Monster 2786 Type 4 build

@DannyP ah nice 👍.

I have been getting all the small details of the engine install lined out. The engine compartment is completely sealed all the way around the engine front and across the back. Zero hot air from under the engine will get recycled into the cooling fan or carb throats. All fresh clean cool air going into the cooling fan and into the carbs as the engine was designed by VW/Porsche. In my experience this makes all the difference between a hot running engine and an engine that runs the correct temp. (You don't want the engine to run too cool either).

I took the Puma for a few test runs last night and today. When I got brave enough and trusted the car today I opened the carbs past half throttle... the engine is all that and a large bag of chips. It gave me the kick in the pants neck snapping acceleration I was looking for and I was no where near full throttle. The engine is amazing and will (measured with my seat of the pants feel) kick my Suby Speedster's ass when it comes to acceleration. This is what I was hoping for, mission accomplished in this area. I am going to have a muffler shop retrofit the chrome A-1 in and out muffler I have left over from my 2276 side winder header. I pushed this muffler onto the header collector and it does the job to quiet the engine and still sound mean. I will make an appointment tomorrow to have the muffler installed. The car will be much more user friendly. The sound and pull this engine has is really amazing as it should be. I was adding up the bills on this engine and I could have bought 2 - Ford 347 turnkey roller engines with aluminum heads and 465HP for what this engine has cost. It may not be practical but boy is it fun. I had three people wave and yell cool car on my short drives. People seem to like the Puma.

Beautiful work, Jimmy.  I hope to see this beast someday.

I have an appt. tomorrow morning with a muffler shop to install the A-1 muffler that I saved from the sidewinder header I had on the 2276 Type 1 engine. I held the muffler on the end of the type 4's header and it really quieted the beast down. I am hoping the shop has the talent to attach the muffler in a way it can be easily removed to access the rockers on the passenger side head.

I have also ordered a synclink throttle cable set up to replace the cross bar linkage.  I don't like the way cross bar is setup and I feel the carbs will never be fully in sync using it. Anyone have experience with the synclink?

@Jimmy V. posted:

Anyone have experience with the synclink?

I do. I love it.

I’m not sure if the Vintage Speed setup would work with the Type IV you have there Jimmy but that’s what I’m using and it works very well on my Type I. I was going to use the Synclink until Pat Downs suggested the Vintage Speed linkage.

Stan did you buy your sync link from Pete Staszkiw ?

Robert, I considered the vintage Speed linkage but went with the synclink. I am not sure the vintage Speed has a setup for the type 4 and my engine is a little over 1/2" wider than normal as well.

How does the synclink connect between the two carbs?  I always wondered if temperature-related expansion contraction would throw things out of sync.  If the cable expanded/contracted at a different rate that the engine itself, it would seem inevitable.

.

The synchlink uses a compound cable, like the brake cable on a bicycle (there's an inner cable and a rigid outer metal housing).

The only motion that matters is the inner cable relative to the outer housing. The two ends of the housing can move relative to each other and it doesn't affect how much motion is transferred by the cable.

Despite the photo above, the cable between the two sides doesn't need to be in a perfectly straight line. Kinda like a Bowden tube works.

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The cables should not get hot enough to make a noticeable difference and they would all expand the same amount. The system looks like it will really work well. I guess I will find out. It has to be better than what I have now. The carb bell crank arm on the drivers side has a 1.5" long rod coming off the linkage at 90 degrees to make the reach. It is what is needed to have synchronized carb opening but it is flimsy and doesn't work well.

@Jimmy V. posted:

Stan did you buy your sync link from Pete Staszkiw ?

Yep. I think that's the only way to get one, which is why most builders don't use them.

I am curious, Why would that keep engine builders from buying the kits?

@Jimmy V. posted:

I am curious, Why would that keep engine builders from buying the kits?

It's just a guess. But I got the impression that Pete's a dude making these in his spare time. I'm not sure he could or wants to build them in the kind of quantities that builders like Pat would need.

Also, there's the cost of them-- not a lot of people want to give that much for a linkage (although I think they are worth every penny).

So glad you got underway on that carb linkage. I saw that extender bit and was about to ask about it.

