The
head and cam box were placed onto the new block. I had a minor disaster when
I realised I needed two location spigots to go between the head and block.
Luckily I managed to soak the ones in the old block with WD40 and get them
out with a set of mole grips. They were a bit deformed in the process but
still fitted into the new block. I decided to replace the cam cover gasket
whilst I was in the mood. It took ages to clean the cork residue of the
surfaces. About an hour and a half.
Next the old block was removed from the car. This didn't take long. As with a lot of jobs, it's all the cleaning that takes the time, the actual "big stuff" is pretty easy and quick. Having a decent engine crane helps. Hire one if you ever take an engine out. I borrowed this one from Vaux MD.
The
engine bay was now looking pretty empty. More oily crap was jet washed out.
With the block out I had a go at getting the crank pulley bolt off. That was
a bit of palaver involving WD40, a blow torch, a long breaker bar and some
hammer and punch encouragement. The top tip here is to use a clutch bolt on
the nearside of the flywheel to stop the crank from turning.
The
sump, baffle plates and oil pick up pipe were thoroughly cleaned. Some other
oily bits like the cam cover were cleaned up too.
A
while back I sheared off a thermostat housing bolt. I ended up bodging the
problem by drilling the remnants out and using a nut and bolt. Now was the
ideal time to replace the part. I had a spare housing ready. With a sheared
off bolt in it. Half an hour with a blowtorch, punch, WD40, and mole grips
and it wouldn't budge. Another ten minutes and it was out. Worth the effort
for doing the job properly. 
The
baffle plate, oil pick up pipe and sump was now fitted. The secret to
fitting the sump is to use the Vauxhall Black Sealant tubes, to very lightly
torque the sump bolts, and to use threadlock to hold the sump bolts in. I
used threadlock on the oil pick up pipe bolts too.
The
rest of the engine was built up. The cam belt was fitted and the waterpump
used to tension it. I was turning the engine over by hand when I heard a
funny noise coming from the belt. Then I noticed that the water pump teeth
did not match the cam belt teeth. The 8v cam belt I was using matched the
16v crank pulley fine, so I reasoned that I must have the wrong water pump.
I decided to buy the proper one down Halfords the next day (Sunday). I
temporarily refitted the old one. It was knackered mind; about a mm of play
either way in the shaft. The oil plugs were threadlocked in, as were the oil
pressure and temperature senders. The lightened flywheel was fitted, again
the bolts were threadlocked in. The engine was now ready to go into the car.
The alternator, water pipes and engine mount were left off to allow easier
manoeuvring the engine when hoisting it in.
The
old Sachs clutch had led a hard life. The plate has obvious signs of
heating. It did well though, still didn't slip after 18 months abuse. It was
being replaced with a Helix paddle clutch. 
Since
I had a roll of exhaust wrap kicking around, the opportunity was taken to
wrap the exhaust downpipes. The idea of this stuff is that it insulates the
engine bay from exhaust heat. The roll didn't go far mind.