temperature gauge

My mid nineties IM appears to run hot, when it is glanced at, HOWEVER it is not even though the needle is way over to where hot should be. The data sheet acknowledges this issue and instructs the driver to not be concerned, HOWEVER as one who constantly "glances" at his guages this lean to teh right tendancy unnerves me.
Can anyone recommend a sender that that results in a more mid range calibration or just an entirelly new temp guage and sender. Anything digital?

Ralph:

A number of us have purchased a dip-stick thermometer (looks like a candy thermometer for cooking) from www.mainelybydesign.com way down in Maine. You can choose between one for a 356 engine, or one for a VW engine (we got the VW one).

They are caliberated when shipped and are easy to check and re-calibrate in boiloing water on your kitchen stove, if necessary.

Once installed, we use them for (a.) peace of mind and, (b.) to calibrate our numberless dash gauge (magic marker lines for the important stuff, in my case).

Cost? About $50 and money well spent

The other thing you could do is get a head temperature gauge. They register heat changes almost immediatly, and give a second opinion on engine temp.

I did buy a digital dipstick guage which confirmed that the calibration on my dash guage was off, but how does one calibrate it. It would seem that if that were possible to do then it would have been done at IM's factory negating the need for the mention of it in the car's documentaion.
Re: the cylinder head temp gauge and sender---is drilling and tapping into the case or head neccessary?
Thanks.

"the calibration on my dash guage was off, but how does one calibrate it?"

Some of these dash gauges have an adjustment screw on the back, which allows the user to move the needle back and forth to get it to a particular place on the scale for a given input from the sender. Yes it is usually done at the manufacturers, but sometimes they can get out of adjustment and need to be "tweaked". It is simply a screw head on the back of the gauge (it will not be screwed into the gauge back, but will be present in a hole in the back) which can be moved to adjust the needle.

"Re: the cylinder head temp gauge and sender---is drilling and tapping into the case or head neccessary?"

No....the ones that I've seen are a wire attached to a washer-like sensor, that is used in place of the crush washer under the spark plug. There is one for each cylinder, and they often run to a multi-position dash switch which allows the operator to select any cylinder he/she chooses to watch.

Gordo,

The link - www.mainelybydesign.com does not work - any other reference to find this neat item is appreciated.

Boston Bob

Its www.mainelycustombydesign.com/

Simon

Thanks, Simon...the fingers get alzheimers every once in a while...

I bought the temp gauge from mainly and it works well. I also just received the mahogany gear shift knob with porsche crest and it worked perfectly.........I figured out my shifter threads by pulling off the old knob and putting different bolts in the hole until I found the exact size and thread I needed and then told him what it needed to be and he made it happen.

Just visited with John Estes (Ivory IM at Carlisle) today, and he had a candy/fudge thermometer that was long enough to be used as a dip-stick thermometer. As a bonus, it has a 2.25" diameter dial, and as a double bonus it only costs around $5 at one of those kitchen gadget stores in the outlet malls.

On the downside, I don't believe it is damped with silicone oil or adjustable as the manelycustombydesign.com version is, but, Hey! for $5 bucks? Not bad!

Gordon, $5????? I like your style. TOM

Tom:

I put my Mainelycustom thermometer in and pretty much leave it there - it's rugged enough to take the vibration. Can't say the same for the fudge thermometer, as it looks more fragile.

However! If all you want to do is calibrate your number-less dash gauge for "normal" operating temp, then you could make a run on a turnpike, pop the fudge thingy in before you leave (watch out for moving belts!), then when you think it's warmed up, stop and take a look at it and then draw a line on your temp gauge with a small permanent marker so you'll know what it is ("See that line right there? THAT line is 210 degrees...")

If you gonna run out to a kitchen store this afternoon, then measure the length of your current dipstick and get a fudge thermometer that's about that length from the stop flange to the bottom end (I'm not too sure if you can cut them down in length and they still work). If it's an inch or so long, that's OK, as it'll just stick out the top a little more.

