Youz guys are get'n soft..... Back in my youth I changes a clutch on the shoulder of the highway a few miles from the Lincoln Tunnel, yanked the motor out with a 4 x 4 and a cinder block :~)
With your hands tied behind your back too.. 
Have you seen these table lifts at Harbor freight they seem to be the cats meow for engine and tranny changes. 
Attachments
Images (1)
...and it was snowing, zero visibility, and with a wind chill of -20 degrees 
And all the tools you had..... a church key and a monkey wrench.
...and an old lamp and a salami sandwich.
But he had found the salami sandwich underneath the back seat (from several years before on a blind date), so he used it for a chock block....
Then there was that nice older lady who stopped to see if he needed help and volunteered a hair pin to replace the clip that had fallen out of the throw-out bearing mount. That only happens in western New Jersey...
In HS I stuffed half a salami sandwich into a kids gym locker the day before Christmas break :~)
Alan Merklin posted:Youz guys are get'n soft..... Back in my youth I changes a clutch on the shoulder of the highway a few miles from the Lincoln Tunnel, yanked the motor out with a 4 x 4 and a cinder block :~)
...and did it while the engine was still running! 
Geesh you told LOL
I built an entire engine from scratch once, using just a cell phone and a credit card.
Sacto Mitch posted:
I built an entire engine from scratch once, using just a cell phone and a credit card.
Engine? That's nothing. Lots of us have built entire cars that way. 
Some of us need a cheater bar for our credit card.
Long overdue update...
I spent the better part of lunch today hanging with Greg looking over my Speedster. We even had time to grab some lunch afterwards. He's got some REALLY cool plans in the works, but I'll let him share those when he is ready.
We got the the new engine mapped out and he is ready to get started! It will be a nice mild-medium 2110cc with dual 44's with 8.5:1 CR. Reliability and longevity were the key principles I wanted in the build. He will also set up an electric fuel pump and external oil cooler once the engine is complete and ready to be installed.
I provided the engine case which will be cleaned, cleared for an 82mm crank, lifter bores sleeved, full flowed, etc (case is already alined bore and opened to 90.5). The heads are stock OEM VW heads I provided that will be rebuilt to 40x35.5 with dual springs (can't go wrong with OEM VW heads). Engle 120 cam and lifters, 1.1 rockers with solid shafts and swivel feet. Stock cam gears. Stock valve covers with breather vents that I have, 26mm oil pump, extra quart sump, and new 1700lbs clutch and disc.
I am sure I am missing stuff, but I trust Greg and what he has mapped out. Plus, he will back the engine if anything goes wrong. I also worked out a deal to be able to roll my sleeves up and help - I'm a forever learner
Everything should be complete and ready for the West Coast Cruise!
You'll love that engine. The exhaust and carbs are one size bigger than I would've done, but you'll be completely satisfied.
As Stan said, you'll love it. And yeah, if you want to be picky, the carbs (I don't see anything about exhaust size?) could be smaller, but that's not the end of the world, as the inherent (am I using that word right? I am constantly trying to better myself, you know) torque that comes with the larger displacement will somewhat make up for the slight intake mismatch.
The important thing is,
you'll love it!
Al
ALB posted:As Stan said, you'll love it. And yeah, if you want to be picky, the carbs (I don't see anything about exhaust size?) could be smaller, but that's not the end of the world, as the inherent (am I using that word right? I am constantly trying to better myself, you know) torque that comes with the larger displacement will somewhat make up for the slight intake mismatch.
The important thing is,
you'll love it!
Al
It should be a fun little reliable engine. The 44's might be a little big, but it allows for expansion down the road 
My exhaust might be a little restrictive - I have the Vintage Speed 356 stainless steel one, but I did buy the SF (super flow) version versus the regular since I was planning to go bigger then a 1915cc. I'm not sure what the difference between the SF version and regular version to be honest...
I should also note I am keeping the type 4 oil cooler and will modify a 36hp doghouse to fit. Painted to match the Porsche grey fan shroud color. The modified fan shroud I have now is a little beat up...
The carbs being a little big just means that throttle response in the lower rpms won't be quite as crisp as with 40's, Will, but (as I said) it's nothing to worry about. You're gonna have so much fun ripping around that you won't notice. If at some point in the future you get curious, putting smaller carbs on it will make a good project. I've run 44IDF's on a 1756 (old ISS 90's- before 90.5's were available) and yeah, the bottom end and lower midrange were a little soggy, but it went to 6500 with power! I looked at it from the standpoint that that's what downshifting was for...
