No H2O, GTI, 1602 cc, 2276 cc, 2028 cc & 36hp turbo...

A busy weekend just gone. Simon from WA managed to get a lift to Adelaide from Melbourne (long story) and lobbed at our place Friday afternoon. Been a few years so it was good catch up and have a chat.

Saturday came and with Sime in the old GTI, we went for a quick trip to the local fastener store to collect some hardware for the NOS Crown flywheel that is about to be installed into the 'S' (onto the SPG crank). With that out of the way, we got home just as another friend- Finn lobbed in his T34. I left the boys to it and while I was painting some NOS 90.5 Berg stroker cylinders (Dyke's 1st, Total Seal 2nd) in VHT paint, the boys struck a deal and the T34 became Simon's. Excellent stuff.

Once Sime dropped Finn home and came back, we got on with the task of sorting through the urgent works bearing in mind Simon was going to be driving to Perth on Monday morning! Lots of electrical works managed to get the headlights almost all working (earthing was crap, bulbs were blown), almost got the indicator's working properly (this is an original 6V car too so had to dig through some spares I had in the garage). We then drove it and found the gears were a bit naff- popping out of 1st and 2nd was difficult to engage. Awesome! So off we went to Bob's workshop in the afternoon and bought some spares for the car- fan belt, throttle cable and a few other odds and sods. While we were there, we put the Crown flywheel back together with new rivets, which was a 3 man job to heat the rivets, hold the oxy and bang the rivets. Bugger of a job, but I now have a flywheel that has almost zero run out and uses std VW 'O' ring. This flywheel has been huge undertaking and is worthy of it's own story.

So off we head back to my place where we replaced the shift coupler on the T34 - the old one fell to pieces which wasn't surprising. That helped the gear selection no end but I noted that all the engine & trans axle mounts were stuffed, so I wasn't expecting a miracle. With that done and a bit more engine tidy up we called it a day and caught up with Greg at the pub for a few drinks and dinner.

Sunday morning and we got energetic, moved the gear shifter (stock) over to the left as much as possible and messed around with the linkage which was binding. Starting to drive okay now. As it was my wedding anniversary, I left Sime with it for the day and he went and did some more work on the car with B4. When we caught up last night, Sime was pretty pleased with himself- the gears were now sort of okay due to some clutch adjustment and a new Black Mamba shifter. Nice shifter and not too badly priced for what it is. Of course the gearbox isn't perfect due to the lack of love this car has had previously but it is good enough to drive to Perth. I believe that Simon is going to put some shorter axles on when he gets home anyway, so I can see the car being semi dismantled soon. A good idea that will enable a few other things to be sorted out like the engine mounts etc- and get rid of the funky old muffler etc.

Simon hit the road this morning as I left for work and it sounds like he made it to Ceduna which is a good effort in a 1964 1500 'S' T34 I think. If it has made it that far, I am sure it will make it all the way to Perth without a drama.

 

So what else has been happening? Loads to be honest but not too many photo's have been taken.

First of all the MK 2 GTI has a new engine now- a MK 3 2.0 is now running perfectly and providing me with daily transport. I can't believe what a great engine upgrade this has been and apart from the nightmare of the wiring to integrate it into the MK 2 fuse box, it went very smoothly with no drama's and started up first go. An excellent conversion. But as the car is completely reliable, I am starting to get bored with it already. Perhaps it is time to look for another car...

The Okrasa 40hp heads are now ready to be installed onto the 1602 cc engine which is in the velvet green notchback. I bought the heads late last year out of California and in that time have had them sand blasted, then wet blasted, then machined to suit the 83 mm cylinders, had all the guides K-lined and also had the seats cut (originals). The heads look fantastic now and when time permits, will find their way onto the 'S' engine. While I am at it with that engine, I will install the newly refurbished Crown flywheel. I bought this flywheel last years as well (NOS) and was advised to check the run out at the clutch face as they were known to be a bit ordinary (sometimes) back in the day. So I checked it and of course it was completely out of whack. Why oh why did the Crown people rivet the hub to the clutch area on the piss and then tack weld it together? The hub (heat treated) was cracked due to the welding so I had to have a new hub fabricated. I cut the center out of an old (but perfect) flywheel and handed it to Bob to finish the machine work off- drilling for 10 x rivets, drilling for SPG pattern and generally altering it to reflect the original Crown one (which is now just a paper weight...). Anyway, the flywheel is perfect now so justified the work required to correct it. I sent the flywheel off with a clutch for balancing today and expect it back this week. I also sent off some other engine parts for balancing such as a 69 mm crank that I had ground to 69.10 mm as well as a pair of NOS Type 3 fans (steel and alloy). The crank and fan assemblies will end up in an NOS 1500 'S' engine I have been gathering parts for over the last 20 years. Apart from NOS single port heads, I am just about ready to assemble this engine now. Some of the goodies put away for this engine are quite hard to find now including NOS 83.50 domed 'S' pistons and cylinders machined to suit, a choice of either a ZV JCU 4R3 distributor or a 311 905 205 D distributor (early or late 1500 'S' only) (both restored to perfect condition), a pair of very first production run 1500 'S' carburettor's with the small venturi's etc (restored to perfection of course). I have avoided using the original crank and rods however, and gone with a later crank and brand new rods in an effort to maintain some long term life and reliability. Once I have all the parts in one place, I intend on taking some photo's of it spread out.

