Engine in first or last?

[martinbrowning]

Hi there,

I have just had my S130 returned following a full body respray. It went and has come back as a rolling chassis/body. The engine bay is empty and pristine so don't want to damage/mark it. Given that it is empty, is it easier to refit engine and gearbox ahead of all ancillaries/pipes etc or should I refit all pipes,looms etc before replacing the engine?Does it matter?
Any thoughts please

Regards

Martin B

[gerrym]

Martin, good question.

If you just have a rolling chassis/body with a clear engine bay, there are a list of things you want to do before reuniting the engine/gearbox assembly back with the body/chassis.

To kick off the list, I suggest the following. (I'm sure others can add to the list)

1/ Fit the bonnet and working inside the engine compartment, align the bonnet clamps so that they close and release smoothly. I looked at a few Plus 2s before buying mine and this inevitably was something that had never properly been sorted after a repaint. (You will need to put the chassis on very high jack stands and remove the bottom chassis brace and anti-roll bar to give easy access into the engine bay)
You may want an assistant to pull the bonnet release.

2/ Fit the pedal box and brake booster and run the brake pipes.

3/ Run the main battery cable through to the solenoid.

4/ Vacuum test the front chassis member (should be no reduction in vacuum say over a 12 hour period or longer preferable.)

5/ Check out the heater/plenum box for free drainage of water (and any crap from the painter)

6/ Generally check all the through holes in the fibreglass as still there and in the correct place. If you drill holes with the engine in place you get fibreglass dust all over the engine.

Regards
Gerry

[mikealdren]

Gerry,
is it a good idea to fit the bonnet with the body off the chassis? I need to fit my bonnet soon but I was planning to have the body firmly supported on the chassis first to ensure that the body is straight and unstressed first. I'm sure the nose on my car droops when not supported.

Mike

[gerrym]

Hi Mike. My reply was based on Martin's case which is the body/rolling chassis together. Presumably any sag in the body is stabilised, the bonnet should fit the body aperture based on any work the bodyshop carried out.
My point is merely to get the moveable bonnet catches properly aligned. Easiest while inside the engine compartment with the bonnet closed over one's head, so one can see what is happening. Either get into the engine compartment from below, or have an assistant inside the car. I prefer to have an escape route from under the car in case the cable snaps (but then again the catches could be opened by hand?)

For your case, with the body separated from the chassis, there can indeed be a lot of flex at the nose. I suspect a lot of this is down to disintegrating bond under the guards - where the factory stuck the top and bottom half sections together. I've replaced about 1/2 of this, will finish next year. It's already much stiffer. By the way, this is where the body roller comes into its own.

Regards
Gerry

[mikealdren]

Interesting Gerry, I've replaced the join between the wings and the front undertray too but then worried if I have made a mistake. It was very very weak, little more than a single layer and very rough, but now I wonder whether it was intentionally flexible and whether the stiffer join may cause cracking in the wings? I also wondered whether it might be a candidate area for willing with foam to damp the panels and add stiffness.

What do you think?

Mike

[mikealdren]

Interesting Gerry, I've replaced the join between the wings and the front undertray too but then worried if I have made a mistake. It was very very weak, little more than a single layer and very rough, but now I wonder whether it was intentionally flexible and whether the stiffer join may cause cracking in the wings? I also wondered whether it might be a candidate area for willing with foam to damp the panels and add stiffness.

What do you think?

Mike

[mikealdren]

Interesting Gerry, I've replaced the join between the wings and the front undertray too but then worried if I have made a mistake. It was very very weak, little more than a single layer and very rough, but now I wonder whether it was intentionally flexible and whether the stiffer join may cause cracking in the wings? I also wondered whether it might be a candidate area for willing with foam to damp the panels and add stiffness.

What do you think?

Mike

[alaric]

Martin, I've been through the same stage as yourself a couple of years ago. I've had the engine in and out several times now. My view is fit the engine asap to check that it goes in as bodywork clearances may have changed especially with the radiator. I found the wires and brake pipes could be fitted with the engine in place and it helped to see how much access there was etc. Re the bonnet, I fitted mine with the engine in place. The main concern was it whacking the engine or rad filler cap. Alignment to the bonnet mount points had not changed in my car so all fitted nicely.

So, in short, fit it asap but plan to take it out again.

Oh - and use a good hydraulic engine lift that's on wheels so you can move the engine round carefully and inch it in very very slowly. I found that if I took my time I didn't hit the body - did the first time though - oops . I have some of the paint to touch it all up once all's complete.

Sean.

[summerinmaine]

Martin, I've been through the same stage as yourself a couple of years ago. I've had the engine in and out several times now. My view is fit the engine asap to check that it goes in as bodywork clearances may have changed especially with the radiator. I found the wires and brake pipes could be fitted with the engine in place and it helped to see how much access there was etc. Re the bonnet, I fitted mine with the engine in place. The main concern was it whacking the engine or rad filler cap. Alignment to the bonnet mount points had not changed in my car so all fitted nicely.

So, in short, fit it asap but plan to take it out again.

Oh - and use a good hydraulic engine lift that's on wheels so you can move the engine round carefully and inch it in very very slowly. I found that if I took my time I didn't hit the body - did the first time though - oops . I have some of the paint to touch it all up once all's complete.

Sean.

Ditto on the engine hoist.

One of the best $60 purchases I've ever made, and paid for itself the first time I used it. Had my son helpt lift/stabilize the tailpiece, but I'm thinking I might get an engine leveler and make engine R&R truly a one-man show.

[gerrym]

Mike, pretty sure the joins were never intended to be deliberately weak: a matter of poor workmanship in the factory plus old age causing the matting to fail. Remember this is not the factory laid up stuff.

As an aside, does anyone know how Lotus assembled the two main body moldings? Upside down? How was it jigged?

Regarding foam, not sure this is required. Mainly because with good outer wings and repaired inner wing joins to the nose cone, the whole structure forms a stiffened box section with some considerable depth. This itself will be very stiff. The front two body supports back to the chassis need this inherent stiffness in the front nosecone in order to be able to support the weight of the front body work, and take the stress of the thin wing inner and outer skins.

Regarding the damage that a loose nose section can inflict on the est of the body, I've discovered a crack on the inside wing up where it joins the bulkhead section. No doubt a result of the nose flapping up and down and sending excessive flexing through the inner and outer wings.

Regards
Gerry