[AndyB]

Oct 20th 2008:

Right, on with the heads. This is the 0216 casting head which has larger valves than the early P6 (IIRC), but smaller than the later 10-bolt heads. From each exhaust port you'll notice pipes coming out that have been nipped off, this was the Pulsair attachment that pumped air into the exhaust to help with emitions (yeah right). So i'll be bunging those up asap.

Anyway, these are the heads.



I powerwashed these on the patio and left oil and crud all all over the place. Oh how the wife laughed!



If you look towards the top of the pic you'll see what appears to be hair drawn in black marker by a seven year old. It's actually leaking combustion gases caused, allegedly, by the lower row of bolts tilting the head slightly and allowing seepage (!). It took Rover a mere 20+ years to work this out and blank the holes off.



Heavily pitted exhaust valve...



...and its pitted seat.



Let the work begin-





Just tidying up the combustion chamber here, taking off the sharp edges to reduce the chances of hot spots and generally helping flow.



Getting there...

[AndyB]

Posted 20.10.08

This is a bit overexposed but you might be able to make out the port work just behind the seat.







Almost finished!



Onto the springs and things.



New bits!



This is a poor pic but sorta shows the old valve and the new valve.



Silly flimsy Rover valve stem oil seal on the right. This has 'can't be arsed' written all over it. Initially this engine ran without any stem oil seals at all, then they moved onto this rubber washer thing and after about '94 I think they caught up and fitted neoprene seals. Having said that, you don't see too many old V8's smoking do you. The valve guides are very long and at their top end are wide so you can't just lob a set of modern seals at them, so I tried some old Ford stem seals I had kicking about.



A mock-up of the valve gear with the Ford seal (wire is there to keep the retainer in place - didn't need it tho...)



Just not enough clearance. Bugger. The Ford item is 4mm thick whereas the Rover is less than 2mm. Ah well, least I tried.



Heads done now. When I get nearer to building the thing up, I'll wash them down in thinners and then... paint 'em!

[AndyB]

Posted 8.12.08

Ok, here's a bit more to share with you.

I picked up an LT77 gearbox that had previously been used in a TR7 (Rover/Leyland used this box in everything from TR's to Sherpas to Range Rovers, stopping off at some Jags on the way), and had been stored for a number of years.

I got it reasonably cheap - thought I had bagged a bargain... erm, wrong AGAIN!



I knew I was in trouble when I took the drain plug out.



And just to confirm, here's a pic of some really pretty golden oil... sort of brass coloured!



Rear casing off.



Now the tale behind this gearbox is becoming a little clearer - it was reassembled by Selwyn Froggat after a skinfull. Here's the fifth gear merrily munching its way through the casing...



And see the pipe sticking out of the box?



That's the oil pump pick up pipe, and it belongs here...



...in the oil pump. Notice the floral-type arrangement of silicone in the end of the pick up pipe. Selwyn was feeling very arty when he rebuilt this box, see the lovely milling effect he's managed to get in the pump body, and how he's gone to a lot of trouble to cut pretty patterns in the oil pump teeth. Selwyn has graduated to my Christmas card list, bless him.



Moving back to the layshaft, look at the collar over the fifth gear, Selwyn (only a step up from Neandethal, remember) kindly crafted the dent using a tool new to him: a hammer!



And here's a pic of the casing showing the 5th gear-shaped impression.

[AndyB]

Posted 8.12.08

Anyway, moving right along.

Main case removed. The upper selector fork is the 3rd/4th gear one and you can't seem to get these anymore. It's worn as hell, almost 2mm shaved off it (explains the golden oil) and it's also taken 1mm out of the selector ring too. This is where I'm glad I got a gearbox with the Range Rover engine I bought 'as a bargain' earlier this year.



Our dear old friend Selwyn thinks gaskets are a waste of time, especially since he's got a job lot of bathroom sealant to get shut of.



And why use only seven tubes of silicone, when with eight, you could successfully shag each and every bearing in the entire box! If he'd used nine tubes, Selwyn would've qualified for a set of crystal wine glasses and a decanter for his loyal custom down at the Plum Center.



Ready to split the mainshaft now. What's the betting I find one of Selwyn's two brain cells nestled inside?





I bought a cheap and nasty puller to strip these boxes. And that was stupid of me when all I needed was to borrow Selwyn's angle grinder



This is main shaft completely naked now - have a look at the oil holes. It seems I was wrong, Selwyn DID get his wine glasses and decanter. tw*t.