"It's just a guess. But I got the impression that Pete's a dude making these in his spare time. I'm not sure he could or wants to build them in the kind of quantities that builders like Pat would need."

Reminds me of Mike Kitteridge, the founder of Yankee Candle.  He built his business up with a couple of friends and eventually sold it for $500 Million.  After that, he had a wonderful collection of antique and pedigree cars and no candle production worries.  Alas, he died in 2019, but before that I had toured his collection.  "Wow" best suits it.

https://www.meshnewengland.com...2/the-candle-man-can

@edsnova posted:

So glad you got underway on that carb linkage. I saw that extender bit and was about to ask about it.

It seems to be a type4/DTM shroud issue. Lenny's linkage(DTM/type4) had the extensions both on the carb base and on the throttle levers. The spacers move the bar backward, to avoid interference with the shroud.

I don't like the way it looks but it seems to work.

CB Performance supplies one spacer to fix the offset on type1 linkages as well.

I know it would be near impossible to install and adjust, but is it possible to install the linkage reversed? That's how mine is on my Spyder, but I'm lucky enough to have a 911 shroud that actually isn't in the way.

I believe the synclink doesn't work with a stock shroud with the heater air outlets. If so, this is disappointing.

.

@Michael McKelvey posted:

I believe the synclink doesn't work with a stock shroud with the heater air outlets. If so, this is disappointing.

I've heard this, but I think you might make it work. I've got the stock shroud with heater tubes, and it looks like this on the passenger side (a little tighter than driver's side):

The tubes are flexible and can be 'munched' a little without hurting heat flow much. I guess it also depends on which oil filler tube you have. The old stock VW filler (shown here) does get in the way some, but you could use something more compact, I guess.

I also have a small tube from the breather box connected to the oil filler, which doesn't help either. But it's important to remember that the cable to the synchlink doesn't need to feed straight in and can be deflected a little, too.

.

I spent a couple of hours at a local shop that does muffler work this morning. They were good enough to take on my custom job, not all shops want this type of work. The tech had a real challenge but in the end I am happy with the results. He was able to use an A-1 (In & out the same side) high flow muffler that I had. It is actually perfect for the space I have left with the BAS header being so close to the rear valence. I needed the muffler to be installed so it can be easily removed to access the valve cover. The tech was able to accomplish this and have the tailpipe exit through the original cutout in the body. I  plan to remove the muffler and grind the welds some and clean off the rattle can silver paint to expose the natural stainless finish. Not a bad job for what we had to work with. The muffler sounds great, it is actually quiet until the carbs open up then it has a deep rich roar. I am just glad to be able to drive the car and to start getting the carbs jetted. I drove it 15 miles up to my business which is all secondary highway . The car is very close to being tuned in. I need to play with the timing to see what amount of advance the engine likes best. Upon arrival the engine was only warm to the touch on the top side and the oil temp only warmed up to 66 degrees Celcius (about 151 F) which is ok in my book. It is a cloudy 55 here today. So the DTM is doing its job (Maybe too good). Having the engine sealed well keeping only fresh cool air going into the fan and carbs makes all the difference. More to come as I drive it.

Very nice!

I concur.

Very nice, Jimmy. Now you need a louvered grill to cover up that gap where the original VW exhaust exited.

Coming together nicely. The muffler install looks great.

Sweet, Jimmy!  How does it match up with the Subie spec transaxle?

Thanks for asking Michael, The trans gearing appears to be a very good match. The engine actually feels very similar to the Suby engine in my Speedster but I think it is going to have more power once I explore 1/2 throttle to full open driving, I haven't pushed the engine yet. The funny thing is that I am running the exact same A-1 muffler on both cars as well. I had little doubt the trans would be a good match. I really like the gear ratio choices they build this trans with. All the gears are a tad taller and 4th gear gives me 70 MPH at 3200 rpm.  So yes to me it feels like a good match.

You should be able to, Jimmy. The type4 tubes pull straight out through the heads. As long as you have good access to the rockers/pushrods, you're good. I hope.

@Jimmy V. posted:

Some people are never happy LOL ...

