Itinerant Air-Cooled

weir he go?

Well I ain't namin' any names, but he was in Hot VW's a couple months ago showing off his homebuilt 200HP 12,000RPM 1600cc with dual overhead cams in personally designed and CNC machined heads. He'll also be lending us the use of his dyno w/gas analyzer to set up and tune the Judson on the boss's 36horse 58 singlecab. Says he owes us for the favors we've done him over the years.

Case and forged thick-wall Mahle P&c's went to him yesterday, he's going to cut and deck the bores, check clearances, then pick up the heads for some work while I assemble the short block, then bring them back and help dial in the compression ratio. He says I should roll an Engle 100 if I plan to stay single carb or 110 if I want to go dual someday. Still debating that one.

Fun.


neal

DjEep wrote: he was in Hot VW's a couple months ago showing off his homebuilt 200HP 12,000RPM 1600cc with dual overhead cams in personally designed and CNC machined heads.

Case and forged thick-wall Mahle P&c's went to him yesterday,
He says I should roll an Engle 100 if I plan to stay single carb or 110 if I want to go dual someday.
Still debating that one.

Ask the transaxle, "do you want to Survive? (110) Or do you want to LIVE? (100)"
Colin

Hahahaha, yup, that burly little 40hp almost makes the swing axle want to clap tires on launch. It seems to be running pretty nice right now too, for some reason. Almost makes me wonder if my problem this whole time was a bad tank of "clear" gas. Wouldn't put it past the shady place I get it from to adulterate it and/or lie about the octane. Haven't taken it out on the freeway since a re-fill, but I might today.

Spent yesterday collecting the DP doghouse tins I need for the 1776 and getting them all painted up Stryper yellow or black to match ol' Betsy. Got my crank polished and balanced, got my bearings, 1mm bore, but std thrust, somehow the thrust on the case is perfect, down to the og bevel, who knows, got my w100 cam.... And story of my life, as soon as the machinist sets to work on my rods, his home plumbing kersplodes, then he gets the flu, so I'm still just waiting for rods. Hope to have the short block assembled this week, then call up Brian to help set deck height and valve geometry as soon as he has time. I'm thinking 8:1 comp, but I'll take his word if he has a better idea.

In a perfect world, she'll be trowing gears through the case in a couple weeks!

Bout to go check out a '66 bug with original engine for $300 today. If it's at all in ok shape, I can snag it, stab the 40 horse in it, go thru the brakes, and re-sell it as a driving OG resto project with the matched engine out and ready to be freshened.

DjEep wrote:I'm thinking 8:1 comp.

I'm thinking less. I love the way these engines are so smooth and cool at high altitude . . . when the compression drops.
Colin

But I like the pop-pa-pop-pa-pop of a little extra squish

She'll be fine on 92oct with that. My bus has dished pistons, probably around 7.3:1 and she runs smooth and cool but she sure is gutless above 4000'. The Ghia is a toy, it's s'poseda be a little rumbly and snappy.

BTW, I'm buying that bug. Went and checked it, It's a complete original '66, with sandy patina, all chrome there, even the OG radio in the untouched dash. Some rust in the heater channels and surface rust on the floors, but the underside of the pan is totally solid. A couple of weekends and late nights should have me a sweet little patina bug to find a good home for.

Heck, guy even tore down the engine and mic'd everything already, says the case and crank are still good, so a set of freshened jugs and heads, a cam and some bearings should have the motor back in and running.

DjEep wrote: My bus has dished pistons, probably around 7.3:1 and she runs smooth and cool but she sure is gutless above 4000'.

BTW, I'm buying that bug. Went and checked it, It's a complete original '66, with sandy patina, all chrome there, even the OG radio in the untouched dash.

Buses go gutless to remind you to look at the scenery.

The beetle, you are going to flip it?
I will Fed-Ex you an IAC 3310 Application Form For Prospective Original Volkswagen Owner. It is only 23 pages in triplicate. Send me the #2 copy and I will sign off if and only if prospective owner successfully meets our criteria for ownership. Once you receive signed off #2 copy, have prospective owner send me directly an IAC 7629 Petition To Be Allowed To Drive It. After an arranged driver test ($470.00 non-refundable!), prospective owner may proceed with final purchase preparations.
Have I been doing taxes? You betcha.
Colin

Sir, Yessir!

1776 in and running, minor fiasco notwithstanding... Yesterday was a long one. Got going at 9am doing headgaskets on a Vanagon, followed by a brake check and shoe sanding on a '68 bug (damn non-asbestos shoes love to glaze, skreeeeeeeeech!), a diagnose and points change on a super, all while assisting a brake job on a Buick. Then punch out at 6, pull the 40 horse out of the Ghia, rip off the heaterboxes, fuel pump and alterator, install on the 1776, then stab the engine, then pull the engine to clearance the bellhousing, then pull, then clearance, then pull, then clearance. Fired it up with Jerry wailing in the background, sounds good. Look down, oil everywhere. Reach behind shroud, oil everywhere. Pull the shroud, cooler is pissing. Stupid me, I trusted the "OK" tag on the cooler I found in the yard and didn't do a real pressure test before installing. Found another and by midnight she was alive. Again, stupid me at midnight after several beers and 15 hours of wrenching, I assumed the spade bent flush against the idle solenoid meant it had been cut off, so I didn't hook it up and after ten minutes of cam break-in, the lean mix had the 2 and 4 pipes glowing hot enough to light a smoke off (I did). Got that hooked up and called it a night.

