Greetings...

Oh and some pics!

Are all the engine tins in place?

Looks like all cooling tins are in tact. Maybe not an entire airtight seal from below though. I can't get a good view to behind the fan but I think everything is there.

From that angle all the ones you should see are in place. 

Details on your engine?

What kind of temp gauge do you have?

Does it read in the red, or just below?

You might look at Mendeola suspension.

Polish that copper oil line and all will be right with the world :-)

1905cc w/ dual Weber 44

VDO rep gauge?- it runs just about touching red then I freak and stop to pop the boot and let it cool. I'd love a digital thermometer on it, I hate graphical gauges..total guessing game.

Polishing is for rainy days.

Good to see a car stay in the SOC fold.  Sounds like Madness has already set in - Welcome.  

VW stock parts are inexpensive and can result in a decent handling car - add disc brakes, wider rims/tires, lowered, and F&R sway bars.  A suspension step up get costly fast.  Check out Mendeola at:

http://www.coolrydescustoms.co...ront-suspension.html

Then there's 911 suspension components - but I'd start with new IM there. A heavy rear engine really changes handling dynamics over a typical 60-40 weighted car.

We will tell you to get rid of that 59 cent plastic fuel filter in the engine compartment ASAP!  Use a metal one either up front by gas tank or above the trans --- away from a heat source.  

On a CMCs (look at the build manual in Resources Library) the area behind the fan is not completely sealed - in fact there should be a half moon cut in fiberglass fire wall right be hind the fan.

OK, cool car! As to your temps, check them with a good thermometer. You don't know if the gauge is accurate. You want running temps between about 195 and 220. 225 is starting to get too hot.

As for suspension; you can make a real screamer out of a VW pan car with some judicious work, but you are not going to compete with a modern track car. Ain't gonna happen (and here I know Kevin Zagar's fingers are itching but let's face facts: by the time all that stuff is done you have a modern track car on a tube frame anyway, so...) figure out what you want. If you really need to have something that handles very, very well, read all this and get to work. It's mostly just work. Do what you need to do to tie the pan together from above & give yourself some real, legit rollover protection.

You can get about 160 horses out of a Type 1 VW engine before it starts getting grumpy. 

WOLFGANG posted:

A heavy rear engine really changes handling dynamics over a typical 60-40 weighted car.

Maybe its just me and might take time to get used to. Coming from a full h&r race, oversized sways blablabla BMW,  or a heavily boosted avant a4 and now an s4, maybe it is just rear engine feel. Drove a carrera before and thought it was too squirrelly...looking to create that "planted" feel. 

Thanks EDSNOVA- yea not looking to compete. Been down that rabbit hole before. Just want a "very able" driver

That's a Porsche 914 VDO gauge so fairly accurate but not marked ---- depending on where the temp sensor is placed.  On a T4 914 engine it is bathed at bottom of oil pan.  The sending unit that fits in the oil dip stick tube is reputed to be accurate but not sure if still available or compatible with the 914 gauge. That red line starts at 157 C or 314 F (ouch).

"Ouch" doesn't sound good. If I fire up and let it idle the gauge raises a quarter of the way up and will hold there- it held there all while syncing carbs. So I doubt it's a flow issue otherwise I'd expect temps just to continually rise as the engine runs. One of the hoses to the cooler fan does run dangerously close and I think touches the A1 exhaust can. The hose is dbl insulated to aid against heat transfer (wrapped in another thick tube at point of contact) not sure if that would speed heat oil.

Engine runs solid so I don't think anything has been tapped otherwise I'd expect rougher idles and revs- I have experience there (my old bmw may have hit in excess of 13k rpm due to a moneyshift, snapping an exhaust cam in half ).

I guess I should see a specialist on this...boo.

Check your timming, valve clearance etc....

crhemi (Bill) posted:

Check your timming, valve clearance etc....

 

X2

I thought my car was running great but it ran warm. I checked the timing and it was near 50 degrees advance. Set it to 30 and it runs better than I imagined and the oil temps are WAY cooler.

Took a look tonite, and looks to be about 30*advanced tdc. At tdc the distributer rotor points near almost 6 oclock. Backing to 30* ahead of tdc the rotor points at 5 oclock.

Didn't pop any valve covers bc it looks like a pain and I will have to drop the exhaust to get to the right side.

