A little spray of mace as you pedal past will stop that lunacy.

Unfortunately they take out a lot of riders when they inflict themselves on the rest of the world.  I hope that there are civil and or criminal actions taken against them when they cause an accident.

One priceless clip showed some woman in Belgium leaning waaaay out and holding her phone for a selfie.  She was clearly, from the videographer's angle, totally across the nearest "lane" and totally in front of the oncoming rider, who was approaching at close to 30 mph.

 

The other riders on that side saw what was happening, and in a split-second squeezed left a tad giving him precious little room to get around her but as he zipped past he simply slapped her phone out of her hand and it went spinning off into oblivion.

 

I bet a lot of other riders would have done the same.

 

The fans in England the first three days were GREAT.  Largest spectator numbers EVER for any past stages of the Tour.  Respectful, too, because they stayed back a bit from the lanes and got out of the way even more well in advance of the oncoming riders.

 

The national Sport of Belgium is Bicycling and those fans are, by far, the worst.  Like standing in the street and not moving when the peloton approaches at 30-35 mph.

I would love to see video of a cyclist slapping a phone out of someones hand as he rode by. 

 

That is awesome. Some people are so self absorbed it makes me sick. Glad to see someone else is tired of it too. 

 

 

http://wwos.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8871357

 

Looks like it was a Lithuanian guy. Love it. I hope they all start to do it.
Ted

selfies are selfish - nothing else.

 

Ted:

 

Everyone was amazed at the high number of people along the roads in England AND how respectful they all were to the riders (but then, they're BRITISH, after all).  Then, they get to Belgium and, while the crowds are lighter, the people along the road are just nuts.

 

That spectator should be slapped a few times with that phone...

 

But that's REALLY tame compared to some of the really stupid (and dirty) stuff some fans do in the name of their nationality.  Throwing things at riders, spitting on riders, getting in the road to block a competitive rider so their favorite can get ahead (while pushing their favorite) and this is just scratching the surface.  Oh....and last year there was that nut that threw a handful of tacks onto the road....after his favorite had gone by.  Luckily, he was caught be surveillance cameras and arrested.

 

That was just one of hundreds of fans doing this every day.  Watching the crowd on close sidelines as the coverage camera pans by, there is just a wall of cell phones and cameras held up for pictures.  This next pic must be the "up-scale" part of the crowd, with their SLRs:

 

 

For you Gordon :-)

LOL @ the speedyselfie...

Tom, I'm just glad you were wearing your hat......  Badump, Crash!  

Tom;

Where did you get your horn ring and button? That's a Nardi wheel yes?

Art

Carey Hines sells those for a reasonable price.

Art, Carey makes & sells the horn ring.  You can get the Porsche button from Stoddard.

Shop Tip of the Week!

This tip builds on something I got from George Brown (for you'se short timers, George was an early legend on here).  I generally moisten cork or fiber gaskets when I install them, just to make them seat better.  George taught me his trick of using "Chapstick" as a moistener, because it has that clean, neat dispenser so you can smear it right on.

That's cool, but you go through a LOT of Chapstick when doing something like, say, valve cover gaskets, especially those coarse, cork versions, and do you really want your engine smelling like Spearmint??  Besides, sometimes it's much nicer to make a very small bead along a part (like the mating surfaces of an O-ring).

I often use a big syringe to apply a fine grease line to parts.  A while back I found a syringe made for irrigating root canals which is a great size AND has a curved application tip.  It's big enough to make it easy to load with grease and it gives a pinpoint line where-ever you want it.   PLUS it's available at your local pharmacy, over-the-counter.  Just ask for a root canal irrigation syringe.  there's no metal needle involved, so it's an OTC item (but may not be available at all pharmacies).

 

But THIS time, when I was doing my valve covers, I wanted to just use some regular, old automotive grease.  I usually just put on some laytex gloves, scoop up a wad of grease in one hand and smear it all over the gasket - it works, but is really messy.