And the panel van engine... I have been thinking about the engine in the panel van for a long time now because it concerns me that the cylinder heads have minimal cooling (competition eliminators). I have decided to remove the 2276 cc from the car this year and install a smaller engine with heads that have cooling fins! The engine is currently in the engine stand and is based around a new AS 41 case, a new Scat 78.8 mm crank and new Berg stroker 90.5 mm pistons & cylinders. I still need to get the heads from the USA, along with the cam and lifters, but I am getting closer all the time. The engine will retain the current EMS ECU, tin ware, MSD ignition and exhaust systems. I am contemplating converting the engine over to dual IDF pattern throttle bodies as part of the build. Still not sure about it but it is likely to occur. As for the 2276 cc engine, this will end up in another car, along with the close ratio 4.375 based trans axle but more on that another time.

As for the 36hp turbo motor, I won't post up anything about that until I get a little more progressed because I am at the mercy of the owner of the car that the engine shall reside within. It could prove to be a very interesting build!

MK 2 GTI update

 

Forgot to mention that the GTI should be back home in another week.

 

As you can see from the image, the GTI copped a bit of damage when some dick reversed into it a while back. I think on reflection it was for the best though as I have replaced the front hood, the GTI grille, headlights, the radiator support panel, all the wheels (Polo 15 inch alloys with low profile Michelin's), and the windscreen seal (there was a small spot of rust under there that required attention). I can't wait to see the car all freshly painted (the front half anyway...).

 

One of the reason's I have been busy of late is the fitting of a low mileage MK 3, 2.0 ABA engine into this car (while it's been getting the panel work completed). The original 1.8 GTI engine had a head gasket failure anyway so it was an easy decision. Not a straight forward conversion by the way!

A big thanks to Rhys for the good work on the engine installation thus far.

2011

Happy new year all.

 

2011 looks to be a busy one for us here.

The bay window van is ready to roll out of our property and onto the next place to have the interior stitched, and the exterior slapped with filler and painted. So long as it stays out of the elements it should stay reasonable for a good amount of time.

That will clear the driveway of other people's cars for a while and will enable me to get back onto my own cars. I was looking at the panel van only this week (while polishing the chrome work) and thinking it needs to be taken out in the fine weather and enjoyed. A bit easier to do that with dead cars out of the way now. Looking forward to starting it up and perhaps giving the EFI a few tweaks as well now that I have another wide band A/F sensor (I always suspected the A/F sensor in the car was a bit off but had no way of proving until recently).

And of course the parts continue to roll in for the 1500 'S' notchback. I am awaiting a delivery of Okrasa 40hp cylinder heads at the moment which, once they arrive, will be machined out to suit the 83 mm cylinders and then installed onto the engine in that car which currently has a 74 mm SPG roller bearing crank, 83 mm P&C's, and various Berg internals. Looking at the engine externally you would have no idea this is inside and that's the way I intend on keeping the engine.

As for the intake system- I am undecided but am leaning towards either some altered stock 32 PDSIT's or some Zenith's on some short manifolds. Either way, the standard air cleaner assembly will be used to keep it looking standard.

I just remembered, I have an NOS crown aluminium flywheel for that engine too which is off at the machine shop right now being balanced so that will complement the SPG roller crank perfectly while I am at it. The flywheel on the engine is currently a 200 mm 'O' ring, 6V ring gear unit drilled to SPG 8 dowel pattern and lightened to 12.5 lbs. This will end up on my 'restored' spare 1500 'S' engine in the engine stand as we speak... but more on that later.

 

All the best for 2011 folks. I promise to do more updating of the blog too!

Bay Window Resto...

Well, here it is. One of my friends bought this 1971 panel van a couple of years back, perhaps not knowing the extent of the rust lurking but anyway, it is a panel van and there aren't many here to choose from now.

