77 Puma GTE Project.

More info on what you're having done!

@WNGD posted:

More info on what you're having done!

Yeah- what are you going to change?

@ALB posted:

Yeah- what are you going to change?

"More".

I recently purchased the Puma From and gentleman in NJ. He hadn't had the car long himself, less than a year. The engine specs given : 2110 with CB 044 ultramag 44/37.5 heads 8.5:1 CR. Berg 297B cam. 48 IDA Webers port matched intakes. described to run healthy with no issues. I intended to fly up from Indiana to NJ to inspect the car. That wasn't feasible with the virus going on. The guy selling the car is a bona fide car nut like many of us and I took the chance to buy the car without inspecting it. after receiving the car my initial drives revealed an engine that didn't feel like it had 40 HP when it should be putting out in the 140-150 range. I pulled the plugs and checked the compression. 12 &4 had 80-90 PSI and 3 had 60 PSI which is not good at all. I squirted some motor oil into 3 and checked compression again and no rise so I suspect a valve issue. I relayed the info back to the seller who thought the engine was tip top, he refunded me $1000.00 to compensate which was very fair and ethical. Thanks Dennis your a straight shooter. 

 I pulled the engine Friday afternoon and am going to take it to my Engine builder as as stated. I will have him rebuild the engine and get rid of the stage 3 pressure plate for a stage 1. I will have the engine full flowed and possibly have the case cut to handle 94 P&C's to bring the engine out to 2276. I will have the CR set to something higher than 8'5:1. I have a feeling it may have bee mistakenly set up to something lower than 8.5. I did pull the carbs and manifolds to check out the heads and the ports. They are indeed CB 044 ultra mag cnc oval port heads so that is a good sign that the engine is built with some nice parts. 

 What gets me is, someone built this engine to breath big and installed  1.375" dia headers with a patched together restrictive muffler that is choking the engine off. I have ordered an A1 exhaust system to go on the engine after the rebuild. It should be a 150-160  hp engine easy when finished. Once back from the builder I will run this engine the rest of the year. I have a plan to have Cary convert the car to Subaru power this winter and place the now sorted out type 1 screamer up for sale.

Not sure for other changes yet. I need to go thru everything. I am not sure why the real has coil overs and it still isn't stiff. I would think the torsion bars would be enough. The trans is 4.12 R&P and heavily strengthened with HD side plate and gusseted. This with the stage 3 pressure plate makes me think someone was setting it up for drag racing. If I go Suby the trans will be upgraded to a Rancho pro Suby  build. 

Hi @Jimmy V.- Interesting engine combo- heads and carbs that should make power to 6500 or higher, coupled with an exhaust that won't go much past 4500 rpm.  Berg doesn't list a 297B cam (at least I can't find it in any of the print catalogues, price lists or their website), but they do list a GB 297E, which is listed as a Genuine Engle W110. The GB 297 is the same specs (W110) ground on a slightly smaller base circle to clear the Berg crankshaft counterweights. Even the cam isn't particularly well matched to the heads/carbs- but I think you know all this, so bear with me.   

Yeah, at the very least it will need more compression, more duration/valve lift and a bigger exhaust to make the most of the displacement.  Bigger pistons and cylinders are always a plus as well. Do you have a cam/rocker combo in mind? What size primaries for the A1?  This header chart is a good guide to match tubing size to rpm peak and displacement. Again, I think you have a grip on this but someone else may find it useful-                                                                                                                                    

This has the potential for more than 150 or 160 hp...

As you said, the stage 3 pressure plate and gusseted case do suggest drag racing aspirations. Did the former owner say anything about it having close 3rd and 4th gears?  That would make sense if he was goin' racin'... Al                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Nice Looking Ride!! Jimmy

Thanks Arden,

 Ok I just spent the afternoon with the engine builder. After I left I kicked myself for not taking pictures. He had a super nice 356 engine he just finished on the engine stand and a cool Manx Dune buggy on the rack. I also saw a few 911 engines and some hot type 1 engines in different stages of completion.  After looking at my engine he recommended getting rid of the 48 IDA's and building the engine to run 44 or 48 IDF carbs. He said the IDA carbs are designed for racing and don't have much if any mid range transition circuits. They are made to be all the way open or all the way closed. I listed my set of 48 IDA's on Samba with manifolds and air cleaners for $700.00. The carbs came off the running engine and appear to be in good working order. I am going with 48 IDF's. He thinks like me and recommended going with a set of thick walled 94 P&C's to bring the engine disp. from 2100 to 2276. He is going to full flow the case, and in short build a 180HP dependable screamer. Downside is he is backed up and said it may be 6-8 weeks before the engine is finished. That's fine. I will clean up the engine compartment and get the shifter lined out. It shifts but feels mushy if you know what I mean. I like the tight crisp shifts of the vintage Speed shifters. More to come as time goes by.

The 48 IDA carbs sold in less than an hour. I have the funds in my Paypal account and the carbs will ship out tomorrow. 

Next time your in Ohio hit me up.maybe we can do lunch or have a beer or two

Jimmy are you going to do the oil passage drilling hoover mod on that engine?

Sounds like a good plan Jimmy.

@Jimmy V. posted:

He thinks like me and recommended going with a set of thick walled 94 P&C's to bring the engine disp. from 2100 to 2276. 

Thick wall 94s take a ton of work, and are the cat's meow. Well done, sir-- well done!

