Lots to update now that I am able to work on the car again!

The first order of business was to drop the engine in. This took a little preparation because my dad had given me an electric hoist rated to 880lbs earlier this year. Yes, an engine hoist would have been simpler, but with the electric hoist I can use it for a number of things in the garage. My biggest fear was the weight pull on the joists that were under my upstairs bedroom. This isn’t a construction thread so I’ll spare you the details – let’s just say I did a lot of research and braced the heck out of it (as you can see in the pictures) and then used a dead-man brace underneath for added support. My buddy provided some dollies so we just rolled the chassis over to the correct spot. The final result = no problems and peace of mind! The engine is in.hoist.jpgengine.jpg

I’m choosing to install the transmission separately later. I know it would be easier to put it in with the engine, but it should not be difficult to jack it up under the car later.

With the engine in I went to hooking up the rest of the wiring. The Engine Factory engine is so simple to work with because everything comes tagged and labelled as to where to hook it up. The only part that bothers me is leaving wires unattached in the harness (EFI wires – blue crank, orange fuel pickup in rear) because I am running a carb with a mechanical fuel pump. I also chose to run the parallel painless fan switch like Jeff Kleiner describes so the green fan thermo switch is left unattached as well. I had to run two new wires back to the fan switch in the dash and connect one into the orange fan wire and one into the brown switch feed wire. I tapped off of the orange wire to the amber indicator light as well. Thanks Jeff! The rest was plug and play for the choke, tach, and sensors. The water temp sensor is located on the thermostat housing and the paniless switch immediately behind it in the manifold. The oil pressure switch was already located and I just had to hook it up.temp.JPG

I also read quite a bit about mini starters and solenoids and decided to use both. My engine has the mini starter and the builder recommended no solenoid. However, the manufacturer included a diagram to wire off of the solenoid. In the end it was easier to use the solenoid because the RF harness is already wired for it and redundancy just adds extra protection here. The only modification I had to make was to take off the plug for the alternator because I have a 1-wire alternator and extend the wire about 18 inches. The unused brown alternator plug is just a 12v power lead so I can use that for my cigarette lighter plug for charging electronics. From there I wired the solenoid according to the directions which had me run 2 wires to the mini starter solenoid. One was for power and the other from the switch to activate it. solenoid.JPG

I also finished up the battery cut off switch. I chose to locate mine on the DS in the back of the trunk by the quick jack bolt. It is a good spot that is close to the FFMetal battery box. All of the battery wire and the wire to the alternator are 4 gauge. It was pretty hard to crimp it with my standard wire strippers so in order to get good connections I used either my bench vise or a big set of C-clamps to crimp it down. That seemed to work. Now all of my wiring is hooked up.cutoff.jpg

Next up, the radiator. The radiator seemed to be one of the easier things to install. The fan went on rather easily, although looking at it now I am seriously considering a fan shroud. After bolting the radiator on and zip tying the bottom I ran the corrugated steel hose. I may be in the minority, but I like the look of the steel hose. I did have to run a short length off of the thermostat to get the T-filler level as the thermostat points upward. My complete kit came with a black plastic T-filler that I am not fond of. I do plan to replace this with a stainless model later. The lower radiator hose looks awkward in the run because you have to go around the front of the frame and then under the x brace. I immediately ordered the brace clamp from Breeze. I have the round tubes but I’m pretty sure I can still make it work as I have to have a clamp there to support the hose. I located the overflow tank on the PS F panel below the T-filler.overflow.jpgengine in.jpg

My last steps for this week were to run the fuel line and tackle some unfinished business with the brakes. I’m glad I waited on the fuel line because it turns out my pump is on the DS front of the engine. I need to run it under the DS instead of the PS for the most efficient run. I did this by coming across under the trunk with a combination of the rubber hose and the hard line, then down the rear DS wheel well and along the outside of the round tube. The hard line terminated just forward of the DS footbox with about a 12 inch run of rubber hose to the pump. fuel line.JPG

The brake line was more trouble. Heeding the advice of many of you I am not running it under the frame, but going down the same line as the fuel line. So after disconnecting the rear line (and making as little mess as possible) I began bending and installing the new line. It was actually easier this time because I could come straight up into the DS footbox, straight down the frame, straight up the DS rear wheel well and into the T junction. (Why didn’t I do it this way the first time?)brake line.jpglines.jpg

That brings me to odds and ends until I put the transmission in. I’m thinking of attaching the matching plug end to the AFCO fan. Anybody know the part # for the female end of the plug? Also looking at horn attachment options and the x brace seems most popular. I still have to tidy up some of the wiring. Finally I need to finish the cockpit. I have the PS covered in Dynamat Xtreme and need to do the DS. It is now ready as I have finished installing the FFR adjustable seat mount to the classic seat. That necessitated me drilling into the large round frame tube, threading the hole, drilling out the FFR bolt and replacing it to get a proper attachment. I’m happy with the final result but it was a PIA to do it.

Oh, you’ll notice the side pipes are on. I couldn’t resist!

One final note – my dad came up for Thanksgiving and helped me a little. The best moment was when I had him sit in the DS for a picture. He used to race short track stock cars in South Florida. This was a real treat for him.

(More pictures in next reply)