As for the exhaust, Stan is right, a 1 1/2" merged sidewinder would probably make slightly better all around power, but I know the 'look' you've gone for, and that's neat as well. You should know, though, if you should ever get curious, you can get a sidewinder with dual tips...
One of the ideas in this initial set-up is to allow for opportunities down the road. I know me and me is going to want to be able to tinker later on. So, there's opportunities to increase the rockers from 1.1 to 1.25...maybe some mild porting or different heads... maybe a different exhaust but still keeping the look... jetting... etc...
Let's keep the fingers crossed all this can be done before the West Coast Cruise! And if I need to be at Greg's shop to help on the work - he knows I will be
Spend as much time helping as you can, as you'll learn a lot, and to be able to say you had a hand in building your engine is a great thing (if you're into that sort of thing, and of course it sounds like you are!). To say that you personally, assembled the rods on the crank, dropped the crank and cam in the case, closed the case up, torqued the case nuts (and on and on and....) is a real source of pride, and your SEG will be that much bigger when it fires for the first time and every time you drive it thereafter as you're thinking I helped build this thing! Next time you may just try it yourself...
I do want to try my own engine build one day. That might be a good side project. Make a really basic inexpensive 1600cc that can be used as a back up engine...
*LongFella posted:I do want to try my own engine build one day. That might be a good side project. Make a really basic inexpensive 1600cc that can be used as a back up engine...
You'll find it's a really good experience (and great to have under the bench if the stroker needs some extra love and you want to keep driving). You gain a great understanding of what these little watchwinders are all about, and afterward you're way more comfortable with any maintenance or repair you have to pull off. Question- is Greg going to do some porting work to the stock heads after the bigger valve seats are installed? With that size engine and 40x35 valves- the more you do the better it will run. And if youi want to be up and running by WCC get on this right away; you'll be amazed at how long things take, even when on it every day. Get started NOW! Al
ALB posted:*LongFella posted:I do want to try my own engine build one day. That might be a good side project. Make a really basic inexpensive 1600cc that can be used as a back up engine...
You'll find it's a really good experience (and great to have under the bench if the stroker needs some extra love and you want to keep driving). You gain a great understanding of what these little watchwinders are all about, and afterward you're way more comfortable with any maintenance or repair you have to pull off. Question- is Greg going to do some porting work to the stock heads after the bigger valve seats are installed? With that size engine and 40x35 valves- the more you do the better it will run. And if youi want to be up and running by WCC get on this right away; you'll be amazed at how long things take, even when on it every day. Get started NOW! Al
As far as I know, we are only reseating the valves to 40x35.5. I asked about port work, but it doesn't fit in the budget nor basic build idea at this point in time. It might be something down the road if/when I do want to get a little more power.
I should have added "keep it simple" in my initial principles of reliability and longevity. So... Keep it simple and reliable for added longevity to start with the ability to expand later down the road.
I have already sent a nice deposit his way, so things should be kicking off immediately
just a thought. when it comes to heads, compare the cost of manually cutting the seats, valves and replacing guides as to buying a set of CNC ported heads cut to your bore. you be way ahead in performance and cost over doing your heads either now or down the road as an up grade. I completely understand dealing with a budget, but if your talking about down the road sometimes it makes more sense to do it now. just a note on the CNC heads. you still need to disassemble them to check the valve seat and so on. It's just something I do just to be safe. Again if your looking down the road why spend the funds twice?
The head work should not be very expensive. We worked out a package deal and I've got a lot of parts I will be able to use to keep cost down. Plus, I already had them cut to 90.5mm several several months ago when I had the case opened up too. So really the cost is just opening the valves and seating them.
I totally get not spending money twice and thought about just getting a set of CB Panchitos in 90.5mm, but it just doesn't fit in my expenses at the moment 
Unless you all have a set laying around you want to donate
And don't forget - this guys got a toddler who is turning 2 in a couple of weeks (insert $$$$ here) 
I did send Greg a text this morning asking if there was anything, in addition to, we could do to add a little more power without sacrificing reliability and increasing cost.
He is doing me a solid with this build, so I don't want to push the envelope too much.
"And don't forget - this guys got a toddler who is turning 2 in a couple of weeks"
You do know, right?, that they don't get any cheaper as they grow......Just quieter.