Like they say in the Ducati Monster forum: "there's no such thing as being 'finished' with your mods."

i could swear I saw a model of 911 that had a panel with vertical slots (like the oil cooler panel on the front of a Spyder) between the over riders below the license plate panel, but I can't find a picture of it. 911R maybe?  

The longer pushrod tubes are now installed. They are about a 1/2" longer than stock and have a provision for an extra O ring on the side that goes into the engine block. That cured the little oil leakage I had on a couple of the factory type 4 tubes. I also had a leak on the passenger side outer axle seal that I had recently redone during the new Rancho transaxle install. I found that the inside spring on the rubber seal had come out of place. I had an extra seal kit and the leak is fixed. I have now driven the engine approx. 125 miles. It is really powerful even though I still am taking it very easy during the initial break in miles. The couple of times I have opened the throttle past 1/2 way resulted in an incredible amount of forward thrust and an extremely aggressive exhaust note. It moves through the gears scarily fast and a couple of times I have found myself north of 80 before I realize it. I am very happy with how cool the engine runs. A DTM fan that is setup correctly is an efficient system. I am looking forward to getting the Sync Link throttle cable system in and installed. The carbs are not perfectly in sync and getting them synced up should unleash more of the power this beast has. I have really enjoyed driving this. I took a couple of pics tonight around 6:30 pm which was the magic hour for perfect lighting to take pics.

Gorgeous car, Jimmy! 👍👍

There is another Puma for sale on Samba that looks to be a great deal. If I had space I would buy it, these little cars are a blast to drive. A Suby WRX engine would be fun in this Red Puma. Anyone want a good Puma?

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/cl...etail.php?id=2421232

@Jimmy V. posted:

Anyone want a good Puma?

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/cl...etail.php?id=2421232

This car seems like quite a deal. If only I had extra garage space...

Gosh, yeah. That seems like a nice one.

@Jimmy V. I like your bumpers better than those on the red Puma.

@Michael McKelvey posted:

@Jimmy V. I like your bumpers better than those on the red Puma.

^ That. 100x that.

The later Pumas, like impact bumper 911s and post '73 Camaros and 'vettes, lost something very beautiful (slim chrome bumpers).

"The later Pumas, like impact bumper 911s and post '73 Camaros and 'vettes, lost something very beautiful (slim chrome bumpers)."

Actually I think the "impact bumpers" are fakes added to make the car look more current.  Unless they were connected to the frame, they won't help.  I absolutely prefer the originals like on Jimmy's car.

I think I'd take a Puma either way. The later bumpers aren't nearly as bad as most everything from '74 on that were modified to accept the 5 mph bumpers.

Hey Jimmy, I found your next project!

http://vonnen.com/technology/#1

I mean...you add this and a 200 NOS to a little Type 4 and you're starting to get some real power...

I received the sync link throttle linkage kit arrived Monday. The parts are all professional looking and in marked bags with detailed install instructions. I have the kit about half installed, which is the arms that bolt to the carb bases and the aluminum pulleys that screw on to the throttle shafts. I turned the carb bases around to make more room and for a cleaner look. I will have the install completed tonight I hope. The end result will be smooth perfectly synchronized throttle operation. I really like the looks of this setup and will let you all know how it does.

Looking good, Jimmy. Did you order a V2 DTM?

Yes I have one, I am going to wait until after the first of the year and pull the engine and install the V2.                                                                                     

There is a lot to report other than the election!

I finished the install of the synclink throttle cable system and I love it. The cross bar linkage I had didn't keep the carbs in sync. The sync link is a well made and designed system. The throttle pedal feels smooth and light and the car really drives nicer now. 

I took the Puma on a ride down some twisting country roads today and it was a blast to drive, ripping down the straights and around the curves. This is a fun car!

  Oh, and by the way I just bought the red 87 Puma GTI that is listed on Samba. The owner and I came to an agreeable price and the deal is done. I am now working on logistics to pick the car up. I guess I will now have his and her Puma's, it helps that my wife loves Puma's.

Now you just need a white Puma and you can be your own 4th of July parade!

Correct me if I am wrong but does the Red Puma have a generator instead of an alternator?

It definitely looks different than my alternator.

You're a wild and crazy guy, Jimmy V.

