The washer tank support is finished, but it's out of the car now to give easier access to the wiring.

There isn't a large black plug on my main GTM loom, so I'll need to connect these wires one by one. The matching wires are all connected, but there are 8 differently colored wires left!

I connected the main GTM loom and the 5AS loom to the main fuse block. Apparently there should have been a short brown wire left on the 30 amp fuse. It wasn't there, so I filed one blade of the fuse down a little and connected the main GTM loom directly to the fuse. I modified the wiring on the 5AS loom slightly, to be able to place it's fuse holder in the main fuse block.

Main fuse block with 5AS fuse added

5-4-'03

This Saturday was a very productive one! I started the day picking up the powder coated parts. The engine frame is fitted to the tub again. After lunch I decided to try and fit the engine. Luckily I remembered just in time to fit the oil pressure and water temperature senders first. The water temperature sender is impossible to reach with the engine in the car.

Both were connected to the existing engine wiring. The second connector on the oil pressure sender (labeled "G") was connected to ground, lets hope that's right!

With the aid of a hand pallet truck and the car lift maneuvering the engine in it's frame is a fairly easy one man job. On the distributor side the mount is fixed to the frame. I'm still missing the mounting rubber on the gearbox side, but I'll have a temporary steel mounting block made this week. Then I can remove the pallet and wooden blocks from under the engine.

The heat shield on the exhaust is very close to the engine frame. I'm not sure if there's enough clearance to allow for engine movement.

Oil pressure sender fitted

Water temperature sender in place, blade connector shielded with heat shrink

Engine fits in the new engine frame

Engine bay is filled up nicely!

Engine mount fitted very easy

Gearbox mount in need of a mounting rubber

Exhaust shield is very close to engine frame

8-4-'03

I changed the connections on the oil pressure sender. Only the G(auge) connection is used. Thanks for the info, Neil! The gearbox now has a temporary steel mounting, so I can lift the car up again. With the added weight it lies much more stable on the car lift. I fitted the most important connection to the engine: the throttle cable. It works, but the cable is a bit too long and the pedal feel is not very nice, probably because of a too tight bend near the pedal. I'll have to find a better routing for the cable.

Engine up in the air!

12-4-'03

Today I fitted the petrol tank. First, I fixed all hoses and cables above the tank to an aluminium strip. To prevent it from rattling I wrapped in foam. Fitting the tank itself is an easy job with the car on a lift. The connection to the filler pipe went in easier then expected. Trouble came when it was time to fit the funnel, restrictor and filler cap. It took a long time to get the eight washers and nuts on the fixing bolts. But the result looks great! The large breather hose is also in place.

Hoses and cables above petrol tank

Filler pipe in place, breather to be connected

Filler pipe connected to petrol tank

Filler cap looks great!

13-4-'03

The petrol tank came out again, because I had forgotten about the petrol return hose. It's back in it's place now, and it isn't any easier fitting the filler pipe the second time!

21-4-'03

First job last week was to finish work on the petrol tank by fixing the small breather hose. To be safe, I chose to use the standard Rover breather valve as well as taking it up as high as possible in the B-pillar. Under the car the hose is fixed to the tank. For this, I used a part of the mounting bracket that came with my rear fog light!

The throttle cable now goes from the pedal box into the tunnel as low as possible, giving it a much larger bending radius. I also removed the rubber piece on the engine side of the cable. A few strategically placed washers on the pedal box provide an end stop for the pedal. The pedal feel is much better now.

The vacuum pipe is connected to the engine. Because I used a standard Rover pipe on both ends, there are now 2 one-way valves in it: one on the engine side and one close to the brake servo.

The radiator pipes are fitted in the tunnel and below the petrol tank. I put a short piece of rubber hose around each to stop the pipes from rubbing against the tank. As I'm typing this, I realise that I forgot to put in the hose to connect the radiator to the header tank. It will be a struggle to get it over the petrol tank now!

I tried to fit the exhaust to the engine, but there are 2 problems: I need the exhaust manifold off a Rover 75 and the mounting plate is for a Getrag gearbox (my gearbox is a PG1).

