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I’ve heard replicas described as paper-dolls for grown men, and it’s true. 

There is a subset of owners who like the idea of trying this or that and seeing how well they like it. I didn’t start out in this hobby thinking I’d be that guy, but here I am-- serving as a cautionary parable for all that can go sideways when you sacrifice treasure and reason in pursuit of… something.

Because a replica Speedster starts out as a simple device, how it’s festooned and fitted changes the flavor from one thing to the next. Unfortunately, this is one of the things I like (or tell myself I like) about owning my particular plastic fantastic. One can follow the worm-hole down as far as one wishes to go. There is no bottom.

Deciding what I want the car to be has always been the hard part for me, and it’s changed from one thing to another more than a few times over the years. Molding the car into one thing is hard enough, but attempting to make it into two things at the same time is an order of magnitude more difficult. My particular dysfunction has been trying to make it many things at once, which is a bit like alchemy.

I want my car to be good looking, race-car light, modern-car fast, handle well, and able to travel long distances in reasonable comfort. I’ve also been 100% committed to an archaic air-cooled power-train designed about 90 years ago to be cheap and disposable. None of the circles on the Ven diagram overlap easily, so I’ve fettled endlessly-- if not exactly robbing Peter to pay Paul, then borrowing from him, commoditizing the debt, bundling it, and selling it in an auction.

My solution over the years has tended toward adding complexity (often to the point of convolution) in an attempt to solve what I believe to be a complicated problem. This is antithetical to the original intent and primary appeal of these cars, but no matter-- it has been my little science project over the years.

I'm only happy when it rains
I'm only happy when it's complicated
And though I know you can't appreciate it
I'm only happy when it rains

Garbage

Dry-sumping allowed me to lower the car past where I’d have been able to with any extended sump. It also enabled me to use 911 oil sprayers to cool the under-side of the pistons, (due to the increased capacity of the pressure side of the pump, and because windage doesn’t matter so much when there’s no oil in the sump). The sprayers gave me the courage to bump compression up as well.

Then there is the twin-spark setup. The idea behind this is that with two flame fronts, combustion can be completed more quickly across a larger diameter cylinder. In theory-- this allows a higher compression ratio without pre-ignition, and should reduce the amount of total timing advance needed for complete combustion.

In addition to all of this, I also used thermal coatings in the combustion chambers, exhaust ports, and piston tops. The twin-plug thing required a kind of science project ignition, asking people to build things that were not commercially available. I have gotten very, very lost inside my own head over the years. I’ve sometimes struggle to determine if all this has kept me sane or driven me mad, but regardless-- the resulting car has been awesome

… except when it hasn’t been.

 

"BlazeCut®(TM) woulda' saved it!!"

Last edited by Stan Galat
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In the fall of 2018, after a summer of running like a scalded dog, I loaded the car on a flatbed and headed through the thunderstorms to the Maggie Valley in NC. I had hoped to drive, but the weather and the desire to continue in a happy marriage meant that I pulled the car down. The car ran well for about half of the first day in the mountains. Leon Chupp noticed a miss coming back from a run on The Rattler. By the time we got back to the inn, the car was running rough.

I carry no small amount of tools and spares, but nobody can carry the entire shop in the nose of a speedster. I checked the distributor, but could not get to the bowels of the science-fair project without a 7 mm socket (which I did not have). Stupidly, I forgot my maxim (99% of all carburation problems are ignition) and became convinced that my issue was fuel related (due to driving through Noah’s flood on the way out east). I tore the carbs off about 15 times. The car would run OK, then it wouldn’t. I had not come to the Smokys to sit in my hotel room, so I determined I would just drive it. On the way to the Dragon the next day, it bucked and farted and spit until I finally pulled off the road, defeated.

As I was standing there, staring at the distributor I knew was the issue, Tom Boney appeared and asked if he could help. Tom is one of the finest humans on the planet, but he has told me over and over for 10 years that he’s not a mechanic. I said, “without a 7 mm socket, I don’t think anybody can”. Tom went back to his car, and produced… a 7 mm socket.

I used the socket to get to the points replacement module and found the problem immediately. The module had loosened up on the mounting plate and was bouncing around in the distributor body. I tightened the mounting screws and the car started and ran much better than it had since the first morning. It still wasn’t right, but I drove the car for the rest of the weekend before I loaded it up and pulled it home. I pushed the thing into the garage and didn’t look at it for 6 months.

Last April, I decided to get the car ready for the summer, and pulled the air-cleaners off to clean and reoil them. When I looked down the throat of the 1-2 carb, I saw this:IMG-2791

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Apparently, on that drive to the Dragon one of the backfires got pretty out of hand, and got a little campfire going on the number 2 venturi. The fire melted my auxiliary venturi, and the running engine sucked the aluminum spatter down the length of the intake runner, into the head, and all over the back of the intake valve. I could only assume it had gone down the cylinder as well. 

The past few years have been a financial bloodletting. We had built a new house, and my shop was nowhere near ready to remove an engine, tear it down, and assess the damage. My season was over before it began. I put rags in the intake throats, and closed the deck-lid.

I set about finishing the shop, running my business, living my life, and taking a nice vacation with my wife instead of going to the mountains last September 

… and forming a plan, because it’s always good to have a plan.

I decided that as much as I love the Buck Rogers aspect of the twin plug engine, it is too complex and highly strung to serve as a mill to propel a car across the continent without undue drama. 

Reluctantly, I decided to remove one circle from my Venn diagram-- the one labeled “wannabe race-car”. Jeanie has a limited tolerance for balls-out corner-carving anyhow, and I had already put a “comfort” seat in her side (to go with the Speedster bucket in mine). Tube-frame IMs are lovely cars, with rollup windows and a lot of nice GT-style features-- but they are not light by any metric, and cannot be made to be so.

I decided to make the car into what it always should have been-- a long-legged GT, built to drive long distances in reasonable comfort. I got a second “comfort” seat, took it apart, remade the bottom frame to get it as low as it can possibly be in the car, reshaped the foam to fit my “unique” physique, ordered carbon-fiber seat heaters from Amazon, and took both seats to the best upholstery shop in the area to be recovered in leather. I’ll have them back by early May, Lord willing.

I swallowed hard and pulled the twin-plug 2276, then put it aside for a future project. I’ll likely rework the intakes in the heads, put an 84mm crank in it to bring it back to a 2332, and get a bigger cam, but that is a project for another day.

Around the first of the year, I discussed my desires with Pat Downs, and decided to build a 2234 with 92mm AA thick wall cylinders, Panchitos heads, and a CB 2292 cam and 1.4 rockers. That’s a big cam for a street engine, but the way Pat explained it-- the Panchitos have such great port velocity that bigger engines running these heads can tolerate a lot more valve overlap without getting soggy on the bottom end. It makes sense, and Pat has forgotten more than I’ll ever know, so I went with his recommendation. CB’s shop is backed up in the shop for way longer than I could wait, so I set about looking for somebody I trusted to do the machine work for the new build.

