Dressing the engine... Brian style... :)

[bevans6]

So I have my engine and new transmission installed in the bus, and I am "dressing" it.  This is putting back on all the stuff you have to take off to get it out.  Plus putting on new things like the transmission modulator cable, the hoses for the new oil cooler, the filter head for the transmission, and all of that.  Not only can I not remember what all the bits are, I can't remember what order to put them back on in.  So today's mission was to put the cover for the blower back on.  This is a custom made piece I made when I did the original install, and it fits very close to the roof of the engine bay, and closer now that I have tilted up the rear of the engine by 1/2".  It fits, barely - but my new modulator cable occupies some of the same space - one has to move.  I first tried cutting a bit off the blower cover, still not enough clearance.  Then I took the modulator cable off and tried a few other locations for it, and found one that cleared everything including the throttle cable, which is mounted in about exactly the same place as the modulator cable.  In the midst of all this I dropped the special U-bolt that clamps the modulator cable in place and apparently kicked it.  Whatever, I searched for fifteen minutes and finally realized that the only way to find it was to make a new one, knowing that if I do that, the original one will quit sulking and show up.  Grab some 1/4" rod, a thread die, and a hacksaw and fifteen more minutes and I have a not-quite-as-good-but-adequate new U-bolt.  I mount the modulator cable with the new U-bolt and get everything hooked up.  Everything clears, but I run out of adjustment on the threaded cable end on the modulator cable - can't adjust it quite short enough.  So I start to take everything apart to re-drill the holes for the U-bolt and BOOM - I spy the original U-bolt sitting there 15 feet from where I am working, the light is just at the right angle to make it sparkle and draw my eye.  At this point I say screw it, it's way past lunch time and I quit, I will take this up again in the morning...

That's "dressing the engine" Brian style...  At least the cooler didn't hit the engine, the filter head didn't hit the cooler, the hoses are close enough to the right length and the shifter cable works.   

[Dave5Cs]

Brian what did you finally do for the tower? and the shifter.

[bevans6]

Sucked it all in and bought new.  A tall tower, I think 13", and a MT-647 shifter.  My supplier looked for used parts for me, couldn't find a tower and said all his old shifters were junk.  The custom made cable was expensive but came in three days.  I mounted the tower exactly where the old manual shift lever was, since there was already a big hole in the floor for the cable

[TomC]

This is a classic example of what should be done when taking anything apart-mainly take lots of pictures-of which most of us have good cameras on our phones. Good Luck, TomC

[Dave5Cs]

So you are ready to roll awesome. See you in Evansville?