Jimmy,

The Hoover modification has been discussed previously and increases the amount of oil or puts oil where it wasn’t before to further improve lubrications. @ALB knows more than anyone but here’s a link to a previous discussion. 

https://www.speedsterowners.co...ling-and-lubrication

Looks amazing, Jimmy. It should be a blast when you get it on the road. Regarding Hoover Mods, there's a relatively new article in the knowledge base with lots of pictures. Hoover and Cooling Mods

Whatever you do to this car, we're going to need lots of pictures. This being such a cool and unique car, we want to see everything.

Whenever my engine sheats the bed, the new one or rebuild will include those hoover mods.

@Robert M posted:

Jimmy,

The Hoover modification has been discussed previously and increases the amount of oil or puts oil where it wasn’t before to further improve lubrications. @ALB knows more than anyone but here’s a link to a previous discussion. 

https://www.speedsterowners.co...ling-and-lubrication

If you remember he is into drilling holes

I have not heard of this modification. To do something like this I would need to have access to research and tests showing that this actually worked and didnt cause oiling issues in other critical areas. My guy would be doing it if it was worth the effort, I will ask him if he has heard of this. Does Pat Downs offer and recommend the modification? Sometimes it is just as simple as Don't fix it if it ain't broken. Steer me to the results of how this has improved others engines. I am open minded.

If you read up on this change if I remember right it was done by a pilot who was building airplanes and realized that oil starvation could occur remember these engines were made and had 36 hp initially
also in the type 4 Engine this modification is done at the factory or maybe I should say this is standard procedure on that engine 

@Jimmy V. posted:

I have not heard of this modification. To do something like this I would need to have access to research and tests showing that this actually worked and didnt cause oiling issues in other critical areas. My guy would be doing it if it was worth the effort, I will ask him if he has heard of this. Does Pat Downs offer and recommend the modification? Sometimes it is just as simple as Don't fix it if it ain't broken. Steer me to the results of how this has improved others engines. I am open minded.

READ THIS

THEN READ THIS

I will tell you right now, Jimmy, that some engine builders won't open their eyes enough to consider these modifications, as the engine does run without them, most people don't realize their value and it costs even more money to do in an already competitive market. The typical response- "we've been building engines for 30 years and don't see the point" (Competition Engineering of Arizona when a member asked them about Bob Hoover's mods in 2017?). They'd written the idea off before experimenting or even seriously looking at the concept; the fact that people who have actually incorporated the mods in a build see the benefits AND VW took the time to incorporate these ideas in their type 4 engines means nothing to them.

Gotta go make dinner.  Al

@ALB,

It's not that "some" builders don't want to do it-- it's 99% of engine builders who don't want to do it.

The reasoning goes: nobody is going to drive their car 100,000 mi, so why do something with a chance of ruining a $1200 case when it won't make any difference until 15 year from now.

I found a machinist who agrees with the idea. He's in an extreme minority.

I still have a feeling there is more to the other side of this story. It sounds way over my ability to do the mod myself and appears to have many opportunities for even a pro to make a little mistake that would and could cause more trouble than the intended benefit. Your mileage may vary.

Put it this way: If I'm going to split the case, I'll do the Hoover mods. I haven't split my case yet. They aren't that hard though, Mike Pickett did his all by himself, and quite successfully I might add.

The mods were track tested in the '60s by just about all the road-racer guys running VW engines (think Formula V but I think several other classes as well). It doesn't do much for hillclimb and drag race cars, which these days is most of the racing market. And as Stan says, most of the non-racing hobbyists don't put near enough miles on their engines to make it work as an engine builder's insurance measure.

But it's clearly a best practice.  

Update to the Puma Project. The 2110 engine is out being rebuilt and enlarged to 2276 with a set of thick walled 94mm Mahle forged P&C's with total seal rings. The builder Bill Westerfeld found the engine to have 3 of the cam lobes worn badly and hardly opening the affected valves. I assume this may have happened from not running oil with ZDDP added not sure but I have seen my fare share of flattened cams. He has all the parts ordered and in his shop and he started work on the engine last week. He ordered most if not all the parts from CB Performance. New CB 44 Webers, Engle 120 cam. full flowing the block, valve job on the CB 044 Ultra mag heads. Balance all moving parts. The 82mm counter weighted crank and Porsche 356 rods will be re-used. The crank has been dynamically balanced with the flywheel. The Compression Ratio is being set at 9.5. The engine is scheduled to be finished this week. Bill will break the cam in and adjust the carbs. The A-1 1 5/8" merged sidewinder exhaust has arrived at his shop as well. 

 While the engine has been out I have been doing some work on the car. The accelerator pedal (roller ball) was almost impossible to get my foot on because of there being no room between the chassis center hump and the brake pedal, I have wide feet as well. I hated the red plastic roller ball accelerator pedal as well. I wound up removing the pedal cluster which was easy enough to get out. I have a nice aluminum accelerator pedal that is designed to work with the roller ball that was taken off my Speedster during the Subaru conversion. The conversion utilizes the Impreza drive by wire pedal. I installed the pedal and did some reshaping of the brake pedal and the clutch pedal to make more room for my foot to access the gas pedal. I then spent 4 hours trying to install the pedal cluster back in the car. I was learning the hard way that you can't let the clutch pedal fall forward while you are trying to get the cluster in it's hole because the clutch cable will fall off the hook and you will need to start all over. I did have a new clutch cable and accelerator cable which I installed since I was already in there. The pedal cluster is a bitch to get back in if you haven't done it before. I couldn't get the front bolt to start in the threaded hole in the side of the hump. I gave up around midnight Saturday and after some rest got the thing back in Sunday morning and am very happy with the results. I will post some pictures later today. I will remove and replace the firewall material in the engine bay this week. Once I have the engine back I will install it and run it in the Puma to break it in and have some fun. The engine should scream.

