ERA 629 Gets an Engine

CJ428CJ · #1 (**permalink**) 04-13-2003, 08:33 PM

Well, today I finally installed the engine. She went in without a hitch. The buddy that helped was amazed that we were able to get the engine and the transmission installed in only about 1-1/2 hours. Hopefully I'll be able to get it fired up next weekend. I posted a few photos in my gallery.

Chris

Rick Parker · #2 (**permalink**) 04-13-2003, 09:04 PM

You'll need to reduce the size of your recently posted photos, they are too large.

Rick

CJ428CJ · #3 (**permalink**) 04-13-2003, 09:20 PM

You're right. It's a new camera and I didn't realize that it was set for such large pictures. They've all been resized now.

Chaplin · #4 (**permalink**) 04-14-2003, 02:44 PM

Chris-
Looks like it's coming along well. Any problems putting the motor is? Did you have the bell housing on when you dropped it in? Also, I noticed you had the front dolly wheels on- was that necessary to be able to slide the hoist under the car?

If all goes according to plan, my motor should be going in an another month or so- car is at the painter right now.

I'm interested in any pearls of wisdom you can pass on.

Thanks,
Mike

CJ428CJ · #5 (**permalink**) 04-14-2003, 05:08 PM

Nope, no problems putting it in. I expected it to be a real pain but it slid right in with no problems. I took the bell housing the clutch and the pressure plate off before I installed it but left the flywheel on. It might have fit with the clutch and pressure plate on but I think that would have made it really really tight.

I left the front dolly wheels on because it gets the car up to a height that makes it easy to crawl underneath.

The only bit of advise I could offer comes when installing the bolts from the bottom of the frame up into the transmission mount. I'm using the Richmond 5 speed and it may not be applicable if you're using the toploader or Tremec but after I had the tranny bolted up to the engine, I tried to install the bolts in to the tranny mount and I found that the tranny was about 1/8 inch too far forward to line up with the holes in the frame. At first I tried tugging and prying on stuff to get it lined up but finally realized that it made a lot more sense to loosen the transmission to bellhousing bolts enough to allow the transmission to seperate from the bell housing by about 1/4 inch. After getting the trans mount bolts in, I just retightened the trans to bellhousing and it worked like a charm.

Now I'm in the process of installing heater hoses, radiator hoses, wiring to the distributor, etc. Installing all that stuff and keeping it neat and clean is much more of a challenge than installing the motor itself.

What color did you decide to paint yours? That's the toughest decision I think. No regrets on my color choice thank goodness.

Chris

Chaplin · #6 (**permalink**) 04-15-2003, 08:21 AM

Good to hear it went in without a hitch. I'm going to try and put it in with the bellhousing attached. Bob said it is possible "but very tight." I just bought one of the load levelers for my engine hoist which should hopefully make it a little easier. I think I may follow your lead with the dolly wheels as well.

I agree with you about making everything you neat and orderly, definetely more difficult than any of the real mechanical/constriuction work.

Paint color? Have I decided?

Actually, I've narrowed it down to two and am waiting for my painter to send me some samples so I can compare them. Hopefully soon I will have made up my mind b/c there's not much time before they will be ready to start spraying the color.

Keep us posted on your progress- looks great so far.

Mike

Tongue Pirate · #7 (**permalink**) 04-15-2003, 09:31 AM

CJ428CJ,

The cars looking good! Bet you can't wait to drive her around town!

Yes, the colors are hard to choose! For me it's a struggle between what I know looks good & having some thing a little different.

RallySnake · #8 (**permalink**) 04-15-2003, 11:16 AM

Chris,

Thanks for sharing the pictures. Nice job! I guess dropping the engine and trans in together is out of the question with such a large engine? Hope to see you at a meet soon.

Paul

Steve Dickey · #9 (**permalink**) 04-15-2003, 06:30 PM

Chaplin,
Just for the record I've put mine in several times with the bell housing on- no problem at all.
Steve

Chaplin · #10 (**permalink**) 04-15-2003, 09:07 PM

Steve-
Thanks, I was beginning to wonder how tight it was. Did you have to tilt the motor a lot with a load leveler or did you just do it with the hoist?

Thanks again, now I can rest easy.

Mike

Steve Dickey · #11 (**permalink**) 04-15-2003, 09:34 PM

Chaplin,
I tilt it, but it doesn't take much. You will not have any problems. Just have a friend over you can trust to watch all sides as you drop it in. Sometimes lining up the spline on the transmission can take a while, however this last Sunday it slid right in!!

Good luck, Steve