All cleaned out now.



Ready for cleaning.

[Nick]

Dec 8 2008, 12:30 PM

Posted by AndyB

This is the oil pump face in the rear housing, look how Selwyn has managed to scribe all these circles, I'm amazed and totally thrilled.


Luckily, I have a sanding machine



I think all this damage was caused by the pickup pipe trying to escape - or Selwyn's braincell maybe.



This is a collection of all the silicone I found inside the box. I'm thinking of using it again... if only I could get it back inside the tube!



Some of the brass debris inside the selctor rings



Wey hey, Selwyn found his hammer again... one more IQ point he'd be a glass of f**king water.



Anyway, mainshaft and layshaft rebuilt onto sandwich plate.



Complete with reverse idler and 'new' selector fork and synchro hub.



And in the background is the Rangey box I stole things from :whistling:



Ready for the main casing.



Gotta find a way of joining the oil pick up pipe to the pump casing... hmmm where's that silicone?



Thought I'd use a stout-fitting roll-pin but I figured any vibration would eventually loosen the pin and it'd pop out, so I elected to use a split pin instead. Yes, I know after slagging Selwyn off for his bodges I go and do one meself, but these bits aren't available anymore as far as a know, but I don't think this'll fail hopefully



Checked backlash and endfloat.



The little cast rear housing serves to preload the bearings, and you adjust the endfloat by fitting shims of different thicknesses between the housing the bearing races. Of course, I have a drawer full of these things and if I run out of them I know they stock them at Tesco in the silicone aisle.

I used some thick gasket paper to achieve the endfloat I needed.





More later...

[Nick]

Dec 11 2008, 12:51 AM Posted by AndyB

Thanks fellas, all comments/support very gratefully received

Ha, cheers Francis; I don't really have a choice mate, if I didn't laugh... Anyway, I've burned me bridges and flogged the Type 9, so I have to knuckle down and just do it.

Spliff, is this 'is' of yours really a 'when'? You gotta love the sound these things make, so it has to be done. Get the spanners out!

Adam-the-Nomad, good to see you on here again. ta for the comments (I think ), but if you hate me now wait till you see what's happening to the rest of the motor, you'll hire a hit man then I shouldn't wonder

And matt, I've learned me lesson with them there engine hoist things - I'm gonna try and handball the block in and then build it up in the engine bay. If me back holds out

Thanks for the tip Doireman, looks like a handy place to know about.

Primer, yes you MUST do an update on yours, I'd like to know how you solved your gearbox dilema.

And cheers Chris and Stu, I'll try and get some more pics up soon but I'm busy as hell right now... welding (oh yeah, and grinding )

[Nick]

Dec 24 2008, 01:29 AM Posted by AndyB

Right this is what I've been up to for the best part of six weeks. Bellhousing.

The Type 9 box I had was weak, too weak to cope for long with the V8 so I needed a new box. The much sought after T5 was never an option cos it's too expensive. I could've bought another box I suppose but then I would have had to buy or make an adapter plate to go between it and the RV8 - more hassle and expense.

And on top of all that, my engine came with a 10.5" flywheel and clutch assy, the SD1 uses a 9.5" clutch, so I suppose I could've found an SD1 V8 bellhousing; one went on ebay recently for 120 quid, plus the flywheel and clutch at another 150. Flywheel are 150 or thereabouts, so changing the whole package was going to render this project dead in the water unless I could think of a solution.

The standard LT77 gearbox obviously works well with this engine so it made sense to get one of them - see the previous thread. So I decided the only way to keep the flywheel I had, and mate it with the LT77 box I had, was to fabricate me own bellhousing. Gulp. (BTW, yes the LT77 was mated to the V8 using a bellhousing I had with the old engine, but that bellhousing is over 12" deep, whereas you'd expect maybe 7" at the most).

Another reason for making my own bellhousing was to ditch the idea of a hydraulic clutch. I wanted to retain the Ford clutch cable because there are few places to mount the master cylinder that are accessible yet out of sight. And anyway, I don't want the extra hassle of two more hydraulic cylinders, a reservoir and associated piping to worry about.

