Clutch & Gearbox replacement project - nearly done

[MarkyB]

There don't seem to be enough holes for your new screws.

[gtt1951]

Thats right! The replacement floor pan wasn't married up correctly and the bolt holes were lined up too far to the right and the plate then hammered over the edge. You would have thought that the welder would have either checked alignment or drilled some, correctly placed holes, before commiting to the weld.

[MarkyB]

That's the difference when you do it yourself, you take the extra time and do it right.

[katy]

Ditto

[gtt1951]

Not all the parts from the clutch linkage kit could be used. The cltuch pedal to link connecting plate couldn't be fitted as this will only fit the later clutch pedal large hole. My clutch pedal is the original from the 803cc installation and the gearbox and engine are the later 1098cc items. Because of this, the floor pan isn't quite right for the later gearbox tunnel.
Whilst the tunnel and master cylinder cover plates have been drying (after painting with Hammerite's Dark Green Smoot Finish paint, that I just happened to have in the shed) I've been cleaning out the 1/4" BSF captive nuts using a Tap[frame][/frame]
Unfortunately, 4 of the fixing "bolts" turned out to be hex-headed self-tappers that have been fitted straight through the replacement floor plates - the left side[frame][/frame]and the right side[frame][/frame]
These holes are smaller than 1/4" BSF ones. Looks like I will have to put back the self-tappers.
Before I refit the tunnel, I'll be squirting WaxOil into the chassis legs, but have to re-afix the "blanking" sheets in the left leg, that cover up the pedal shaft holes.
[see separate thread about this http://www.mmoc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=51765]
Referring back to the left floor panel and it covering up the fixing nuts - I was going to drill pilot holes up through the nuts (from underneath) and then open up the holes from inside, to be able to use the nuts. This hasn't been done as the original bolts must have sheared off (or been cut flush with the top of the chassis leg) and the shafts are still in the nuts.

[gtt1951]

Re-fitted the painted up gearbox tunnel, last night - oh dear [frame][/frame]
Circled, in yellow, are the fixing points I cannot use. Some were known about (on the left) but others, although I tapped the threads in the captive nuts, don't line up correctly (over on the right) and two others don't have any matching holes in the floor pan - one is to the left of the gearlever opening and the other is in a mirror image place, but out of shot under the handbrake handle. The picture below shows the 3 hex-headed, non-standard, self-tapping bolts that had been used to secure the trailing edges of the tunnel - 803 floor pan (modified) and 1098 gearbox tunnel.[frame][/frame]
Something else can be seen (or rather not seen) in the 2nd picture - why is there no caulking strip showing?
That's because I applied the strips to the floor pan and not to the underside of the tunnel cover!
It will have to come up again, or I will need to squeeze in some of my blue silicone (Hylomar replacement)

[MarkyB]

How tightly captivated are the nuts?
They are pretty sloppy as standard.

Did you tighten up the ones that fitted before trying the others?
Always a better idea to get them all started before any are tightened up.

[DAVIDMCCULLOUGH]

As long as the ones that go down into the gearbox crossmember are good and tight I wouldnt worry to much about the rest of them. Ive never had water come in through the gearbox tunnel on any of mine, put some sealant at the back to keep the oil out

[gtt1951]

How tightly captivated are the nuts?
They are pretty sloppy as standard.

Did you tighten up the ones that fitted before trying the others?
Always a better idea to get them all started before any are tightened up.

Before even attempting getting the tunnel back in the car, I ran a new brass bolt into all the captive nuts I could access and the 2 to the right of the master brake cylinder could only go in at a strange angle due to the replacement floor pan holes not quite lining up. All bolts were put in half way prior to fully tightening, but with the brake cylinder access cover in place, I could not get the angle access on those 2 difficult nuts - I may try longer bolts (like the ones used for the cross member support).

[gtt1951]

As long as the ones that go down into the gearbox crossmember are good and tight I wouldnt worry to much about the rest of them. Ive never had water come in through the gearbox tunnel on any of mine, put some sealant at the back to keep the oil out

David, cross member bolts are good and tight (4 longer ones for this application). I'll take out the self-tappers and see if that will give me enough "lift" to squeeze in some sealant, thanks.