Project Update: Engine Trial Fitting
Holy smokes. The engine actually fits in the engine bay. Barely. It took some maneuvering (twisting & turning), but it went into place and may fit in there without major changes.
I removed the three bars at the top of the engine bay (bars with white tape in picture below). Then the engine dropped in from the top. It was tight and not easy, but it went eventually.
I plan to remove the two bars marked with blue tape. Those bars are a little odd, anyway, since they were to accomodate the location of the Pinto carb. With them gone, I'll have more room, but, of course, I'll need to put something in their places.
It's too early to know for sure what changes I'll need, but it's good to reach a milestone in the project.
Roll Hoop Braces (to be determined)
Rob, I haven't made a final decision about that yet.
There are already two, small forward hoop braces on my RF94. Based on previous F1000 homologations, those are sufficient by themselves. In other words, I may not "have" to do anything.
However, if I can do something that will add safety and chassis rigidity without adding too much weight or problems, I'd like to do that.
My original plan was to retain all three of the top bars. I may still try, but the two lower bars interfere with the air box. Not much, though. The two lower bars had body fastener locations, so I left 4" "stubs" with those points retained.
My tentative plan now is to build the car with as much rigidity as I can without those three "high" bars, and then build something that can be bolted on and unbolted when needed. I pretty much have to have that open top space to get the engine in and out, unless I make other big changes. Currently, the very back part of the chassis is too narrow to fit the engine through. I might change that, but I'm trying to change as little as possible from original.
I waffle back and forth about keeping existing tubes and attachment points. There are a few advantages to keeping them, such as retaining unmodified bodywork. On the other hand, it's tempting to whack it all off at the main roll hoop and start from scratch and give me more room that I will appreciate down the road.
As you can tell, I haven't planned the whole project out beforehand. That would be smarter, I'm sure, but this "plan as I go" process works best for me. I am, of course, thinking and planning ahead, but I've put off a lot of things to think about later, with some confidence that I wont hit any show stoppers.
Larry Kropp Dry Sump Oil Pan
I got a new toy in the mail today. Larry Kropp sent a dry sump oil pan. It's one of the parts I've been anxious to get so I can determine engine position in the chassis.
Early Jack Shaft pictures
The jack shaft is in place (with tack welds and temporary tubes). After I get all of the major points finalized, I will be redoing a lot of the bars in the pics, adding triangulation, etc.