  The 2056 Type IV engine I bought form Chris Sutton should arrive tomorrow. I plan on having it rebuild as well and I will swap it into the Puma to see How it feels. I may keep one of the engines if I like it and sell the other, it not I will sell them both and have Carey convert the Puma to Suby power.  More to come soon.

Looking good!

I've got a question, @Jimmy V. You refer to "Mahle thick-wall 94s" in your post above and a couple other times.

I've been looking all over, and I can't find any information on Mahle thick-wall 94 cylinders. AA makes a thick-wall 94, which requires a BUNCH of machining to even be usable (no stud holes, long cylinders, etc.) and JPM (Johannes Persson Motorsports) in Sweden makes what are probably the premier 94s, which are made with the best iron available, and the thickest walls possible. For a long time, the Mahle cylinders have been the way to go with 94s, but they're thinner than Mahle 91.5s, and way thinner than AA thick-wall 92s.

The AA thick-wall 94s don't really bring anything to the table once the stud reliefs are cut in, and the JPMs are halfway to LN Nickies in price and require a very good machinist to make them work.

The longblock Vintage Volks is building for me has AA thick-wall 92s, as (at the time) they were the thickest VW cylinders available in any size. If Mahle makes a thick-wall 94, I'd love to have some information on them, as I was just about to pull the trigger on the JPM 94s for Project X.

PS. The 2276 Type 1 that is being built has 1.25 ratio rockers running with the Engle 120 cam. The heads should breath great and the cam should let them really bring the power from 2000 RPM,s on. The engine builder said this isn't an engine you can lug (not that it's healthy to lug any Type 1 engine) along in 3rd or 4th gear at 1500rpm and mash the gas. He said if you do this the engine will fall flat on it's face. That is fine with me. I understand how to drive a type 1 and know how to keep the rpm's in the power band. The engine won't be for grandma to putt around in. I noticed a video of a Spyder build being driven recently posted that I was cringing a little as he was up shifting really fast and lugging the engine. It's not good to do that to these engines. Alas, they no not what they do sometimes. IMHO of course.

The Engle 120 with 1.25s is an excellent street cam. You'll be surprised how tractable it really is.

Thanks Stan, I appreciate the encouraging input.

I was gonna ask the same question as Stan about the Mahle 94s.....

Last summer I rebuilt the top end of my 2165(78 x 94) Raby type1. New Mahle forged pistons and cylinders went on(after pistons were balanced), and the heads were sent out for guides and valve job. 

I used "B" pistons, they are for any increased stroke up to 82mm(I think). They worked great for my 10.1:1 engine for about 35k, I ran them for another 5k miles with ever-increasing blow-by.

@Jimmy V. posted:

 I noticed a video of a Spyder build being driven recently posted that I was cringing a little as he was up shifting really fast and lugging the engine. It's not good to do that to these engines. Alas, they no not what they do sometimes. IMHO of course.

Guilty as charged, but with an explanation: I was trying to make the engine run hot on purpose to see if it would (apparently it won't), and see if it'll fall on its face at low RPM (no to that either). Also I don't like my brakes enough yet to go ripping around the neighborhood.

Stand by for the next video.

I checked in on my Engine Builder, building me a 2276 out of the 2110 engine I dropped off. He is currently working on the heads. The Heads are older CB 044  Ultra Mag CNC ported heads. He found that some time in the past a nut or small bolt or screw found it's way into the no. 3 cylinder. At the time they a PO pulled the head and smoothed the rough edges but missed a slightly bent intake valve and a crushed top land on the piston causing the ring to be locked up. This is the real reason behind the low compression on no. 3 cylinder. My guy ordered a new SS valve from CB and is reworking the bowls of each head to match CC them and get the proper compression ratio without using cylinder shims. This guy has been building air cooled engines since the 70's and really knows what works.  He is super detail oriented. Some of the pics show the head and old piston along with the heads being opened up to fit the 94mm cylinders. I am getting excited to run this engine in the Puma long enough to break it in and get it fine tuned, it will then be listed for sale. 

@Jimmy V. posted:

I still have a feeling there is more to the other side of this story. It sounds way over my ability to do the mod myself and appears to have many opportunities for even a pro to make a little mistake that would and could cause more trouble than the intended benefit. Your mileage may vary.

 A friend and  I have done it to a junk case with a 3/16" drill and it's not that hard- the important thing is to pay attention.   There is a thread in the Engines Transmissions Performance forum on the Samba named  "Bob Hoover Mods" (I don't know how to give you the link on this laptop I'm on) that further discusses the subject.  Alstrup's summary of the modifications' benefits on page 5 is worth the time to find it even if you read nothing else.  I'd copy them to here, but again I don't know how to do it on the laptop and my IT kid isn't out of bed yet.

I've said it before but here it is again- this machine work is just an update of the oiling system to make it work better, most of which VW incorporated into the Type 4 engine.  Every Type 1 engine on the street will benefit from these modifications.  There is no down side.  As has been said before, most engine builders won't do them because it adds cost to the build and the engine will run well enough without them, but when you have a higher revving engine than stock (where the mods do the most good), when you see how little effort they take (compared to a 5,000- $10,000 or more engine build) and you understand the benefits gained, why would you not do them?   Al

Bob Hoover Mods

Bob's Blog

@dlearl476 posted:

Bob Hoover Mods

Thank you for posting the link.

My IT guy is up so here is Alstrup's bit (found on page 5)-

Stock oil system (dual relief) is quite OK. Have moved people around for millions of miles, with the occasional rebuild.
Adding an oil filter typically increases bearing, and engine life, for 2 reasons. 1, cleaner oil. 2, more oil in the system which means less risk of starvation.

