deice

Today I removed the gear box from the vehicle. While not strictly required, I want to take some measurements and clean up, and that's easier to do with the gearbox outside the car. Also, I think it's easier to test fit the electric motor and adapter plate in the box on a workbench.

I started by draining the transmission oil. The drain plug can be undo with a 3/8" square socket:

The engine hoist has arrived, so let's get our hands dirty!

First step was to suspend the engine with some straps (some chains would have been better) and disconnect it from both the transmission and engine mounts.

I've worked around four hours -- on two separate days and going easy -- and I've managed to disconnect the entire engine apart from its mounts and distribution.

All the electrical, coolant and air connections are undone. It was pretty easy and all the bolts and nuts came out fairly well!

The electric motor controller needs to tap on the "ignition" signal, so that it turns on when the key switch is turned into that position. I immediately noticed that the "acc" position of the key switch is not working as it should. The "acc" is suppose to power the radio and cigarette lighter only, just before the next position, "ignition". But the key switch or its wiring must have been messed up with since the "acc" does not exist. The "ignition" is always on with the switch either in "acc" or "ignition". So, I started looking closely at the wiring to see what else was not stock.

This was my first real assessment of the work ahead.

As you can see, the car is pretty basic and I think I can remove most ICE components attached in group, ie, without disconnecting them to many smaller pieces. That will make it easier to revert the process if I want to.

Up front, the radiator and fan shroud can be removed in block. The overflow tank is also connected to it. So, I'm planning to start by removing the coolant, disconnecting the coolant pipes and then removing the entire assembly.