(maybe)
Gordon Nichols posted:"And don't forget - this guys got a toddler who is turning 2 in a couple of weeks"
You do know, right?, that they don't get any cheaper as they grow......Just quieter.
(maybe)
There's no quiet in our household. Not even at 1AM when she decides to scream at the top of her lungs for Mama... 
Need help deciding on which coco mats to get...
- Black with Natural (#02)
- Natural with White (#31)
Thoughts?
Attachments
Images (2)
^ With your color combo, I'd go with natural with white. 
X2 what Jim said.
X3 what Jim said....except that...
like almost every other choice you make with these cars, there's an up side and a down.
How finicky are you about keeping stuff clean and how much does that matter to you?
The light color will pop more, but will get dirtier a lot faster. I ordered something similar to the light ones in your picture, but somehow the car got delivered with the black ones. I was going to send them back, but thought about it and decided to keep them.
Four years and almost 20,000 miles later, I'm glad I did. They still look new and can get pretty dirty before it starts to show and they need to be brushed out.
Then too, coco mats can be changed out a lot easier than heads or rockers.
Sacto Mitch posted:
X3 what Jim said....except that...
like almost every other choice you make with these cars, there's an up side and a down.
How finicky are you about keeping stuff clean and how much does that matter to you?
The light color will pop more, but will get dirtier a lot faster. I ordered something similar to the light ones in your picture, but somehow the car got delivered with the black ones. I was going to send them back, but thought about it and decided to keep them.
Four years and almost 20,000 miles later, I'm glad I did. They still look new and can get pretty dirty before it starts to show and they need to be brushed out.
Then too, coco mats can be changed out a lot easier than heads or rockers.
And this way I reached out to you all fine folks for thoughts
I am a little OCD about the floor getting dirty, but I'd rather it be a coco mat and not the original German square weave carpet...
I would think that the black mines would be more prone to fading.
*LongFella posted:Need help deciding on which coco mats to get...
- Black with Natural (#02)
- Natural with White (#31)
Thoughts?
Spend it on heads; since you're building an engine right now you can buy coco mats any time.
ALB posted:*LongFella posted:Need help deciding on which coco mats to get...
- Black with Natural (#02)
- Natural with White (#31)
Thoughts?
Spend it on heads; since you're building an engine right now you can buy coco mats any time.
I thought you said: "The important thing is, you'll love it!"
I trust Greg will help build a solid 2110cc
I've allocated a certain amount of funds towards the engine knowing I still have a few little touches left to do (mats, luggage rack, spare tire, spare tire tool kit, etc.)
Brian,
I believe the tan in my car is similar to yours. I have the black mats in mine. Don't worry, you won't hurt my feelings if you don't like it, I bought it this way. I actually don't mind it, but would probably be in the same position as you had the car not had floor mats.
With the flash the carpet looks like it has a tinge of purple in it not really the case
-Kevin
Attachments
Images (2)
SF-Speedster posted:Brian,
I believe the tan in my car is similar to yours. I have the black mats in mine. Don't worry, you won't hurt my feelings if you don't like it, I bought it this way. I actually don't mind it, but would probably be in the same position as you had the car not had floor mats.
With the flash the carpet looks like it has a tinge of purple in it not really the case
-Kevin
Thanks of the photos, Kevin! On a side note, I am big fan of the green color on your Speedster - looks awesome!
Just ordered the natural and white coco mats. Thanks for all the feedback guys!
I don't mind cleaning the mats regularly - just need protection for the german square weave
*LongFella posted:ALB posted:*LongFella posted:Need help deciding on which coco mats to get...
- Black with Natural (#02)
- Natural with White (#31)
Thoughts?
Spend it on heads; since you're building an engine right now you can buy coco mats any time.
I thought you said: "The important thing is, you'll love it!"
I trust Greg will help build a solid 2110cc
I've allocated a certain amount of funds towards the engine knowing I still have a few little touches left to do (mats, luggage rack, spare tire, spare tire tool kit, etc.)
You only want to be building the engine once, Brian. Do the smart thing and spend the money now on the Panchitos heads and that will be done; it's not worth the amount of work it is welding up over the intakes, installing bigger valve seats, carving up the combustion chambers trying to get enough volume to keep the deck height reasonable to keep the burn 'efficient' and doing the required porting to make stock heads worthwhile for an engine that size. You can spend the money on the 'little touches' later while enjoying your new found power, and save money by not paying twice to have it done and the 'down time' (2 weeks? a month? 2 months?) that will inevitably happen.