Big deal eh?...Yeah but there is a story....
This thing has been here for 4 months,and the story goes way back before that.It's a 1968 340,a MKII to you,and I've been seeing it for 10 years,just for WoFs and the little bit of work they turn up.It's been coming in less and less as the owner spent more time overseas,and now he finaly lives in Texas.About 4 years ago he says he's going to put a 4.2 into it,and drops off a rusty old block here....and it sits on my floor for a year.Finaly it ends up at my engine rebuilder...who then decides to fold his shop after 30 yrs (I've delt with him for that long),so the engine goes up to the reconditioners just up the road....then after a couple of years Graham decides he can't stop and ends up in the same place to finish the motor.
In Nov the owner turns up and says he wants to do the engine now,and he's taking it back to Texas and wants it converted to left hand drive....um...ah,really? I had agreed to do the engine swap way back then,but there was no talk about a left hand drive conversion! Anyway,I finaly get my arm slowly twisted - there are no regs for me to worry about,I just do it and ship it,not like I was doing one for here.So while the engine is out (don't you like that...remove engine,have you looked under the bonnet of one of these?) He has everything for us to convert,and while the engine bay is empty I figure we may as well do the stuff there.So out comes the steering box and idler,and in goes a rack and pinion,with electric power steering...we notch the chassis and shorten the steering shaft...shift brake master over and lengthen brake pipes,relocate pedal box,align brake pedal.Shift handbrake over to the left,it's an auto,so we shorten the gear cable and shift steering coloum.The dash is symetrical,fit new (wooden) dash that doesn't fit,extend wiring,lengthen speedo cable - endless stuff.
At some stage I send the thing over to the panelbeaters for some chassis rust repair.Then we start to make the engine into something that can work.We have some sort of XJ block,and a head from something else,parts have to be made....with the engine fitted and ready to go,water pours out between head and block! They are unconpatable,but my engine man sorts it out.When we shift the coloum over the shift pattern reversed...I guess you need a left drive coloum to sort that.But 2 days before Xmas the owner says he wants the standard pattern - oh,do you just!!! A couple of days of solid work sees the pattern reversed,by a stroke of luck.
It has gone on and on with all the problems you'd expect converting a 38 year old car to left hand drive and putting a bigger later model engine in.We are a 3 man shop - I run the place,do WoF and diagnosis and sort problems,one guy just does servicing work,brakes water pumps etc.The other guy I keep on bigger jobs...head gaskets,engine swaps,cam belts.He hasn't made the shift to tech grade,but he can do the work and use his brain - he's done several engine conversion for me over the years....I do the thinking,and welding,he gets into it and makes it happen.
We've had it running for several weeks,but it has taken so long because I have to keep the place running at almost normal level,with the Jag sitting waiting for the smallest spare time.This thing has killed me over Xmas,hours and hours of work and only one small progress payment for Xmas.Anyway,I went around the block today - and all seems good,no water or oil leaks,the electric power steering works,but the alt doesn't,the engine is a bit buzzy with 3.4 gearing,but that's not my problem...yet.It idles terrible...someone else did the 2in SUs (had to move the wiper motor a bit to get them in) and they are set up as good as I can get them,I can only hope it'll smooth out with running.
Anyway,a drive around the block is a big landmark in this epic...
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Originally Posted by skidmark
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