Hoover began to see some fatigue in engines with relatively high sustained load. As per the article linked to previously he/they began to experiment how this could be addressed to improve engine life with high sustained load. And THAT´s where we are here.
In drag racing you go the opposite way with wanting to make the oil come back to the sump as fast as possible. In regular street driving, especially in busses of which there are many today that still covers a lot of miles, you can improve parts and engine life by doing the Hoover mods. You can also make the engine handle higher loads because you create an evenness in cylinder head temperatures and temperatures in the engine in general. Yes, you may experience increased oil temps under load, but that is an easy fix with a thermostatically controlled oil external cooler. At the same time it is also PROOF that the mods work. How else would the oil suddenly absorb more heat (?)
Every single engine I build gets the internal oil mods. All high power and higher power bus engines I build gets the full Hoover mods, AND a thermostatic controlled external oil cooler
Apart from the cooling thing the rod mods also help to make sure that the cylinder walls are wet at all times, which helps in preventing scuffing in extreme situations.
The people that claims "not needed and not necessary" are correct as such, because the engine will run without it. Question is, how much better would it do (have done) with the mods. (?)
Ever wondered why the lifter bores on 1&3 intakes are often the most worn of the lot ?
Ever wondered why valve spring fatigue almost always begin on cylinder 1 ?
Ever wondered why cam & lifter failure hardly ever happens on an engine with Hoover mods?
Ever wondered why stock cylinder heads are less prone to crack on an engine with Hoover mods?
Ever wondered why "we" often go a full digit higher in CR than most recommends, and have no problems with doing it?
Sure it works. Its called evolution. Think of it this way. The type 1 case was developed in the late 50´s. Take a look around. We have learned a thing or two. We have been to the moon, set a rover on Mars and sent Voyager 1 & 2 to the outer limits of our solar system, developed cures for many lethal diseases, found out that our industrial revolution/evolution has not exactly been nice to our planet since then.

 J Edgar would be proud of you Al.    Well I think the discussion is done, Ho-over and out.

The freshly built 2276 lives! Here is a low quality short clip of the cam break in run. I pick the engine up Monday and I am dropping off the Raby Type 4 I bought from Chris Sutton on this site. I am thinking of having the type 4 enlarged to something over 2.5L . With cranks available to 88mm and the P&C's up to 105mm diameter Type 4 engines of over 3.0L can be built. HMM.. just a thought. Let's see what my engine builder says. 

 I have new plug wires and pulleys to install on this engine. I will have it in the Puma and driving soon. 

I picked up the freshly built 2110 now 2276 engine yesterday. I have new MST pulleys to and new plug wires to install, I will be sending the nasty looking pulleys out to be re-anodized and will use them on a future engine. I will get the engine installed into the Puma this weekend. 

My engine builder told me he was going to use an Engle 120 cam on the build. I was looking over the build sheet a few minutes ago and saw that he actually used an Engle FK43 cam instead. I called to ask about it because the FK 43 is built to be used with 1.4 ratio rockers and I thought I had 1.25 rockers. The builder told me that he found that I had 1.4 rockers and that is why he changed the cam choice. I am good with that because the FK 43 should be a great cam with the compression, displacement and heads I have. By the way the engine is built to 9.5:1 CR, which in my experience is very good. More to come on the performance once I get the engine installed into the Puma. Vroom, Vroom!

I worked on the engine tin fitment and plugged all the extra holes I won't be using. I installed the new MST "V" belt pulley system and the good wires with boots that keep the air in to cool the engine. I hate the floppy flat boots that don't do anything but let all the pressurized cooling fan air out via the plug access holes. I don't know how any self respecting air cooled guy could stand to use plug wires made like this?

 The engine is looking better. I plan on installing the engine in the Puma tomorrow. and hell yes I am going to put the engine through its paces as Nick of Nick's Garage on Youtube likes to say. If you haven't watched any of the Nick's garage video's you are missing out. 

I would be interested in seeing better boot suggestions. With single port heads, the spark plug openings were in a flat surface and it was easy to get boots that lock in place.

@Michael McKelvey posted:

I would be interested in seeing better boot suggestions. With single port heads, the spark plug openings were in a flat surface and it was easy to get boots that lock in place.

Me too. 

I have used zip ties on the flat ones to hold them in place on the wires.

The boots that come on the CB wires work the best but take a lot of effort to get them snapped into the opening. The fit isn't ideal but miles better than the flat floppy boots. They are just silly and worse they are dangerous to an engine.

The flat boot tops even if held down still blow up at the edges and let the pressurized fan air out making the cooling efficiency much  lower than it could be.

I learned all about this during my Corvair years. They had the same issue. Most after market wires came with the Flat boots that have no way of locking into the plug opening . The result the same, lost cooling efficiency.

I have a set of Taylor plug wires with the ball end that's supposed to fit into the perfectly-flat (yeah, right...) hole in the head tin.  You'd need to be a Gorilla to get them in there and onto the plug so that the metal wire connection locks onto the top of the plug.  And even then, then have a tendency to pop back off over time.  

I mess and mess with the position of that ball versus getting the plug to snap on so the ball is up against the hole but not pushed in to make it seat into the groove around the ball.

Not ideal, but my patience is way too short to get them to work right.  Already had one of those hammer-in-the-wall incidents.