 

I looked around the house and happened to find an older BBQ Marinade injector syringe.  PERFECT!  Cut the pointy tip off of the needle with my Dremel, cleaned the end and then pulled the plunger completely out and used a flat screw-driver blade to scoop up some wheel bearing grease and stuff it into the barrel.  Replace the plunger and, Presto!  A really neat and precise, light grease delivery tool which can deliver a consistent, 1/8" bead:

 

 

Yankee ingenuity at its best, Gordon.

If any of you ate BBQ at Gordon's house this 4th of July and found his brisket a bit greasy - now we know why.

 

Ted

OK, so I guess it's time for a "Post shake-down" report, huh?

 

Recapping what's been done:  

1. New Urethane transmission mounts

2. New Rear Truss mount

3. New Rear Wheel Bearings

4. Final gear ratio changed from 4:12 to 3:88

5. New, stock "Rag Joint" (sounds like a bar in Jamaica, Mon!) steering coupler

6. New clutch and Throttle cables and both Bowden tubes

7. New Rear Wheel Cylinders

8. New upper Steering Column bearing (and totally reworked Horn circuit that WORKS!)

9. A whole bunch of other stuff done, just because I touched it and it screwed up.

 

OK, so the result:

 

-  Engine vibration to the cockpit (shifter, butt, right foot) has increased, but not too objectionable.  I'll quickly get used to it.

 

- The shift pattern is really, really close but not quite perfect.  I'll take along a wrench and hammer for the next ride and "dial that sucker in".

 

-  Pavement cracks make themselves known through the rear truss.

 

-  The road vibration at 120KPH or so, which used to come and go mysteriously, is now there all the time at that speed, indicating a true wheel weight issue.

 

-  The 3:88 rear (versus the 4:12 that I had) makes it slightly more interesting to cruise around town in 3'rd gear - I used to sit around 3K rpm and now I have to sit around 2,250 or so to stay within the speed limits.  They may just have to raise their silly, way-too-low, New England speed limits so I can optimize my fan speeds.

 

-  3,500 engine rpm yields about 115 kph (71 mph) while a quick blast up to 4,500 rpm shows an indicated 145 kph (90 mph).  Now I see how Jack cruises for so long up above 80....

 

-  The new final gearing doesn't seem to alter the acceleration rate - I know this is impossible, but it's been 8 months since I've been whipping around in her so I'll delude myself with this notion.  Even with a 3:88 rear, she's still pretty quick.  Just ask the kid in a Hyundai "Veloster" I left in the dust out of a light.  (Truly, I think all of my exhaust noise flustered him, but I'll take the ego-boost).

 

All-in-all, a very lengthy but satisfying effort.  She keeps moving away from a mushy highway cruiser to an all-out race car suspension at the same time that I'm getting older and should be moving in the opposite direction but....what the hell.....I'll take it (until I get tired of it).

 

Can't wait to see what the next project is......and then I turn and see those really nice color-matched, Burgundy seats I've been putting aside for 20 years and think.....hmmmmmm.

EXCELLENT report, Gordon! Happy Trails! 

Lower rpm's cruising isn't harmful as long as you're at part throttle (and not making lots of heat). Only when you're "on the gas"- going up a longer hill, for example, would I worry about it; otherwise, the fan/cooling is capable of taking care of the engine, even at lower rpm's if it's not working hard.

To add to what I said above, Gordon- oil and cht temps (probably more cht, as it will be more in "real time" and oil will be slightly behind the trend) will tell you when it's alright  to cruise around at lower rpm's than normal and it's time to drop it a gear....Al

Awwww......I grew up in the world of very early Porsches with the occasional roller bearing engine here and there - it's ALWAYS time to drop a gear!  

 

3,000 rpm in second up Main street in Westborough with the exhaust note echoing off of the buildings sounds just about right!  (until I get just past the water fountain and near the police station and then I just kind-of coast by).

