| To
ease installation, we fabricate aluminum adapter plates that will
go between the engine and the frame. The plates are made of ½
inch aluminum and shaped to match the motor.
In
a fit of perhaps excess simplification, we have drilled out the
threaded holes on the front motor plate and re-sleeved them all
to take a 3/8 bolt. The logic behind this is to speed up engine
changes by standardizing the tools required.
The
front adapter plate is clamped to the engine plate. Working on the
drill press, each hole is drilled and a bolt put through.
The
rear adapter plate is a little more difficult. We measure the distance
between the two engine bolt centers and transfer that measurement
to the adapter plate. Luckily we are accurate enough that we do
not need to oversize the holes to get a fit.
The
next step is to unbolt the front adapter plate and fit it to the
chassis. It is then easier to clamp the front adapter plate to the
car frame exactly in position, then to try and position the whole
motor. With the front adapter plate lined up exactly and clamped,
we use the holes in the frame to guide the drill.
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