Oil breather question

I thought this might deserve its own thread.
For years now, I've looked at different breather box configurations and I've scratched my head on a lot of them. I'm looking for advice based on several types I've been eyeballing before I change what I already have.
Some people have their breather lines coming out of the valve covers, into the box, out of the box and into the air cleaners. Others have lines only coming out of the valve covers with a drain line into the filler neck via a check valve. There's the occasional valve-cover-to-box setup, and there seem to be limitless kinds of breather boxes on the market.
Crank case pressures vary, seemingly with diameters of hoses and vent outlets. It's all very confusing to me, so I went yesterday to ask an old friend what he recommended and why, and he kind of surprised me with his answer -- thought I'd share it here and see what kind of opinions it would generate.
Last week, Teresa spent a bunch of money on stuff for the Hoopty. She spoke to a guy at AutoFab (near me) who's been doing hot-rods for years, and his recommendation was to install a barrel-shaped oil tank, like you'd see on a motorcycle, with two inlets and a drain petcock for fittings and a breather cap on top like you'd find on a muscle car; no lines from it. The filtered vent is the kind that's usually just mounted to the EGR hole.
I took the Hoopty yesterday to Ralph Simmers (of Ralph's Auto Service) in Owings Mills, northwest of Baltimore. I asked him for an opinion on what to do and what to expect afterward. Oddly, that was one of two things on my car that he would do anything about. Apparently, he's seen the BugPack-sized breathers on Porsches, usually unmolested 356s with the 1600 normal engines, but the boxes aren't prone to having the kinds of problems mine does.
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Ralph's recommendation is to take the same tack Danny was talking about a few days ago. He suggests a fitting called an anti-backfire valve be welded into the exhaust after the collector and before the muffler (someplace convenient) and that the vent hole in the top of the oil breather be connected to that fitting instead of being an open vent hole with a screen over it.
His logic is that the exhaust will draw a vacuum from the canister.
I asked him about the people who use their carbs to draw vapors out of the case. He said the majority of people who do that probably don't want to cut holes in their exhausts, or they maybe hadn't been told that was a possibility -- but he did say there are consequences for running lines that way.
He said he's seen oil vapors drawn into the carbs result in that oil gumming up intake valves as it gradually deteriorates into carbon and goo. He suggested that people with higher-performance engines shouldn't do that, instead showing me the setup he thinks is Porsche's anwer to the problem of case pressure. Apparently, Porsche engineers like for their engines to run at negative pressures in order to improve efficiency, and pointed to several cars in the shop, from 356s to later model 911s that all had that kind of vapor-drawing exhaust line done. They all looked a little different from one to the next, but it all looked to me like it would serve the same purpose.
So I don't know. The setup Teresa bought will obviously be better than what I've got, and it should allow the engine to breathe a whole lot easier. Has anybody else heard of an anti-backfire vlave? Is anybody (other than Danny) using one?
I'd like to try it, and probably will, but I'm also kind of looking for numbers. How many pounds should a Type IV generate? How many pounds should a Type I live at -- and if there's a valve like that on the exhaust, what does the reduction in pressure equate to?
Maybe I should be the guinea pig. If you guys can put up some images of what you have and why you did it, that'll help me figure out what I'm going to do, too.
I'd appreciate it.

Does anybody else hear crickets?

Cory, I know you know that 911s are dry sump and the 356 was a wet sump. That's the extent of what I know about 356s. On a 911, there are two oil pumps, a scavenge pump to pull out of the crankcase to a remote oil tank, and a pressure pump to feed the oil galleries. On a 911, the oil has to be checked with the engine running.

Anyway, I did build a 547 four cam type of breather. It is a slanted tube that drains back into the crankcase after the vapors condense. It is 2" in diameter and almost 2 feet long. I have a 1/2" I.D. hose coming from each valve cover and one from the case. I also have a vapor outlet into the passenger side carb top. There are two baffles welded into the tube to dissipate the vapors internally. This helped matters much, but I still got oil mist all over the front of the engine, just a lot less than before, which was a K & N style breather on a small chrome round housing. It is the same as the one on Tom's Coupe and was not very effective for me.

