NEW MEMBER FROM FRANCE

Olivier,

Welcome.  You have come to the right place to learn.  There are a lot of great friends on this site and they all have knowledge about something.......

Enjoy the madness.

Stephen

Oliver;

Welcome

Welcome to the "madness" Olivier, we (some of us) know a bit about VW engines, most of us, just enough to get into trouble and spend our kid's inheritance.

Bienvenue Olivier. 

Il faudra nous envoyer des photos Ray

Welcome!

Hi to all and thank you for your notes     Pics will come.......

By the way any owner from France ?

I wish to get some documentation and besides I gave the car serial number to Vintage Speedsters  they couldn't help me unless I give them the name of the first owner !     I thought that the serial number was enough.          Anybody knows them and can tell me who should I speak to.      So far I send my inquiries by mail.

First questions is about the engine. I didn't manage yet to find the type and S/N    also there is a sticker from V.S. with 1915cc . Can somebody inform me a bit more about this engine   Is it a standard product from WV or else      I wish to get the workshop manual and spare parts list.

Another item is the position of the jacking points  -  I have no idea about the chassis construction.   Are they all made the same way from V.S. ?

Oliver

Welcome to the madness, Olivier!  Oh, that all of us could enjoy a drive through France in our Speedsters!  Lucky you!

There is no Speedster problem that cannot be solved by the large brains in the Speedster Owners Club!  Since we're all just waking up here, someone with a Vintage Speedster will soon respond to your question about jack points.

Meanwhile, the "search" feature is very good on this site -- there is almost no problem that hasn't been discussed at some time in the past.  It's at the top of the page, and looks like a little magnifying glass. 

For instance, terrific contributor Troy Sloan provides a nice illustration of Vintage Speedster jack points in this thread...

https://www.speedsterowners.com...or-vintage-speedster

Can't wait to see photos of your Speedster!  Be sure to include lots of France in the background!

I didn't see TC's photo in that other thread, so here you go, Olivier - Jack points:

I place jack stands under the front torsion tubes as close to the shock absorber towers as practical.  At the rear, I place them under the torsion tube end cap (the rear spring plate is just to the inside of the end housing).  You can also jack under each shock absorber, if you have a suitable top to your jack that can cradle the lower shock mount.  Anywhere on the floor pans is too flimsy (weak) to support the car, so avoid them.  Do not jack under the transaxle or engine.  That's it!

I also jack (with floor jack) under the front H beam in the center or on the front pan head.  The front is light and that gets both wheels off the ground at once with clearance to work on brake master cylinder, wheel bearings, shocks and brakes. 

Shame engine build sheets aren't provided with VS Speedsters --- or they kept a log of builds by serial #!  A 1915 cc can be a cheap way to mod a VW case for big displacement.  Just bore the case and heads for 94 mm P&C.  The crank is often stock (no counter weights) at 69 mm and often a stock cam is used.  With stock heads (valve sizes) it isn't much of a performance engine.  You should document the type distributor (stamped into side of it) and the carbs - cast or a tag on them.  Often the heads will have a casting # that gives some clues - like 041 or 043.  The oil pump can be pulled and some cams are marked - here's a GeneBerg 309 cam.  Pretty much all other info requires a tear down.

Gordon Nichols posted:

I didn't see TC's photo in that other thread, so here you go, Olivier - Jack points:

I place jack stands under the front torsion tubes as close to the shock absorber towers as practical.  At the rear, I place them under the torsion tube end cap (the rear spring plate is just to the inside of the end housing).  You can also jack under each shock absorber, if you have a suitable top to your jack that can cradle the lower shock mount.  Anywhere on the floor pans is too flimsy (weak) to support the car, so avoid them.  Do not jack under the transaxle or engine.  That's it!

Can I lift up the car at any one of those jack points without twisting or flexing the frame and damaging the car?  Where is a good jack point for the rear so that both rear wheels are lifted at once?

Gordon Nichols posted:

I place jack stands under the front torsion tubes as close to the shock absorber towers as practical.  At the rear, I place them under the torsion tube end cap (the rear spring plate is just to the inside of the end housing).  You can also jack under each shock absorber, if you have a suitable top to your jack that can cradle the lower shock mount.  Anywhere on the floor pans is too flimsy (weak) to support the car, so avoid them.  Do not jack under the transaxle or engine.  That's it!

Gordon,

Thank you. 

The photographic image you have given us today is a great and much appreciated benefit.  I'll actually be using it this morning.

To go along with it, posted below is Terry's drawing.

I lift the rear just aft of the tunnel drain hole. I use a piece of 2x4 on the jack to spread the load. It extends past each side of the fork.

Thanks for your posting.

Today there was a car exhibition in my little village. Enclosed pic  of my Vintage Speedster

by the way pics taken last summer of my PEUGEOT 402 "B Legere" from 1938 !!!

Oliver

I like the Peugeot!

Strange to see an old Nash Metro on France.

They were built in England by Austin, although the body-work came from a different English company and imported to America by Nash.  Totally designed in America, though, and was the first US "Imported Car".  My mom's best friend had several of them when I was growing up, always convertibles.  Cute little cars and said to have been much better cars than Crosleys back then.

Nice looking Speedster, Oliver.

The Nash could easily say "Kelvinator" as the model!  Cute but sure homely.

Here's a Metro that frequently shows up at one of the local Cars & Coffee. 

An interesting decal on the windshield.

My first car at sixteen was a Metropolitan.  I was in heaven, having my own car.  I never wanted a big V8, just a small, manageable car.  Took my girlfriend to the school prom.

Good memories...

I'll bet......

Didn't Metropolitans have reclining front seats?

No.  The full sized Ramblers had them, but the Metropolitan had so little room inside to begin with.  A three speed gearshift that seemed to come out of the dashboard, if I recall, and a little Austin four banger to power it all.  Fun cars to drive. 

They did have a bench seat, but the car was so narrow you couldn't do much...

I cannot find any marking on my engine. I know it is a 1915cc as it is wriptten on it! and would like to learn more about the original engine type and improvements done by Vintage speedster

at the present time I need to adjust the valve clearance and what are the values for such engine?

Olivier

vintage speedsters recommends  valve clearance of .006 on the 1915 cc engine which  was built in may of 2016

I just redid my valves and yes the intake and exhaust valve lash for each cylinder should be at .006 (NOT.004 which is too tight). My challenge is getting my Del DRLA 40's adjusted to the proper idle mixture for each barrel. The Balance between the two carbs looks good at 1000rpm (using the snail synchronizer) and I have them balanced right at 5 on the scale. I like the snail because it does not constrict the air intake when taking the measurement. I just have to keep playing with it based on the instructions from this site: http://www.aircoolednut.com/er.../carbs/dellorto.html  

The clearance depends if you have aluminum or steel push rods. For steel, it is loose 0.

Olivier posted:

I cannot find any marking on my engine. I know it is a 1915cc as it is wriptten on it! and would like to learn more about the original engine type and improvements done by Vintage speedster

at the present time I need to adjust the valve clearance and what are the values for such engine?

Olivier

Oliver, I had Kirk at Vintage rebuild my engine to a 1915CC and it was most likely done through his engine builder Garvais at: http://www.gemvw.com/. You may be able to get more info from them on your engine.

Dutch