I contacted VintageVolks, which is a very small (two guys working nights and weekends) shop in Spokane, WA. We started out just talking about doing a case with the mods I wanted-- but after a lot of discussion, I contracted with them to build the entire long-block (explanation later). I’ll dress the engine with my DTM, (rebuilt) 45 Dellortos, and the exhaust from my 2276. Anand’s engine made 180 hp on Pat’s dyno, I’ll be happy with 150- 170. The flow numbers of the heads seem to support those numbers. 

The engine is being built on a new mag case, fully shuffle-pinned, welded behind Number 3, and drilled for Hoover mods, with 911 piston squirters (to spray the underside of the pistons, for cooling) installed.The bottom end is a 4340 CroMoly crankshaft (84mm, Chevy journals, nitrided) and 5.4” forged H-beam rods with ARP2000 rod bolts. We’re using SilverLine steel-backed main bearings, double-thrust cam bearings, and Clevite rod bearings.

We’re using AA 92 mm thick-wall cylinders and forged slipper-skirt pistons with spiral-lock retainers. I’ve got a set of Deeves rings, with a Total-Seal second ring. I’m very much aiming for nice, round cylinders without blow-by no matter how hot it gets. We’re setting the deck at .040 and aiming for 9.9:1 compression.

I contacted EMPI, who had purchased Bug-Pack a few years ago, and found that they had one leftover dry-sump oil pump, which I snapped up. This was like finding a diamond in a pile of coal, only less likely. The pump has plenty of volume to feed the squirters, etc. I was super jacked up about finding this, as it means I can leave the 2276 alone.

The valve-train is where I’m getting carried away. I’m using the CB 2292 cam, clearanced for stroke, and CB 28 mm ultra-light lifters with the Hoover mods. The heads are CB Panchitos… with a twist. I got new stainless 3-groove valves, and a set of Dan Ruddock’s “Beehives Done Right” valve-springs/retainers. The beehives are a single spring with lower seat and nose pressures, which can still control the valves at over 7000 RPM. As a result of the lower spring pressure, I’m running HD aluminum push-rods and will be able to get by with a stock (helical cut) cam gear, machined to be adjustable. The valve-train should be quiet, light, and (most importantly) produce less heat than a more traditional dual-spring hi-performance setup. I’m also going to run early MK1 Rabbit valve-seals in the heads. I sourced a set of PTFE seals that should hold up to the heat. Not many people do this, but I’m hoping it’ll be worth it to keep oil out of the combustion chambers.

The entire thing will be blueprinted down to the gnat’s eyelash. This is where a machinist can do his OCD thing when an assembler (like me) would pretty much just bolt things together, and why I decided to have VintageVolks do the entire longblock. I’m getting updates as we go on every measurement, and how it relates to everything else. The spread-sheet is very, very detailed, and building this engine will take probably 8 weeks total.

Bottom EndCylinders

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Most of the non-standard stuff is an effort to combat heat. The thick-wall 92s are the thickest iron cylinders available for a Type 1. Spraying the underside of the pistons with the 911 squirters is really very effective (as long as I can get rid of the oil heat). The light valve-spring pressure should make a big difference in the amount of “friction heat” produced. The Panchitos themselves are probably the best cooling Type 1 heads currently in production. The compression is high, but that’s a LOT of cam, and with everything else (the DTM, etc.), I think we’ll be fine.

I’m going to use Mega-Jolt for the ignition. I got a TPS kit from aircooled.net, and sent out my super-special one-of-a-kind crank pulley to Mario Vellota to have a custom trigger wheel installed. Mario’s laser cutting shop was behind, so he emailed me the file and I had a couple of wheels cut here. Everything is out in Spokane for balancing and to ensure it will all play nicely together (fit wise). I’ll use a standard ignition system to break in the cam, but will switch to the Mega-Jolt as soon as it is feasible.

All this is likely not going to come together in time for this year’s season, but I’ve got a card up my sleeve there as well. The 2110 for the bus is still on a pallet from a few years ago. I’m 95% sure it’ll be spending the summer behind us.

The final piece of this little jigsaw puzzle is the transaxle. In 2005, when I had the first one built, I was convinced I knew what I was doing with gearing. I didn’t. I bought a quite expensive custom mainshaft, which turned out to be far too close to work well with a 4-speed. I’ve had several (many?) different combinations of 3rd, 4th, and R/P gears in an effort to continue to use the mainshaft I’ve got.

A 5-speed would be the best solution, but I’m not ready to abandon a lot of what makes an IM special, and fitting a Berg 5 in my car would mean cutting it up, or remaking a LOT of stuff, or both. I’ve said before, and I’ll say again-- I’m not doing it.

And so as a result, the transaxle is out at Anthony’s in Kaliforna getting a Super Beetle mainshaft, a 1.30 3rd, and I’m keeping my .93 4th and the 3.44 R/P. I’m taking out the ZF LSD, which will be used in another project, after being completely rebuilt (probably by Paul Gaurd, but we’ll see). The box will become (after 4 or 5 rebuilds) pretty much standard gearing, with a .93 4th and a 3.44-- it’s the best all-around 4-speed transaxle for what I’m trying to do. It turns out the Sainted German Engineers weren’t so far off on this one. We're using all German bearings for anything "iffy".

From a logistical standpoint, the trans is the most crucial piece of this puzzle-- I need it to do anything with the engine so I’ve been bugging Anthony to the extent that he’s probably pretty sick of me. I’m hoping to have it back within the next couple of weeks, along with my very expensive and useless to me (for now) parts.

Last edited by Stan Galat

I know these cars are never really “done”, but I think after a dozen or more permutations, this is as far as I’m going to take the IM. I’m on Carey Hines list for a repaint next fall, but as far as wholesale idiocy, I think I’m done

… which is not to say I’m done playing with paper dolls. I’ve got a plan for that twin-plug, dry-sump beast after all.

But that’s a topic for another time.

It's there Al. It's a melted venturi.....

Stan, quite the tale, I mostly knew the fate of the old motor. New motor and plan sounds very good to me. But you do have a way with words, my friend. 

Let me know if you want any Megajolt map tables. I'm on version 40-something or so. I've been refining my program for 12 years. Are you getting the dual map option? If you are it's a great idea. Any help at all you need, I'm here.

Last edited by DannyP
Lane Anderson posted:

From the Man-of-Few-Words department: WOW!

I think what you are looking for is, "what is the matter with you?"

Panhandle Bob posted:

There is no treatment for what my buddy Stan has. No amount of bed rest, therapeutic counseling or any drug regimen will even touch this affliction.

It is beyond any mere mortal's ability to control.

He is lost.

 ^ Like that.

