Another shot of the front side of the engine. As you can see, it is as high as it'll go now.
Left side of the engine, a lot of space. And at the moment the AC compressor and PS pump are still on the engine. It will be an empty area once this is all out.
Right side of the engine, a lot of space as well.
My conclusions so far:
- The main issue is the height. The engine is still angled down quite a lot, so it would be good to raise it another inch or so.
- Rear side of the engine has too much stuff to fit under the cover. I already knew that from the engine pictures. I think once the parts are removed which I don't need (SAI for example) it will clean up a lot. I already figured I would need to go for a remote oil filter. With that done, I should be able to take the intake out straight (not over the valve cover).
- To clear the rear side further, it would be good to move the engine forward by about an inch.
- Looking at the engine cover, the height itself isn't a real issue, it is the low position of the sheet metal across the back of the seats. The cover itself would easily fit the engine, even when raised further.
- I'll need to either rotate the fuel rails around or go for the non-return fuel rail to get the connection on the left side of the engine to fit the car.
- I need the X-brace between the control arms (left to right) to check whether I can actually move the whole lot forward.
- Als need to check whether I could lower the transmission by a quarter to half an inch.
Overall, not unhappy. Need to work a bit more on clearing out the rear side of the engine to judge that part. Otherwise, I might get by with just modifying the 'firewall' between seats and engine. Honestly, loads of space wasted there and this isn't a main structural part of the car.