914 Widebody - k24 swap

This morning I tried like hell to just get everything done but didn't quite wrap it up like I wanted.

I took the notch I cut out of the bar and slowly fit it back into place. The engine tilt ended up leaving a larger gap on the driver side so I wanted to add back in as much material as possible. Even with the bar clamped to my welding bench it kinda sprung and bowed a little bit. I should have slowed my welding down to avoid that.

Holes were drilled for the removable mount while the bar was still clamped to the bench. I'm pleased to report they work as intended.

The rigid mount is mostly welded but still needs the gussets discussed earlier in this thread added.

After letting it all cool down I figured I should at least check to see if it will all bolt back in place or if I'm going to need to tweak it. Everything bolted back in without a hassle but it does feel a bit more snug than before.

That's when I decided to call it for the day. I didn't feel like cutting or welding anything else and quite frankly think it's time for a break. Motivation will be at an all time high when I get back from our trip. I'll have quite a few days to tinker before going back to work so I think it's best to walk away for a breather.

I also may need to jump to something else for a little while to try and break things up. I've got brakes, fuel lines, coolant lines, wiring, etc. that can all be messed with to take a break from fab work.

Of course I took zero progress pics other than to show how little the trans mount will be visible if at all. The rear roll pan isn't installed and once the muffler is in place it's all invisible.

Here you can kinda see the bolts for the removable mount.

And a side view. No trick photography here folks. That engine and trans are supporting themselves!

It's nice to see the rear drop down a little now there's weight added.

captainawesome said:

In reply to fouckhest :

I need to check and see if I have anything larger for MIG in my cabinet. I'm almost done with the thicker metal welding but could be handy in the future.

Keep an eye out for HF coupons, their welding wire is decent, thats what I've been using 

I just bought an 11lb spool from HF in the .025 size just a few days ago, works really well even in my 35 year old Mig welder. However, it was the last one they had, and it had been sitting in the back for a long time - had a thick coat of dust on the package! Point being I think they've all moved to .030 now.

Well I couldn't just stop for the day. After cleaning up I decided I could at the very minimum cut out some templates for the driver side mount and last patch for the oil pan notch. After that I decided I might as well cut them out and shape them in metal. And of course might as well tack them in place. Which then led to me finish welding all of the driver side mount and oil notch.

After tacking in the lower gusset I decided that would be more than plenty of structure so for now I'm skipping the upper gusset. I could tell the gusset plate stiffened up where it bolts to the block a bunch. I did however add a little leg of square tube since this arm is so long.

Last photo dump until I get back from the trip.

I plan to fully weld the passenger mount when I pull the whole drivetrain back out. I want to keep it bolted to the block to keep everything aligned.