One more thing to let you know of before I roll the piccies. I thought that since I was going to all this trouble, I might aswell move the starter motor to the correct side of the engine, but to do this would've required cutting away some of the strengthening ribs in the side of the block - and I'm not that brave . The other thing to occur to me was that I could lower my fuel bills by building a bellhousing for a six-speed box. But after researching those available, it turns out that their top speed ratio wasn't much better, if at all, than the top speed of the LT77.

So there's my reasons for doing this little project within one larger project. Plus, i get to actually make something

Okay, if you haven't fallen asleep just yet, let me explain that the gearbox must sit perfectly parallel to the engine and the only way I could think of doing this with the tools I had available was to build an alignment tool. Cue the first pic!

This is a plate that mounts onto the back end of the crank.





I needed to make up a really snug-fitting tube to go over the gearbox input shaft guide tube. The only tube I had was too big, so I measured it and cut it lengthways and then clipped it to the guide.





Now there's welding, and there's M&S welding. If you look real close you just might be able to see the seam. Almost invisible aint it. (TBH, I had letters from Finn and Elliot asking how I achieved such a good weld, between you and I it became quite embarrassing, but let's press on).



Then I had to weld the tube and the plate together, ensuring the plate was flat and the tube was perfectly vertical.



I ignored the out-of-round caused by the joint (hmph) and managed to get the tube to within 0.2mm



The gearbox was a very tight fit.

[Nick]

Dec 24 2008, 01:49 AM Posted by AndyB

I made up some drawings of the flanges I needed gearbox side and engine side, and hoped a local firnm could plasma cut them for me. After a couple of weeks of promising to get them done, they decided they couldn't do the job after all . So I managed to find a company that would cut them using a laser cutter (very James Bond). Trouble was they wanted 150 quid to convert my cardboard templates to CAD drawings and then cut them out.

Yeah right. So I converted the templates myself to CAD drawings and emailed them . That brought the cost right down to something more manageable. Nice eh.





This is the gearbox flange. I left four lugs on it so I could use threaded bar to act as jacking points against the flywheel...



... to make sure it was all square.



Mounted to the gearbox.



Engine flange bolted up with the patented alignment tool installed



Gearbox mounted onto engine and threaded bar used to jack it up or down to adjust height.



I found that a 3/8" extension and the spring from a soldering iron stand made a very good fake pressure plate, now I could begin work on the release arm.







This shot includes another patented component: the clutch profile tool . I still needed to make sure I had enough clearance for the release arm - see later.

[Nick]

Dec 24 2008, 02:07 AM Posted by AndyB

I calculated the release arm ratio (same as Ford's (measured it before I sold the gearbox)), only mine was slightly longer because of the larger flywheel. Then I bent the mock-up release arm to make sure it cleared the clutch when fully depressed. Big headache. :death:





I had two options for the release arm pivot: I could use the RangeRover setup, sort of a ball and socket idea, or I could bend the arm to incorporate a piece of bar and use it against a horizontal rib.





The pivot tho must be able to move up to 1.5mm towards the centre of the clutch as the release arm was lowered. I decided upon the ball/socket because it would allow the release arm (and so too the bearing) to press against the clutch with a small amount of tilt (in case of fabrication error - something highly likely ) - something the roll-bar would have fought against.

So here's the bed of the release arm made from 3mm plate. Adjusting the ball height so I can get full arm movement - still on calculation at this point.



Cable end of release arm.



Ball end.



I reassembled at each stage (and that bloody box is heavy man!) just to make sure I'd got it right - more or less



Okay, I'd done the maths, cut up the Weetabix packet and got the 'ribs' laser cut from 10mm plate. The one on the far right was the horizontal plate I mentioned that the roll-bar (if I'd gone for that choice) would have pivoted against.



MOre to follow chaps, tired now.

[Nick]

Jan 3 2009, 12:25 AM Posted by AndyB

Aaron, worry not, the gearbox was from a TR7. And thanks for the comments, but the truth is I haven't a clue what I'm doing! I'm making it all up as I go along and I'm showing the work as it happens - warts and all. You're right about me sailing quite close to the edge of disaster though because if the bellhousing isn't as sqaure as I hope it is... well, I'll leave the consequences to your imagination.

Okay, on with the show.

Still more measuring, oh for decent machine shop with high quality tools (and Finn there to do my welding )



Speaking of welding, let's bite the bullet and spread some spatter around!



I kept both flanges bolted to the block and gearbox to help minimise distortion. Ribs welded up top and bottom.



The box was such a tight fit that I had to jack it off the crank



Jack bars out now and clutch back in ready for finishing the release arm.



