Shite convoluted plans

[Craig the Princess]

By Craig the Princess

 

I hope this is a familiar situation. My wife and I swapped the 998cc A-series engine I cooked (massive crack in the cylinder head and block after driving down the M11 blissfully unaware that the head gasket had gone) two months ago for a 1300 engine from a spares car we acquired. So far, so simple. We did 250 miles in a weekend, but the gearbox makes a horrible crunching sound in 1st, 2nd and 3rd. A friend diagnosed the layshaft (but I didn’t know what that was) so this weekend we removed the engine again and split it from the gearbox (having got an other free but knackered engine and decent gearbox from someone we know in exchange for fixing their suspension). Plan was to swap the layshafts, however having removed the layshaft it seemed in good condition, however the first motion shaft bearing wasn’t. Ok we thought, we can use the one from the other gearbox. Should it look like that, with the ball bearings about to fall out… no, so ebay came to the rescue.

 

New plan, new bearing into old gearbox and away we go. Then we spoke to another friend to ask for some advice on swapping the bearing, oh you can have the decent one litre engine in my old yellow metro if you take it out.

 

So the new plan is to remove that engine and put it in the green car, then rebuild the old gearbox and put that in (one of) our old brown allegro to return that to the road while we rebuild that engine.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I'm lost now, are you going to end up with a 998cc allegro with a crunchy gearbox, if so it sounds like a recipe for WIN!

[Craig the Princess]

I'm lost now, are you going to end up with a 998cc allegro with a crunchy gearbox, if so it sounds like a recipe for WIN!

 

Not quite, a 998cc allegro with an engine and gearbox that haven't been used in 5 years (and the head has been off it for all that time )

[eddyramrod]

That's what I thought you meant too. Kudos!

[AeroNautiCal]

Sounds like a plan!

 

What could possibly go wrong?

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[garethj]

Hmmm, if the head has been off I'd try turning the engine with a spanner before putting it in the car. Won't it be rusty inside, and have water mixed with the oil?

 

Still, at least you'll be good at swapping engines by now

[barefoot]

I'd try tuning the engine with a Spaniard

 

Not come across that before, is it like an Italian tune up?