I have begun exorcising the evil spirits left in a '58 MGA by the DPO.
The usual list, including 90 wt gear lube in the tranny (Can you say
"new layshaft", boys and girls? Can you say, "Out of stock"?)
Pulling the powertrain was a most frustrating experience after having
recently done the same on a B. Aside from the business of ripping the
floors up (to get enough clearance to drop the driveshaft) there
seemed to be a clearance problem due to the length of the tail on the
tranny. At one point the assembly got hung up in three places: The
crank pulley was stuck on the front body cross member that holds the
hood latch, the top of the tranny was jammed in the firewall tunnel
(yes, you have to take out the tranny dipstick) and the tail was stuck
on top of the two rear mounting ears on the chassis crossmember. It
appears that if the mounting ears (that hold the huge-o bolt that
goes through the rubber bushing) were just a squidge further apart,
the tail could pass through easily, but NOOOoooooo. The extraction
was performed with crowbars and strong language. It would seem
incorrect to have to remove the crank pulley to pull the engine, but
I've seen stranger things. (The official instructions for doing a
valve job on a type 43 Bugatti begin "Remove the left rear wheel".)
Comments? Voices of experience?
A. B. Bonds
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