Tranny is out

Have you checked Geno's feedback on The Samba? I'm asking because it's there, I know he sells a lot of stuff and I have no idea if he's any good (or not).

His feedback seems quite good for parts and service as far as I could see. He sounded pretty good on the phone too and has good contacts and suppliers. No one else could find a 3.44 r& p but he did.  I realize that he's not a big shop but he's reasonably close. I couldn't find anyone in Ontario or Western Quebec that could do it. The lad down in Welland, Ontario sort of stopped communicating which makes me wonder and he couldn't find a 3.44.

Geno asked for a deposit to cover the cost of the 3.44 and I'll send the tranny next week. I like road trips and will pick up the transmission in person and pay the balance then.

My goal is to have everything back in and running by mid February.

Good luck, Dave. BTW, re the clearancing of the motor mount, my recollection is that the KEP instructions advise this. There really isn't anything else to be done, as the Soob happens to bolt up right where those VW mounts are. Would've been nice if Subaru were a more forward-looking company and had engineered their engines to be compatible with VW transaxles and mounts from the start....

David, could you use a countersunk flat head socket head cap screw (Allen head)? That would alleviate having to grind on the trans mount, and they are plenty strong.

I usually have the 3.44 R/P in stock.

Anthony posted:

I usually have the 3.44 R/P in stock.

Do you have one now ? What is your price on one, Anthony ? Thanks.

Fpcopo VS posted:

David, could you use a countersunk flat head socket head cap screw (Allen head)? That would alleviate having to grind on the trans mount, and they are plenty strong.

I'll ask Kennedy if that is possible.  The plate is 1/2" thick and the hole is ~ .410 " or about 10mm  ( just under 7/16" ) . I like the idea, Frank and we have a very good hardware store nearby.

David Stroud posted:

Anthony posted:

I usually have the 3.44 R/P in stock.

Do you have one now ? What is your price on one, Anthony ? Thanks.

$299.95 plus shipping for a Erco brand

US gear are $399.95 plus shipping.

There must be some difference in quality, Anthony ? You might do well to tell us what type of work you do....location, contact info, name of your business etc.

The US gear is good.  Paying for the name. We have used the Erco units with good success.  

I am located in northern ca.

Hey Gang,

Anthony supplies racing products, parts, and even some good motors to a bunch speedster knuckle heads. He came recommend from Terry Knuckles. He helped Sacto Mitch with his new setup. He and his trans guy built my 4 speed last year. So far, I'm pleased with the trans.

Anthony, is the $299 3.44 r&p made in China?  I'm also wondering if the new $399 3.44 is also made in China.

When I purchased my 3.44 three years ago I was told it was the last batch of US made ring & pinions.

Some reference to ERCO :

http://ultimateaircooled.com/t...-ring-pinions-2.html

Ron...a lad at Weddle told me last week they had no US Gear 3.44's in stock and "MAY" have some in March 2016.

David, the ERCO will be fine. Buy it from Anthony. Also, Geno has a good reputation.

I like the idea of the countersunk allen bolt. I would definitely do that so the mount stays uncompromised. There are five of those bolts holding each 5 X 205 aluminum plate to my hubs, so they are plenty strong.

The ERCO R/P will be fine.

David Stroud posted:

Fpcopo VS posted:

David, could you use a countersunk flat head socket head cap screw (Allen head)? That would alleviate having to grind on the trans mount, and they are plenty strong.

I'll ask Kennedy if that is possible.  The plate is 1/2" thick and the hole is ~ .410 " or about 10mm  ( just under 7/16" ) . I like the idea, Frank and we have a very good hardware store nearby.

Spoke with Kennedy today and they advise that it would be fine to use a countersunk Allen head bolt in the two lower areas that contact the tranny mounts. Thanks for the idea, Frank.

They further advise that additional clearance may be necessary on the surface of the adapter plate itself where the tranny mount meets the bellhousing. Apparently the steel part on some tranny mounts will not be flush with the bellhousing ( will stand proud of the bellhousing ) and will preclude the adapter plate lying flush with the bellhousing like it needs to. They recommend milling down the adapter plate as opposed to grinding down the tranny mount.

Why couldn't you just relieve that area of the adapter plate, freehand, with an angle grinder enough that there is no interference with the tranny mount?  Beats milling the entire plate ($$) and probably, overall, stronger, too.

Sure you could Gordon. I never said mill the whole adapter plate...." clearance may be necessary .....where the mount meets the bellhousing " .  Being a professional entity, I'm guessing Kennedy said mill rather than grind from a safety / legal / esthetic point of view..  My angle grinder is one of my favourite tools. 

Anyone know where to source  10mm x 1.25 mm pitch x 45mm long flat head ( countersink ) type of machine screws ( bolts ).

Man, I wish I thought of that before cutting my motor mounts. Then too--why doesn't Kennedy supply counter-sunk allen-head machine screws with the kit?

Also, I believe my R&P is an ERCO. 

David:  found 40mm versions and 100mm that could be cut down if desperate:

https://www.belmetric.com/sf10...cPath=6_340_372_1070

Still looking for 45mm versions.

Thanks for that reference, Gordon. I'm going to regroup tomorrow and consider some common sense options. The actual hole in the adapter plate is way larger than the unthreaded part of the bolt going through it. It's .420 " and the bolt is .380".  Good thing the adapter is held in position by locating pins.

Anyway, .420 is very close to 7/16" but the drill size to tap for 7/16" is less than the overall diameter of the existing threaded portion of the 10mm so I would have to go larger in drill / tap and I'm not sure there is enough meat in the bellhousing of the engine. I'll look at threading my own bolts from longer stock tomorrow and if no go there, it'll be likely straight over to belmetric etc.

McMaster-Carr has various lengths.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#socke...-cap-screws/=10jtl0k

Call Global Metrics.    1-650-592-2722.  Both ladies are very knowledgeable and have a huge inventory.  They ship daily, located in Belmont, ca

whats nice is you can purchase as many as you need and not a box like some suppliers

David, get a flush Allen head 10mm bolt, countersink the damn adapter plate in a drill press, and be done with it already. I could do it in almost the time it took me to type this.

He's looking for a 10mm X 1.25 X 45mm long, Flathead, countersunk

I looked on-line for 15 minutes and couldn't find one.  Found a 40mm long, or a 100mm long (that could be cut down to length) - that's it.  Lots of 1.00 and 1.5 and 1.75 pitch out there...not a lot of 1.25's

It's done. We took a couple of 10mm x 1.25 hex head bolts and turned the heads down to a countersunk type, then added a largish slot for a screwdriver, then shortened the threaded area to the correct length. I took another hex head bolt and cut the shaft down to a flat screwdriver so it can go in a socket attached to a torque wrench. We'll be using Locktite. 10mm x 1.25 pitch 45mm long flush head bolts were not to be found anywhere.

Then we countersunk the two holes in the adapter plate to 82 degrees total, not 90 degrees.

My head gaskets arrived yesterday and the manifolds etc. go in for powder coating on Monday.

"...and the manifolds etc. go in for powder coating on Monday."

What color did you decide?

I'll have to look at some colour charts when I get there but it will be somewhere between mid brown and copper.

Fancy McSchmancy, ain't we?

I hijacked the idea from a Seduction Motorsports photo but I'd still like to figure something out for the three walls of the engine compartment. 

Engine turned aluminum comes to mind and I have some stock at home from an abandoned airplane project. Just more work .....

On some of the better speedsters I've done I use black epoxy painted aluminum sheet, the same that is used on bumper pull enclosed trailers. Best to be done with the motor out, the cardboard templates take longer than actually installing the sheets.