With the engine conversions that you have done or are doing, how far do you have to move the rear bulkhead forward. Do you have to move it or can you get away without doing any mods? I know that with some of the mini conversion frames (eg Allspeed) no forward extension is needed is this true with the GTM.

Pete.

I think that alot of the installations can get away with a "modification" to the bulkhead, rather than a complete move. If you are doing a custom subframe then you can move the engine back to get it to fit. But with the 16v engines they have done silly things, like moving the exhaust manifold to the front!!!

By the way Pete, is that a Davrian you are using as your Avatar?

I was trying to decide whilst rebuilding my coupe what the minimum amount of bulkhead mods/movement would be, so that I have a wider choice of possible conversions in the future. Although, I think planning an actual conversion is quite a way off, just trying to get some ideas.

Tim, yes my avatar is a Davrian, it was my Dad's car that we both used to use in sprints. It was one of the later Dragon models using a transverse mounted Ford crossflow. Unfortunately it is no longer with us, it was completely destroyed by fire a few years ago.

Pete.

The mods that you need to do to fit different engine are more about the rear frame.



The A series sits quite centrally to the car, but the 16vers seem to have the engine either to the left or right of the car.

As you can (hopefully) see in the picture, I have moved the rear of the frame back by 5" and I've moved the brace (and added another), which means I can have support the rear frame on either side when I decide to go 16v.

My plan for the bulkhead, is to make as much as possible as bolt on panels, so that they can be removed and modified. This means that I can make cardboard templates when I trial fit the engine and can work out where there are clearance problems.

I'm not sure how much you are going to do to your coupe, but I feel that the mods I've done to the rear frame should make mine "future proof". There may be minor mods need on the bulkhead. Neil had to make a bulge for the alternator, but if the bulkhead panels are removable, then that should be an easy modification.

Tim, thanks for the info. You seem to be moving along nicely with your project.

My Coupe is still standard A series at the back at the moment. Currently concentrating on the front, just rebuilt the front suspension, brakes etc. Working through a pedalbox design (like so many others on here) and also the positioning of the steering column.

Pete.

The trick with the steering column, which my mates use on their minis, is to use one from either a montego or maestro, as they have the same splines onto the rack, but they also have 2 (i think) UJs on them, so you can align the wheel to your preference. So you can actually be pointing forward when you are driving along in your Coupe!

I think this is the route that I am going to use, but I have been looking at a rover 100 column too.

I'll have to look in to the fitting one of those columns.
I am using a standard mini column at the moment (not the normal dolomite one) which, with my pedalbox design is giving me very little room in the footwell. I had thought of making a custom column using some ujs to allow more space for the pedals (less of an angled column), but if a maestro column is already like that, it could solve the problem.

Thanks
Pete.

All you'll have to do is find where you can get one from!

I'm currently pricing up the cost of having the moncoque remade, with a sloping bulkhead and better structure in 302 Stainless. It will all spot weld together and will be lighter and much stiffer than the original. The front / rear will have bolt on subframes, allowing crashing / engine changes without total destruction..

From what I've done, I've learnt that the rear bulkhead and the footwell / dash construction is very important to the stiffness of the chassis. Poor stiffness leads to handling that only depends on weight distribution, tyres and luck.

I'd advise welding the bulkhead in, but making it slope so it's just behind the seats. This should give you room for a much bigger engine, whilst retaining the chassis structural integrity. Beef up the are behind the doors at the same time as it's pretty weak (mine was failing when i rebuilt the car)
If you are going to bolt anyway, use plenty at fairly small pcd, make sure they're nice and tight and make the corner bolts bigger with double thickness metal around the hole to reduce the stress intensity and hence the risk of the hole elongating / failing.