Engine removal on a Campbell Evolution Mk I?

[TimoG]

Pretty new to the site, and new to FSTs - I'm the current owner of the old Rob Clark championship FST. Bought it earlier this year, but haven't been able to race it due to an ankle injury. Anyway, in prep for the next season, I'm doing a bit of cleanup work, ended up having to pull the heads (spark plug thread had gone AWOL) and noticed that one of barrels is scored so I figured I'll throw a set of barrels + pistons on there.

So far so good, but I need to pull the motor to do so and just wanted to check if there is enough clearance to pull the motor out without having to unbolt and lift the transmission as well? My Mk i eyeball suggests there is but it's not a super precise measurement device and I'm not that familiar with VW aircooled engines. Yet, I suspect .

Thanks in advance.

[dd46637]

The engine will come out without unhooking the transmission. Take out the drysump tank and the throttle cable pulley system. Unhook the electrics and it will slide forward just far enough to clear the input shaft. Then it's straight up from there.
Dave

[Campbell Motorsport]

I am sure you saw it- but don't forget to remove the front motor mount. I usually would remove all 3 bolts (2 to tabs on the chassis rails and 1 to the front of the motor) and drop it completely off the motor. You can do it by just removing the bolts to the chassis rails, but the motor mount has a habit of catching on things as you lift the motor out.

Larry Campbell
Campbell Motorsport

[TimoG]

Thanks Dave and Larry! That'll be the entertainment for the next couple of weekends sorted out then .

[rgu]

Check your private messages

[TimoG]

Thanks everybody for their help so far, I've finally managed to get the motor out. So far, so good, but while taking it out I noticed that the starter motor is clamped to the engine using the two bolts circled in red and some washers. Is that the normal way of mounting the starter on one of these cars or is it an indication that I've got the wrong starter on mine?



Normally I'd expect the starter to be mounted by the ears, but the solenoid doesn't allow the starter motor to be turned further to the right.

[dd46637]

That is the correct way to mount the starter. Due to the routing of the exhaust it is the only way to mount it.
Dave

[Lucien j LeBlanc]

Hi:

There is nothing wrong with the standard starter set up used on the "factory production" Evolution FST.

However, I bought a "kit" from Campbell Motorsport and modified it in a number of ways. For example, I had "Roxannes" make a new header pipe and used a light weight aftermarket starter that bolts in without rotating it.

My car uses a "Rhino Case transmission (as allowed by the rules) and does not use a front mount for the engine. I added rear bracing to stiffen the frame and to avoid using the engine as a "stressed member" . I have recently moved from Southern California to Grants Pass Oregon and will be driving with San Francisco SCCA region as well as the SCCA Oregon region in FST. If you would like to contact me let me know.



Lou LeBlanc

[Diamond Level Motorsports]

Hi Timo,

I live in the Sacramento area and have 36 years of FV/FST combined experience. Feel free to contact me if you need any help.