Here's a holder I made for the nylon socket - not a tight fit cos the socket has to move slightly as the clutch is pressed.



Welded on, just right.



Making the release arm sides now.



Mock up (I'll have to get the kids to eat more cereal )

[Nick]

Jan 3 2009, 12:36 AM Posted by AndyB

Trial fit...



So far so good. Here we go then...









I just cannot weld without getting loads of spatter. I've looked on a web site about mig welding and it says to expect spatter if you're not using gas. That explains it then. It's not an excuse, I'm still crap at welding

This is the modified RangeRover ball pivot and its retaining spring.



First trial run. I used an old clutch cable that I've run down and then through the scrap metal plate...



... to where I can get a crow bar on it. This is the fully depressed position.



Relaxed position. Not a lot of clearance





And more 'just to be certain' operating.

[Nick]

Jan 3 2009, 12:54 AM Posted by AndyB

Here's a bit more for yer.

I said I'd show the balls-ups I made. Here's one. Wrong angle on the cable, I assume that if it doesn't pull straight it'll soon fail, so I'll have a go at correcting this at some point.



Adjusted slightly, though still not perfect.



Here's the completed frame with some anti-twist bars between the ribs. I'm paranoid the damn thing'll fall apart as soon as I turn the key!



Reet, now we can add the clothing.

Erm, maybe not... Me welder just went on strike Spot the bit wot broke.



I'd been having wire feed probs for a while, and this bit...



...connects with the wire to complete the circuit. Bugger. Couldn't find a replacement anyway, and I had as much chance of buying a new welder as finding Kiera Knightly naked in my shower that evening. (Nice thought though... ).



So I tapped the broken end and screwed the tip back on. It worked!



Anyway, where were we, oh yes, the frame's outer garmets. This is the templete for the skin (one of three), made from 2mm and 3mm plate.

[Nick]

Jan 3 2009, 01:10 AM Posted by AndyB

And yet more...

First bits on. Making the cut-outs for the bellhousing bolts was a right pig!



Starter motor cover.



And more...





More splatter



Welded on.



Cos the release arm pivot spring is bolted on to the arm itself, I needed a window creating in the outer skin.



Have a guess what the 'grommet' is from.





Almost complete now chaps.

[Nick]

Jan 3 2009, 01:19 AM Posted by AndyB

Okay, we're on a roll. But this is the last bit for tonight.

The welding, as always, is a bit ropey in places but I think it should be strong enough. I went through over 2lb of wire and most of it ended up on the bloody floor courtesy of the grinder, hey ho



Almost there...





Once I'd made a mess of the outside, I wondered why the inside should get away with it, so I attacked that aswell.



I cut a second window out for the release arm, but it wasn't wide enough. Since made wider.



All rebuilt for a final test. Phew.



Last job (or so I thought - yet this is in past tense, hehe) was to make a cover from 1.5mm plate for the release arm and cable. It's not pretty but it does the job

[Nick]

Jan 3 2009, 02:24 AM Posted by AndyB

Cashy, on Jan 3 2009, 12:11 AM, said:

Totally in awe of your persiverance and skill

A few observations:-

but the cardboard mock up?........that looks awfully like the 'snapper' to me that you got with the 'beano' (or was it the dandy) in 1972 ??


and them german WWI 'U' boat blue prints you got from the library aint fooling me...

Hehe, thanks Steve. No mate that's deffo Weetabix as used used by HM QEII so I hear, and the U-boat thing's wrong too - it's a Russian sub

gixergene, on Jan 3 2009, 12:18 AM, said:

WOW Andy, I've seen some fabricating but I'm speechless. Keep up the good work fella...

Ah cheers mate, I'm keeping me fingers crossed that it all works else I won't dare show me face next summer :blushing:

Bristol_Red, on Jan 3 2009, 01:14 AM, said:

Great stuff mate...

Think you've given me a bit of inspiration to get off me backside and finish a couple o' jobs I've been putting off. Looking forward to hearing the sound of that motor in the flesh. Have you got any ideas for the exhaust system yet...don't tell me your gonna custom make that as well

Ayup Andy. I've had a sneaky look at the exhaust situation. It's very complicated in that the height of the bellhousing directly affects the overall height of the engine (bonnet clearance is going to be an issue I fear) and the starter is gonna give problems against the steering arm... I have a few ideas how to remedy the probs but until I've mocked up the block in the engine bay there's not a lot I can do. Anyway, I'm brassic mate so I deffo can't afford to buy one... so watch this space :001_unsure: :001_smile:

[Nick]

Jan 4 2009, 01:07 AMPosted By AndyB

tt capri, on Jan 3 2009, 03:18 AM, said:

f##%in marvelous Andy , i am in total awe yet again , are you doing that in the garage with the car in as well ? if you are UNBELIEVABLE !!!