The openings in the type1 aftermarket fan shrouds are not round and flat which would make the ball type boots fit correctly. The openings are a deformed shape and not all the same. Some fan shrouds are better than others. The shroud on my engine has openings that allowed me to get all of the boots to snap into place securely and not feel like they will pop out any minute. I have had other engines that took a ton of pushing and manipulating with a screw driver and never fit securely or get pushed all the way in which isn't ideal either.  I agree, what we have now is not a good design.

I just realized Gordon, The wires I bought and just installed on this engine are Taylor 409 race wires from CB. The half ball sealing boots are about the best I have used.

Several different CB wire sets seem to use the same boots.  I like the 90-degree distributor ends on the 2003 MAGNASPARK II wires.

I looked on eBay and see that Corvair seals are available.  Some of the sellers also mention air-cooled VWs.  In the past, I have also tried Toyota FJ tie rod seals.

It would be so much easier if we didn't have a non-round, non-flat, crowded by the manifold opening to seal.

@Michael McKelvey posted:

I have used zip ties on the flat ones to hold them in place on the wires.

Me too.

Now I am pondering getting some CB 2003 MAGNASPARK II™ 8.2mm Wires with their distributor end 90-degree terminals or trying some Corvair boots on my existing wires.

My existing wires are 8mm.  I don't know if the Corvair boots would fit over them or if I could get the Corvair boots will fit over the terminals.

I also wonder if the .2mm larger Magnaspark wires will fit in the things I use to hold my wires on the shroud.  Maybe that would be a reason to use CoolRydes spark plug wire tube.

@Michael McKelvey posted:

I have used zip ties on the flat ones to hold them in place on the wires.

I have a zip tie gun that I have from my years as a sound guy. I believe I have the manga spark wires/boots and instal them by squeezing both sides, then pushing the top into the groove. (My holes are cut out on the bottom which makes this easier. Granted I'm loosing some cooling efficiency in the process per Jimmy) Then I put a zip tie on the top of the boot, push it down toward the spark plug, and squeeze the gun."

FWIW, I've found for all things rubber, a little dab of "plumbers grease," available at any hardware store, is worth it's weight in gold. It's pure silicone about the consistency of Bosch distributor grease. 

FWIW II: really nice pandit guns are available on eBay for a good price. I guess the guys who build airplanes, who install 500-600 ties a day "wear them out" and sell them on eBay. For us DIY-ers, they'll last a lifetime. I've had my current one since 1995, and it still works perfectly. 

The Bosch air seals work fine for me. I installed the seals on Ford EDIS wires(1990 Escort coilpack). They don't slip and slide at all.

I have a couple Thomas and Betts ty-rap tools. They really work best with the manufacturer's own zip-ties, but work on other ties OK. I'm very particular about the cut ends sticking out. Flush-cut ties are important! Those sharp edges really slice hands!

@DannyP posted:

 Flush-cut ties are important! Those sharp edges really slice hands!

I can't count the number of times I sliced the back of my hand reaching into a rack to unplug the connectors in the back of a piece of gear.. It was a long time ago. A couple of years into the big time, everybody got the word that that (poorly trimming the tie) was a really bad rookie mistake. 

That's why I love my pandit tool. It does it perfect every time. 

In my world, it's hard to find guys who will even trim the tys. Nobody (and I mean nobody) will pay for a T&B ty. I'm the guy who does it "right"-- trims the excess wire, crimps a new terminal, ties the loom, and cuts off the excess tail with a dikes. It takes a little bit of time, but it's very, very nice for the net guy to open the panel and see something that looks a bit orderly.

I apprenticed with a guy who told me "we're not building a watch here, son", but it's nice when somebody thinks a little about the next guy who will work on a piece of equipment.

Worked several years at Ideal Industries Inc selling cable ties and never was surprised to see how many elec in the field would leave the ties with the extra tail up in the air. It just makes the person appear to not care about the job quality they do. 

Yeah, I completely hear you Stan. Most people are in so much of a hurry to get done, get paid, go home, and get to the next job that it mostly looks like an explosion of wires happened.

I was taught by people who cared about the future AND the next guy that has to go behind you. The world is a selfish place anymore. ME, me, me.........screw the next guy.

It really doesn't take any more time to care about what you leave behind once you make it your habit to actually care.

If I can't get to the head of the ty-rap with the tool, I'll trim it with a pair of electrician's shears, which most people call scissors, which they are NOT. Then I'll rotate the head of the ty so that it isn't where the back of your hand or knuckles can get sliced....

Integrity:  Doing the extras no one will probably ever see but the proven medicine for a good night's sleep.

Puma update. I had a marathon engine install session yesterday. I started on the install around 4:30 Pm and heard the wonderful sound of a well built balanced high performance 2276 Type 1 engine around 2:00 AM. I was working alone and it takes more time as I slowly lower the car down on top of the engine that is sitting on a narrow table on wheels. I have to keep running back and forth from the lift controls to the engine having to manipulate it into and around the engine compartment floor and keep from damaging anything. I had the engine lined up with the lower studs in the transaxle holes and couldn't get the engine the slide into the transaxle.  After taking longer than I would have liked I found that the A1 header coming out of the no. 3 cylinder was hitting the left (drivers side) Kafer bar. The A1 exhaust wasn't designed to have a Kafer bar setup I guess. I removed the offending bar and the engine slide right into place. I bolted the engine in and hooked up all the wires. I then mounted the oil filter under the engine compartment floor. I may need to build and protective shield to deflect heat from the header and protect against thrown rocks and such from the rear tire.