Stan, I'm glad I decided to drop in and do a little light reading this afternoon. After all of our conversations over time, I think I have finally begun to understand what you mean when you say it's a continuously moving goalpost. 

As usual, you're defining yourself with your choices, not letting the car define you. You had the twin-plug itch, and it didn't go away. Now, having had the … joy? … of burning up pieces of it, you're back in sanity's low orbit. Good place to be.

And three engines with two cars is also a good place to be. I was hoping to read that the hopped-up twin-plug guy was headed for the Bus, but I suppose not. I'm really excited for these changes, and can't wait until I have another opportunity to run with y'all. 

Last edited by Cory Drake

 

Deus ex machina.  Wherein our hero's woes are suddenly solved by meteorite crashing through the garage roof, thus giving him a fresh start.

This reminds me soooo much of trying to squeeze even extra ounce out of a Ducati 2 valve.  There is no cure, only management and diligent visits to horsepower anonymous meetings.

Holy crap, Stan, what a saga. And what a cool engine you have cooking!

Quite the saga, Stan.  I might have been following you in a parallel adventure, but retirement restricted my funding (probably not a bad thing, from a Madness point of view).  So, like MUSBJIM, I drive what I’ve got and what I’ve got ain’t bad.

I got an old psychedelic chuckle from your first page, though, as it reminded me of this:

Last edited by Gordon Nichols
Stan Galat posted:
Sacto Mitch posted:
Panhandle Bob posted:

 ...It is beyond any mere mortal's ability to control.

He is lost...

 Was lost, but now is found.

Was blind, but now can see.

Not so fast, Mitchster. It's still a 4-speed.

Sacto Mitch posted:

 

Stan, you've made it to the mountaintop.

You'll get to the Promised land.

 

Very stubborn and thinks he can do it on his own he is, but enter the Promised Land he can not 'til he surrenders to the Way of The 5.

Last edited by ALB
Highlander356 posted:

I am going all in on electric batteries with an electric motor.

No need for expensive mechanical service and repairs, especially in a country like Australia where there are limited experienced air cooled mechanics.

I hope you'll keep us updated on the process and how that works out, Highlander. I suspect (that like all experimental endeavors) it won't be as easy as you hope, but if this lights your fire (as it were)-- go for it! 

It's a hobby, after all. 

Just to clarify the extent of my particular problem:

In my opus above, I mentioned not having finished the garage(s) in the new house. In 2015, we sold the place in the country with plenty of room, and built on a small lot in the center of an old (1850s) neighborhood in Morton. I went from having a 3-stall garage and full barn with heated floors to a couple of much smaller (his and hers) garage spaces with a small footprint, but ceiling high enough to install a couple of lifts.

Jeanie's side is only 13 ft wide, and doubles as her art studio. We need to store bikes over there, but hanging them so she can access them means encroaching on valuable space to the side of the minivan.

This was my solution-- built with a Harbor Freight winch, unistrut trolleys, and a bit of welding. It's a complex solution to a problem most people would have just lived with.

I'm pretty sure there's no cure for what I've got. I am what I am. 

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Here's a video of a small shop in southern California that installed electric drive in a new Vintage Speedster roller chassis.

Their only business is converting existing cars to electric drivetrains, and they made this video to promote that business. So, they're likely to gloss over many problems and fine-tuning issues. Still, they make it pretty clear that this is no process for the faint of heart.

There is A LOT of custom fabrication, electrical engineering, and software development involved if you want a result that works like you would expect a modern car to work.

One thing they mention only in passing, but which is a major issue with electric vehicles if you want to charge them in anything like a reasonable amount of time is heat management. Charging the batteries quickly generates large amounts of heat and can damage the batteries if charge rates are not managed correctly in software. There are also major heat issues in the normal operation of the car that must be dealt with in software.

Building one of these on your own looks like a much bigger task than what Stan is taking on in his new drivetrain.

 

 

For me all new platforms require a lot of sorting and that is why you want a car where millions have been made.  The frustrations of finding mechanics, finding parts, and not being stranded is no fun.  There are a number of frustrated buyers of Tesla as well as other cars. 

Our Replicars, plastic fantastics are NOT PLUG and play... they are like the old Windoze, plug and pray most times for those who are not mechanical and do not know cars or have a sense of how to diagnose an issue. 

Many builders have chosen to go with Subie powerplants for ease of finding a mechanic and use a stock ECU, again so that they do not have any issues.  A non stock ECU is a custom builders dream and can be made to work well but your comfort zone will increase if you live CLOSE to the builder or ECU programmer. 

El Guapo's suggestion of a reasonable cost, simple Acooled is a real worth while solution and cost effective.  So is the subie powerplant another platform that many have used and you can find quite a following in Australia in New South Wales for example so choices do exist but personally i could not see any benefits to E-Roadster a car unless your only goal is to stay in the city.

BTW and further to my rant .... my wife thinks I have lost it, when it comes to my car, as the sorting of issues took a long time and she looked at me and thought I was crazy so many times for keeping it.  Any wonder people sell cars with 1000 miles. 

You see, as to my spouse, she wants a turn the key and drive car.  No waiting for carbs to warm up and no gas stink, oh and No support, no issues.  (I do the support of course

Us males often think we can handle the custom build but in reality, secretly, we think it is a modern car.  

I think I was ready for this hand build car because of my experience with so many cars when I was young and this technology was current. 

The issue today is that you need to find a whole new set of people that can still do repairs on this type of car or is simply not a parts replacer but can think through and analyse the issues. 

In the end, we have a lot of dreams, read that as illusions, and then the builders who try to satisfy those have the issue of bringing into reality or bringing us out of that illusion to reality and making us realize that a more visceral drive is of course why we Dream of the Past.  They help to get us there but some never make the full leap and become disillusioned and abort when they realize it is not what they want.  That too is a choice. Enjoy your ride

 

Last edited by IaM-Ray

To sum up Ray's (very good) points-- everything boils down to managing expectations. If a guy is good at that, he can find success in this hobby reasonably easily and without a huge outlay of time and money. Some sad souls among us cannot (or will not) live with the kind of car that is easily built. They're too slow. They don't handle especially well. They are the antithesis of waterproof. They require no small amount of care and feeding.

Whacking any one of the moles means another one pops up in another place. Want to be faster? Your already sketchy brakes will need a serious improvement. Want to handle better? Your ride will likely go south when you stiffen things up. Want to be low-'n-mean? You're going to scrape a lot of driveways. Want to be dry in a thunderstorm? Oh boy... get out your checkbook.

The cycle keeps escalating until before you know it, you're looking at a twin-plug, dry-sumped 2.3L motor with more handmade parts than off-the-shelf stuff. Or a turbo Subaru, or a 6-cyl Porsche engine, or a 3L Raby Type 4.

