Today is the day.....

[peterbrown77]

So - just a few observations

1) As you can see, I had a ton of equipment at my disposal, as well as a highly qualified mechanic with all the best that Snap On has to offer. This turned what could have been major obstacles into little bumps in the road. Bolt won't come out? Grab the impact wrench. Need to reach that top bolt on the bell housing? I have a 24" long extension right here. You get the idea. We had the exhaust on the floor and the transmission on the cradle in two hours.

2) Yes, Virginia - you can change a coolant tank without removing all the hose clamps in the engine bay. You only need to remove one. Yes, it's the dumbest design on the planet - right after the IMSB.

3) Honestly, the absolute worst part was the time we wasted trying to square the instructions in 101 Projects with the instructions that came with the single row kit. In essence it boils down to this: Do I lock the crankshaft at TDC and install the camshaft lock (per instructions) ..... or.... do I just mark the camshaft positions with a grease pencil and install the setscrews in the IMS flange holes to hold the sprocket in place (per 101 Projects)?. You can't do both since you can't install the setscrews without turning the crankshaft. I probably pissed away an hour trying to resolve the conflicting instructions. In the end, I locked the crankshaft at TDC with the kit-supplied pin and camshaft lock plate.

4) My original bearing was in near-new conditions, one drop of oil came out when I removed the cover. It didn't spin freely, the lip seals were still providing drag at 73,000 miles. Kinda disappointing actually. Same thing for the RMS, not a drop but I put a new one in anyway. Ditto the coolant tank.

5) The best thing about the upgrade? The new clutch. Mine still wasn't anywhere near worn but the take-up is very smooth now and not something I ever considered a problem before. I always wrote it off to being a tough car to drive well, with a long throw and abrupt take up. If you stalled it - you needed more practice. Now it's smooth and progressive, I noticed just backing out of the garage.

Total cost - $1636, all parts purchased through FCP Euro whose warehouse is literally 10 minutes from my house.