 The moment of truth came and I turned the key, I heard the hum of the electric fuel pump, hooray!  I hooked the wires up correctly and this setup has it's fare share of wiring. I turned the key further and the engine fired up at once. This thing is a monster! The air pressure coming out of the tail pipes is in the leaf blower category. The A-1 exhaust does a good job to quiet the engine but what a wonderful sound. The engine has been dynamically balanced and it makes a huge difference. After letting it warm up for a bit I blipped the throttle and man this engine sounds mean. It revs up and back super fast and crisp, no slowly floating back to idle for this engine ( I hate when engines do that)  I had a scare after this because the clutch pedal pressure didn't feel right and I had images of having to take the engine back out again. I then realized I hadn't adjusted the new clutch cable that I had installed while the engine was being rebuilt. I installed a new throttle cable as well all while I had the pedal cluster out for maintenance. Well it was late and my wife thought I had lost my mind, Have I ? I did swear off air cooled engines 2 years ago but yet here I am. I surrender, I love the damn things. I dropped into bed with a sore body and a smile on my face, dreaming of driving the Puma the next day. This thing should really move. Can you tell I like to go fast? I think I am really going to love this engine.

Congratulations! You have to feel pretty good.

Very good, Jimmy! 

Was the engine run at high rpm(above 2000 or so) to break the cam and lifters in? 15-20 minutes will do it.

Best of luck to you, 2276 is a great size.

Be the way. I wanted to post pics of my plug wire boots snapped into place. The fan shroud on this engine and the CB ported and welded intakes allow for the boot balls to snap in place nicely. I have had engines were this wasn't the case. It is amazing the amount of work CB has done on the port matched intakes they supplied to go with the Ultra Mag plus cylinder heads. They had to open the big beef intakes so far as to need to weld them up because they broke through the intake walls. The heads have similar welding were the porting was so large it broke through the wall. 

Very nice, Jimmy!

@Jimmy V., thanks for posting the pictures. I am close to ordering the magnaspark wires with the same boots but I need to check if the coil wire is long enough.

So sweet.

As for the air-cooled thing: welcome back!

Danny, The engine builder ran the cam in on several 20 minute 2000 rpm sessions. I posted a video of a few seconds of the cam break it. He uses VR1 racing oil which has a ton of the ZDDP that cams and lifters like. The guy I use is very detail oriented and builds really nice engines for a fair price. He builds a lot of vintage Porsche engines and engines for off road racing and drags. He has been doing this for over 40 years. I was glad to find he was still in business. The guy doesn't advertise and doesn't need to. Word of mouth has him piled with engines and transaxle to build. His name is Bill Westerfeld his company is Westerfeld Enterprises, in Harrison Oh.

 He is currently working on the Type 4 that I bought from Chris Sutton's classified listing on this site. I am going to have him build it into a monster type 4 with 2.8 L displacement. It will be really nice. I will be selling the type 1 that I just installed in the Puma and this monster Type 4. Pass the word.

The engine builder recommended that I leave the VR1 oil in it for 300 miles and then adjust the valves and change the oil to Synthetic Valvoline VR1 Racing oil. He says it holds up better in the high heat ranges that these engine can run. I tend to agree and the Synthetic VR1 still has all the ZDDP that the flat tappet engines require.

@DannyP posted:

I was taught by people who cared about the future AND the next guy that has to go behind you. The world is a selfish place anymore. ME, me, me.........screw the next guy.

If I can't get to the head of the ty-rap with the tool, I'll trim it with a pair of electrician's shears, which most people call scissors, which they are NOT. Then I'll rotate the head of the ty so that it isn't where the back of your hand or knuckles can get sliced....

When I built racks for Broadway shows, chances are "the next guy" would be me. And even if it wasn't, it was a small enough community that the next guy would know I built the rack. 

I have a special pair of "shear cut" dykes that I only use for trimming zip tie ends. They cut the end flush, just like a pandit tool does. 

@Jimmy V. posted:

Puma update. I had a marathon engine install session yesterday. I started on the install around 4:30 Pm and heard the wonderful sound of a well built balanced high performance 2276 Type 1 engine around 2:00 AM. I was working alone and it takes more time as I slowly lower the car down on top of the engine that is sitting on a narrow table on wheels. I have to keep running back and forth from the lift controls to the engine having to manipulate it into and around the engine compartment floor and keep from damaging anything. I had the engine lined up with the lower studs in the transaxle holes and couldn't get the engine the slide into the transaxle.  After taking longer than I would have liked I found that the A1 header coming out of the no. 3 cylinder was hitting the left (drivers side) Kafer bar. The A1 exhaust wasn't designed to have a Kafer bar setup I guess. I removed the offending bar and the engine slide right into place. I bolted the engine in and hooked up all the wires. I then mounted the oil filter under the engine compartment floor. I may need to build and protective shield to deflect heat from the header and protect against thrown rocks and such from the rear tire.

 The moment of truth came and I turned the key, I heard the hum of the electric fuel pump, hooray!  I hooked the wires up correctly and this setup has it's fare share of wiring. I turned the key further and the engine fired up at once. This thing is a monster! The air pressure coming out of the tail pipes is in the leaf blower category. The A-1 exhaust does a good job to quiet the engine but what a wonderful sound. The engine has been dynamically balanced and it makes a huge difference. After letting it warm up for a bit I blipped the throttle and man this engine sounds mean. It revs up and back super fast and crisp, no slowly floating back to idle for this engine ( I hate when engines do that)  I had a scare after this because the clutch pedal pressure didn't feel right and I had images of having to take the engine back out again. I then realized I hadn't adjusted the new clutch cable that I had installed while the engine was being rebuilt. I installed a new throttle cable as well all while I had the pedal cluster out for maintenance. Well it was late and my wife thought I had lost my mind, Have I ? I did swear off air cooled engines 2 years ago but yet here I am. I surrender, I love the damn things. I dropped into bed with a sore body and a smile on my face, dreaming of driving the Puma the next day. This thing should really move. Can you tell I like to go fast? I think I am really going to love this engine.