Ayup Chris, thanks for the comments. Yup all in the garage mate. I have just enough room between the front of the car and the bench to kneel down (if I breathe in), but mustn't grumble, some folk are working on their cars outside. I have a great sheet of mdf that I stand between the bit being welded and the front of the car. You know wot I'm like for spatter!

kevo, on Jan 3 2009, 09:39 AM, said:

top job andy, did you used to be in the A-TEAM :lol2:

Howdo Kev, how yer keeping mate. They don't call me Howling Mad Andy fur nuthing y'know, hehehe

Copey, on Jan 3 2009, 10:06 AM, said:

you made your own bell housing...thats mighty impressive!!!

Cheers Copey, but it'll only be impressive if it works. I'm papping myself truth be known

ian2800, on Jan 3 2009, 12:04 PM, said:

Well impressed with your work Andy, I guess all those Blue Peter episodes you watched are paying off

Oh yes, I've always been a tinkerer. You'd be surprised what I can do with a pair of Val's old knickers

laser, on Jan 3 2009, 11:47 PM, said:

Andy I have missed your recent Bellhousing construction addition
.Its F~~ ing amazing its a work of Art ...
that cover .. God smacked ...the fabrication is stunning !
BTW
shock absorber trim panel cover black one so its up to <1983 ...
so if your not in need of it !! could be useful ...

cant wait to see the beastie this year ..

Hi Francis, thanks mate, appreciate it. And yes the fabrication is stunning, from a few hundred yards. Close up it looks crap even after the grinder . And you're bloody spot on (almost), it's a shocker trim cover alright, but it's grey... I'll have to track one down from the shows this year to replace this one I stole from mine, oops.

[Nick]

Jan 5 2009, 01:17 AM Posted by AndyB

Hi Mike, yeah I'm lucky in that my motor has the later type oil seals. But I'm not lucky or rich enough to go for Holley option, I'm going with SU's. I've heard Holley's aren't brill on fuel, and while I realise running a V8 will never be very friendly to the wallet, I need to keep it within reason or the wife'll gut me .

Had a look after reading your post at the rs2000 exhausts and I must admit it's not something I'd ever thought of... it's a good option though. Would I be right in thinking that pintos have the same/similar exhaust port configuration? The rangerover engine I bought last summer came with tubular manifolds so I'm gonna be tweaking these I think. They are quite ugly just now but I hope with a bit of fettling I can make them less so.

And I looked last year at getrag 6-speed options but they were just so far out of my price range it was embarrassing. And on top of that the bit of research I did suggested that the sixth speed ratio wasn't much better than the LT77 fifth, so I stuck with that one.

I've read a lot about the oiling problems of these engines but was warned off fitting uprated MGBGT springs and the tadpole relief valve to compensate. So I thought I'd follow some advice I read about where you restrict the oil feed to the rocker shafts. It said to drill the block or head oil hole and screw in a grub screw drilled out with a 2mm hole. But I thought I'd adapt this theory by fitting a tight-fitting roll-pin in the same place. Anyway, we'll have to see how it all pans out.

Thanks for the suggestions by the way.

Andy

[Nick]

Jan 9 2009, 12:12 AM Posted By AndyB

jimihendrix, on Jan 5 2009, 06:34 PM, said:

First time i've looked in on this thread in a wee while, my gob is well and trully smacked , i've heard of people fabricating adaptor plates etc for bellhousings but never fabricating one from scratch, awesome work there :001_cool:

Going by the standard of the 2.9 conversion i've no doubt this car will be stunning as a V8

Thanks Mark. TBH I'm wearing thin in the fabricating department; I still have lots of it to do, but I'm iching to begin building the motor and working out the plumming etc.

Spliff, on Jan 8 2009, 12:57 AM, said:

this is gonna be awsome, i just know it. keep the updates comming

Howdo Chris, I hope it is awesome mate, but just 'working' will do me . I'll feel such a plank if I have to pull it to bits again cos it broke on me!

primer, on Jan 8 2009, 06:49 PM, said:

Thats just unreal. The more of this thread I read, the less clever I feel!