Crawled under and there are no tins behind the fan which sounds to be expected? 

Oil sender is at the very bottom.

How are you checking your timing?

Stan Galat, '05 IM, 2276, Nowhere, USA posted:

How are you checking your timing?

Crankshaft pulley has indicated hash marks which also coincides with the dist. rotor.  Now I know there's potential for the pulley to mislead if it wasnt in correct position to begin with- but it seems to be too many actions to get to the valve covers to verify (i'm lazy).

Vorspiel posted:

Stan Galat, '05 IM, 2276, Nowhere, USA posted:

How are you checking your timing?

Crankshaft pulley has indicated hash marks which also coincides with the dist. rotor.  Now I know there's potential for the pulley to mislead if it wasnt in correct position to begin with- but it seems to be too many actions to get to the valve covers to verify (i'm lazy).

You can't afford to be lazy- work it through.

So a few updates.

1) Pulled off the old rear air shocks and replaced with OEM VW blues. Rear still rubs tire on fender on dips in road...ugh. Time to mess with the torsion bar.

2) Got a savemybug dipstick sender as a secondary temp indicator. This has allowed me to get the dash temp gauge to run well past my comfort knowing the stick sender would throw a light if temps got dangerous. Seems that the dash gauge settles about 3-4 mm to the left of red and holds there- maybe the 914 gauge needs recalibrated. This was driving hard for about 20-30 mins in a humid NC June day.

*Rpm has recently decided to work 80% of the time now

3) Testing out a new look with the Fuchs- I'm not much of a chrome fan 

And a bonus photo: the daughter has a good taste in her favor toy too

4) Oil sump has developed a slow drip. Any recs on good a gasket kit?

5) New plate came in.

Read this http://shoptalkforums.com/view...hp?f=51&t=127619

Oh, and welcome to the "Madness"

crhemi (Bill) posted:

Read this http://shoptalkforums.com/view...hp?f=51&t=127619

Oh, and welcome to the "Madness"

Grazie! Yea, I've starting my path into the suspension again...

New ball joints, rear camber compensator and front swaybar are all currently on order. I looked at some c/o's errr...adjustable coil shocks but will hold off for now. I want to study/feel what each of these parts actually do to the car's handling.

I need to work through the steering box too...i've got a lot of play (excess of 1")

Next up, disc brake kit and new carpets...then....maybe a fresh paint.

The steering box adjustment on my car was super easy. I took off the driver's side front wheel, used an open end wrench to loosen the nut on the sector screw, held it in place while I used a 90 degree flat blade screwdriver to tighten the sector screw, checked the play, and tightened it up when it was good. Took less than 15 minutes.

I'm not sure if the CMC has an access plate over the top of the box but my VS built car did not.

Just installed the rear camber compensator and front sway bar (CP Performance) tonight. Haven't driven it yet, will assess the mods tomorrow.

Front sway was about 3-4 inches off the brace when on jackstands. Now on the ground it seems like it may rub/ make contact...ugh. May need to move it around a bit with suspension loaded.

As for the steering adjustment, I guess CMC didn't believe in top access to the box, so I will need to be creative in accessing the top screw. That's a "tomorrow " item.

Next up disc brake upgrade and interior carpets. I'm considering just visiting an upholstery shop but the current carpet looks fairly simple to template and cut new. I'll be swapping from dirty looking brown to black carpeting.

Anyone have a DIY on carpeting and know if it's hard to do? I've never dealt with carpets before. I've done a headliner before in an old BMW, I'm assuming it's very similar.

Any good source for a roll of material?

Alan has a new CMC carpet kit for sale

crhemi (Bill) posted:

Alan has a new CMC carpet kit for sale

Thanks for the lead! I'm wanting to swap to black though, sounded like Alan had brown. 

I'm planning for a full redo on my exterior color after I sort all the other things first (which may never end)...

DUBTUB - here's a bumper-bracket modification a few of us have done to address clearance for the sway bar.

MusbJim posted:

DUBTUB - here's a bumper-bracket modification a few of us have done to address clearance for the sway bar.

Crap, so rotating it a bit wont get it off the bar I assume...buggar. i don't have my welder anymore. Maybe it wont clunk too loudly

Dubtub,  A few of us have done the carpet job with stuff from HD or Lowes.  I bought enough to do my car twice for about 60 bucks.  The binding is available on line and actually costs more than the carpet.  You need a good hot glue gun and a heat gun also.  I think you can do a search here or I can get you the info if you need it.