WooHoo! Great news!  I'm thinking the planets are aligning.  I just got an email from AirCooled, my brake parts just came in after 2 months on back order. I hope the Karma extends to Ed and his front beam issues. 

Building wire harnesses with an automated zip tie tier/cutter machine thingy:

@Jimmy V. I'm sorry, didn't catch the cam break-in video. All sounds great and it's awesome you've got a guy with 40 years experience.

Update on the 2276 engine install and tune:

 I heated and bent the Kafer strut that I removed to make clearance for the engine. I don't know exactly what the bar is made of but I heated this thing for over 20 minutes and it never turned red or anywhere close to it. I had a 5' pipe on the bar and finally got it to bend enough. I quenched it in oil to retain the hardness and re-installed it in it's place.

 I am in the process of putting some road miles on the car and getting the carb jetting perfected and the timing set where it is happiest. My oil temps are staying around 190 which is good in my book. I am placing the engine up for sale, so pass the word. 

I was going to get the 2003 Magnaspark plug wires from CBP with the boots Jimmy likes.

But, when I went to place the order they were out of stock.

Now I am going to try Corvair boots on my existing wires.  All the Corvair boots on eBay are for 7mm wires. 

https://www.corvair1.com/ignit...?sort=20a&page=3 has both 7mm and 8mm boots.  My wires are 8.5mm. I am going to try to squeeze them into 8mm boots.

Hopefully they will fit without distorting the boot shape. I vaguely remember doing something similar years ago and the boot was pull up on the ends and wouldn't stay locked into position.

 Think of all the air cooled engines running around with the flappy flat non-boots letting all that precious life giving cooling air out and not forced down thru and over the heads where it is so needed. 

@Michael McKelvey posted:

I was going to get the 2003 Magnaspark plug wires from CBP with the boots Jimmy likes.

But, when I went to place the order they were out of stock.

Now I am going to try Corvair boots on my existing wires.  All the Corvair boots on eBay are for 7mm wires. 

https://www.corvair1.com/ignit...?sort=20a&page=3 has both 7mm and 8mm boots.  My wires are 8.5mm. I am going to try to squeeze them into 8mm boots.

Soak the boots in hot water for a few minutes (tap hot, not boiling. Just hot enough you can't keep your finger in it) and coat the wires with a little plumber's grease and they'll slide right on. 

I use clear tire dressing to fit fuel lines, plug boots etc. works great.

@dlearl476, thank you for the suggestions.

These seals don't lock in place but seem like a bit of an improvement:

https://www.pelicanparts.com/M...fs=0&SVSVSI=5856

I have been driving the Puma as I get the jetting perfected on the carbs. I have it very close and the car is a joy to drive. I stopped this evening near the "magic" hour where the lighting is perfect to take great photos. I love the shape and lines of this little cat.

Sweet, Jimmy!

Gorgeous, Jimmy!

Outstanding.

That's a nice looking ride!

Update on the Puma. I have now have 400 miles on the new motor and am 99% there on getting the carb jetting right. The 2276 engine runs really strong, actually feels every bit a strong as the 180hp Subaru engine in my Speedster which would make sense with how the 2276 is built. The engine should be putting out in the 180 HP neighborhood. It just doesn't have as wide a torque curve or is it as smooth, but it isn't comparing apples to apples is it? I still have a little hesitation in the transition zone between the low speed and high speed circuits to work out.  

 I installed a new 10.5" Vintage Speed shifter last night that I had been waiting to receive from Taiwan. I have one in my Speedster and love the tight crisp shifting these high quality shifters give. It was a 30 min install and it works great compared to the worn out stock VW shifter that was on the Puma. If you are not using one of these shifters you are missing out. I think they are well worth the $253.00 plus $35.00 shipping I paid. I believe these are the only shifters that Carey uses on their Beck speedsters. I am not sure about the Spyder's  since they are mid engine setups. 

I have been having a ball driving the Puma to work and back every day. The engine has been running cool without the addition of an auxiliary oil cooler however the engine does have a large deep sump oil pan giving the engine a 5.5 quart oil capacity including the remote oil filter and lines. There isn't much room to squeeze an oil cooler in anyway, I am glad it doesn't need one. I have also completely sealed the top of the  engine from getting heated air from below. The only air the gets into the engine compartment is fresh cool air from the vents in the lid. I have gone to great lengths to seal the engine tin covering any holes and making sure the plug holes in the fan shroud are filled. I think I have the cooling system working as designed by VW. If anything I am afraid the engine is running too cool at times. My oil temps average 180-190. The dip stick is only warm to the touch after long hard drives. It proves to me how important it is to get the air flow correct and keeping the top of the engine isolated from the bottom. 

 The car has a very nice ride quality to it. It is smooth and fairly quiet, and best of all zero oil leaks! I have had to chase a couple of small leaks down but have been able to rectify them. I hate a leaky or dirty engine. To me the pic. below is fine art. 

Very nice, Jimmy!

Outstanding, Jimmy. On the jetting, do you have an O2 bung in that exhaust? I really like tuning with the wideband gauge on the dash temporarily.

I'm thinking you may have to play with the accelerator pump adjustment(s) or possibly float level. A tiny adjustment on float level up or down can slightly richen or lean the transition, and get to the (almost) perfection you're looking for.

