engine& box or body tub

[markg]

what is the easiest? engine/box then body tub or the other way round dont want to scratch the tub?  the build manual they gave me is dated 1997?

[Pembroke Pat]

Build up the tub as you won't be able to access the tunnel to rivet in the tub with the propshaft etc in place.  

I don't know what you are fitting but I have recently dropped in a zetec with an MT75 gearbox.  The tight bit is the gearbox.  When they say in the manual to take off the LHS casting lug then you really do need to make it flush.  I had to fettle the remains of the lug with a file for a few minutes in order to remove enough material to get the gearbox in.  I would remove any other obvious casting lugs as well.  (The one on the drivers side gets awfully close to the foot rest when dropping in the engine/gearbox.

[steppenwolf]

To me, the 'tub' means the glass fibre body from the rear of the car right down and including the sides - i.e., not any of the aluminium. Correct me if I am wrong PP but I think you are referring to the aluminium panels which should indeed be installed before the engine/gearbox?

I built mine as per the  manual ( August 1999 kit with 1800 'Q' manual dated September 1998 and SpeedSport Supplement dated June 1999 ) - this meant that I installed the engine and gearbox ( as one ) before I fitted the body tub. This worked very well for me and did not give rise to any problems later in the build apart from the 'chicken before egg' problem of the exhaust cut-out but I am not at all convinced that this problem would have been eased if the engine had gone in after the body tub had been fitted. Either way, I resolved the problem as shown at the bottom of the following page on my build site:-

How To Fit the Body

[Neil Purdie]

I've not tried it myself but ...

If you fit the engine b4 the bodywork, you will be able to fit the exhaust manifold to the engine and then acurately measure / make template for the required hole in the body.

remove manifold, fit body, use template, cut hole , fit manifold, feel well smug  

Neil P

[steppenwolf]

If you fit the engine b4 the bodywork, you will be able to fit the exhaust manifold to the engine and then acurately measure / make template for the required hole in the body remove manifold, fit body, use template, cut hole , fit manifold, feel well smug  

I agree this would make it easier somewhat easier but remember that the sides are not flat but have a convex face so a template would have to allow for this too! On balance, from an exhaust fitting point of view, it may pay to fit the body first but check out ALL the ramifications of this with regard to the fitment of other items!

I can only talk from my own experience - I fitted the engine first and all went very well, including the exhaust hole which is about as good as it can get ( said Steppenwolf smugly! ) even though it took some head scratching to ensure the hole was in exactly the right place!