Well the crazy part for sure!

Soob in the new one then?

My plan is to put a Suby in one of them and have heat and air to make a semi daily driver. We shall see.

Bad news and a bad day yesterday. I took the Puma for a short drive and was planning on pulling the engine when I returned to get it ready to switch to the V2 DTM low profile fan shroud. I was accelerating away from a stop light and the new sync link throttle linkage stuck open. I have had this experience before with other cars and it is a little disconcerting but I know what to do. Soon as I felt the throttle stick open (the car was pulling hard in 2nd gear and heading to rear end the car in front of me) I  hit the brake and clutch as I was reaching for the ignition key. It seemed like time went into slow motion except for the sound of my monster type 4 free revving up higher than I thought possible. It felt like it took an hour for my hand to leave the steering wheel and turn off the key. I heard a bang from the engine at almost the same moment I got the key turned to the off position. I coasted to a gas station and found the reason of the stuck cable and freed it up. I tried starting the car and it turned over but wouldn't start and a banging sound can be heard one time each revolution of the engine. A friendly Christian guy traveling from Cincinnati back to St. Louis gave me a tow home with a tow strap, he even helped me push the car up my driveway and onto the lift, what a nice thing to do. I pulled the engine today and stripped it to a long block. The engine can be turned by hand but once each revolution you can feel something hanging up a bit. Non of the valves are going up and down. I went to remove the pressure plate and found that the fly wheel is flopping around and all of the bolts that hold the flywheel to the crank are loose. So I am not sure what all is messed up but it doesn't appear to be good at all. The engine is being dropped off at the builder tonight at 7:30. I will post what he finds when he tears into the engine later this week. I wish I would have invested in a rev limiting rotor button.

Nuts.

sumbitch!

Sorry to hear this, Jimmy.

Ugh! Hope it is recoverable when you get it opened up.

Shoot. That's Awful. My E procedure is to just hit the brakes and reach for the key. Push in the clutch and there's nothing stopping it from bouncing the tach off the pin.

(But I understand being behind another car)

i hope its its not too messed up.

Oh man, what a bummer. I hope it can be rebuilt without too much trouble. Might I offer a suggestion? Add an ignition system with a rev limiter, such as Pertronix III or MSD. It'll save your engine from grenading if you ever get into a similar situation.  Loose flywheel bolts are an odd symptom though, hmm...   

So sorry to hear this, Jimmy.  I hope that the work to get the engine back in shape isn't too much of a problem for you.  Good luck with it!

Really sorry to hear this. Glad you're alright.

Jimmy. Sorry to hear this.  Similar situation with throttle stcik in a van with trailer on interstate.   Just killed ignition.  Used engine brake to help. 

Also when racing SV 650's the crank would actually break if revved too much.   Break would happen between case bearing and generator magnet...  hope the motor isn't too hurt.

Ouch. You'll get it sorted though, I have faith.

.

Hoping for the best, Jimmy.

For better or worse, this is what these cars are all about. They offer the possibility of something unobtainable in mass production but with the uncertainty of one-off hand fabrication.

We've all been there to some degree - the weekend upgrade that turns into weeks of down time because of some detail we could never anticipate.

Keep the faith. The rebuild almost always comes together better than the first attempt. All it takes is patience.

And, well, occasionally some money is involved, too.

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The engine is in the hands of the builder. He is going to tear into it and tell me what is what. I am really curious to hear what is broken.

I am thinking of going with a different cam since the case is going to be split. The 86a cam is a little mild for the heads I have (435/290). I am thinking of going with a split lift and duration Web cam 86B/86C Intake .500" lift 300 duration/ exhaust .507 lift 310 duration. Yes I am crazy.

"Yes I am crazy."

You're in good company, Jimmy.

Yeah, you're crazy, but crazy in a good way.

Keep the faith, Jimmy!

@Jimmy V.

DANG! Glad you are OK with no other calamity that could have very easily happened in that scenario! WHEW.

Your great attitude in the face of diversity is a blessing and a gift. I bet you could overcome anything!

Good on ya, Jimmy!  If any of us have a problem that can be fixed with money, it's not that big of a problem.