 

But I know about watching the temp gauges - Don't have a CHT gauge but regularly watch the oil temp out of habit (mine's now calibrated - more or less) but the external cooler covers my butt.  I'm too much of a higher RPM freak to let cooling become an issue.  I just have to learn to live with the new gearing and so far.......I like it!  I may have to give a bit on my "never lug below 2,500 rule and sink down to 2,200 once in a while (even though the torque comes in below 2K).

Gordon,
Always glad to hear of another CMC being put back into action.

Love the report. Would love to learn more about your horn circuit. I'm working on mine today, and would love to compare notes.

Ted

I've found that the 1969 Beetle sedan seems to have a semi-unique (to that year) horn circuit.

 

It depends on an insulated and conductive top bearing in the steering column and the fact that the entire outer column tube is insulated from chassis ground.

 

The way it works is; one side of the horn goes to +12V on your fuse panel (constant +12V).

 

The other side of the horn is routed to a brown wire that enters the steering column under the dash along with the directional switch wires.  That brown wire then goes to a special, copper top column bearing that is insulated from the column tube but is electrically connected to the steering shaft (within the steering column) via a special metal gizmo within that bearing's inner plastic bushing.  Putting it all together attaches the horn's signal circuit (through the bearing) to the steering shaft and through that to the steering wheel, but at this point in this description, it is a floating connection.  

 

The steering shaft attaches to the steering box via the so-called rag coupler at the bottom of the shaft, such that the shaft is connected opposite to the steering box bolts and is insulated from ground through the box that way.

 

So now you have an electrically floating steering column tube (it has to float, because the steering wheel lock pin would ground it out, electrically) and the steering shaft and steering wheel connected to the horn signal circuit.

 

Now.....There is a wire which attaches to the steering box side of the rag coupler to obtain ground through the steering box.   That wire is fed up through the hole in the center of the steering shaft and emerges at the top in the center of the steering wheel.

 

One side of the horn button goes to that wire, and the other side of the horn button attaches to the steering wheel as if it were "ground", assuming that the steering wheel is "grounded" - in fact, one side of my horn button has a metal spring that "grounds" it to the steering wheel hub, and then to the steering shaft.  When the horn button is pushed, it makes connection between the (hot) steering shaft with the horn signal, and chassis ground and "BEEP!"

 

That's it, but only for a 1969 model.  I haven't learned the others - this one was hard enough to figure out.

 

gn - Out!

Yup. That's right. I read an AMAZING article that documents all of the subtle intricate details of the great VW horn. It's opposite most cars.

http://www.thebugshop.org/bsfqhorn.htm

Makes sense until you to try to wire up a single wire horn into a 67 steering column.

I was hoping you were going to explain that trick.

I went out and picked up a Bosch relay and I'm going to use that in conjunction with these chassis ground. Single wire horns.  Wish me luck.

Now I know I'm getting old......

 

Since I got my engine back in (and figured out the bad spark plug thing) it's been running OK, but with a bit of enhanced engine vibration - like I'm grinding up walnuts back there at 3K rpm instead of the smoothness I remembered.

 

I attributed it to the new Urethane motor mounts - much stiffer than the old, worn-out rubber ones, and the new rear stiffening truss.  Everything is stiffer back there, so it's gonna transmit throughout the frame.

 

On the Loafer's Lunch tour I got to thinking that it's got a weird repeatability to the vibes, and something got me thinking about what I had changed.  One of those things was completely removing the rockers and push rods to install new push rod tubes after the engine was back in the car.  Ah HA!  Could it be I was either lazy or tired when I put everything back together and did a shoddy job of valve adjustment??  