I bought a Pan-e-vac kit from Jeg's, it is a bung(I love that word: "He said 'bung'", says Beevis) and a screw in fitting, like 18 or 19 bucks. Drag racers use them in V8s and It is the same thread as an O2 sensor. I attached this exhaust fiiting to a hose and then to a 12V air solenoid and then to the engine case. I have the solenoid hooked to a relay and that is rpm triggered(5000rpm +up) by my ignition.

This setup works very well for me, I am pleased.

Thanks, Danny. When we spoke on the phone about it, I could visualize most of the pieces, but I forgot about the diagonal tube. It makes more sense now.

Well another topic I don't know much about. I always thought anti-backfire valves were used in emission systems with air pumps to keep the car from backfiring when decelerating with the throttle closed. Wouldn't oil vapor going into the exhaust cause white smoke? Just wondering.

many years ago, a friend of mine installed his breather like yu described. Hook a line to the exhaust from the box and lines from both valve covers and crankcase line. The only problem, sometimes a little oil in the blow. It's considered illegal in case you wanted that info, but it did give a little kick in the HP.

puting any kind of pressure relief in the valve covers is better than the factory set-up. you would not believe how much pressure there is in the case. put one in one valve cover only and fire up the motor you will feel it, so do both sides, lso you can run the hoses up over the brake line then down no box, it will create a vacuum whwn going down the road, look at the sizes of hoses on a 356 then on 912 . its a lot bigger on the 912, also 912 had a vent in the head, the factory knew what they were doing but it took them until about 67 to figure it out. bill

Cory, this should cover the basics.
http://www.shoptalkforums.net/viewtopic.php?t=118958&highlight=crankcase+breather

I appreciate the advice. Thanks for the posts.

Dave, thanks specifically for the link. That's a really easy-to-read, well crafted bit of step-by-step for the layperson.
That's EXACTLY what I was looking for.

Im useing a ghia canster with a K&N filter charger in it all my vent stuff is vented to it, with a single carb with a peace of Dodge truck water hose plumbed to it. A twin carb set up wouldn't be hard to make eather.

What I like, its OIL free. and the same filter that is used on most twin carb setps thats easy to wash out and reuse.

Krickets????? You better be lookin for a stopped up push rod that chirpin. I cant think of anything else that would do that. Out side the fan belt that a peace of soap will hush at a touch. to confirm a glazed belt

Dude,

If you don't wanna mess with your exhaust, and I certainly wouldn't. I URGE you to completely ignore anything that anyone tells you regarding the VW engine.

Look to the motorcycle shops for answers, or check to see how ABARTH and Porsche approached the problem. There are just TOO MANY stupid ideas floating around and NONE honestly apply to antique air cooler engines.

Vent the case, not the covers, the bigger the hose the better. Run the hose to a remote tank, the bigger the better, from that run a REALLY big line to the bottom of the car, about two inches below the lowest point and cut the hose on a 60 degree angle with the open side facing rearward.

Simple and completely effective. The faster you go, the greater the internal pressure. The faster you go, the better the draft tube works at drawing that pressure out of the case.


DONE DEAL ! ! !

TC

venting the covers also helps to not push a cork gasket and leak oil.

Yeah, but any pressure at all in the valve covers is coming from the case through the pushrod tubes. WAY more effective to vent the case itself!

A BIG vent in the side of the generator stand, or (if you have an electric pump) a large diameter tube replacing the fuel pump would go a long way towards relieving any internal pressure generated by rotating/reciprocating mass or blow-by past the rings. The many small vents can't replace a single good large vent.

Really. Simple math, it would take four one inch in vents to equal just one two inch vent.

I totally agree.

We went through this discussion of whether or not to vent the valve covers way back in 1969 in the early Dune Buggy era. The general concensus back then (Geez.....am I THAT old??) was venting the valve covers only worked if/because the case wasn't adequately vented in the first place.

