachment point. Once the mounts or made and I'm ready to weld these fully I'll box them in in a few areas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gollum Posted December 14, 2023 Author Share Posted December 14, 2023 Before the last time I pulled the engine I was getting an idea for how aligned I was and square to the pinion centerline and chassis. Its "easy" to get your transmission aiming at the diff center, but that doesn't mean the diff would be pointing at a centerline that intersects the crank snout. So I measured the transmission output and the engine front as square to the rockers as a ball park idea to make sure I wasn't too far away from where I wanted to be. My results: Probably not perfect measurement methods, but I was surprised how close it all seemed to be without much fuss. Will measure it all again as I get ready to tack mounts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gollum Posted December 18, 2023 Author Share Posted December 18, 2023 (edited) I took the time and got the reverse alignment info here for posterity. An engine should sit about 1" towards the passenger measuring at the steering rack. If your engine sits further forward you might want the crank snout a bit proud of a inch left (looking towards the rear) and if your engine is super short maybe a hair shy of an inch. The larger point though is that if you perfectly center the engine in the engine bay, and point your transmission at the pinion exactly in line with the centerline of the pinion, you'll actually be introducing non-parallelism between the engine and transmission centerlines. If you add that on top of any unmatched angle between your engine tilt back/down and the pinion tilt up. The diff sits about 5 degrees nose up to begin with, so if you mount your engine level, it's not just the 5 degrees of difference you've added (which is a lot) but also likely some horizontal angle difference as well. Did several tests and measurements to ensure this was square: And then measured both directions from the steering rack bushings (could also easily see the offset from above) Edited December 18, 2023 by Gollum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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