Aux belt refitted with new tensioner and idler and that finished off day one, it was ready to lift back in the next day.
Day 2 begins with lifting the brute back up and reconnecting the AC pipes, I had a couple of helpers watch the engine back in so it didnt snag anything (cheers guys!). Pretty uneventful, lifted back in and bolts threaded up.
The rest of the day was spent connecting it back up, pretty standard stuff, went through my list backwards.
I got all the way back to refilling the cooling system and all I had to do aside fitting the engine covers and undertrays was fill it and bleed it. Things had gone well, to plan, I was going to be done in 2 days and not need the contingency day on Friday.
However.
I filled the cooling system and bled the engine, I tightened the brass bleed screw back up and without any pressure on it at all...
Fucks SAKE. Fuming. So I tried to get an easy-out in the shaft of the bolt, but it wouldnt grip the brass screw. I was running short of time and pretty mad, in retrospect i should have quit there... but I didnt. I drilled the thing out to 5mm, then tapped the hole to M6 - though space wise things were really tight
About ten seconds after this picture I overbalanced while turning the tap and stressed it the wrong way and snapped the tap in the hole

absolutely fuming mad, swears were said, tools flying everywhere. I had to knock it on the head before I set everything on fire. I cooled off that night and set a plan for Friday.
Friday I returned and stripped a load of stuff out again and took the housing off the car, in a much calmer mindset. I had the housing off in less than an hour, and took it to a workbench for plan A - get the tap body out. As it happens, I managed to do this by MIG welding a nut to it, and winding it out - many cheers were shouted. Then i just tapped the rest of the hole out (without breaking it this time!) and fitted an M6 flange bolt with a copper washer.
Long story short, this worked great, housing refitted, rest of car assembled and then I left it there for an MOT test before it came home. The MOT was Tuesday, after the bank holiday, when it promptly kicked me in the spuds by snapping a handbrake cable on the brake test. Lasted 22 years and couldnt manage one more pull! FFS - so I brought it home Wednesday and contemplated options. Obviously the Vee handbrake cabled are bespoke, not available and HUGE - about 2300mm each!