With the body condition in mind, most of the money has gone into the mechanical's on this beast. The front suspension is now adjustable and dropped down, and I have dropped the rear end to match the desired front height. Not as low as some out there for sure but it does look okay and should provide a degree of comfort when belting down the road.

While the front and rear suspension's were being reset, I dropped the trans-axle out for a tidy up and replaced the CV's with new ones, new CV boots of course and ran some new wires down the guts of the chassis to enable the electric fuel pump and tach to operate.

Also just had new battery cables made up today.

The engine mount is off being powder coated at the moment after being altered to clear the merged exhaust. I expect I will see that this week. Then I need to make some mounts to hang the engine and it's all good to go.

Yes that's a solid tail gate from a German fire car or similar we think. Apart from the slight dent on the right side, it's a perfect original lid. Nice score.

 

I built this engine about 5 or so years ago now. 1776 cc, with counter weighted crank, Engle 120 cam, 8.5:1 compression, new dual port heads with larger valves (forget the sizes after all this time), Berg wide deep sump, 26 mm Berg pump, Berg relief valve pump cover, alternator, 36hp dog house shroud, dual 40DCNF's on god knows what manifolds (alloy but can't remember if they were Scat perhaps?), merged exhaust, pertronix pick up, MSD coil, new everything else where it matters.

I have only run the engine for about 5 minutes previously on the floor of my garage to get the timing and carbs running close to correct, so it will be good to see the thing on the road and get it running spot on.

I had a similar engine in my own 1977 Bay Window panel van about 15 years ago and it was no problem getting the van side ways. Surprising how easily these old van's can be made to do burn out's!

With a load of filler and some primer, plus the BRM wheels installed, this old van will live to see another day.

And now for the car...

With the engine installed and running okay, it went for it's maiden voyage.

Not a bad looking original paint car hey?

After giving the car the beans around the local streets, I checked the distributor advance and found it was not as consistent as I would like on my own car's so I removed the 010 and put the 009 back in (temporarily). This solved the advance problem for now even though it looks like crap. The 010 rotor isn't as tight on the distributor shaft as I would like so need to get that sorted out and install another day (good thing I have a few 010's on the shelf).

As for the linkage, I have had to revisit that a couple more times. The main problem with this wonderful CSP linkage is that the right side linkage arm hits the underside of the generator slightly and at full throttle, it hits the generator stand as it comes around to the most severe part of the arc. I have gently filed the underside of the generator to clear the rod and also done a bit of work to the generator stand casting to clear it but it's now only got a bee's dick of clearance. I suppose if it clears, it's good to go.

Also, I believe there is a fault in the design of these carbs. The throttle's don't return to the closed position 100%. You get perhaps 97%. Yes this is with the linkage disconnected!

As I don't have any other Wolfsburg West carbs for reference, this might be something not common to all of the carbs, but rest assured this is a pain in the arse. The linkage does indeed have the return spring in the middle, however when the engine is warm, I thinks that due to the slight thermal expansion, we are going to have a slightly elevated idle on 1 x carb and un-synchronised carb's. That's just my thoughts now and I could be wrong, but I am not sure that a push-pull linkage is the way to go. Good in theory but not so good in practice.

With the car now back with the owner, I can get back into my own projects (yippee!).

Some of the fun stuff going on right now in my garage:

• 100% visually correct 1500 'S' engine assembly and parts gathering (bottom end assembly won't be far off now)
• steering wheel alteration- I am looking to reduce the diameter of a standard VW steering wheel slightly but retain it's original look
• MK 2 GTI body work- some f^%k wit reversed into my daily driver GTI recently, so I am now in the middle of repairs to get that car back to original. Not something I wanted to do but since the car is a low mileage beasty, it's worth the effort to keep it on the road
• Chrysler work- I have a 1966 Chrysler Valiant (AP6) Utility (or pick up as the Americans would say) with a nice 318ci V8 and it needs some minor repairs to get back in order. The car was restored about 10-15 years ago and just parked. Some of the works already have involved the fuel system- clogged filters, torn Holley diaphragm, fuel pump, and now the fuel tank resto (so much crud and rust inside). I am now at the point where it's cosmetic work such as relocating the alternator to where I want and that sort of work. A neat old car and I think it's good to have an interest in non VW's to help you keep across what the rest of the car fraternity are up to.

WW Dual Port 36hp up and running

Saturday was busy, I installed the engine into the client's car and after messing about with all sorts of bits and pieces, got the engine fired up. Virtually first crank of the starter too!