The temp range on the dial should go from 150 or so to, say, 275 degrees F (you readings may vary in Centigrade countries). If it goes higher or lower, that's OK, just try to get 220 or so in the middle of the scale somewhere.

GN (with help from John Estes, one of the other "Speedstah Guys" in Rhode Island

The oe I saw was also BIG compared to mine, making it easier to read for us bi-focal set.

I certainly love all the ideas on this thread, but I am faced with a much bigger challenge just now. Aboiut three miles from home my IM started to struggle going up a hill and then a loud clatter like gravel in the crank started. I thoiught I had sucked a valve and removed the covers and all push rods were fine.
The bad news was that this engine has less than 7oo miles on it. The good news is that I overcame the temptation to get a crate engine form one of the on-line shops preferring to gaze into the pearly whites of a local engine builder in just this sort of eventuallity.
The car was towed to the shop and a compression test revealed 85 on left side and 115 on the right, not good on a built 1775 with NEW ALUMINUM case, heads Elgin cams etc.The owner of the shop was spending my money in Mexico but is expecxted to be back MOnday. I am hoping not to have to hire a lawyer.
BTW, the sound is too high freq. to be a rod or main bearing knock. SOunds like a wrist pin and perhaps piston slap. I am always amazed at how highly mechanics speak of their work and dis others and then this happens. ANd no, the car never overheated as I do have the fudge thermometer.
ANy thoghts?

Ralph,

Sorry to hear of your problems. Hopefully your builder will do the warrenty work for gratus. Sounds like valve train to me but I'm no expert. Guess they'll find out when they disassemble the engine. Hope it is nothing too grim and as I say a warrenty comes into play.

Regards, Bruce

Ralph, had the 2110 motor on my 84 IM seize at 300 miles. Luckily the builder was 'test drivng' it to see how it went. He pulled two six grand shifts and 'bang'. The builder 'ate' the costs. Hope things work out for you.
Ron

Ron,
The "six grand shifts" brings a question to mind. I am new to VW as well as air cooled engines. Just at what point should one be shifting these things? I have a standard 1600cc engine with a single Solex. I am used to old Land Rovers that lug along all day and really don't seem to care what gear they are in.

I have a tach in my Speedster but rewally don't know where the redline should be or the optimum shift point either.

Thanks,
Tony

Anthony; with VW's I'd say common sense tells you. You can just feel it when you need to shift. They're very well designed and reliable engines when stock and they were not designed to be fire breathers. Aftermarket performance parts and further research have turned it all into a different ballgame (just ask Clyde Berg, Jake Raby or Pat Downs how many RPM's some of their engines are capable of).

As per original Porsche 356 gauges the redline is at 5,500 RPMs. I guess fairly common or mildly modified VW engines should be around the 4,500 to 5,500 RPM mark. Still, I wouldn't waste my time revving the engine up unnecessarily to impress someone or to just find out how many RPM's it can make; just cruise and enjoy it.

Ricardo,
Thanks. The tach in my Speedster had the redline mark set at 4,000 from the previous owner. I find I am usually shifting somewhere in the 3,000 - 3,500 range depending on terrain. Sounded and felt like the right place but did not want to get to close to the suggested redline.....whatever that may be.

Tony

Ralph:

A few years ago, I bought a long block 2,110 built by one of the name West Coast builders, and after a few years of having it sit in a crate under my bench, I completed it, installed it and fired it up. It ran beautifully, if a little out of carb tune, for the first 30 minutes of break-in.

I stopped it, and then re-started it to move the car back inside. It ran for 20 seconds and then stopped instantly.

Found out it had seized #4 main bearing (it was improperly installed by the builder), causing me to completely tear it down and re-build it. Just shows that you never know with engine builds - sometimes the little things get you.

To say this episode really sucked would be an understatement, but I got it back together OK and been VERY happy with it ever since.

