Dropping in the engine for measurements

This week we set out to drop the engine into the chassis to take measurements so the engine cradle could be ordered. This has to be ordered direct from MK. We hoisted up the engine by inserting a 7/16" rod through the upper mounting holes on the engine, then hooked the rod to a chain that was attached to a winch near the ceiling. As you can see, when hoisted up by the upper mounts, the engine wants to fall over on its back. To accomodate for this, we had another strap, not shown, that we wrapped around the bottom of the engine, through the exhaust header bolts, and back up to the chain. This was used to rotate the engine up on itself so we could drop it in in the appropriate position.

Upon getting the engine into position, we were able to secure the lower mounting holes to the engine mounts on the MK Chassis by inserting a 7/16" rod through the chassis mounts and lower engine mount holes. With this set connected up, we still had a single (rotational) degree of freedom and, in order to measure properly, had to get the engine in position as closely as possible to how it should sit permanently. To determine this, we rotated the engine about the mount until the oil sump gasket was horizontal (parallel to the ground), as illustrated below. In the photo below, we still had a few more degree to bring it up until the gasket was perfectly parallel.

Once the engine was in place, looking down the transmission tunnel, you can see the front sprocket spindle where the drive shaft will bolt onto (via an adaptor) does not have a clear shot to travel down the tunnel. This is accomodated for by a hinge in the center of the two-piece drive shaft.

The Exhaust headers / pipes will have to come out of the engine and immediately turn up to get around the steering column (I hope).

Rear Sierra Disc Brake Calipers / Rotors.