Also, make sure the floor in the engine compartment is sealed all the way to the rear of the car.  If not, your fan will blow straight back over the hot exhaust, and suck in pre-heated air to cool the engine.  

I have a 1904 w/ baby Webers, a 6" hole in the fire wall opposite the fan intake, no oil cooler and no heat problems as yet.

It is madness , ain't it ?  Good luck.

This adjustable sway bar might be the ticket

crhemi (Bill) posted:

This adjustable sway bar might be the ticket

 

I was looking for an adj. bar so I could tune it in...oh well, didn't look hard enough i guess.

Just got back from a jaunt across town... And oh hell yes! No more wobbly wibble bouncing or leaning. Steering even tighten up a bit (i got fresh ball joints sitting on the shelf too, for later).

Got some good input now- over steer action now when pushing it in turns slow/fast out. Even got the head nod from an old triumph driver. I am happy! 

But I know that bar is touching...even tho i can't hear it. Time to go carpet hunting!

DUBTUB posted:

MusbJim posted:

DUBTUB - here's a bumper-bracket modification a few of us have done to address clearance for the sway bar.

Crap, so rotating it a bit wont get it off the bar I assume...buggar. i don't have my welder anymore. Maybe it wont clunk too loudly

 

 

Make the cuts to the bar yourself and take the bits to a muffler shop and ask them to weld it for you. Probably cost you about $20-$40 total.

The VS built cars don't have an access box for the top screw either. I did mine from the driver's side. I took the wheel off and used a screwdriver with a 45 degree bend.

The Whiteline is a really cool anti-sway bar, Bill (I wish I had one); unfortunately, last time I looked (6? months ago) it didn't look like they would be getting more. It's too bad, as it looks like a really nice piece. Al

PS- Just checked Aircooled.net and there's still no eta for either (adjustable or non- adjustable) front anti-sway bar from Whiteline.

Dub, wrap some masking tape around the area you think is touching. Go for a spirited drive then check for marks...And report back! 

crhemi (Bill) posted:

Dub, wrap some masking tape around the area you think is touching. Go for a spirited drive then check for marks...And report back! 

Bill- Ran a few sorties this eve actually. I feel it may be worse than just touching, almost like it is not allowing the front arms to fully recover. But that may just be the characteristic of the car now with the bar on. I got some wheel chatter on higher speed turns, so I wonder if it is limiting travel too dramatically.

DUBTUB - if you rotate the bar (so that it is basically upside down), the bar will have severe (road) clearance issues. Hate to think what would happen if you hit something on the road (at speed). 

Remove the bars, make the cuts your self and have a welding shop re-weld everything back together. Should be relatively inexpensive.

Having that sway bar makes an amazing improvement in handling. 

Have you driven it with out the bumper/brackets mounted?

crhemi (Bill) posted:

Have you driven it with out the bumper/brackets mounted?

Ended up cutting the braces...110% better. Car recovers very well now and no wheel chatter. Got a back a bit of oversteer, which  okay with. Bar was resting on the brace and not allowing the wheels to rebound properly.

Even ended up taking all the bumpers off completely for a shaved look.

I'm very happy with the look now, will add amber driving or fogs for the look next. I've got headlight mesh en route now.

I'm thinking next investment is a prof. tuning on the carbs. I'm getting backfires and carb popping and found a light oil dusting which appears to be coming from pulleyside when driving hwy speeds.

I like the shaved look on the flared Body's. Glad it worked out.

Best you learn to tune and sync your carbs yourself as you'll be doing it a couple times a year.

DUBTUB posted:

 

...I'm getting backfires and carb popping and found a light oil dusting which appears to be coming from pulleyside when driving hwy speeds.

 

You might just need to get used to that "light oil dusting", or spend a bazillion clamoili on something more exotic. My engine bay is dry, but ti cost me two years of my life to get it that way.

crhemi (Bill) posted:

Best you learn to tune and sync your carbs yourself as you'll be doing it a couple times a year.

I need better pointers on what I'm doing. The back left  needle has no affect to idle no matter how far in or out it is...there's no sound change, etc.

I think i just need a starting point for reference then I'd be able micro adjust.