Engine Test Fit Part 2

Next morning I got everything back out because it looked like I would have at least half a day without rain. I put the TR6 back on the lift because I knew I had enough clearance to get the chassis back on the cradle. I propped the engine on my ammo box so that I could release the tension on the lifting hooks; I removed the intake manifold and put the lifting hook back on. Now I was able to lower the engine fully into its approximate position with the crank centerline at 90mm above the frame rail. The parting line to the bell housing was about 1-2 inches forward of the firewall.

At the point where I took this photo I could have raised the back of the engine a bit. My goal is to give the bottom of the bell housing as much ground clearance as possible and then see how the manifold clearance worked out. The turbo package has a nice arrangement, thanks to the modification of the RH diagonal brace that Richard Hall incorporated into my chassis.  But the turbo package still needs to come forward about 3-4 inches. There are aftermarket turbo headers that do that, like the Big R Motorsports style center mount header. I would rather use the cast iron manifold but the rear-mount just won't give the exhaust turbine enough room. 

On the intake side there is no way that I can use the stock lower manifold. It just extends too far out and too low, which directly interferes with the LH diagonal brace. I can look into the later-style manifold or a fabricated solution. I kind of knew all along that the manifolds were going to be a challenge! 

Once I get the clutch pivot shaft out of the bell housing I can work on the positioning of the bell housing higher in the transmission tunnel to aid in ground clearance and maybe raise the intake above the frame rail. Perhaps I could also angle the engine slightly to bring the intake manifold above the frame rail.

Ground clearance will be an issue with the oil pan extending far too low beyond the level of the flywheel. GBS recommends trimming off the bottom of the bell housing to eliminate the portion that is below the flywheel. I can get a racing oil pan that is also lower profile. Here's one from Kevco Flat Bottom Oil Pan