Several people didn't believe it back then (no Internet back then - we were all in Massachusetts or Rhode Island) so we tromped on over to a couple of Porsche racing engine builders in New England and they both said the same thing: Run BIG vent tubes from the case (they both used the generator/oil filler pedestal) into a BIG seperator can (2-quart Hi-C style juice cans were popular) full of half a dozen copper "Chore Boy" scrubbers to act as oil catchers, add a drain in the bottom back to the case (I use the block-off plate where my mechanical fuel pump was) and another vent out the top of the can just as Tom described it to the bottom of the engine. Only on street cars with environmentally concious owners did they run the outward vent into the air cleaners.

Remember, this was for engines consistently pushing 4,000 - 7,000 rpm, and it worked for them.

If you have a breather system and you're still pushing oil out through openings, then your breather is simply inadequate at venting the engine. This is usually because the system is choked, meaning that the vent from the case to the separator is simply too small (inner diameter) to handle the air flow, or the vent(s) from the separator to the blow-off or air cleaners is too small (or both).

As my rule of thumb, the case-to-separator vent should be 2" ID, and the separator-to-air cleaner should be dual and at least 1/2" ID each (5/8" is better, and 3/4" minimum for racing). The separator drain should be 1/4"-3/8" and 1/2" if it's a racing engine.

The separator itself should be at least 3" diameter and 8" high and mounted vertically as high in the engine compartment as possible. Mounting it horizontaly defeats it's ability to separate the oil from the case gas by at least 1/2 and makes it far easier to fill the can with oil and bubble out or head for the air cleaners (neither good). I've see these things over 12" tall on all-out racing engines, mounted right up at the top of the compartment.

I was interested in Cory's find and the write up because I've never seen one of these on a Porsche racing engine. I'll poke around and see what I come up with and report back - always ready to learn something!

gn

I had a '57 1600Super that had a vented case - it was vented by a connecting rod! I HATE when that happens!!

this is what I did....I used a sand seal on the front of the case, and vent the top end of the breather to the passenger side carb top. I have since modified the tube to mount higher up on the cowel but I am using the same approach with it also. the 550's used this sort of approach but had a main vent cut into the top of the engine case.

Nice, but I would never mount it with the vent to the air cleaner on the bottom like that. You're just asking for it to drain oil into the air cleaner some time or other. I would mount that can as vertical as I possibly could, with the air cleaner vent right at the top.

What's inside the cylinder?? Is it empty?

I'm also using a sand seal, but I went a bit overboard with this on the 2332.

On the new engine, I have a CB breather tower with a BIG (3/4 I/D) hose connected on the top. That hose runs to the inlet of a GM diesel truck vacuum pump mounted in the passenger's side back wheel-well, which I am using as a crankcase evacuation pump (the fittings are 3/4" push-ons). The discharge of the pump runs back up to a breather box, which is vented to the atmosphere, and is also connected to the valve-covers. The valve-cover vents are #8 AN fittings. I'm not going to run anything to the air-cleaners.

I'm pretty sure the little EMPI breather is going to be inadequately sized, but I was unsure what I was going to use- Gordon's V8 can idea might just be perfect for the application.

I'm leaving my 2110 in the car until after the annual homecoming parade later this month, but I'll post how this set-up does after that.

Gordon,

The photo posted above was my 1st or 2nd version of breather. I was originally in the process of mounting the breather on the back of the engine like an original 550. But, it got in the way of oil hoses as well as the accellerator cable. I also decided that mounting it higher in the car might be a good idea. So, this is the 3rd version. There are baffles only in the large tube and the two vents to the tops of the valve covers are positioned within about 1/4" of the top of the cylinder before brazing them in. The 3rd hose goes directly back into the oil filler on the engine case for a drain. The 4th still goes to the passenger side carb. There is a low spot in the 4th hose that traps a bit of oil, don't know if it is from vapor or actually blow by. I think it is more vapor but that is unproven. The plugs on this side of the engine look just like the other side, so if I am dumping anything more than vapor I would think it would show as more than just a moistening inside the hose.