 

Got under there yesterday up at Charlie's Rod Shop (he let's me use his 4-post lift) and re-set all the valves to the usual loose-zero (Zero lash really bothered Charlie, it seems).  I found a couple looser than the others, and #3 exhaust seemed a little weird - not tight, just that the push rod spins partially then grabs - I think it's a wear issue.  Anyway, we took her out for a blast around Upton (which was less fun for 6'-4" Charlie, his head sticking up over the windshield frame) and I'm pleased to say Pearl's back to running almost like an electric motor at 3K rpm.

 

Amazing what a little valve clearance can do....

I hope you adjusted them when dead cold. That one that doesn't spin right? I'd have to take it out and roll it on a piece of glass to make sure it's 100% straight.

And Gordon, I thought I mentioned increased vibration as a side-effect of urethane mounts? Pretty sure on that. Along with the trans strap, I do feel slightly more vibration, but not overwhelmingly so. On the plus side, the rear end seems far more planted, much more important on a swingaxle because the trans IS part of the suspension.

 

Do you like your bracing etc. in the back? Is it really noticeable?

TRP, Bosch relay for the horn is easy. Key switch power to terminal 30 and 85. Horn switch wire to 86. Terminal 87 to the horns. Make sure they have a good ground. 

Ted - I was going to do the same single-wire ground-only horn project as you but decided another route. As on my previous VS I kept the original beep-beep horn on the steering wheel as my 'Hi-how-are-ya' horn, then wired my 'Watch-The-F***- where-you're-going' air horn (large gauge wiring for  maximum power) to a separate button. 

 

Substitute 'fog-lite' with 'air-horn' and toggle-switch with push-button switch;

 

I also thought about having two (soft and loud) horns, but then I thought, "Heck!  The car is sooooo little, I want to have a horn that blows someone's socks off!"

 

So I installed a set of "Alpina", tri-cone air horns right to the horn button on the steering wheel as my ONLY horn.  NOBODY misses it when that baby blasts!

Kinda related to the whole transmission mount business, I was out for a 40 mile ride this morning.......Engine's finally running the way I like it, tranny mounts are tight, rear truss is....ah....trussing, car is riding nice and cushy, sun is shinin, birds are chirpin and all's right with the world.

 

Then, about four miles from home I go to downshift to stop at a light and the clutch pedal goes SNAP! and......no clutch.  Still have a bare amount of pedal pressure (not like it slams to the floor and stays there) and I can almost get the clutch to disengage by pushing the pedal all the way to the floor - it wants to let go, but needs another inch of pedal movement.

 

WTF, Now?

 

So I kill the engine, get it into second, start it when the light changes and drive it home by never stopping and gingerly shifting sans-clutch.

 

So, Hey!  Remember way up above on this thread that I had to re-weld the pedal end of my clutch cable tube?  Remember that I do lousy welds that look like bird poop?  Well, I thought I felt that front weld let go a few weeks ago but was hoping for something better.  THIS time, the rear weld let go, which, fortunately, is accessible by removing the shift coupler inspection plate and then it's wide open.  When both welds release, it allows the clutch tube to float back and forth so the kink of the Bowden tube pushes it forward and you effectively increase the length of the clutch cable an inch or so.

 

So I've cleaned everything up and got it ready to weld back together, carefully crimping the front support bracket tabs in close to the tube to hold it securely while being welded and thoroughly cleaned all mating surfaces with a Dremel and a cut-off wheel and stopped.

 

THIS time I'll bribe Chris to drop by and weld it right, so it won't come loose again.

 

I'm no fool......

Sorry Gordon, but what is "loose-zero" with repect to valve adjustments? I thought they were .006 cold.

 

Loose zero is for chrome molly rods is to tighten the rocker and then back off the adjustment until you can turn the push rod using your thumb and index  fingers. The 006 is for stock push rods.

I gotta tell ya.....I hardly ever have to adjust my valve lash.  I check it once a year or so, but they're usually right on and I leave them alone.  I also hardly ever use a feeler gauge, because over the years I've gotten used to push/pulling on the rocker and knowing by feel and sound what's right and what isn't.

