1978 Stag restoration

[JOHNS]

lol mines green with a gold stripe

I'll post some better pics when I get it home

[JOHNS]

Painting complete at last and ready to come home. Almost one year since I shipped to to the body shop. The wait has certainly been worth it. Now the rebuild begins. See you at the shows next year.

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[mike@thenook]

What a difference a year makes!

Looks like a superb job - takes me back to when mine looked like this 25 years ago, it's still wearing incredibly well though given that time.

Cheers

[JOHNS]

The pics don't do the paintwork justice. Pick it up on Wednesday then the fun begins.

[jagorstag]

Looks fantastic, John!!

[JOHNS]

Stag back home in its own garage after one year in the body shop. Arranged insurance with RH Specialists. £47.00 for £15,000.00 cover whilst garaged. Will have it increased when finished. Few pics.

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[flying farmer]

Now you have the fun of fitting the engine and box without scratching the fresh paint, always a nerve wracking job!

[JOHNS]

Now you have the fun of fitting the engine and box without scratching the fresh paint, always a nerve wracking job!

Still weighing up the whether to install engine and box together or separately. I removed them separately but those bell housing bolts are a nightmare. Why they didn't drill and tap the engine mounting plate is beyond me. I have considered doing that.

[mike@thenook]

drill and tap the engine mounting plate....

There wouldn't be enough strength in the alloy plate to hold the box in place - it's why they bolt the whole lot together, awkward but necessary.

[JOHNS]

drill and tap the engine mounting plate....

There wouldn't be enough strength in the alloy plate to hold the box in place - it's why they bolt the whole lot together, awkward but necessary.

I had a look after I posted and that is true for the existing designed plate but that could have been designed with enough material to allow drilling and tapping. Too late now.

[flying farmer]

drill and tap the engine mounting plate....



There wouldn't be enough strength in the alloy plate to hold the box in place - it's why they bolt the whole lot together, awkward but necessary.

Yes there is, I tap all my adapter plates UNC (same size as exhaust manifold bolts). Only need to do the top ones which are the difficult ones to reach, and these are in compression anyway.

The bottom holes are easy to reach from under the car so the original nuts and bolts can be used, the bottom bolts are in tension so take the greatest loads.

The top bolts when the threads are tapped can be reached from under the car using a couple of extension bars and a UJ. This mod literally saves hours of work if you ever need to remove the box from the car.

Neil

[JOHNS]

"Yes there is, I tap all my adapter plates UNC (same size as exhaust manifold bolts). Only need to do the top ones which are the difficult ones to reach, and these are in compression anyway.

The bottom holes are easy to reach from under the car so the original nuts and bolts can be used, the bottom bolts are in tension so take the greatest loads.

The top bolts when the threads are tapped can be reached from under the car using a couple of extension bars and a UJ. This mod literally saves hours of work if you ever need to remove the box from the car."


Neil,
Looks like this is the way to go. I am lucky enough to have a two post car lift which makes fitting the gearbox easy but then you don't have an assistant to help hold the nuts in the engine bay. I know from experience that changing a clutch with the car on ramps is a nightmare.

Another good tip given to me from the boys at Enginuity is to weld a flatbar between the heads of the engine mounting bolts before you install them. You then don't need to use two spanners to tighten them up. This is especially helpful for the rh side where the power steering pumps are located.

[mike@thenook]

Well I am surprised Neil, I really would not have thought there was enough strength but if you’ve done it and it works that’s good enough for me and of course, hadn’t thought about the top ones being in compression, I’m still learning LOL

Cheers

[JOHNS]

[QUOTE=JOHNS;n784242]"Yes there is, I tap all my adapter plates UNC (same size as exhaust manifold bolts). Only need to do the top ones which are the difficult ones to reach, and these are in compression anyway.

Neil,
When you say exhaust manifold bolts do you mean manifold to head bolts or manifold to exhaust.

Cheers

John

[JOHNS]

I assume manifold to head meaning 3/8 UNC