I have used this set up on 2 engines, a 2100 cc and a 2332 cc. I have run the big engine up to about 7500rpm for short bursts and all seems well with the breather. I won't recommend this method yet, it may not be enough, or it might benefit from some bronze scouring pads. The hoses are all 1/2" ID, which may not be big enough.

I like the vac pump idea. In both my engines I know they pump enough oil into the valve covers, breathers, hoses, etc that oil pressure will drop during extended high RPM driving. I offset that with a 2 quart AccuSump. An even better solution might well be a 3 circut dry sump where one section of the pump did nothing but evcuate oil from the valve covers and return it to the dry sump tank....

here is how the 4 cam Porsche engine breather looked. But those were 1500 cc up to finnal 2000 cc that in final form raced at up to 8000 rpm or so. Not certain that anything about that engine applies to mine, other than I like the way the breather looks...

You're right - that's a cool breather. The simplicity is amazing, huh? And that is one BIG discharge/vent hose coming off the right end.

I've never dealt with a 4-cam engine, other than to see one apart at Al Alden's shop a long, long time ago and really didn't appreciate it for what it was (I just thought it was overly complicated - what the heck did I know?!?!?)

All I've dealt with is pushrod engines, but some of those were built for sustained 5K-7K rpms, all of them had the juice can separator and none of them forced oil out anywhere.

Stan's approach will work, as he's purging the case with the pump, but then you run the risk of having a partial vacuum inside the case, and that will suck all kinds of unwanted stuff in there through any opening it can find - and it doesn't have to be a big opening, either. I still prefer to have a small positive pressure in the case, just to blow out any crud that might try to find it's way in there, no matter how.

Stan: Once you get that all plumbed in and working, find a way to put a vacuum gauge on it to see what's going on in the case. I would then shoot for a slight positive pressure in there. It doesn't have to be much, but slightly positive would be better than negative IMHO.

gn

Gordon-

Actually I'm looking for a slightly negative pressure on the case. According to all the big-boys, there's a 5% or so h/p bump running a couple of inches of vacuum in the crankcase, not to mention having a really clean and dry engine (which would be novel). Since I'm a neat freak with this car, this was the main appeal- the extra h/p is icing on the cake.

As far as sucking contaminants into the crankcase- that's really the purpose of a sand-seal, despite the fact that we've all been trying to use them as a front main seal to keep oil in. The other places crud can come in should all be filtered. My main concern with the system is the location of the pump- low and away- and the possibility of oil collecting there.

I also have a Jaycee bypass filter base, which bypasses any oil pressure in excess of 60 psi back to the sump via a third hose, and an accusump system piped in as well. I've got a 96 plate cooler, and a Mocal sandwich bypass thermostat. My oiling system is everything I can do short of a dry sump (which I considered, but rejected). This stuff is in and has been operating all summer- it works great.

I'll know more what I think of the vacuum pump as we go. I'll tell you this much though- it sounds like a jet engine back there.

Right now I'm working on my super-duper Type 3 style engine mount/ traction bar to hang the engine from the rear, rather than cantilever it out off the bell-housing like all Type 1s do (I've got a mid-mount on my transaxle with 911 motor mounts). My goal is to banish all wheel-hop without solid mounting anything. This has been my little project for a month's worth of spare time.

Things a little slow in the suburbs of Peoria these days?

Oh well, it's good to see that you have a little free time

;>)

Let me try to get this straight: "On the new engine, I have a CB breather tower with a BIG (3/4 I/D) hose connected on the top. That hose runs to the inlet of a GM diesel truck vacuum pump mounted in the passenger's side back wheel-well, which I am using as a crankcase evacuation pump (the fittings are 3/4" push-ons). The discharge of the pump runs back up to a breather box, which is vented to the atmosphere, and is also connected to the valve-covers. The valve-cover vents are #8 AN fittings. I'm not going to run anything to the air-cleaners."

So you have TWO breathers on there? The CB tower directly off of the generator pedestal, a hose going to the vacuum pump, and another hose from the vacuum pump output to a second breather?? And THAT breather (which, I assume, has a positive pressure in it from the output of the pump) has hoses running to the atmosphere AND the valve covers? Won't that cause some residual pressure going in to the valve covers from the pump/2'nd breather?

