Universal 3sge (inc Beams) into AE/KE thread

[Sam-Q]

ah ok.. so main priority is really weight balance ? with the pay off of fitting the beams oil pan in aswell..

i should measure how far back mine is.. compared to all these would be interesting..

i think the middle of my motor is further back than the middle of a 4age.. by about 2 inches at a guess..

[Sam-Q]

thebiggest hurdle for me was the bell housing at the snout of the tunnel? it just rubbed too hard on the ribs... didnt have any idea how much the motor would move sooo made more room than i need.

can get regular spanners in the back to get engine off bell, so plenty of room.

my engine also sits a fair bit behind where the 4a did ...

[Sam-Q]

ah yes.. i am maybe running my engine a bit lower than the normal..
the crankshaft counterweights would be about half an inch off the crossmember.. the sump has cut outs where it goes over the steering rack even..
this may have made fitting teh R154 easier aswell..

[Sam-Q]

eah weight balance. Everyone has different priorites with a conversion like that, and it's always a compromise. It's like if you say you didn't have to modify the swaybar people reading assume you placed the engine where you did so you didn't have to modify the swaybar. I know full well how easy it is to get a custom swaybar, so I would never let that factor affect engine position too much. They don't get that that was just a lucky byproduct of a better engine placement.

[Sam-Q]

anthony did you get the motor in with out spacing the xmember down 25mm like mister sherwood did at all
and yes you are right its the oil drain back that is the problem to fit into a car .i just made the bar up to fit so it was easy for me and also at the same time the bar was made as a fully adjustable as well
in my 45 which is bigger and heavier than the 86 my weight ratio with a f series disc barke rear is 52 front and 48 rear with me in the car
would be good to see what the spoontah comes in at
on the box issue its 4 kilos in weight difference between the w and the j box but also gear stick is further back as well

also didnt you from memory, cut the fire wall to get it in as well

[Sam-Q]

this is a different topic but the heavier diff doesnt really contirbute to better weight balance as it unsprung..
moving battery into the boot, fuel system, swirl pot etc help weight balance

[Sam-Q]

all GT s run F series disc brake rears as std ,dont think a T series would be up to it

[Sam-Q]

i wasnt saying to use a lighter diff.. just saying that the diff doesnt help weight distribution.. i have a hilux diff in my 86..

[Sam-Q]

this is for you anthony ,you cannot cut the tunnel but minor reshaping can be done with hammer but metal cannot be taken a way or added for a bigger box

The relevant transmission tunnel regs.
3.2 Transmission tunnel: Minor reshaping of the body is permitted to enable fitment of replacement gearboxes and clutch assemblies.

The important words are "minor reshaping", so small amounts of say hammer work would be OK, but removing metal and replacing it with other metal of a different shape is most certainly not. This "minor reshaping" is of course restricted to the transmission tunnel and strictly that necessary for the fitments of gearbox and clutch. Not the firewall and not the engine.

[Sam-Q]

is this with the stock 6 speed?

so guys the limiting fator in what hits first is the bellhousing then?