No car yet, so engine and transmission today

The Paintshop just rang I can collect the car tomorrow - I am sooo excited.

Not long to the Classic Car Show, so the first job of the day was to rebuild the FF bits, this necessitated making my own gaskets, as my local Motor Factor doesn't stock FF parts!

Firstly hold the gasket paper in place using a couple of the bolt holes

then lightly tap round the edges with a small hammer

and low and behold you have a correctly shaped gasket, repeat the process on the inside edge, mark the bolt holes with some more hammer taps, and then cut them out with a sharp stanley knife.

4 hours later after much cleaning a complete transmission

I had been wondering how the FF transmission lubricated the bearings, as although the VC sits in a little of the transmission oil the bearings are too high to get a feed, then I notice a "scoop or cut out" in the case, above the VC, which goes to the bearings. Its very clever, oil flung off the VC as it rotates drops into the slot and then runs down to the bearings - clever engineering - you can see the cut out in the rear bearing housing, this is also the whole length of the VC housing too, and must ensure plenty of oil is collected. The picture shows the cut out just above the rope on the right handside. - unfortunately the housing is 180 degrees out from its normal working position, so its hard to see how the shape of the cut out retains the oil, but if you look at the picture upside down all becomes clear.

Then after some more work all bolted upto to the engine - I had to do this twice as I dropped one of the torque converter to flywheel bolts behind the flywheel, which necessitated removing gearbox and flywheel to retreive it - I was a little more careful second time around! I don't believe that I wanted to do that!

Here's the modified starter fitted and a view of the front propshaft

Anyway all complete, needs a little clean, and a car to put it in.

11 hours worked, 8 today, 3 on the FF strip in the week, so total hours now 692