Finally some work on the dashboard was done. I fitted the heater controls and the air vents, both with (water-jet cut) stainless steel bezels. It's not that I didn't like the black ones GTM supplied, but every GTM should have a few unique personal touches, right? I also modified the design on the heater controls, because I wanted to get rid of the protruding edge on the bottom. It took 3 plates to do the job: one on the inside with M4 threaded holes in it, and two on the outside, with the controls clamped between them. It was pure hell to get the inner plate in place without dropping it, but it was worth the effort! The carpeting will be clamped between the 2 outside plates, and as long as I don't remove all the bolts at once, this shouldn't be too difficult. I also fitted and sealed off the plenum chamber.

Small breather hose fixed to petrol tank

Small breather hose in B-pillar, valve can just be seen

Vacuum pipe connected to engine

Radiator pipes fitted

Exhaust trial fitting

Stainless bezel for air vents, plenum chamber in place

Stainless bezel for heater controls

22-5-'03

A brief update, since I'm very tired from our vacation in Peru and Bolivia. Just before we left I managed to get the hose from the radiator to the header tank in it's place over the petrol tank. After our vacation, I picked up a MGF gearbox mounting (Rover part # KKB 101820) from a very enthusiastic Rover dealer, and mounted it instead of the temporary steel plate.

MGF gearbox mounting fitted

1-6-'03

This weekend I started fitting the rear hub on the left side, after I had new bearings pressed in at work. Assembly is very straightforward, except for the track adjusting rod. The tapers on both rod ends have to be clamped firmly in place to be able to tighten the nuts. The other rear hub will have to wait until I receive my lengthened driveshaft from GTM.

Next job was the engine cover. First the fixing holes were drilled. I put small pieces of rubber foam under the brackets T0602. Then the cover was aligned by adjusting the boot support angles. With the cover fixed in position it was time to place the hinges. On the right hand side everything was immediately clear to me. On the left hand side I rotated hinge spacer T0604 180º and modified hinge plate T0603. This was necessary to line up T0605 with the hinge point on T0603.

With the engine cover on, I couldn't wait to see if my rear lights would be working. So I fitted the rear loom. The rear lights, brake lights, rear fog light and license plate light all worked immediately. The indicators didn't, but the right indicator started the petrol pump! This error was found quickly: I mixed up a green/white and a white/green wire. After temporarily fitting of the hazard switch, both the indicators and hazard light are working. Only the reversing light is not working yet. The rear loom was hot melt glued to the inside of the engine cover.

In the meantime my father painted the front and rear calipers. First I removed the MG logo of the front calipers. I also placed the header tank on the engine frame.

Left hub and short driveshaft fitted

Left rear track adjusting rod fitted

Engine cover fitted

Engine cover in open position

Rear calipers painted red

8-6-'03

The ECU is fitted to the engineframe using two 38 mm exhaust U-bolts. I also fitted the holder for the petrol filter. The filter itself is not in place, because I have trouble finding the correct filter! I regret very much having thrown away the old one a few months ago!

I've also been working on the rear window surround panel. This is rather complicated on the V6, due to the bulge in the rear bulkhead. GTM supplied a separate piece to go over the bulge, but I need to work out how to fix it to the bulkhead. There also had to be cut a large piece out of the rear panel. I still have to cut out more though, since the lower part of the panel is still too far from the rear bulkhead.

ECU and petrol filter holder

9-6-'03

Because of Whitmonday I had a little extra time to work at my Libra. I fitted the right hand side hub and the rear discs and calipers on both sides. The hub will have to come of again to fit the lengthened driveshaft, but the flexible brake hose is long enough to do this without having to disconnect it. Now it's time to go and look for a company that can supply me with an eezibleed pressure bleeder.

I also connected 2 hoses to the header tank: one goes to the radiator and the other one comes from the cylinder heads.

Left hand rear brake disc and caliper painted

Same on the other side, plus 2 connections made to the header tank

Yesterday I went to my local Rover dealer to pick up my Rover 75 exhaust manifold (LKC101840) and gasket (LKG100290). He also had the correct petrol filter in stock (WJN101190). Tonight I fitted the manifold to the engine, and trial fitted the exhaust from GTM. I need to tilt the engine forward (a lot!) to get clearance between the exhaust and the engine frame. The engine has the tendency to tilt backwards, because the mountings are forward of the center of gravity. Once I've determined the correct position the engine can be fixed in place with the steady bar. There is a conflict with the handbrake cable: I had to remove the cable bracket to be able to fit the exhaust. Stuff to think about before going any further!