I have some final details to do- the generator pulley is still at the paint shop so installed a temporary unit.

The wiring needs a bit more tidy up but is all connected and working- I think some black outer sheathing to protect the regulator wires is in order.

The heater boxes are installed but with out the flaps- the ones on this engine were damaged and missing pieces so for now there is no heat. The owner needs to dig up a new heater cable for the car anyway so that's not a show stopper.

The coil needs a paint job and a new decal to be applied and then that will look the business.

The oil pressure switch was wrong (later type) so I installed my last NOS early screw type which is correct for this engine. Looks all the better for it too. There is nothing worse than a 36hp engine with all the wrong details like later oil pressure switches, 009 distributors and especially 13mm ATF hardware. But anyway....

So what problems have I encountered with the WW kit? The CSP linkage does slightly touch the generator stand which is sort of okay- it's just grazing it. The air cleaners hit the deck lid when it's up- we are only talking about 1 mm but it's enough to rip the paint off slightly. I think the deck lid should be slightly power filed back to clear (that's what I would do if it were my car). Apart from those small things, I think it's a great kit for the money. Even without driving the car (the brakes are suspect), I can tell the engine has more response and wants to rev up.

Who would have thought that here in 2010, we would still be messing about with these old VW engines and new products would be available for them?

Sneak peak. Non Type 3 content warning....

I don't get too involved with T1 engines anymore, but... I was approached to install the new Wolfsburg West dual port engine kit onto an old 36hp engine recently. Why not?

With a thorough cleaning of the old engine, I have now performed the installation of the dual port heads and sundry bits & bobs. Everything worked out okay to an extent. The CSP linkage still has a minor rubbing issue to contend with (hitting the generator stand) and I now have the 'OT' pulley for the engine so that is a step in the right direction (so the Taiwanese cracked pulley used to turn the engine over can get the flick).

The 009 is only there to ensure the engine turns over okay (if you leave the distributor out, you can possibly have the drive lift up slightly and screw the brass gear up- always have a distributor in place when turning over an engine!! I agree that 009's suck especially on 36hp engines!

I have a restored 010 ready to go for this engine now so that is sorted. I had the fuel pump rebuilt too while I was at it as the old diaphragm looked crap. Not good enough to supply fuel to 1 x carb, let alone 2.

Next on the agenda is to get the tinware sent off for some semi gloss bake enamel and then re-assemble all that with some of the original clamps and bits to attempt to retain some originality with the engine. I don't mind slightly worn original items on an engine if it looks period correct.

I must post up some pictures of my 'new' notchback too. Damn I am slack with the camera of late. Sorry about that.

NOS RHD Berg Signature Handles - a bit special

I am stuck at home with a cold so thought I would post up images of some odd parts I have bought over the years.

These are the last numbered RHD Berg signature shifter handles that were made for each year.

I spoke to Gene about the 1995 handle while he was still alive and from memory he wasn't around by the time the 1996 handle was produced so I did some fast talking to secure that one when it was produced.

Not sure what I will ever do with them or if I will ever bolt one onto a shifter, but they are from an interesting time in VW history. The Gene Berg name was everywhere at that time and many parts featured on some of the best VW's produced and featured in magazines.

It is my belief that in time, some of the best early Berg parts will end up commanding original DDS and EMPI prices. It will be interesting to see if that's correct in say 15 to 20 years.

NOS 1500 'N' Single Carb Air Cleaner

Just some simple images of an NOS 1500 'N' air cleaner I have stashed away to show the location of factory applied decals and red paint.

As you can see the red arrow on the top is a bit of a poor job but it is there and lines up well with the lower arrow which is pressed into the housing.

Also note that as this is a later 1500 'N' air cleaner and not an early VW-1500 air cleaner, it does not use the large flat washer below the plated wing nut / bolt.

Notchback air vent trims

Here is a set of front intake trims to suit early Type 3's (recessed air intake grille).

 

Interestingly, they were made in Germany, put into the small cardboard box, then re-packaged in Australia into the larger VW Australia cardboard box.

 

I once sat them on a notchback for a photo but decided I didn't like them as much as I thought so they are now up for sale.

 

Still sort of NOS and un-bent.

This is the set for the rear air vents on a notchback (all years).

These (from what I can gather) are genuine German trims as well (happy to be corrected) and have been re-packaged recently (within the last 10 years) by a chap in Victoria, Australia to look like original packaging.

Also only sat on a notchback for a photo, I don't think they are the right look for either of my notchback's so they are up for sale too.

Mail me if your interested- aaron@vw1500.com