At the end of the day, there is a secret sauce-- but that sauce is different for every guy, because every guy has his own set of acceptable compromises. A realistic assessment of who you are, and what you can live, along with how extensive your budget and skill-set actually are will go a long way towards finding long-term happiness behind the wheel of one of these death-traps.

That's my story, and I'm sticking with it. Your mileage may vary.

 

Stan (and Ray), that is exactly it.

This car started working out for me when I began accepting it for what it is, rather than trying to make it into something it wasn't ever going to be.

Small, light, simple, mechanical, it's a 'momentum' car. And I'd never quite understood just what that means.

It means if you don't pay attention to where the torque curve ends, if you don't get the revs up before you get to the hill, if you don't shift down before you get to the corner, if you pick the wrong line through that corner, you ain't gonna have any momentum to speak of.

The car's a handful to keep tracking straight down a rough road at speed.

The motor heats up and cools down as it gets more or less work to do. It's one of your jobs, as driver-in-chief, to watch the temp gauge and not give the engine more work than it can handle.

You could spend a whole lot trying to fix all of that. You could make the power and suspension and creature comforts more like a modern car. But this ain't your father's Oldsmobile. Or your wife's Camry.

If you let go of your ideas of what a sports car is and try to learn what a sports car WAS, this car has a lot to teach. There was a knack to being quick in those old machines. It was a lot harder than it is now. It took some skills that have almost been forgotten.

But on the right road, on the right day, for reasons that are sometimes impossible to explain, this can be the best car there is - if you give it half a chance.

 

Sacto Mitch posted:

 

Here's a video of a small shop in southern California that installed electric drive in a new Vintage Speedster roller chassis.

Their only business is converting existing cars to electric drivetrains, and they made this video to promote that business. So, they're likely to gloss over many problems and fine-tuning issues. Still, they make it pretty clear that this is no process for the faint of heart.

There is A LOT of custom fabrication, electrical engineering, and software development involved if you want a result that works like you would expect a modern car to work.

One thing they mention only in passing, but which is a major issue with electric vehicles if you want to charge them in anything like a reasonable amount of time is heat management. Charging the batteries quickly generates large amounts of heat and can damage the batteries if charge rates are not managed correctly in software. There are also major heat issues in the normal operation of the car that must be dealt with in software.

Building one of these on your own looks like a much bigger task than what Stan is taking on in his new drivetrain.

 

 

There are new batteries entering the market.

The new batteries are cheaper, charge quicker and safe.

They are not lithium based, they are carbon based.

I will be waiting for these new batteries to enter the market on a commercial level.

@Stan Galat that winched-up bike rack track is the bomba and epitomizes your superior ingenuity and terminal psychosis. It is brilliant overkill and I am in awe.

As you say, most people would simply live with it.

There are some who would have mounted J hooks up the wall a little higher than they were comfortable with and just manually lifted their bikes to them after each ride (or on occasion as time passed).

There are folks, such as myself, who might have rigged up something cheep and clever and slightly dodgy using nylon straps with cam buckles. 

But then there's you. The elite. 

I bow my head with great respect.

Sacto Mitch posted:

 Stan (and Ray), that is exactly it.

This car started working out for me when I began accepting it for what it is, rather than trying to make it into something it wasn't ever going to be.

Small, light, simple, mechanical, it's a 'momentum' car. And I'd never quite understood just what that means.

It means if you don't pay attention to where the torque curve ends, if you don't get the revs up before you get to the hill, if you don't shift down before you get to the corner, if you pick the wrong line through that corner, you ain't gonna have any momentum to speak of.

The car's a handful to keep tracking straight down a rough road at speed.

The motor heats up and cools down as it gets more or less work to do. It's one of your jobs, as driver-in-chief, to watch the temp gauge and not give the engine more work than it can handle.

You could spend a whole lot trying to fix all of that. You could make the power and suspension and creature comforts more like a modern car. But this ain't your father's Oldsmobile. Or your wife's Camry.

If you let go of your ideas of what a sports car is and try to learn what a sports car WAS, this car has a lot to teach. There was a knack to being quick in those old machines. It was a lot harder than it is now. It took some skills that have almost been forgotten.

But on the right road, on the right day, for reasons that are sometimes impossible to explain, this can be the best car there is - if you give it half a chance.

That's really sage advise, Mitch... but unfortunately I just can't take it quite that far. It would be better if I could. The car (as it sat pre-campfire) was ticking all the boxes, including having the ability to travel long distances. We drove it to NC in the fall of '17.

It was very fast, comfortable (for both Jeanie and me), and interesting mechanically.

The problem for me is that I came to understand that it couldn't do everything consistently enough, and reliability (and sadly and boringly, comfort) have become more important than other most of the other attributes at this point (at least within the parameters that I've dictated for myself). There will have to be other cars that can tick other boxes-- cars meant to ride on a flatbed or in an enclosed trailer from the shop to the foothills. Cars strung more highly.

I know there's real wisdom in just letting the car be everything that it wants to be, but I really can't do that, and neither can very many people. I would respectfully submit that neither can you. There is a continuum everyone falls along, with the drum-braked single-port 1500 on one end and a car like Bob Carley's on the other.

There's a sweet-spot somewhere in-between, a piece of real-estate that may differ from man to man. Most everybody can find it with a 2110 and disc brakes. You needed the 5-speed to find it. I ended up taking something too far (again), mostly to prove to myself that it could be done. This (latest) setup is an attempt to step it back to what I hope will be the edge, but not over a line I'd rather not cross.

Last edited by Stan Galat
Sacto Mitch posted:

 

Stan (and Ray), that is exactly it.

This car started working out for me when I began accepting it for what it is, rather than trying to make it into something it wasn't ever going to be.

Small, light, simple, mechanical, it's a 'momentum' car. And I'd never quite understood just what that means.

It means if you don't pay attention to where the torque curve ends, if you don't get the revs up before you get to the hill, if you don't shift down before you get to the corner, if you pick the wrong line through that corner, you ain't gonna have any momentum to speak of.

The car's a handful to keep tracking straight down a rough road at speed.

The motor heats up and cools down as it gets more or less work to do. It's one of your jobs, as driver-in-chief, to watch the temp gauge and not give the engine more work than it can handle.

You could spend a whole lot trying to fix all of that. You could make the power and suspension and creature comforts more like a modern car. But this ain't your father's Oldsmobile. Or your wife's Camry.

If you let go of your ideas of what a sports car is and try to learn what a sports car WAS, this car has a lot to teach. There was a knack to being quick in those old machines. It was a lot harder than it is now. It took some skills that have almost been forgotten.

But on the right road, on the right day, for reasons that are sometimes impossible to explain, this can be the best car there is - if you give it half a chance.

 

Mitch,

   Perfectly put. So many people are trying to make these cars what they aren’t. Let them takes us back to what driving was like in the fifties. Mine takes me back every time I jump in and love it for what it is. Sparse, basic, under powered but so damn fun I can’t stay out of it. I feel you get it.