Last week I also bolted the main fuse block to the car. I wasn't happy with the wire that GTM supplies to connect it to the battery. The main fuses are rated at 60 amps, and it's good engineering practice to use a wire that will not burn trough before the fuse! So I soldered 2 connectors to a much thicker cable.

New manifold fitted, trial fitting of exhaust in progress, conflict with handbrake cable

14-06-'03

Today started as a bit of an off-day. I started with bleeding the brakes. On the front everything is ok, but air keeps coming out at the rear calipers. After more than an hour of bleeding I had to give up. I'm not sure, but it looks like my master cylinder is worn.

I decided to continue with another job. I fitted the petrol filter and connected it to the pump. I also connected the return hose to the engine. Only the hose/pipe WJH105330 between the filter and the fuel rail is missing, but it should arrive next week.

With a strap around the left driveshaft and the engine frame I fixed the position of the engine. To position the exhaust I U-bolted an aluminum profile to the engine frame. The exhaust was clamped to this profile. I can't fix it permanently in place until I have an adapter plate for my PG1 gearbox.

With the engine in position the cover didn't close fully anymore, so I had to cut away a part of it above the engine. The tailpipe is nicely in the center of the hole in the engine cover.

With the engine in position I noticed that the left driveshaft hits the steering arm ball joint. There will be plenty of clearance once the car is on it's wheels, but it means I can't drive with my left rear wheel off the ground! I don't think anyone has ever achieved this in a Libra, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Petrol filter fitted and partially connected

Engine positioned with strap around driveshaft, exhaust positioned with clamps

Cut-out in the engine cover

Tailpipe is nicely centered

After 2 days of leaving the brakes alone, I decided to have another go tonight. This time I used the Eezibleed pressure bleeder. It took less than 5 minutes to finish the job, and all brakes are working now!

Four months after I ordered it, I finally could pick up my cooling fan! It's an 8" Pacet CF22 and it came complete with an adjustable thermostat. Before fitting I turned over the fan blade, because I mounted the fan in front of the radiator. I'm not sure if the airflow is sufficient, but there's just enough space to place a second fan, if needed. I removed the lower part of the radiator support, because they are only needed when fitting a standard Metro radiator.

I connected the radiator to the pipes under the car. I chose to use standard rubber elbows instead of the ones that GTM supplied. I want to follow the original Rover KV6 coolant flow, and that's why the connections cross each other. A mirrored radiator would have been better, but with the rubber elbows it also was a fairly easy job. There's a capillary thermostat in the top hose which is connected by a copper wire to the adjustable switch, which can be seen just above the elbow in the picture on the right.

It took some time before I found the original fan wire in the Rover loom. I tested all the connections on the fuse box and naturally it was the last one! It turned out to be one of the unidentified wires (the purple/green one) just below the blower. The fan wiring in the GTM loom is not used at all. I've connected it and the fan is working, but only because I used common sense. If you follow the instructions that came with the thermostat, you'll only be melting fuses!

Cooling fan fitted

Radiator connected to pipes

28-6-'03

The battery holder was mounted, after I made and fitted a thicker cable from the battery to the earth connection block. The horn is bolted to the side of the battery holder, and it's working.

The rear bulkhead has been covered in sound proofing material. I placed anti-drumming mats on the V6 bulge and the parcel shelf because they both look rather thin to me. I decided to glue the GTM supplied sound proofing material on it as well. The cover for the V6 bulge is a rather tight fit now, so there's no need to screw it in place!

The petrol pipe cover and the B-post side panels required a lot of trimming, probably because of the amount of sound proofing I used. I also fitted a pair of speakers (Magnat Xtract 1020) to the side panels. On the passenger side it fitted beautifully, the hole on the drivers side had to be enlarged a little to accept the speaker.

There was a small problem with drilling the seat belt mountings. Again, on the passenger side the first hole drilled was a direct hit, but on the other side the marking on the panel was more than 20 mm off! It's not that the panels are different, but the drivers side seatbelt mounting is actually positioned that much lower than the passengers side mounting! When I take the panels out of the car I'll need to fill a few holes, that's all.

Battery holder and horn fitted

Rear bulkhead sound proofing in progress