More Work on the Tray Under the Motor

More work in the engine bay today.


Here is a shot of the engine bay at it's current state. The tray under the motor is mounted in place (although not permanently just yet). But it does give you an opportunity to see the tray under the motor, the duct work for the motor fan and the final position of the vacuum pump assembly.

Here's a detail of the passenger side. I believe I know what you're thinking. I can nearly hear it. "What on earth is that pink and yellow monstrosity next to the motor?" Well trust me when I say that the picture really doesn't do it justice. It's far, far uglier in person.

I mentioned earlier in the week that I need some way of keeping water from splashing on the motor fan and it's filter. Well, the space is tight and irregular, ruling out a tidy piece of aluminum. And by the way, for anyone who saw the work I did on the housing for the vacuum pump, you know I may not be capable of a tidy piece of aluminum.

Anyway, I constructed the shroud out of two flexible plastic cutting boards. I hot glued them together, and then ran some small screws along the seams just to hold them tight. It's not water tight, but it will keep all flying water off of the assembly. I'd show you a more complete picture of the whole assembly, but my fear of being mocked by all has gotten the better of me. Truthfully though, it works just great. It contains the assembly quite well and flexes around all the little things that stick out here and there.

I don't know that this picture is really all that different from the one I posted last week. But there is one important difference. The vacuum pump is actually in the housing now, and the housing is bolted down into place.

This whole tray assembly has taken a terrific amount of time, but it's all been necessary. It's a small car, with precious little space. Dropping a WarP 11 motor in that engine bay instead of a 9 hasn't helped matters as far as space is concerned. Everything that I need to fit in place I have fractions of an inch to spare at best. It makes for one challenge after another. But it's fun anyway.