Tom(Gotno356)

To more clearly define my path, I would have to say that 1600N engine is not a fast car. I tried 1835cc and had a 2110cc for 5 years in my 2004 IM.  I liked it but it lacked in a lot of areas. 

I then tried to make a mental list of what would like, to be able to make it a car I could go on longer trips as a highway cruiser.  

I think this process is what Stan most clearly elucidated.  He advises that every envelope of features and power range and car types will require ultimately some form of acceptance if you want to stay in the hobby but you can mitigate your chances or at least be somewhat more satisfied if your expectations come with realistic goals based on your experiences and what others have accomplished with their cars.  Remembering that it is near impossible to try all permutations or even try some of these cars so your dreaming most times of this illusionary car. 

So I realized that seats were a real issue AC and more power and of course the 5 speed, dual rads, and a large trunk with spare and finally some sort of reasonable on going repair and support cost and please Henry no 6cyl P at this point anyway. 

I considered a Subie-6 maybe but that was not in the cards for IM. 

Experienced builder he was, he was more comfortable doing a turbo 4cyl or NA subie but my car became the first with a subie tranny dual rads, larger gas tank, and big trunk.  I got involved in the R&D and helped to source somethings that I wanted.  Retro-sound system and bluetooth telephone is a help to make it more enjoyable as well. 

So i got much more of a car.  Actually it is light years ahead with full 911 front end, sway bars etc etc. 

In conclusion, this is really a nice car to drive, still has some nuances of a hand built car still has some tech that is 50 y.o. and some 2009 tech but you can just drive it with minimal issues.  

BTW I even installed Cruise control myself after IM were gracious to send me a schematic for the ECU cruise system.

I think I got pretty close to the max that the hobby can give me with my wish list, without much more rear weigh and the switch launch of some turbo setups. 

The 5 speed allows me to row through the gears as as a full subie there is less mismatch between engine and tranny powertrain. 

All in all I still had to accept the nuances of a new skin, old tech, new tech setup but I do not have to live with the 911 click click click I am doing a 100mph automaticity. 

I think it is the automaticity that is boring me out of my tree with DD. 

Enough said. 

I am typing this by the pool  

 

 

@edsnova,

Regarding the bike rack: I had already tried the dodgy ropes and cams set-up. Mrs. Galat declared it unacceptable, and she was right. She cannot lift her bike past about 2 ft off the ground, which does precisely nothing to get them out of the way. The ropes-'n-pulleys looked like an accident waiting to happen (and as you know, if there's a way to maim myself or break things, I tend to find it).

Aside from living with it (which really isn't such a bad alternative), this was the only real way. 

My 30 y/o son saw it and remarked that it is a distillation of everything that is right and wrong with his father in one device.

"There are new batteries entering the market.   The new batteries are cheaper, charge quicker and safe.  They are not lithium based, they are carbon based.   I will be waiting for these new batteries to enter the market on a commercial level."

Question: Does Carbon burn?  

Last time I checked it burns at a higher temp than wood. Just saying. 

I hear you Gordon, real heat is a must if you live somewhat north.  Seat heaters are absolutely great too.  

Aren't you glad we skipped steam in a speedster your back seat would have had to be the coal storage area and just in front of the stick shift the burn pot door for you to throw in coal with your right hand while you steer with your left. 

Just kidding, burning coal would be awesome heat though

 

Wait, how did we get from different expectations for our cars to coal-fired cabin heat and bicycle hoists? You can't leave here for an hour without everything going pear-shaped.

Stan and Ray, what we've got here is three drivers, three different cars, and three very different budgets. Three examples of how these cars can be different tokes for different folks.

Maybe the reason I'm happy as a clam with my lesser Speedster is where I live. I'm close to the roads I like to drive on. I will drive on the freeway if forced to by circumstances, but usually don't have to for more than 20 or 30 miles. For me, the interstate is a means to an end.

If I needed to spend long hours at 80 mph just to reach the Valhalla exit, I'd probably have to completely rethink how my car is set up. And recalculate just how much I wanted to invest in it. Most reasonable people would probably be thinking about another type of car altogether. But who ever said we are reasonable people?

My car will do 70-75 mph on the freeway and not complain too much. I do hit 80-85 merging with traffic sometimes, and have even gotten to 90 in an unthinking moment. But the car is much happier at 60-65. There, it just hums along quietly, as happy with the day as I am.

So, the car has changed my perspective a bit. It's woken me up to the joys of puttering along the back roads, not obsessed with getting to the next corner as quickly as possible. I've found parts of this state I sort of knew were there, but probably wouldn't have otherwise discovered.

The more I drive this car, the more it teaches me.

 

Were you commenting on the road speed or the body speed or age when you said 70-75   

More to the point for around town and little highway any car will do I would think.  On version 2 or 3 you might choose a different car of course according to your budget. But in reality while budget comes into play we were not really talking about that factor much even if it has a bearing on it. I have seen a lot of high end cars in driveways where the owner is not really the owner.

If you nearing 85 mph, oh I meant age you might blow it all on one last chance to go where you have never gone. Don't they list cars here where the owner has departed for greener pastures...  You know but then you will have to change your drive to a Triumph.

You guys crack me up !  I have always thought I was a little weird and had a tendency  to obliquely go off doing things that interested me. When I saw what Stan did for storing his bicycles I was absolutely sure of why I like this forum so much and the unique individuals who are on here. I totally relate to everyone on here in some way or another. I almost feel like I joined a "secret society" in which I can comfortably share my wild assed ideas and projects.  Thanks Stan, for posting your bicycle lift.  Here's mine !  I don't have bicycles any more but the electric winch is still up there (and still operating) in the attic. It's attached to the garage roof rafters. The ceiling door is now used for better access to things on the opposite side of my fold-down stairs. ( I don't have to crawl over a bunch of stuff to get to things on that side. ).      Bruce

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OK, maybe we are defined more by our bike lifts than by our cars.

Stan, what we've got here is two bikers, two different bike lifts, and two very different budgets.

I have only modest expectations for a bike lift.

I went with the store-bought rope-and-pulleys contraption. Six wood screws into the rafter and done. One bike at a time, but the slower pace lets me better appreciate parts of my garage I might have otherwise overlooked.

I guess if I had to hoist the bike more than eight feet in the air or do two at a time, I'd probably have to completely rethink how my bike lift is set up.

Maybe the reason I'm happy as a clam with my lesser bike lift is the agreement I have with my wife. She leans her bike against the garage shelving when returning from a ride and notifies me there's a bike that needs hoisting.

She doesn't have to deal with ropes or pulleys, and I get to experience how bikes were hoisted back in the early days of bicycle storage.

The more I hoist her bike manually, the more it teaches me.

