Pulling the Engine

In September I headed back to school and left the MG behind. I started my studies and dreamed of getting the MG back on the road. One of my friends at school suggested I bring the engine back to school after the Christmas break. His dad had a great shop to work in and would help us take the engine apart and rebuild it. Enough said, I made plans to get the motor out of the car.

The car was stored outside, thankfully the winter was mild so we wouldn't have to work in the snow. Pops, my brother and I managed to take the motor out of the car armstrong style. The head had been taken off by my brother in law, so we didn't have to bother with draining the coolant or antifreeze, it had already been done. We removed the hood and disconnected the dead battery (just in case). Then we disconnected the oil pressure gauge wire that runs to the motor and took out the distributer. We disconnected the heater control unit and then removed the starter. We figured the more stuff we removed from the engine, the lighter it would be when we attempted to yank it out. All of the Exhaust Gas Recycling equipment had been removed already so we didn't have to worry about removing the air pump or any of the associated equipment. We pulled out the radiator, we figured we might need the room and I was going to have it cleaned up anyway. We laid a 2X4 across the front fenders close to the windshield and tied a rope around the transmission, securing it to the 2X4. We loosened the engine mounting bolts and the bolts that hold the transmission bellhousing to the engine. We were ready to try pulling out the motor.

Pulling out the 1.8 litre engine by hand was a lot easier than we anticipated. By stripping the motor down as best we could we reduced the weight significantly. The three of us pulled the motor forward and it slipped right off the transmission. After catching our breath we lifted the motor over the bumper and gently put it on the ground in front of us. The motor had been freed!

Now that the motor was out of the car, all we had to do was get it out of the bush and into Pops truck. The thought of carrying the motor through the bush and lifting it into the truck was daunting so we hatched a brilliant plan. We commandeered my nephews wagon, loaded the motor into it and hauled it to the truck. The wagon strained under the pressure but luckily, didn't fall apart!

I drove the truck back to school, engine securely fastened in the back and dropped the motor off at my friends garage. My friend, his Dad and I made plans to start taking it apart that weekend.