Ford Mondeo st220 into '88 Caravelle

[Dueller]

[Aidan]

I'm amazed that you aren't mating the box and engine out of the body then trial fitting them to body once together, I know the auto is a heavy beast but engine crane at back and trolley jack under gearbox works great and gives plenty of control over position of everything, with driveshafts and linkages off you have room to work and less snags and less chance of bending anything important like the linkages
just mho of course

[silverbullet]

Its an interesting project. If it were mine, I'd be looking for an auto drive plate for that engine and then seeing if the TC will mount to it.

An auto doesn't need a flywheel, the TC full of oil is heavy enough. Its mass might affect the gearchanges, might not.

FWIW the BMW M57 auto swap I got involved with used a custom drive plate and a spacer on the end of the crank, which is basically how Land Rover adapted the 2.5 TDS engine into the P38 with a ZF 4HP22 auto.

[Dueller]

I'm amazed that you aren't mating the box and engine out of the body then trial fitting them to body once together, I know the auto is a heavy beast but engine crane at back and trolley jack under gearbox works great and gives plenty of control over position of everything, with driveshafts and linkages off you have room to work and less snags and less chance of bending anything important like the linkages
just mho of course

Yeah it seemed easier underneath with everything in place then it went wrong, thought I had a chance at first...then the screaming started.

Last time I had access to a lift so assembled the engine and box then dropped the van over them. And that auto box doesn't have anywhere to put a jack under and lift it into place, grrr. It's amazing how much room I have around the engine without the 1.9dg and the exhaust system removed.

But yes your right on using the engine crane and the jack together, back on with it Wednesday

[Dueller]

Its an interesting project. If it were mine, I'd be looking for an auto drive plate for that engine and then seeing if the TC will mount to it.

An auto doesn't need a flywheel, the TC full of oil is heavy enough. Its mass might affect the gearchanges, might not.

FWIW the BMW M57 auto swap I got involved with used a custom drive plate and a spacer on the end of the crank, which is basically how Land Rover adapted the 2.5 TDS engine into the P38 with a ZF 4HP22 auto.

I'm curious myself about this, will need to try it and see, the engine will overcome any inertia I'm sure.

Since starting the project I've sourced a Ford auto flex plate for the engine so it's an option to reengineer the conversion later if it doesn't shift well.

Previously I've always adapted the flywheel to the engine, this is a first for me to adapt the engine to the gearbox. The ford flywheel can't be modified, the bolt pattern and seal face are very different to the vw hence this approach.

[Aidan]

see my design for a trolley jack adapter for gearbox on the wiki and make something similar but auto specific for your needs, lower ball joint, piece(s) of wood, ratchet strap....

[Dueller]

see my design for a trolley jack adapter for gearbox on the wiki and make something similar but auto specific for your needs, lower ball joint, piece(s) of wood, ratchet strap....

No pics are coming up bud on the Wiki, all error codes, maybe needs some new links

[Aidan]

HacksawBob posted that entry to Wiki, I don't know where the pics were hosted, I'll ask him, but chances are they were on one of the old 'free' hosting sites that went pay for as with most stuff from way back then

I've lent mine to somebody, can't remember who so I can't take pics of it, but basically piece of thickish ply 18"ish by 8"ish with a hole in middle to fit a used front upper ball joint and a block of 1 1/2" x 3/4"ish wood to level the board against bottom gearbox and I used threaded bars bent to form a couple of U to hook over/go through to attach to factory lugs on case as per factory tool (Syncro has fuel tank above so box needed to be held to board from below, with 2wd you can just use a couple of cheap ratchet straps as nothing above box to stop you feeding them over). Something to act as washer for ball joint to keep it secured to trolley jack and you remove the white disc from trolley jack to fit the board instead

will tilt in all planes and stay attached to trolley jack, a 2 1/2 tonne one (which is what I have a high lift from Clarke/Machinemart) or similar won't tip oversideways with a manual gearbox, never tried it with an auto though, there's more weight than even a Syncro box in an auto

[silverbullet]

Sealey scissor transmission jack is rated at 150kg. They come up used on ebay from time to time but cheap enough to buy new.

[Dueller]

Here's the vid I got from the engine seller of my st220 engine running on an adapter for the rx8 gearbox, proper knows what he's doing as compared to the 2.5 loom it's brilliantly done

[Dueller]

Made the spacer plate out of 2mm sheet yesterday

Used my template and a step drill to oversize the 10mm holes, the other 2 I kept the same for alignment

It warped from the plasma cutter so tack welded it directly on to the adapter plate

Final assembly later with any luck then in it goes...and onto the next problem

[Dueller]

Fitted the engine today after connecting the box and engine together, my spacer plate made all the difference

Height wise the sump is higher that the autobox lowest point so I have room to play but the throttle body is a concern for space, will see next time. Stands proud of the deck as expected and have decided not to mess with it at this time, maybe in the future but for now it's good

The engine bar fits and clears perfectly, just needs the mounting points making up, used a spare stock 1.9 dg bar so easy to fit to the van.

Next up are figuring out the above then plumb and wire it to the van

[Dueller]

[Dueller]

It looks incredible to be fair, im very pleased with it, has real presence there

May have to drop it an inch as the Rocker cover is a slice of paper off the bodywork edge but will roll it onto level ground before I make my decision. The gearbox is fitted as at stock height and so the driveshafts are unaffected by any angle change.

[Dueller]

Been a mixed week

Made the engine bar and fitted the engine in place, the gearbox is 40mm lower and I need to finish making a better spacer for it.

The engine bar is functional, made from T3 and T2 bars, ugly but have planned in a better one as even if I kept it it doesn't work for the exhaust I have planned.

The engine mounts need some gusseting I know but again will complete them before I have a first drive.

Started it and scared the crap out of myself, being under the 'velle and having it kick into life was loud, even through the 6 into 1 exhaust.

Had a wiring issue as the van can't take the electrical load, need a switched and permanent live for the relays and fuel pump, anyone else had this and how did you sort it out?