Momo Steering Wheel

Position of steering wheel in cockpit

 I finished fitting up the pedal box and the steering column and added a 3/4" setscrew collar to the steering shaft to easily retain the steering bushing. I tried to make sure there was clearance between the brake pedal and the steering collar and there is, just barely. Without the quick-release added the steering wheel is just in line with the shifter. I won't know more until I get the whole seat/pedal/steering wheel relationship refined later. It looks like I can shift the steering column mount to the backside of the support bracket for about an extra 1 1/2" room for the quick release. Anyway, I love that steering wheel! Now the wheel and control stalks come back off and get stored out of harm's way until they are needed. I also trimmed the pedal shaft and bolt to their final size. I used my lathe to make nice square cuts on both the pedal shaft and the bolt. It feels good to use my Dad's old lathe; makes me glad that I restored it.

Next up will be a test fit of the transmission into the tunnel. I have to set up a stand that will straddle the chassis dolly and support the trans when I get it into position. First, I have to trim the mounting flange on the T5 tail housing so that it will fit between the frame rails, a dimension of 5 1/2" maximum width. 

After a little re-think I decided to use a cardboard template of the tunnel space at the tailshaft. From the point there it is 22" forward to the bell housing parting line - so just the right distance to the firewall. The difficulty will be at the gearbox mount plate, which is forward of the template. So it will interfere with the sump portion of the tailshaft (which is where the 5th gear is located.) I know I will have to trim away the front portion of the chassis mount plate as shown with the blue tape. I'll just have to cut it out with my disk cutter before test fitting the gearbox.  After I get the layout determined I can fabricate a reinforcement for the chassis mount plate.

So I think the plan will be to put the chassis on my lift, supported on 2x4s at the front and rear jack points and then I can put the chassis at a height where I can slide the engine hoist under the lift rails and get the engine into the bay. I have a load leveling attachment for the engine hoist so I will be able to handle the engine tilt. I would plan to install the engine/ transmission assembly this way once the chassis is on its wheels. 

Once the engine/transmission are in place I can test fit the "Pinto" engine mounts. I can support the tailshaft with a wood block across the frame rails while I devise a trans mount. I can also get a measurement from the trans snout to the pressure plate that is needed to order the correct dimension hydraulic clutch throwout bearing from Mcloed. 

The whole idea here is to see at what height the engine will sit in the chassis with ground clearance and bonnet clearance. The obvious hard points here are the flywheel, the crank pulley and the cam pulley. But once I am here I can see how it's all going to fit, or not fit; the exhaust/turbo/waste gate on the right and the intake/distributor on the left. Will the crossover throttle plate and intercooler work or how much will it interfere with the bonnet? It would not bother me a bit to fabricate a new upper intake manifold and route the intercooler behind the engine - that's my vision at this point. If the distributor is an interference I can convert of a crank trigger systen and get rid of the distributor completely. All those parts are available. I'd like to keep the lower half of the intake manifold/EFI it it will fit.