I'm just trying to follow this system and figure out what's going on in there.....

Thanks....

No, things are far from slow out here in the sticks, Gordon- with 3 unmarried adult-ish kids (2 of whom live at home), and a small business, I do this to unwind. It's a hobby- thinking about and working on the car is what I do for fun. I'm a just a wild and crazy guy....

The CB breather tower is really just a cavity to allow any oil vapor to condense before I suck the vapor into the vacuum pump- it's not really a breather, that's just what CB calls it. The tower is totally sealed, and has baffles meant to drain oil back to the alternator stand, which as you know is a big 'ol hole in the top of the case with some louvers. I'll be putting a couple of chore boys in the tower to make sure I condense out as much oil as possible before sucking into the pump. There will likely still be some oil left in the vapor, which is why the pump will discharge into the big breather mounted high on the firewall.

The valve covers will be vented from the breather box on the firewall so that the "make up air" being introduced into the engine "pushes" oil out of an area I don't want it to be, and back into the sump via the push rod tubes. As Jim pointed out, oil buildup under the driver's side valve-cover is a big problem in a Type 1- I've got a windage tray, and windage pushrods to combat this as much as possible, and that's what the Accusump is all about.

Anyhow, how much vacuum ends up in the crankcase is really a function of how much relief I give the firewall breather- in theory, a bigger breather to atmosphere would give me greater vacuum in the crankcase, and vice versa.

It's different than the "folklore and common knowledge" method we've all been used to, but the NASCAR boys have been doing it this way for years, and I read about it on the Samba before I decided to do it myself.

As I said, I'll let you know how it works out...

Yeah, please do. It sounds pretty slick and makes a lot of sense for big displacement engines. Involved, yes, but practical and once sorted out it should be really good at scrubbing oil out of the case air - it will actually be circulating the case air to some degree. BTW those "Chore Boy" things really work well.

I'm using just the sealed CB tower; no chore boy in it (yet, but now I'm thinking of trying one) and it seemed marginal until I tripled the size of the hoses going from it. Now running 5/8" black heater hose from the tower to the air cleaners and a 1/4" ID drain to the case, but the configuration of the tower allows much of the condensed oil to drain right down the filler, anyway. Putting a vacuum gauge on the case (where the small drain normally goes) shows me a little positive flutter of the needle, but very little so I guess it's finally doing it's job right as far as balancing the case. I'm seeing a little oil discoloring within the air cleaners so that's why I'll try the chore boy - just to see if I can get it to condense more of the oil vapour to NOT get to the air cleaners.

That'll be after the Dragon run......don't want to disobey my own #1 rule: "Don't mess with anything the day before you leave!!!"

Thanks for the update...gn

Gordon,

I have one of the CB towers too.

Where on the case did you connect the drain tube?

Why did you feel a need to have a drain tube? It seems only a very small amount of oil would remain below the filler.

I thought about the Chore Boy addition too. I was a little bit nervous about a bit dropping into the case. A remote breather box would not cause this concern. If and when you do it a description and maybe a picture would be helpful.

Thanks.

Where on the case did you connect the drain tube?

I have an electric fuel pump, so I ran the drain into the dead plate covering the hole of the non-existant mechanical pump.

Why did you feel a need to have a drain tube? It seems only a very small amount of oil would remain below the filler.

True, but I had a hole in the 2'nd hand pump plate already, there was a suitable, braided stainless hose in my junk box and that's that.

I thought about the Chore Boy addition too. I was a little bit nervous about a bit dropping into the case. A remote breather box would not cause this concern. If and when you do it a description and maybe a picture would be helpful.

I didn't bother when I installed everything, because I trusted those little internal "wings" to do the job w/o any assistance. So far, they've done OK. Fear of something dropping into the case (and not getting attracted to the magnet in the sump) is a concern, too, and I haven't noodled a good solution (yet). Sounds like something to talk about at dinner at the Dragon run...Pictures and write-up, of course!

gn

Gordon,

Thanks for your reply.

