Bulkhead mods on VX engined car

[Tonycaterham]

 

Help!

 

Buying a Vauxhall 2 litre(XE) engined car which I am told has a Vauxhall XE chassis, so should I expect to see;

a) very tight tolerances between bellhousing and bulkhead we a talking only a few mm clearance?

 

b) 'mods' to the panelling ( read use of hammer) near clutch fork to achieve clearance?

 

Tony

 

Edited by - Tony7 on 14 Apr 2002 07:18:50

[stevefoster]

Mines a 97 chassis and there is reasonable clearance on both sides with the long footwells.

I've had the motor out and no probs but have the removable

cross braces.

 

Hammering of things does not sound right...

On mine the clutch cable / bellhousing hole is at ~2 o'clock as viewed from the drivers side of the engine.

 

It could be that a non standard bellhousing has been used.

[Alex Wong1697456877]

I'm not sure when the universal chassis came to be but my '97 is definitely a universal chassis. - could fit ford/rover or Vx

[EFA]

It is possible to damage the front of the footwells fitting the engine in and out as the bellhousing to footwell clearences are small.

 

If someone has tried to fit engine and gearbox together as a single item, into an early chassis without 2 removable struts this is even more likley.

 

If the clutch fork is near the footwells to the extent that the fork is only a few mm's from the footwells then this is not a Caterham bellhousing and its likely the whole car may not have started life as a VX.

 

The clutch fork on the Caterham bellhousing exits at "half past 10" if you view standing in front of the car (ie, halfway between horizontal and vertical on the drivers side)

 

 

 

Fat Arn

Visit the K2 RUM siteid=red>

See the Lotus Seven Club 4 Counties Area Website hereid=green>

 

[ian balson]

I guess you could check the chassis number out with Caterham to see how it was sold.

 

Ian

[paul jacobs]

Hmm, Yes, this sounds just like a mod that I made to a Vx. engined and chassised car a few years ago. On my car everything was kosher, but I wanted to move the engine back as far as possible in the chassis to compensate for the extra weight of the vauxhall engine. it worked a treat too, giving wonderfully balanced handling.

 

Give us a bit more info on the car Tony. Has the battery been moved to the back, or the fuel tank been modified or the spare wheel carrier been modified? Is the car by any chance running on Leda shock absorbers?

 

 

[Tonycaterham]

Paul,

 

Problem is that car is not running the Caterham bellousing IMHO causing clearance issues. Bodywork mod was due to ham fisted mechanic (NOT the owner) trying to resolve clearance issue.

Suspect that the proper bellhousing would solve the problem.

 

Tony

 

[paul jacobs]

Ahh, right then. Yes it's amazing what mechanics are capable of when they get their greasy mits on a proper car.

 

Best thing is to try and get a look at another Vx engined car and compare the differences. Best of luck.