The marriage between the Toyota 3SGE and the Rover PG1 is coming along nicely. It was decided at an early stage to design and make a completely new gearbox adapter plate due to the 15 degree angle which the 3SGE motor needs to sit at (otherwise there are oil drain issues from the head). A locating dowel was turned on the lathe so the bell housing could be lined up exactly
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You can just make out the Rover in the background.
The biggest issue so far (not unexpected) is the driver's side driveshaft. Due to the casting on the 3S block 'flaring out' at the bottom, the driveshaft won't fit. Fortunately, that part of the casting is hollow with nothing important there so will be angle grinded off. An extra support bracket will be fabricated so it attached to the block using existing holes and will then bolt onto the lower part of the box.
The plate you can see is just a mock up and the final plate will be made from 10mm ally with a 12mm ring around the outside to retain the OE thickness - allowing sufficient clearance for the flywheel (which will be a custom unit. Rover O.D. and ring gear with Toyota mounting holes) and normal operation of the Rover starter motor. This will also ensure that the OE gearbox mounting brackets can be used (and extra gearbox end bracket has already been made using Austin Montego parts) and will require only the cambelt end engine mount to be fabricated.
The engine / box have yet to be fitted in the engine bay, but with planned throttle bodies, due to the angle the motor sits at, a hole will need to be cut into the firewall and boxed in. And a custom pedal box too as the master cylinder will not have sufficient space.
More pics top follow as work progresses....
Gary