The Engine Is Out

Today has been a milestone for the Jag project.  The engine and transmission were separated from the car.  This is actually quite an elaborate process on the E-type.  The biggest problem is a cross member that runs between the back of the oil pan and the front of the bell housing.  This cross member is a tie plate that resists the torsional load applied by the front torsion bars when the car is on the ground.  There are several tricky ways suggested for unloading the torsion from this plate so it can be removed.  I opted for disassembling the front suspension allowing the torsion bars to fully relax and making it possible to remove the tie plate (cross member).  Actually the part that gave me the most trouble in dismantling the front suspension was a rusty cotter pin that I almost had to drill out!  Sometimes the smallest things are the most time consuming.

The shop manual for the car instructs you to remove the engine and transmission by lifting them together up through the frame.  But the experienced owners on the "Jag Lover's Forum" unanimously recommend dropping the engine down onto a dolly and then lifting the front of the car up over the engine.  After a few unsuccessful attempts to lift the engine, my son, Josh, and I decided to try lifting the front of the car.  We lifted the frame with the engine hoist and rolled the engine out on a dolly.  That does work much better.

I will next remove the Independent Rear Suspension (IRS) from the car and proceed to work on the body and bonnet.  It would be interesting to see the condition of the upper end of the engine so I will remove the head and have a look.  But the engine rebuild can wait for a while so the body can be prepared for painting.  I prefer not to leave a rebuilt engine sitting around for too many months after assembly as all the special engine assembly lubricants may drip into the pan and the oil on the piston rings may run out of the cylinders. 

Having removed the bonnet from the car I am pleased to report that there is no serious rust anywhere in the bonnet.  Unfortunately there is rust in the dashboard and bumper areas of the car due to the humid and perhaps salty air in John's Menlo Park location. 

Several of the smaller fasteners in the dashboard area and in the tail lights broke when I tried carefully to remove them, but those have been now removed and the threads repaired using drills, taps, easy-outs, grinders, and the acetylene torch.  No permanent damage anywhere.  Stay tuned next time for a preliminary report on the condition of the engine and the rear-end assembly.