And the parts eventually emerged from customs midday today and we took the whole thing apart, lifted the engine, re-aligned the bellhousing, changed gearboxes and reassembled it all. I'm covered in bruises around the chest and ribs and cuts all over my hands from the pointy bits of hose clips but - Daily Examiner permitting - it's done except for a bit of minor connection tomorrow. I'll try to write the story in a bit more detail in case anyone else ever wants to do it and put it on the blog somewhere. We worked out a different way of lifting the engine this time and it worked much better. Still not easy.
Massive bearhug for John Witchard (Witchard Marine Diesel in Sydney) for putting together the realignment tool and all the allen keys and bolts and instructions. It all worked , John - about a 6 hour job and full of beartraps but it's now the third time I've done it (I think...)and all the beartraps are new ones. How can this be? Anyway, great job mate!
Photos - top down
Engine lifted, rotated and swinging in the breeze and the wash of the go fast plastic mob
Shredded neoprene damping material
New lift technology - explanation follows if I can get it together
Christ on the other side of the river - he's about 2 miles away - too far to monitor the comments of the local seagulls. But anyway, he's probably got a tefln haircut...
Been trying to remember all evening the name of the mob at the Resturant at the end of the Universe who were waiting for their prophet and he arrived too late for the his own sermon. The followers of Zarkon perhaps