 

IaM-Ray posted:

"There are new batteries entering the market.   The new batteries are cheaper, charge quicker and safe.  They are not lithium based, they are carbon based.   I will be waiting for these new batteries to enter the market on a commercial level."

Question: Does Carbon burn?  

Last time I checked it burns at a higher temp than wood. Just saying. 

If you don’t know anything about this technology it’s better if you simply do some research before adding your 2 bobs worth...!

Highlander356 posted:
IaM-Ray posted:

"There are new batteries entering the market.   The new batteries are cheaper, charge quicker and safe.  They are not lithium based, they are carbon based.   I will be waiting for these new batteries to enter the market on a commercial level."

Question: Does Carbon burn?  

Last time I checked it burns at a higher temp than wood. Just saying. 

If you don’t know anything about this technology it’s better if you simply do some research before adding your 2 bobs worth...!

Baaaaaaaaa that made me laugh... My comment was in jest of course, but since you asked.

While it is a new technology it is not any denser so you get the same capacity but faster charging, as well it seems to be less prone to heating up so it may be less prone to fires but, It is not yet a solution.  So if that is your cup a tea go for it, or rather wait for it.  Does that ad up to 2 bobs.? :0) 

Bike lift?

We don’ need no steenkin bike lift!

I got my own bike pahkin space!   I use “Smaht Pahk!”   (Until I hear: “HEY!  Get that damn bike outa my way to the freezah!)   

Bike lift.   You’se guys got too much free time on your hands.  (Although, Jeanie sounds a lot like my wife.  You sure she’s not Irish?)

BTW, Stan.......   Very clever solution!

Forget both carbon batteries and the regular lithium kind. I saw a TV show about it and it seemed to me that dilithium was the future. 

Seriously, there appears to be some incremental progress on batteries that will show up in cars over the next 4-5 years. I recently read what seemed to be a credible article on a breakthrough electric motor that 'might' eliminate the need for a transmission and give 2x-4x improvement in torque. Limited market availability for scooters in the next year or so and who knows after that.

We still plug our main car - an old 2013 LEAF into our house's 240v charging station powered by the 40 solar panels on our roof. It's paid off long ago and we live on a small island, so it works for now. I don't see anything that would make me want to spend money in the near future.

Everybody thinks I'm a universal EV hater, but I'd love an electric work truck... as long as it had a 300 mi range (in the winter, with full heat running) and could recharge overnight. Trucks are money sinks and the bane of my business existence. We've got one in the shop now, where it's been for at least 30% of this winter.

If I lived on a small island with lots of sunlight, I'd think pretty hard about it as well. If I had a 45 mi commute that never varied, I'd probably do it.

We're just not there as a primary vehicle, and I doubt we ever will be. As a "fun" vehicle, an EV speedster wouldn't be my cup of tea.

But if Highlander wants to give it a whirl-- I say, "go for it"... as long as he knows going in that it isn't going to cheap or easy. 

My friend, Scott, has been around as long as me, and riding bicycle just as long, too.  He’s 6’ 5” with loooong legs and has been developing hardening of the arteries over the past four years (pro’bly longer, but that’s when he first noticed the symptoms).

 A week ago he took delivery of a Trek E-Bike road bike so he can continue to ride whilst not over-stressing his heart.  We both see that as a very good thing.  Gets him out of the house so his wife don’t kill him for being underfoot, and he might finally, finally beat me up a hill.  

I don’t know when electric cars will be the thing, but an ebike makes a lot of sense.   For Scott, that is, and I guess for us old bike riders that need a little help.  

Who was that guy on an island near Seattle or Vancouver who converted a speedster to electric?

  @Michael Pickett  Been in your extended front yard for a week, over in Ko’olina.  I see why you live here.  The wx is WAAY better than SoCal!  Also shopped at Bailey’s Aloha Shirts.  Even more amazing than Leonard’s Bakery!  Gotta come back!

Back home tomorrow.  Really gonna miss this....... But oh that jet lag!

Last edited by Gordon Nichols
Gordon Nichols posted:

  @Michael Pickett  Been in your extended front yard for a week, over in Ko’olina.  I see why you live here.  The wx is WAAY better than SoCal!  Also shopped at Bailey’s Aloha Shirts.  Even more amazing than Leonard’s Bakery!  Gotta come back!

Back home tomorrow.  Really gonna miss this....... But oh that jet lag!

Glad you made it over here. We completed a trip back to NC last week and I'm nearly recovered. That just means you need to plan longer trips. 

Conceptually, I like the hybrid electric cars that use a small engine (a turbine maybe?) to self-charge when needed. 

If batteries can be made light and compact enough (they're basically there) without overheating (not quite yet) and cheaply enough to work in the market (??) you could turn over the whole fleet in about 10 years and save 80-90 percent of the of the current hydrocarbon emissions burned on the road while maintaining or extending present day automotive range and potentially reducing maintenance time and costs substantially. 

But, as Stan often points out, the energy has to come from somewhere. You'd still need to convert the power grid to like 95 percent wind/solar/nuke with just a few gas peakers (and maybe vast arrays of these batteries?) to manage load.

AFAIK it could be done right now—and should be, given what we know about how carbon emissions affect the climate—but it's not like I or anyone else could just snap our fingers and make it so. 

mppickett posted:

For me, the battery range is the primary issue. Anything over 200 miles would be great (our LEAF gets around 100 miles).  The Speedster conversion approaches I've looked at get around 100 miles range, too. The low end torque is unparalleled, but there's just not a lot of room for batteries in our car, so for now, range is limited.

check out this new technology 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5C7a2hVFHS8

 

 

edsnova posted:

Conceptually, I like the hybrid electric cars that use a small engine (a turbine maybe?) to self-charge when needed. 

If batteries can be made light and compact enough (they're basically there) without overheating (not quite yet) and cheaply enough to work in the market (??) you could turn over the whole fleet in about 10 years and save 80-90 percent of the of the current hydrocarbon emissions burned on the road while maintaining or extending present day automotive range and potentially reducing maintenance time and costs substantially. 

But, as Stan often points out, the energy has to come from somewhere. You'd still need to convert the power grid to like 95 percent wind/solar/nuke with just a few gas peakers (and maybe vast arrays of these batteries?) to manage load.

AFAIK it could be done right now—and should be, given what we know about how carbon emissions affect the climate—but it's not like I or anyone else could just snap our fingers and make it so. 

The electric Sports car technology has come a long way.

Check out this link:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5C7a2hVFHS8

 

edsnova posted:

Conceptually, I like the hybrid electric cars that use a small engine (a turbine maybe?) to self-charge when needed. 

If batteries can be made light and compact enough (they're basically there) without overheating (not quite yet) and cheaply enough to work in the market (??) you could turn over the whole fleet in about 10 years and save 80-90 percent of the of the current hydrocarbon emissions burned on the road while maintaining or extending present day automotive range and potentially reducing maintenance time and costs substantially. 