I have a feeling you are correct. I have not been using an AFR meter. I have been putting off pulling the carbs apart to install a different accelerator pump jet and re-adjust the float levels, you seem to be on the same page. My last step is an hour on a local chassis dyno and using their AFR meter in the tail pipe. to get the jetting that gives the most power and best AFR. To have it close before I go saves on the dyno time. They charge $100.00/hr.

My Spanish Webers came with "50" accel jets. That means 50% bypass back to the float bowl. I've not seen them available anywhere, but they seem to work well. I found a reference to accel pump adjustment somewhere, maybe the Weber CB Performance book, maybe on the samba, but can't remember exactly where I read it. Anyway, the reference said that VW engines REALLY like the 50% bypass jets.

EDIT:

Found them, labeled 0.55. So maybe a .55mm hole, or 55% bypass, IDK. See that hole drilled in the side? That hole is what bypasses some fuel back to the bowl.

https://www.mooreparts.com/emp...CEAQYBSABEgIF3_D_BwE

And here, with explanation:

https://www.pegasusautoracing....on.asp?Product=79701

The good news is you can tune the amount of bypass. It works backwards though:

000 is 100% accel shot(zero bypass) to 1.00(minimal bypass). Then fine tune with the threaded rod/pump stroke.

The portable/temporary wideband gauge has turned out to be one of the best tools I've purchased. If only I could get my customers to weld in a fitting on their exhausts.....

I definitely like the "Medusa" looking exhaust!

Since you are going to have an extra engine (the T4), why not add a Puma convertible?  Here's an inexpensive one in NJ for $3500 (OBO).

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/cl...etail.php?id=2388858

Where's the passenger door, Greg?

Must have optional horizontal ejector seat?  No mention of missing door so assume it's included.  Includes free "hornets" too (assume wiring hornets is actually wiring harness).

I have all the Redline tuning kits available for the 44 IDF's. One has main jets sizes and air correction jets, one comes with different idle jet sizes and it comes with different accel. pump what I call squirter sizes and different size bypass valves to let 50% bypass or zero bypass that gives you 100% of the pump squirt going down the carb throat. The carbs come with the 50% bypass installed. You can also adjust the amount of accel. pump volume by turning the small nut on the pump arm in or out to fine tune more or less accel. pump action. The Weber IDF carbs are very tunable and most of the tuning can be done without carb removal. I have gotten to the point I will need to remove the carbs to get them perfect. Mind you it is so close now that many if not most would not know but I know and I want it perfect. Now if this engine winds up in a different elevation it will need some fine tuning to run well. Makes a good argument for fuel injection. I have spent over $400.00 on jet kits to tune the carbs. That and the $900.00 for the new carbs get's me maybe a third of the way to a CB Performance FI setup. An old school VW buddy went Fuel injection about 5 years ago and swears by it and will not run a type 1 any other way. 

That $3500.00 Puma and another $15k will make a nice car, regardless,  I am not a fan of the convertible Puma's.

As you may know I have the jetting dialed in on the 2276 and it is amazing. I can't stop driving it but have too because the engine is now listed for sale. I have several people circling the engine so I am confident it will sell in the next few days.

 While I was driving the Puma this past weekend I was in the parking lot of our local Kroger store and in the isle waiting to pull out when a driver of a Chrysler 300 started to back up out of their spot and was moving quickly to what would have turned out to be a T bone situation with the Puma getting it's passenger side crushed in. It was like time slowed down as my brain was taking this in and knowing the driver of the 300 didn't see me at all because of the Puma being so small and low. The previous owner of the Puma installed power door locks and an alarm system on the Puma along with a large two trumpet air horn setup. The horns sound like a super loud obnoxious diesel tractor truck. As I was processing that the driver had no clue I was in his car's path I laid into the horn button and scared the hell out of the 300's driver who abruptly slammed his brakes on. Whew! what a close call, his bumper stopped inches from my passenger side door. I now have an idea why the PO installed the excessively loud air horn set up. The Puma is a little car that needs to have a big sound at times. I was glad it did, without the horn the car would have probably been ruined and totaled by the insurance co. I just took a pic to post and while taking the pic of the horns I found the car has 2 air trumpets, 2 large electric disc horns and a siren. I would say that should have it covered. Can you pick out all of the listed noise makers in the pic below?

Glad you avoided.

Coil over shocks in front?

I have a secret desire to install air horns on my 356 replica...  Just because... well... I get a cheap thrill lout of startling people. 

I said the same thing after I saw the coil over shocks on the front but the car drives and handles great! The Puma's previous owner installed coil overs on all 4 corners. The car has a super smooth ride and it is firm in the corners. So for now I am not going to mess with something that works very well. I have no idea of why someone decided to install them unless in the front the torsion bars are weak same for the rear? The Puma has drop spindles in the front to lower the car to a nice low stance, not sure if that play into it or not. So for now I am driving the car and enjoying the heck out of it. My wife actually likes the Puma and that is saying something. Her car tastes do not align with mine usually. 

I've installed air horns in my Spyder and my 4 Runner, and I'm not afraid to use them. They've saved my bacon many times. In the Spyder they replace the meep meep but in my 4 runner, it's a separate button. Here is a link to what I and a few others did in our toy cars.

 https://www.speedsterowners.com/topic/loud-air-horns

I went with a Ferrari sounding horn set in the Spyder. It's a unique and piercing sound.

A true "train horn" will require an air tank and will sterilize you if your next to it when it goes off. It's also illegal in most states to have on an automobile.

There are many other choices that are attention getting, and some do not use a compressor. I feel it's a must with all the asshats out there, even if you have it on a separate button.