Today I played with it a bit. The cam makes it not idle for squat until it's piping hot unless the choke is adjusted pretty heavy, but ho-ly-co-w! Gotta be careful with that pedal! Gave it a little punch turning out of the shop and she just kept turning until I was almost looking back to where I started. Gotta feather it through turns in second or she just lays down rubber.

Started it and drove around today with a 009 and she did fine, but there was a bit of blah in the low end, so I tried a 205 after work. Sure got rid of the flat spot when set at 30* max w/o vac, but driving across town tonight I heard her start pinging a bit, so I dialed it back to about 25* without much power loss, but didn't get a chance to get her hot. Might hafta deal with the 009 if the vac is too much. My '69 bus w/ similar setup did the same thing, pinging under heavy load, always figured the vac of a 1776 sucking through that little carb makes for a lotta suction.

DjEep wrote:1776 in and running, minor fiasco notwithstanding... Yesterday was a long one. Got going at 9am doing headgaskets on a Vanagon, followed by a brake check and shoe sanding on a '68 bug (damn non-asbestos shoes love to glaze, skreeeeeeeeech!), a diagnose and points change on a super, all while assisting a brake job on a Buick. Then punch out at 6, pull the 40 horse out of the Ghia, rip off the heaterboxes, fuel pump and alterator, install on the 1776, then stab the engine, then pull the engine to clearance the bellhousing, then pull, then clearance, then pull, then clearance. Fired it up with Jerry wailing in the background, sounds good. Look down, oil everywhere. Reach behind shroud, oil everywhere. Pull the shroud, cooler is pissing. Stupid me, I trusted the "OK" tag on the cooler I found in the yard and didn't do a real pressure test before installing. Found another and by midnight she was alive. Again, stupid me at midnight after several beers and 15 hours of wrenching, I assumed the spade bent flush against the idle solenoid meant it had been cut off, so I didn't hook it up and after ten minutes of cam break-in, the lean mix had the 2 and 4 pipes glowing hot enough to light a smoke off (I did). Got that hooked up and called it a night.

Today I played with it a bit. The cam makes it not idle for squat until it's piping hot unless the choke is adjusted pretty heavy, but ho-ly-co-w! Gotta be careful with that pedal! Gave it a little punch turning out of the shop and she just kept turning until I was almost looking back to where I started. Gotta feather it through turns in second or she just lays down rubber.

Started it and drove around today with a 009 and she did fine, but there was a bit of blah in the low end, so I tried a 205 after work. Sure got rid of the flat spot when set at 30* max w/o vac, but driving across town tonight I heard her start pinging a bit, so I dialed it back to about 25* without much power loss, but didn't get a chance to get her hot. Might hafta deal with the 009 if the vac is too much. My '69 bus w/ similar setup did the same thing, pinging under heavy load, always figured the vac of a 1776 sucking through that little carb makes for a lotta suction.

Youth . . . the energy of youth.
Anyways, what carb you running?
Colin

34pict. With a 135 main jet. I adjusted the choke a bit and now she only needs feathering at the first couple stops before settling into a nice lope. Still gonna go back thru the carb after my break-in oil change. Probably up the idle jet a step.

DjEep wrote:34pict. With a 135 main jet. I adjusted the choke a bit and now she only needs feathering at the first couple stops before settling into a nice lope. Still gonna go back thru the carb after my break-in oil change. Probably up the idle jet a step.

You should know, Fellow Mechanic, that I was far more interested in the Pict number. I have deduced, however, that it is a Pict3, and therefore has a vacuum signal appropriate for a typical "combination centrifugal/vacuum advance" distributor. Had you mentioned "Pict2" then its vacuum signal is set up for a vacuum-only distributor which may give too much advance under load if hooked up to said "combination centrifugal/vacuum advance" distributor.
Thanking you in advance,
Retard

It's a pict-3 yes. So it should be getting the proper "type" of signal for the vac/cent dizzy, I just think it may be a little strong, so it over-advances at partial-to-half throttle. Seems to be ok now that it's at 27* w/o vac. Took it for a quick highway run and filled her with clear 92oct. After the run, the pulley and intake castings were too hot to hold, but not too hot to touch for a few seconds, and the dipstick was hot, but not too hot to pull. She's still breaking in, so I bet there's a lot of friction contributing to that heat.

DjEep wrote:It's a pict-3 yes. So it should be getting the proper "type" of signal for the vac/cent dizzy, I just think it may be a little strong, so it over-advances at partial-to-half throttle. Seems to be ok now that it's at 27* w/o vac. Took it for a quick highway run and filled her with clear 92oct. After the run, the pulley and intake castings were too hot to hold, but not too hot to touch for a few seconds, and the dipstick was hot, but not too hot to pull. She's still breaking in, so I bet there's a lot of friction contributing to that heat.

Keep a close watch on that heat. After 1,000 miles, things should be at normal baseline.
Colin