1. Preparation is really important. Too many times I've just jumped into a project then realise that firstly I don't have any, for example, gasket cement. Or, maybe the part isn't identical to the one I took off. Whatever it is, in the past I have had to make multiple trips to the wrecker, autobarn, the hardware shop, etc. A simple 'phone call to the engine shop tells you in advance that, say, they won't get around to machining your head until Thursday, so you can plan around it and not remove it until Wednesday. Prep will save you a lot of time.
2. Take photos. A picture is more than worth a thousand words. Don't rely on your repair manual. If you have in the past you should already have uttered the words "bloody crap manual!". If you're thinking "My God, that guy's psychic" I'm not: Everyone has had the same experience. Take the time to take good photos. Pay particular attention to wiring, even if you think you know where everything goes. Take multiple angles before you start. About 90% or more of your photos will be before or during disassembly/removal. Anything you do afterwards is just for your ego anyway - unimportant. Good photos will save you time - take your camera to the wrecker.
3. Never, ever rush. If you expect a job to take an hour and you have to leave in just over an hour, don't start the job. My dad (was a mechanic for many decades) said to expect all jobs to take twice as long as you expect. I found that sometimes even that was very optimistic, but if you leave two hours for the one hour job and it actually only takes an hour (I have found this to be the very rare exception), that's a bonus.
4. Don't get angry. Think about it: Why get angry at metal, plastic etc. It's not trying to piss you off. How can it? Giving you advice to calm down is what I won't do: If you become aware that you're getting angry at the nut that just won't turn, stop trying. Take yourself away from it for a minute. Cup of tea, toilet break etc and you'll probably come up with a new plan on the way back to the garage. Getting angry will set you back and you may break something expensive.
5. Concentrate. When you are taking off the manifold, that's all your mind should be doing, and not thinking about last night or what you'll be doing later. Concentrate as completely as you can on the task you're doing now and not thinking about anything else will add quality to the job. You won't forget to tighten nuts and you won't take short cuts.
OK, here's the engine bay. It's clear that the car was on LPG here. I noticed that the gas converter (far side of the bay) was an "OHG". I did an LPG course in 1991 and OHG (over the hill gang, older Impco workers made redundant who started their own factory) were popular then. They haven't existed for some time now so I didn't take it. My car already has LPG so I'll use my own converter with the inline mixer you can see in the picture.
Here is most of it later that day, on the back porch.
Might have mentioned this already, but my dad was rather annoyed at my wanting to get the entire EFI wiring loom. I considered it a massive time saver. As well as the useful connectors, it will only work in the same layout as the original. What I mean is that if you try to connect the knock sensor, for example, only the right connector will reach it comfortably.
The manifold is fantastically well constructed, and in multiple parts. It would be great if I could use this on the slant, but I measured the lengths this morning and the slant is significantly longer. Well, I already bought the slant EFI manifold, so I'll be heading to the engine shop this afternoon to get their advice and get some prices. Will be calling two of the usuals beforehand. More later.
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