peejay4A Posted April 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2011 (edited) First experiment with added packing results in this This looks much better. No prizes for guessing where the upper and lower packing pieces came from. So the upshot is that the engine plate and the rectangular mounts I have simply don't line up without packing to the maximum that the threads on the mounts will allow. I've ordered some mounts from a different supplier but to be truthful I doubt they'll be much different. I've measured up the chassis and it is to the book, as you'd expect from Colin Matthews. So maybe my engine plate is wrong - surely not? Do anybody's mounts look distorted like the picture I posted at the head of this thread? Oh, I should have mentioned that without packing the mounts I have to turn the thermostat housing through 180 deg to line up with the radiator inlet - raising it up. That said it's not a standard rad, it's alloy, so I don't have a reference. Edited April 13, 2011 by peejay4A Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RAHTR4 Posted April 13, 2011 Report Share Posted April 13, 2011 Pete, Another thought, is the correct front engine plate fitted. The engine plate for both the TR4 and TR4A is different from all of the earlier Side Screen cars. Unfortunately I do not know what the dimentional differences are. I think I have a loose a TR4 / 4A engine plate so will dig it out and measure the distance between engine mount supports as a check. Regards, Richard Quote Link to post Share on other sites
peejay4A Posted April 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2011 (edited) Thanks a million Richard. I'm beginning to think I have a TR2/3 engine plate as well. The engine is not original to the car so it's possible although I bought it as a TR4 lump. A measurement would nail it. It's a bit hard to be precise with the crankshaft pulley in the way but hole to hole the plate measures about 330mm. Just found in the Moss catalogue that the TR2/3 mounting point hole spacing is 13 3/8 inches (340mm) and the TR4/4A is 14 3/4 inches (375mm ish). So my crude measurement means that I do indeed have a TR2/3 engine plate. Considering that I bought the engine as TR4 I think a call to the supplier is in order. Annoyingly I'm now looking at taking off the timing cover and all the faffing around needed to change it for the correct item. Annoyed - you bet. Edited April 14, 2011 by peejay4A Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ade-TR4 Posted April 14, 2011 Report Share Posted April 14, 2011 (edited) That's A LOT of packing shims. I suspect your fears maybe correct: Worth checking several times though, before getting the spanners out. Good luck Ade PS: I my experience, the rad seems to require raising a touch, rather than it being too high. Edited April 14, 2011 by Ade-TR4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jir Posted April 14, 2011 Report Share Posted April 14, 2011 Mine have same engine mounts,no distorsion, and as Ade-Tr4 says my alloy rad sits lower than the thermostat housing, been misaligned and impossible to adjust due to interference rad/bonnet. Regards JIR Quote Link to post Share on other sites
peejay4A Posted April 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2011 Mine have same engine mounts,no distorsion, and as Ade-Tr4 says my alloy rad sits lower than the thermostat housing, been misaligned and impossible to adjust due to interference rad/bonnet. Regards JIR I'm now certain that it's the wrong engine plate. Evidence: It measures around 340mm between mounting holes - correct for TR2/3, wrong for TR4/4A, should be around 375mm. Monumental amounts of packing needed on the engine mounts, and it's still too low in the chassis. Engine mounts distorted no matter how much packing. Dynamo very close to the cross tube. Problem now with the supplier - but I'll have to do the work of course. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lynchpin Posted April 14, 2011 Report Share Posted April 14, 2011 Hi If you are sure the front plate is a tr2/3 is the engine the correct 2138cc and not the smaller 1991cc? as in tr2-3,tr registrars will be able to tell the origin of the block by its No.. Phil.. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
peejay4A Posted April 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2011 Good point Phil. It was sold to me as 86mm plus an overbore. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lynchpin Posted April 14, 2011 Report Share Posted April 14, 2011 Hi Should be ok then as far as i understand its just a case of pistons and liners to change the bore, others will correct me if the crank or anything else is involved. Cheers Phil.. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
peejay4A Posted April 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2011 Yup 86mm shoul be 2138cc. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RAHTR4 Posted April 14, 2011 Report Share Posted April 14, 2011 Pete, I could not find the loose engine plate, must be squirreled away somewhere. However I can just manage to get to the front end of my spare engine - the dimension between the very bottom edges of the sloping plates that sit on the engine mounts is 345mm. Thus as these plates splay outwards and upwards the distance between the fixing holes is wider at approximately 370mm - a bit difficult to measure accurately insitu. So from your notes above it seems that you do have the earlier engine plate. Trust you can sort this out with your supplier - however it is the real pain and ache of having to change it over, much un-neccessary work..!!!! Regards, Richard Quote Link to post Share on other sites
peejay4A Posted April 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2011 Thanks for that Richard. C'est la vie I suppose. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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