Motor Installed!

After a week of vacation, time to get back at it. Today, the task was to install the motor for real. The first step is to install the flywheel. The instructions call for 1.415" +/- 0.01" - with the modified hub / bushing, it was very straightforward to get the flywheel there:


A trick I figured out to make installing things easier was to push the bushing in as far as possible (with the flywheel installed and without using excessive force), and measure that distance. In this case, it was 1.275". This means that the hub has to come out 0.140" from its maximum "in" distance. That distance was 0.750", which means that the hub has to be 0.890" +/-1 0.01" - here is that distance shown:


It is *much* easier to measure this distance as you tighten the taperlock hub than it is to do as suggested in the "VoltsPorsche 914" manual - in that case, it suggests you tighten it *almost* all the way (so it is difficult to slide back and forth) and then adjust, remove the flywheel, and tighten for real. With the volt914, I kept moving the hub when I removed or reattached the flywheel. I like this "measure the bushing distance" method much more - I only had to remove / reattach the flywheel *once*.

With the flywheel mounted (and the bolts torqued to 50 foot pounds plus 60 degrees), time for the pilot bushing. A piece of cake, using a socket as a drift:


Here it is, installed:


Next, the clutch. You insert a pilot tool to keep the clutch properly centered when you install the pressure plate (side note - this is the last picture ever to be taken with my trusty garage digicam - it got dropped in an oil bucked right after this picture was taken):


Here is the pressure plate installed (the bolts are torqued to 23 foot pounds as per manufacturer's specs). You can also see one of the two brass bushings I bought to replace the transmission locator pins, which I cannot seem to remove from the original gas engine no matter how I try:


As part of the clutch kit, I also got a new throwout bearing. Here it is, on the throwout lever plate:


And here is the plate / bearing installed in the transmission, with the driveshaft greased up and ready to mate with the motor:


While the motor was out for this procedure, I took the opportunity to fix the interference problem with the motor mount:


Finally, with everything in place, I removed the lifting eye. This was trickier than expected. Basically, you are supposed to "tap it with a hammer" and it will slide out - this concept is well illustrated by the picture here:


However, there were complications. Either when it was installed, or during all the hoisting I've done over the past few months, a large burr developed on the heatsink fins. So, I had to take my angle grinder to them and widen the groove somewhat. And then I had to use my Big Friendly Hammer (a 6 pound sledge) with full-force "taps". The lifting eye was pretty banged up by all this, but I got it off:


Just for grins, with the lifting eye removed, I dropped my 3x1 battery box on top for a test fit:


Whew! Now, to weld the battery racks and boxes...