But, as Stan often points out, the energy has to come from somewhere. You'd still need to convert the power grid to like 95 percent wind/solar/nuke with just a few gas peakers (and maybe vast arrays of these batteries?) to manage load.

AFAIK it could be done right now—and should be, given what we know about how carbon emissions affect the climate—but it's not like I or anyone else could just snap our fingers and make it so. 

We agree nearly 100% here, @edsnova. The pure EV gets all the love (and credits), but it is the plug-in series hybrid that has the actual chance of working in the real world. If we removed the range limitation, electric starts to make a lot of sense for service and delivery trucks especially. 

The wind/solar/nuke grid will take more than a few gas peakers, but just accepting that it's going to take nuclear power to get to a grid that is less reliant on carbon is a huge step, and one that most people just refuse to believe. Nuclear scares the crap out of most people, but there's no other way to get where they say they want to go.

Highlander356 posted:

We all need to face the fact that oil is running out, by 2030 there will be no more oil.

I'd love to make a wager on that, Highlander. It'd be my only good investment so far this year.

I've been buying oil stocks for 5 years, because I know the world needs it and it seems super-cheap to me (you know, given that we are running out in 10 years, etc.). But oil is in a price free-fall (off 20% this AM, and trading at under $30/bbl), precisely because we have a glut of it in the market. Right now, Transocean (the largest offshore drilling company in the world) is trading at about 2% of it's value 6 years ago. Exxon/Mobil, BP, Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron, etc. are all in the toilet, down 30% +/- because people have a virus in China.

We have no idea what the future holds-- but in proven reserves, we have enough petroleum for the next 50 years (at a minimum), and more if we conserve it. If we continue to find ways to extract it (shale oil, etc.) there is no end in sight. Wagering that we still have PLENTY of oil in 2030 (or 2040, or 2050) seems like a sucker bet.

... but I'm wondering-- you keep posting about EVs like a zealous recent convert. Do you own one, even as your second or third vehicle? Are you making progress towards converting your speedster, or just dreaming? You have a car and an opinion (which you feel strongly enough about to post on multiple threads), have you taken the car to the Australian EV experts?

Let us know how the progress is coming. 

Last edited by Stan Galat

Highlander:

We have a TV show here in the states called "Mountain Men" wherein one of the featured characters powers his truck with a wood burning system. I suggest you consider that alternative as well. 

I realize that you have had some severe fires that burned a lot of your trees, but maybe this alternative would work for you, or build a small nuclear reactor in the frunk.

How about a steam engine.......pedal car......just coast downhill?

 

I guess I have accepted the limits of my Speedster as well. By that I mean I haven't pushed it there by any means, but based on input from a lot of you, I can see what I think is the limit of the cars potential.

My wife says that I'm one guy when behind the wheel of our other cars, and a different guy when I hop in the Speedster. Driving the Speedster is always a transformative experience.

One is the mundane experience of getting from here to there and back. The other is an exhilarating adventure, even if it's just to go get milk.

One is predictable and without challenges or issues. The other is unpredictable and anything might happen.

I take the Speedster whenever I can.

Highlander356 posted:
edsnova posted:

Conceptually, I like the hybrid electric cars that use a small engine (a turbine maybe?) to self-charge when needed. 

If batteries can be made light and compact enough (they're basically there) without overheating (not quite yet) and cheaply enough to work in the market (??) you could turn over the whole fleet in about 10 years and save 80-90 percent of the of the current hydrocarbon emissions burned on the road while maintaining or extending present day automotive range and potentially reducing maintenance time and costs substantially. 

But, as Stan often points out, the energy has to come from somewhere. You'd still need to convert the power grid to like 95 percent wind/solar/nuke with just a few gas peakers (and maybe vast arrays of these batteries?) to manage load.

AFAIK it could be done right now—and should be, given what we know about how carbon emissions affect the climate—but it's not like I or anyone else could just snap our fingers and make it so. 

The electric Sports car technology has come a long way.

Check out this link:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5C7a2hVFHS8

 

That was six years ago. Looked/looks promising but the technology still isn't here. There are options available but they are expensive. More expensive than it's worth if you ask me. But if you want to continue waiting go ahead. Me? Well, I'm going to drive my Speedster today and the next day and the next day and so on and so on. You can sit and watch your Speedster go nowhere or you can do what everyone suggested and find an air-cooled mechanic at one of the dozens of air-cooled clubs in Australia so you can drive it. Or you can wait until battery technology improves enough to build yourself an electric Speedster. 

Last edited by Robert M

Back to our regularly scheduled program:

I was cleaning out the shop cabinets this weekend, and found an IRS super-diff I forgot I had. I called Anthony this AM, but a new one is only about 2x what the shipping would be on this one, so I'll just keep it. We've reached critical mass in the garage. I have lost track of what I have in the stash, which is pretty pathetic. I'm thinking a sale is in order.

Anyhow, here's what the gearing will be. I wish the spacing was inverted (with the narrower spreads in the upper gears, but this is as good as I can get with what is available.

Anthony is hoping to get this back to me within the next couple of weeks.

Shift Point Chart4-speed gearing

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mppickett posted:

Thank Ferdinand that you switched the channel. So how much difference will there be between your new diff and your old one?

The new one is just a super-diff, which is pretty common on hi-po Type 1 transaxle builds. It also is a step back from the edge.

The ZF is rare like hen's teeth. VW had them built for about 20 minutes in the early 70s (for use in the "Thing" in non-USA markets, unless I'm mistaken). I waited for more than a 18 months to find one, and snapped this one up on TheSamba as soon as it became available a few years back. I think I had to give $1500 or some such thing. Mine is worn out (as per Anthony). Stock, they came with metal discs and clutches, but there is a guy (Paul Guard) who has a rebuild kit available for them using friction discs and some other special whatnot. The mystery is if what I have will be rebuildable, as not all are.

If it is, the plan is to use the shards of the true cross ZF LSD in a future 5-speed for Project X, but that's a story for a different day.

Last edited by Stan Galat

@Stan Galat wrote- "...Stock, they came with metal discs and clutches, but there is a guy (Paul Guard) who has a rebuild kit available for them using friction discs and some other special whatnot. The mystery is if what I have will be rebuildable, as not all are..."

If the housing has worn from tabs on the plates (the only place they really wear), I have heard Paul doesn't feel they are worth putting the effort into, and says 1 day he will machine some new housings. Bruce (here in Burnaby- who I think sold it to you?) has reconditioned diff housings by welding/re-machining and can rebuild it for you with the Guard ceramic friction plates and proper belleville washers (he keeps them in stock). He will rebuild it for you.

Or- if you want to believe Mr. Guard when he tells you it is junk- instead of throwing it the scrap pile you can send it to me. I'll pay the shipping and a 6 pack (what the heck, make it a 12 pack!) of your choice.

