Motor positioned in engine compartment

Started putting the motor/tranny into the engine compartment. Got it positioned and connected the driver sigde motor mount. Feels good. Kind of wondering if I should have tested the motor before I put it in. Not sure how I would have done that.

Making progess, two steps forward, one back

Going at it step by step per instructions. Biggest advance has been to install new clutch and fit it to electric motor. The transmission is loosely connected to the motor. I have to figure out the right bolts since the adaptor plate now in place is considerably thicker than the sheet metal on the original car.

I followed a video from the vendor of the kit I'm using to install the clutch. Felt very proud. Then I looked at the written instructions which differed mentioning that the distance between the adapter plate and the pressure plate should be 1.3" +/-.01". Oops. Had to undo and redo.\

Still, it's exciting to see the motor attached to tranny even if loosely.

I keep removing ICE stuff I could have gotten rid of before but wasn't sure what it was. I'm sure there's still more. I either don't know what it is or how I should do it.

Here are links to pics. Comments appreciated.
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/d42cTpEE7s_48WLiQqB6xg?feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/02kOTU2xv3peQ8EwughTvw?feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/zYQIzfNyNC25oYfm4stVNw?feat=directlink

Back at it.

No good excuses for why I haven't worked on the car. I can blame the heat and spending my free time at lake. Real reason is that I've been frustrated by next steps. Today, I got back to it. My friend David M. and I set up a "workbench" using a couple of saw horses and pulled the motor out of the box. That alone was kind of motivating. We bolted the adaptor ring to the motor. Then we put on the clutch pressure assembly plate following the instructions from my kit provider. This necessitated the purchase of a torque wrench (must be serious now). Then looking over the VW service manual, I read the cautionary note "Always use new pressure plate mounting bolts...". I used the old one. I will have to find new ones and undo this. Given the torque and the high octane loctite, I expect this to be a bear. Oh well, that's what this project is all about.

Also, found some brackets I had been looking for.

Cutting trunk

Almost completed cutting the hole in the trunk for the rear battery box. There's something satisfying about watching the sparks fly when you cut metal. The conversion instructions I'm following are not great and the folks I got the kit from are not returning calls. Still I think it's ok. I'm a bit worried that I'm weakening a supporting cross-member. If I get this thing running I wonder how long before I have confidence it's going to work.

de-ICED, What next?

First, thanks to those folks on various forums who have responded to my questions. I was able to remove the starter which was the last thing connecting the engine to the tranny. They are now separated. Progress showni in last six photos in the album (click on blog title to view). Need to clean car up and figure out what to do next.

Free at last

Finally got the engine out. Took a saw to cut most of the head of that pesky bolt off and then filed until the axle came free of the transmission. Next steps are to remove a few more ICE parts and clean.

2 steps back, 0 steps forward

Still can't get the last bolt holding the axle to the tranny. Got an air compressor with an impact wrench and ratchet wrench. Put the two bolts in on either side of the problem bolt and still couldn't get the last one loose.

Wife is not happy as lack of progress means a long cold winter without being able to park in the garage.