Good luck getting it put right...

gn

So I shouldn't be shifting at 7200rpm then? Actually I find I get better times shifting at 6500 anyways. Of course I only shift there when racing. Bruce Gordon on the other hand shifts at 7000 almost all the time. Both our engines are as close to perfectly balanced as possible, and were assembled carefully.
Ron

Thanks guys for your input. Today the builder called and said that something got sucked into the cylinder---did I mention I left off the air cleaners on my test drive? and did a nice job of pounding #4 piston pretty much senseless. Nevertheless he feels badly since he was not able to help me when teh car had carb problems. SO I have to pay for the pistons and barrels---I figured thinking 911 --- $3000. I could feel the grin spread from ear to ear when I saw the price---$100!!! and the R & R of teh engine and any carb work.
All is well that ends well. Grand total maybe $400. Do I feel lucky.
But on another note---no pun intended. With the motor out I would like to replace teh basic Bugpack muffler with something a little throatier. ANy body like to recommend someohting?
And what about that temp gauge? Is there an adjustible that looks like OEM?

Thanks again for all the encouragement.
I will post a photo at a later time.

Revs and why more is not necessarily better. I just know by experience that cams, carbs timing et al work together to give you an almost predetermined power band. In my old hot rod days, a big bore Pontiac that a buddy had needed to be shifted at about 4000 rpm or it felt like it was running out of gas. My 74S could wind well into the 6ks and then a cut off kicked in. But I am still wondering about these pusrod motors. Prior to melting down my 1776 pulled nicely through teh 4k s and then just went flat. But if I shifted the wide ratio gear box engaged the next gear at about 2500 and the car bogs. SO the solution would seem to me is to put a gear set in that is close ratio first thru third and then and real tall forth. ANyone have any experince. I for one like to zip around and while I do not expect wheel smoking kick butt performance, smooth acceleration thru the gears would be nice.

Where to shift? Simple. Locate a dyno shop with a rear wheel dyno. For $75 or thereabouts (no tuning, just a run), you should get two or three "runs" (makes a good Christmas gift). They will hand you a chart of your cars RPM vs HP and Torque as seen at the rear wheels. No need to go beyond max Horseower RPM before shifting. Be prepare to be disappointed. Your engines advertised crankshaft horsepower ain't gonna show up at the rear wheels. It's also fun to add mods and then go back every few years to see what effect your "imrovements" have wrought. I try to use the same dyno to avoid variations between shops (dyno type, calibration, etc.).

I shift at about 3600 rpm on 1st 2nd and 3rd but I wait for 4200 on 4th because of the freeway flyer 4th being a little taller. My engine doesnt bog unless you try to run it below 2500rpm but the power band isnt in that low of numbers and your only turning the cooling fan slower by shifting too soon. I run about 2950 at 65 but I'm not sure how accurate the tach is on these cars, but it sounds very nice.

with a single stock solex and a stock cam that motor wont even spin to 6K under load.

another option with the temp guages is a infared temp gun. THey used to bea bundle- Ive seen them as cheap as $100 now. They hold there calibration alot better than any dip stick and you can just point at what you want to take a reading of.

Gordon, if you let a new engine sit under the bench for years the assembly lube can literally dry up. This can cause blockage of oil galleries and subsequent crankshaft bearing and/or other parts failures.

A built engine left unused for that length of time should be dismantled, cleaned, relubed, and reassembled before use.

HI George!

Yeah, I know I was taking a chance when I started it up, but when I got it apart I found that the hole for the locating dowel in #4 bearing showed where the dowel had been forced slightly off-center when the case was torqued together, indicating that it was never seated correctly in the first place. This caused the bearing material to squash too tightly and THAT caused it to seize, and just on that one bearing. The assembler should have noticed that it was turning over too hard (by hand) after the case halves were torqued, but never did.

Oh well, live and learn. I thought about the asembly lube petrifying, too, but found no evidence of that when I tore it down - it had been sitting 5 or 6 years, too. I expected to see clogged passages or petrifyed smears or something, but found nothing like that.

Gordon

One of the "Speedstah Guys" from Beaufort