I have one of those plates in the fuel pump location too. It is undrilled.

I thought about putting a line from there to the bottom of the CB tower as a vent. Then I thought it wouldn't add much because it is so close to the big opening at the bottom of the alternator support.

Here is a picture I found on the Samba with copper scrubbing pads inserted in the CB tower

Way back up at the top of this post I described my system. The breather I built is similar to Jim Dubois'. Thanks Jim, I give credit to your idea I stole(from over at Spyderclub)! It is a 2-foot long, 2" tube angled and baffled inside. Both valve covers and oil fill are into this breather, one hose goes to the passenger side carb top. There is a 1/4" metal drain back into the type3/universal case oil filler blockoff. Anyway, this breather works well up to about 4000-4500 of continuous running. The problem is above that, which VWs were NEVER intended for. What was the original redline, 5000 or so? My reasoning, which may be wrong, is that with all the parts we have, sump extensions, huge displacements, more blowby because of increase in displacement, more oil pressure and volume, more oil splashing from bigger stroke and counterweighted cranks, that something else needed to be done.

Especially with the increase in redline, the problems of vapors and case pressure are hugely increased. So I looked toward drag racers, who run either a vacuum pump or an exhaust evacuation system. I didn't want to add the vacuum pump, too complex in my mind. Simple is easier, so I welded in the Pan-e-vac fitting. This goes directly to a 12v air solenoid w/ 1/2" pipe thread fittings and then directly to the oil filler area on the case. The oil filler/gen. stand area on my engine is occupied by an aluminum piece, machined to fit over the fuel pump spot too and mounting the 911 fan assembly. Luckily, since I also installed a crank-fire ignition, I had access to multiple rpm switches. The system is the Megajolt Lite Junior, an open source(i.e. cheap and homebuilt) system based on the Ford EDIS ignition. That is Electronic Distributorless Ignition System, from an early 90's Ford Escort of all things. I initially set it to open the solenoid above 5000 rpm, and haven't had to change it.

My motor has stayed clean this season, other than getting dusty. I have had to add about a half quart in just less than 3000 miles, which is pretty good for a 180hp type1, IMHO. If there is interest I can post pics and/or links. I did also reduce my CR from 10.1/1 down to 9.8/1. That and removal of the wildly inaccurate 009 has stabilized my idle, eased starting, and COMPLETELY eliminated pinging. The 009 and pertronix WERE wired up to a Mallory CD box and high voltage MSD coil. I am now running 32.5 degrees advance at 4000 and full throttle. My engine has more power(ask anyone at Carlisle this year), runs and drives better, and doesn't puke oil. A home run in my book.

Gordon, for what it's worth, I would put a piece of window screen under the Chore Boy stuff if you are worried about pieces falling down. Maybe stainless steel screen, if available?

Yeah, I was thinking of that, too. Makes a lot of sense and simple, too.

I called my brother, and he told me that the Hi-C cans didn't have the drain in the bottom but up on the side about 1" up off the bottom - probably for that reason - anything coughed up or falling off would stay in the can.

gn

DannyP, thanks for the credit on the Spyder style breather and your observations regarding results. I believe the original 40 hp VW engine was red lined at 4500 rpm, for what ever that is worth, so our running the same basic design up to 7500 or more tends to test the outer limits more than a bit.... (:>)

Like you, I have finally cleaned up the oil leaks on my engine, for the greater part. The big "custom" breather and the sand seal on the front of the crank were the 2 final things for my current (small 2109cc)engine.

The big engine is currently on the test stand awaiting some final leak testing, but it is dry sumped, so I have to plumb that before I run it on the stand. It came out of the Spyder for 2 reasons, one of which was an oil leak of unknown source(thought to be a bad casting of the external oil cooler take off on top of the engine, yet to be confirmed) and a little problem of the crank end play changing from .003" to .025" without wear....I can title that story as "Why a Gene Berg Gland Nut Torqued to 500 pound feet may not seat your flywheel". But, that is another story for another thread.....

Ummm, I was always curious and confused by the various breather tube configurations.