The chap who own the machine shop I goto suggested custom making a bellhousing for my conversion, and I decided against it, and boy, am I glad! Hats off to ya for even attempting it, never mind manageing it.

After the work thats gone into the bellhousing, I'd be seriously thinking about going just a bit further, and having the sucker chromed. Just to really show off

Hadn't thought of chroming it Tom. I don't think I should tho cos it really looks aweful close up, the flash on the camera hides all the divots and lumps n bumps - but they're there alright and lots of 'em! A thick dollop of paint might be in order, hehe.

Finn, on Jan 8 2009, 07:53 PM, said:

There is a firm local to me that do Bell Housings to order, any engine, any material, powder coated or chromed, £10 each, or 3 for £15.
Dandy. Lion & Burdock, Metalworks Ltd. Chap you need to speak to is Bill Gristle, I think he is ex Met, set up the business with his big pay off cheque, C/o Brinks Matt. Finn.

No, no, Finn... it's not bellhousings they do, it's bell... erm, you get the picture. And he's into tattooing not powder coating. I went for 'AndyB' on mine, but unfortunately we ran out of room half way through the 'n'. Ke sera

gmrvic, on Jan 8 2009, 08:06 PM, said:

Great job with the bellhousing, keep up the good work m8

Thanks Gorki, will do - I have plenty more pics and stories to bore you rigid with

Herak, on Jan 8 2009, 08:54 PM, said:

Bellhousing work's stunning mate - wish I had the welding skill you have.. I'm still stuck with isopon, and JB Weld/Loctite (have a bit of biscuit tin for one of my rear arches, held on with JB Weld at the mo)

Still.. You owe me a new keyboard for this: "It seems I was wrong, Selwyn DID get his wine glasses and decanter. tw*t."
Spat coffee everywhere.

Sorry to hear the gearbox was such a nightmare - especially after the engine problems.. You made it an excellent read, though.

Cheers Herak, you can pick up the welding skills I have no problem. Library, under 4's section, Welding for Dummies. Cracking read, . Biscuit tins are good; I used an old tin cigar box for a shim in me mate's gearbox - so far so good. Daren't tell him tho .

[Nick]

Jan 30 2009, 12:47 AM Posted by AndyB

I've been busy of late, prepping the car to accept the V8 and the gearbox. Here's what I've been up to.

The bellhousing assembled on an empty gearbox for a fitting up sesh.



Erm, well it's in.



Now for the old block.



And that's in too! But...



The box/bellhousing seems very low.







So I cut the tunnel.



But so far as I could tell, the bellhousing was still too low. I couldn't get any detailed measurements of how far below the crossmember the sump and bellhousing should hang, but I thought this was too much.



And because of the 10.5 inch clutch, the bellhousing was a larger diameter for longer - so the tunnel mods were about to become more drastic - right up to the bulkhead.



However, side clearance was peachy.



Another thing I wish I'd done (wait for the exhaust instalment!) was move the starter from here...



To here...



... below the block line - loadsa room though it would have involved 'adjusting' the sump. I'm sure the designers at Rover must've got wind that those thugs driving round in Capris might try and steal their beloved V8 and went out of their way to make it as bloody awkward as possible!



As it turns out, the bellhousing wasn't as abnormally large (at the bottom anyway) as I'd thought since it was only 10mm below the sump.

[Nick]

Jan 30 2009, 12:58 AM Posted by AndyB

Anyway, it's amazing how one miscalculation (read as balls up) can lead to needing adjustments further down the line.



Big clutch = big bellhousing = bigger hole required = this. Had to cut the tunnel right up to the bulkhead, then shave off the heater seam in order to get this tiny clearance.

As well as being paranoid that I wouldn't have enough ground clearance, I was paranoid that me bonnet wouldn't bloody shut! It was a fine line to tread and I won't know if it'll work till I shut the bonnet.



I also had to widen the tunnel near the gear lever cos of the stupid reverse springs and stuff. My poor Capri.



View of the box above the tunnel.



I'd cut out the strengthening from the tunnel so I made up two 3mm bars to regain some rigidity.



Then out with some 1.5mm plate. It's not thick but christ it's a bugger to bend and shape (I really take me hat off to Manny).