Engine out

Bit like a fisherman I have caught a 'big one'. Hauled the engine & box out of the Mondeo during the Saturday afternoon gale. Was getting a bit exciting at one point as I tried to control the flapping bonnet (I know, should have taken it off) whilst trying to haul out the engine. Next step is to seperate engine and box and get rid of the shell of the Mondeo, then I can really start getting one with it.

One bit of good news is I sold a couple of pieces off the Mondeo and got another £32....currently I have a better than free engine. All I have to do now is fit it!

Getting there....

Well, did have some good news.....sold a whole lot of spares + the wheels to a guy at work.....and recovered a big chunk of my outlay so the engine is now quite cheap.

On the downside it is becoming more hassle than probably worth getting a whole car just to take the engine from...should have just got an engine on its own. Regardless, I have removed a lot of ancillaries, drained down the coolant, etc, so hopefully either one night this week or next weekend will see the Zetec lump released from the engine bay.

Free petrol!

Well started on dismantling the Mondeo yesterday, despite the negative temperature. Removed most of the front end lights/grill/etc ready for resale, and also drained most of the fuel out of it - nearly 50 litres!!! So that is about £40 credit to the running total! Rigged up an ingenious (well I thought so) system to pump it out via the fuel rail straight into a can. Also noticed the aircon pipes run across the gearbox so will either have to work round it when I lift out the engine or there may be a small hole in the ozone above my house......

Good run out today with the Apple County Kits guys - despite having to take a 15 mile diversion to get to the pub despite being only a mile from it! Roads were slippery and I was terrifying myself and other road users with locking wheels as soon as I touched the brake - the servo assistance was giving a bit too much power. Have done some internet research and find I can fit the master cylinder direct to the pedal which will solve the above problem and also assist with clearance for the induction system.

Change of direction

Happy new year to all.

Well, plan A to use the original Ford ECU appears to have been shelved. Looking at the massive number of inputs/outputs to the ECU means there is going to be a big risk the engine will not run correctly once in the 2B. A bit of internet research has thrown up the Megasquirt ECU which can be brought for about £300 fully built and tested, and is mappable via a laptop.

Subject to anymore change in plans the Mondeo should be stripped out this weekend. Hopefully!