Mission impossible

To be continued...

I hope this is a short intermission, this has been one of the most interesting rebuilds in recent times & it's certainly garnered a lot of interest, 2500 visits as I recall since you started. Taking stock one in a while can clear out disappointments & allow you to resume with vigour refreshed.
All the best. M

Full steam ahead..

I'm going to swap the engine and gearbox for a 1.8 vvc. This is probably another one of my daft ideas so I will be needing plenty of help, mainly with what parts of the wiring loom and other general compatibility issues

I must be mad:yesnod:

Great news, it shouldn’t be much of a problem. My guess you’ll be familiar with all the “P’s”, proper preparation prevents piss poor performance. Does your replacement engine have the coil pack on the back of the engine, if it has it could be worth changing to the plug top packs. You will obviously require the coil packs but also the cam cover of a matching engine. If you can get the matching MEMS units that would be advantageous, although how you would interweave that with what you have I wouldn’t know.
The workshop manual (Cobber’s favourite reading) is in the community pages so is the electrical circuit & electrical diagrams, but you knew that already. However you may be unaware of Dieter site, which is a little gold mine, there’s the first iteration of the circuit diagram which will apply to your car.
Good fortune awaits those whose adventures are well prepared.
M

I have no idea about the wiring but fitted a VVC engine into my 135 TF, the engine came with a full loom and I got an ECU from Kmaps and it started at the first turn of the key. I had an issue with poor running (not a Kmaps created problem) but Mark pinpointed the exact cause from just one email. You can read the explanation on another thread here.

Given that your car has been bathing, it will be a good thing to replace much of the wiring anyway as the wires could be going a bit green and furry, it they aren’t already they probably will in the future, so going the VVC route and having to swap the wiring and ECU will probably be an improvement in reliability

I think you are the complete opposite of mad. A great choice.
Economically it has to be more viable to fit a known good 2nd hand engine than try to rebuild the one you have, . You are likely to need to replace the ECU in any event and as Cobber has said it could be sensible to replace the wiring or at least parts of it .
If you are changing the engine and ecu anyway this creates a golden opportunity for an upgrade, The cost should be close to a straight replacement.
You may even be able to do a small cost offset by selling on your old head and cams

There are so many things that I hadn't even considered before I started this rebuild. I hadn't given much thought to all the extra, hidden motors and control units that are all going to need replacing.The thought of constant electrical problems fills me with dread so this weekend it's all coming out!

Monday the subframe and some of the mounts are going away for stripping and a fresh coat of paint so I need to order some new bushes for when I put it all back together. What would be the best way forward with that? I have mostly avoided poly bushes on the front (apart from the anti roll bar) but I'm seriously considering a full set for the rear.

I removed the dashboard today and I have been taking lots of photos of the cable routing so that I don't F it up when I do the change over.
I wasn't expecting to be doing this and it's a pia but it needed to be done.

Nasty

Yeah, it's pretty bad.

It might be a pain in the arse now but it will pay dividends in future. Just glancing on the relay/ fuse board, I’ve never seen one that grotty, even after they’d be in the scrappy for an age. I guess you’ll already know to change the red circuit box behind fuses & check the waterline around the steering motor & sensors, do the same with the electronics above the passenger footwell. I’ll shut up now, you’ve got a lot on your plate & me going on will only give you indigestion.
M