I have a bunch of photos showing different configurations. The two photos below are not untypical. I run a tube from the oil filler tube right out the bottom, just like on my '65 bug.

Your fears of "Chore Boy" suckage are unfounded. Its basically a somewhat more flexible screen. And, it UNROLLS !!
I use these to an obscene level for various heat sink/condensation applications. The air compressor , water trap, and even the soon to be MT Bud alum bottle which after a few perforations will become a very efficient CC breather. Yeah gonna stuffit full of u-no-what.

Where-to-buy? Walli-world!

These pictures are kind of rough. I wish I'd read this thread before we got started on this stuff, but it resulted in a 15-lb. reduction in case pressure at idle.
I dorked up my sandwich plate (above the spin-on filter) by over-tightening the auxiliary cooler fittings, and so had to run the Pumpkin Run with no additional cooling, but the case pressure was at 25 lbs. when we took the first break of the day.
The way the oil tank is mounted, I'll be able to adapt a fitting and run that line to the exhaust after I see one up close again. The final bend in the exhaust is directly below it, and the anti-backfire valve will be easy enough to weld in.
Now, we have to find another sandwich plate.

On a related note, it was FANTASTIC having Teresa under the car with me as we made a few changes to it. It got new plug wires, some new gaskets, a little welding and some other odds and ends here and there, and made the entire trip uneventfully.

There are a few more pictures on the camera from this weekend. These are from last Thursday and Friday, when Teresa and I were puttering around the shop. Funny back story to this, albeit personally incriminating ...
I had wanted to put these parts on the car since Teresa picked them up, and I was chomping at the bit to turn the wrenches. Between the initial outlay of several hundred bucks for the pieces and the subsequent outlay of several hundred MORE bucks to make sure we actually had the RIGHT ones, I had these little sugarplums dancing in my head.
I just wanted them installed, and had a devil-may-care attitude about whether they were exactly right.
So, we finally got into the shop Thursday. We discovered that the fittings we wanted for one thing were the worng size, and we scrambled around getting them right. I discovered that the valve covers with the baffles welded in wouldn't clear the rocker arms, and those had to get tweeked. The bails on the heads wouldn't clear one of the two -8 A/N fittings, and so on.
Lots of machine work later, it was Friday afternoon. We were sweating this stuff -- and it was ALL elective!
She had already demonstrated that the right tool for the job could remove brass barbs from rubber hoses, and I had told her it couldn't be done ... but I'm a slow learner.
I was telling Teresa that I was prepared to drive to Chambersburg on a mostly correct car, and she wouldn't save time and see it my way.
I should have listened, but no ... oh, noooooo. ...

So she decided to do what she knew needed to be done, and I did what I thought I knew how to do. She, being an electrician -- among other crafty talents -- decided to remove the electrical components governing the thermocouple doodad that controlled the remote cooler's fan (or something), and I decided to put the blue parts into the silver parts. Ha.
So, there I was, minding my own business, when all of a sudden I hear this "KAH-tok." I looked down.
"I think I just broke the sandwich plate. There's a crack in it now, but it gets smaller if I back off the fitting a bit. I think we'll be okay."
"Right. Do I need to run to Peek and get another one?"
"Nah. I think this one'll be fine. It has Teflon tape inside, and the threads cover most of the carck."
"Okay. I'll go if I need to."
"Nope. We're good."
Except we weren't. And the thermodoohickey went on the line I was trying to get to not leak, and that was the end of that. Later, as we let the car idle to see what the fan and pressures would do, there it was. Drip, drip, drip.
Crap. So we had to take the thermo-doodle-thingie off, take out the sandwich plate and run without the cooler at all. And, in my haste to install the fittings in the plate, remove the plate and uninstall its fittings, I've managed to ding up the pretty blue annodization job on several of the pieces.
Now, adding color, I've called Dave at Peek and asked him to reserve one sandwich plate for me on Thursday. Hopefully, the remote jobber will go back into faithful and reliable service shortly thereafter.

Sometimes, I think my only purpose in life is to serve as a beacon of warning to others. But there you have it; the REST of the story.