Upper and lower intermediate plates

[mcole01]

I'm about to mate the engine and bell housing on my Elan +2 chassis. I see that the upper plate is located by two pegs on the back face of the engine, but I'm not clear about the installation and location of the lower intermediate plate. It seems to me that it fits behind the flywheel and is locked to the upper plate by a slot on either side of the upper plate. Can someone tell me the order of assembly of these plates when I mate the engine and bell housing?

Thanks,

Mike

[StressCraxx]

Upper plate first when you offer up the transmission to the engine. Then install the lower dust cover plate after everything is boted together.

[smo17003]

You say "mate the engine to the bellhousing". I hope you mean mate the engine to the bellhousing/gearbox assembly. You can't fit the (4 speed) 'box to the bellhousing if it's already mounted to the engine. Just saying as you didn't mention the gearbox.
Anyway, the top plate locates on the two pegs, then mate the engine to the bellhousing/gearbox. The lower plate then does indeed slot into the bottom edge of the top plate. You should then see that the lower plate has two small holes that correspond to two threaded holes at the bottom of the bellhousing. Secure the plate with a couple of setscrews. It can be left as one of the final jobs when you're under the car as one of the screws also (sometimes) secures the clutch hose. Back in the day they were actually missing on many Cortina's and Escort's, and no doubt Elan's, as they were often never refitted.

Cheers

Mike