 

This year, I replaced the push rod tubes because of a few leaks so I had to remove the rockers, pushrods AND tubes and then put it all back together.

 

In the meantime, I visited Charlie's Rod Shop and mentioned our zero valve lash to Charlie, and old school hot rodder and engine builder.  His face turned white at the "zero lash" comment.  Ooooooooo.......I don't think I would do that!  Maybe a few thou clearance, just to be safe."

 

I trust Charlie, a lot, so I went home and re-set everything to .002 thousandths, using a feeler gauge, just as you're supposed to.  In doing so, however, I also messed around with one of the push rods (mostly because I'm OCD and it didn't feel quite right) and I think I got one of the "swivel adjuster feet" a little skewed so when I set the lash (and actually used a feeler gauge) the swivel foot wasn't flat against the valve stem.  It sounded great at first, but when it finally settled itself it must have had about forty thousandths clearance and "CLACK, CLACK CLACK!!!

 

Pulled the valve covers again and re-set everything to loose zero as Merklin mentions up above.  Yup, #4 intake must have been around forty thousandths but tightened right up so I could feel the push rod gently spin.  On the ride this morning, everything was quiet, everything was smooth, plenty of power and I was groovin on it..........til the clutch tube let go.  Boy!  If I had the guy here who built this car, I'd give him a good slap!!

 

Oh.......Wait!  That was ME!

Now Gordon....could you explain what a " clutch tube " is ? I may have an easy cure if it is what the front end of what the Bowden tube fits into.

David- I'm guessing Gordon is talking about the tube down the middle of the pan that the clutch cable goes in? A weld at one end is broken loose and now the tube is unsupported and flopping around? 

Yup, that's the one - the tube that the clutch cable rides through inside of the tunnel.  The back end sticks out of the rear, center of the pan and has the Bowden tube end fitting over it and it is welded to the pan up in the void where the shift rod coupler is.  Further forward on the tube there is a mounting bracket just behind the pedal cluster (Inside of the tunnel) which cradles the tube at the correct height/angle and it's welded again, there.

 

So, David, What's your solution at the Bowden tube end?  And does anyone have any ideas about how to get the rubber boot back on once I get things welded back together?  It's kinda dark and cramped up in there.....

I have no rubber boot in the back. It is all filled in solid with something around the two tubes. It is pretty much flush with the rest of the pan.

 

I didn't shorten the pan so I don't know exactly what the material is, just welding or something else.

 

You would gain the part of the tube that is covered by the boot.

I have a hydraulic line because cable clutches are really trouble free and the way to go ;-)

Tom:  My cable has lasted 20 years and showed no wear when I pulled it to install the new tranny and associated stuff, so it went back in.  I think Lane told me once that I had the lightest clutch pressure he had experienced in a Speedster, even though I have a Kennedy 1,700 lb. plate.  All that, plus it takes me about 30 minutes to swap out a clutch cable (anywhere - even on the road, if necessary) and I'm good to go.

 

Given that we see a number of cars every spring with leaking brake cylinder issues from sitting all Winter, I wonder how long your hydraulic clutch cylinders will last?  

 

Mike:  Roger that.  The Bowden tube end fits into the boot so no gain there.  The boot is there to seal off the area from air intrusion.  Gaining another 3/8"-1/2" or so would allow me to run fewer adjusting washers on the Bowden tube to get the right amount of "kink" in the tube.  Currently, because the metal tube exiting the pan is short by that amount, I need about 5/8" of washers stacked to get the right kink.  If more tube protrudes from the pan I could use fewer washers, simple as that.

 

No big deal, really, (it has been working OK like that for 20 years) but if you can fix something like that by simply moving the tube back 3/8" before you weld it in place, why not?

Volkwagon produced tens of millions with the clutch cable tube design and it works. So many of my speedster projects had chaffed cable tube ends, rough weld connections where  shortened....done right the design works, done wrong take along a spare cable grease and tools.