Your Kanucklehead buddy Yoda

PS-  ZF limited slip differentials were a factory option in Beetles and Super Beetles, various commercial vehicles, Karmann Ghias, Type 3's and Things starting in the mid '60's. There are both swingaxle and irs versions, as well as various later bus models. The thing- it seems they were never available in any cars destined for the U.S. or Canadian markets, hence Stan's comment that they are "as rare as hen's teeth".

I have no idea how accurate this code list is-

https://www.limebug.com/how-to-guides/view/32

Last edited by ALB

Stan....From the 90% of us that do not understand 90% of what you wrote all I can say is "we are not worthy." Thankfully the DNA pool creates folks such as yourself and other technically intelligent people so that the mechanically inept can enjoy these cars as well. I can only imagine that the VW engineers from the 30's would say if they witnessed what they wroth upon the 21st Century. Of course we could probably still find one of those English engineers that rebuilt the factory after WWII and infected the cars with Lucas DNA oil leaks. 

 

edsnova posted:

@stangalat you're buying special "beehive" valve springs and all kinds of rigormorole and what-have-you building a bigish engine with Panchitos yadda yadda.  Why are you showing shift points below 6000?

Good question @edsnova. Habit, mostly.

I'm interested in where the shift-points are in normal travel. I could've (and probably should have) put in 4000 as the shift-point because that's where I like to shift when I'm being a good boy. I used to plug in redline, but @ALB broke me of the habit in one of the 50 or so PMs we've sent back and forth over the years regarding the perfect 5-speed.

FWIW: Al Blanchette is the residing "king of gears" (all hail the king), at least as I see it. We joke about the holes and the quizzes of new members, but he's been enormously helpful as a resource-- both for knowing where to get stuff and for knowing what is available for gear-stacks. I wish I'd have known him 15 years ago. @Anthony has been equally patient as I've cycled through about 6 different gear combinations. He's an amazing asset to this hobby, and I wish I lived close enough to avail myself of his services without incurring many hundreds of dollars in UPS charges.

Anyhow, this motor should pull to 7000+ RPM, but Panchitos aren't big heads by any metric. They're inexpensive, with 40 mm intakes and 62 mm of port volume. The magic is in the flow and the port velocity-- the "as cast" numbers are crazy: 167 cfm at .500 lift and 300 fps. The net/net is that these heads will work on a hot street motor of pretty much any common displacement.

I've spent way, way, way more money on heads in the past, and they were way, way, way bigger to get those flow numbers (and couldn't hope to get those port velocity numbers). It's the port velocity that should make them drivable, and pleasant as a GT (snappy pull from everywhere in the RPM register) as long as the cam is not too much, and I'm trusting Mr. Downs on that. The CB cam series is super-interesting, with all of them ground on 107* centers rather than the usual 108*. I've never run one before, mostly because the catalog (for cams) is such a mess that it's really hard to find what you are looking for (even the numbers don't correspond to anything). But I'm excited to try this one.

The beehives yada, yada, yada are all me-- my personal desire to complicate something built to be inherently simple. I just love the idea, and being in love with theoretical ideas is what gets me up in the morning.

I'm only happy when it rains.

Last edited by Stan Galat

Stan, I'm really looking forward to seeing this come together. 

I recently sent young Brian to Autocraft in MA to get his heads flycut rather than all the way out to CB(shipping$$$ and time). He'll end up with a motor more similar to Anand when he's done. For those that don't know, Mike at Autocraft is a class act. They do a ton of VW drag motor work, and are the source for the only currently manufactured serious dry sump pump. CB makes one as well, but Stan and I are of the opinion that the CB pump has gears that are too small. Autocraft makes a 1.5 stage, 2 or 3 or 4 stage. I have a 2 stage, it sticks out a few inches and does what I need. It's also complicated enough.

I'm only happy when it rains, too.

Stan Galat posted:
edsnova posted:

@stangalat you're buying special "beehive" valve springs and all kinds of rigormorole and what-have-you building a bigish engine with Panchitos yadda yadda.  Why are you showing shift points below 6000?

Good question @edsnova. Habit, mostly.

I'm interested in where the shift-points are in normal travel. I could've (and probably should have) put in 4000 as the shift-point because that's where I like to shift when I'm being a good boy. I used to plug in redline, but @ALB broke me of the habit in one of the 50 or so PMs we've sent back and forth over the years regarding the perfect 5-speed.

 

Ah. So... Um.

Why not redline? Or better yet, why choose any particular rev range as a shift point when figuring gear ratios? 

In other words, what is, distilled from those 50 PMs, the wisdom here?

 

edsnova posted:
Stan Galat posted:
edsnova posted:

@stangalat you're buying special "beehive" valve springs and all kinds of rigormorole and what-have-you building a bigish engine with Panchitos yadda yadda.  Why are you showing shift points below 6000?

Good question @edsnova. Habit, mostly.

I'm interested in where the shift-points are in normal travel. I could've (and probably should have) put in 4000 as the shift-point because that's where I like to shift when I'm being a good boy. I used to plug in redline, but @ALB broke me of the habit in one of the 50 or so PMs we've sent back and forth over the years regarding the perfect 5-speed.

 

Ah. So... Um.

Why not redline? Or better yet, why choose any particular rev range as a shift point when figuring gear ratios? 

In other words, what is, distilled from those 50 PMs, the wisdom here?

 

When figuring out gear spacing, if you plug in 3600 as Max Rpm (stock shift point- the upshift marks on a stock speedometer) you can then compare what the chart calls the 'Shift Point' (what the rpm falls to in the next gear, or what some call the 'recovery rpm') to a stock 4 speed, which is (aprox) 1900 rpm in 2nd, 2200 in 3rd and 2400 in 4th. You'll notice that with every upshift the recovery rpm gets higher- all stock gearboxes (that I know of) are like this to make the best use of the engine's powerband in normal driving. Al

Ps- if you're trying to work out the best spacing for racing/performance then you would look at the recovery rpm's from redline. Again, as you shift from gear to gear, for best acceleration the recovery rpm will get higher as well.

Another PS- any time you make the gear spacing wider than stock you run the risk of creating a zone where the engine can't cool itself properly and will overheat if operating under full power for any length of time. For example- when going to a .82 4th the recovery rpm drops about 200 rpm and think of going up a hill under full power in this area (2200-2400) where even at full power the car won't go any faster. The engine can't get rid of the heat generated fast enough. When I first started driving VW's as a teenager, this is what old guys called 'lugging it', and cautioned against it because it meant death for the engine.

Note- this is more of a concern with a smaller engine than something 2 liters or bigger.

And another PS- I forgot to say- great question Ed!

Thought for the day- since a watercooled engine uses air to cool the water, doesn't that make it just an overly complicated aircooled engine?

Last edited by ALB
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