Glad there was no accident. bummer on the motor Jimmy. Interested to here what the mechanic says.

@sethsaccocio posted:

Glad there was no accident. bummer on the motor Jimmy. Interested to here what the mechanic says.

I was cringing as I read the story, thinking that the nearly irreplaceable Puma front end would be the punchline

... but then, just the engine! You did everything right, shutting it down, etc. We'll see how bad the damage is, but mechanical stuff won't keep you down long.

Bodywork would have been no bueno.

Thank you all for the encouraging words. I haven't driven my Speedster in a few weeks because of being emerged in the Type 4 Puma project. I drove it to work this morning and was delighted by how nice the Suby Speedster drives and was wondering how I got pulled back into the torturous world of air cooled hell! I can't explain it, I thought at one time I was through with this but I got pulled back in. There is some inherent attraction of the air cooled engine. I have memories of a special type 4 engine I bought from a builder in New Jersey back in the late 90's and this engine was amazing and bullet proof. I ran this thing hard and the worst that ever happened from over revving trying to gain another 10th of a second auto crossing the car was having a rocker arm come loose from the push rod.

I am tempted to go straight to a Suby conversion and sell the Monster type 4 off once it is fixed, and there will be money involved in the fix. I should know how bad as early as tomorrow. My guy is covered up but I know he will be tempted to tear the engine down to find out what is broken. He said he was surprised something broke. The engine was built to take a lot of rpm's.

My reflexes and instincts didn't consider that the car is heavily insured by Hagerty, I just reacted to save life and limb. LOL..and car..

I'd like to hear how the SyncLink failed here.

@edsnova posted:

I'd like to hear how the SyncLink failed here.

Me too.

"Noise once per rev, valve inop"

My money is on broken push rod/rocker thingie.  Hopefully there isn't any ancillary damage.

The synclink cable just hung up from the friction of the cable in the sleeve. The instructions said that most weber carbs shaft springs are strong enough but some may need an extra return spring on the bell crank arm. I drove for 2 days without issue. Then I had an issue.

The damage is inside the case. All the rocker arms are intact and riding on the pushrods and valves. It is going to interesting to find out what broke. As I said earlier, if he has to split the case I am going with a little more cam. The webcam 86b/86C split lift and duration. I think it will allow the ported heads to produce all the HP they can.

You'll get it all good and back to screaming around in no time.

I would recommend some kind of limiter on it this time, whether it's a rotor, an MSD box or whatever.

This is NOT an "I told you so" because I didn't and I've never even thought about the possibility of a stuck throttle blowing a motor up.

But it's a lesson we all are learning right now, at Jimmy's expense. We get the lesson for free, so take heed, people.

This makes me glad my Mallory electronic ignition has a rev limiter.  I have hit it once.

I have a 6500 rpm rev limit dist. rotor sitting on my work bench. I bought a new flame thrower 009 distributor and never got around to switching it to the rev limit rotor. Lesson learned the hard way. I have never owned an expensive engine that didn't have some type of rev limiter. This was the first and last time..It will never happen again! I have a feeling it will be at least a $1000.00 mistake. I am hoping for less though.

Gonna set the Spider's Black Box at hard limit 6200 rpm, probably.

The loose flywheel is odd, but I’m guessing a broken cam gear.  I had this happen in one of my drag cars years ago. For the record it was a Magnum straight cut gear and let go at about 7500 rpm. Never really determined why, but replaced cam, lifters and gear and ran that motor for another season.

Ed, you have a Raby type1, 6500 is fine. That's what mine is set at. Timing goes to 0 degrees at 6400, and a hard cut at 6500.

The loose flywheel is odd, there are 5 bolts on a type4, correct? Any Loctite used on the bolts, Jimmy?

My engine builder is called this morning to let me know that the camshaft is broken and the cam gear is a little beat up but everything else is not harmed. He is going to split the case and replace the cam and lifters and check everything out. He ordered a new set of factory flywheel to crank bolts to replace the ones that came loose. I am going with the hotter cam to better match the 48/38 stage 2 ported heads. I am going with the Webcam 86b/86c dual duration cam which has the following specs.

Web Cam Type 4 Camshaft, 86B/86C Grind, 00-662 is designed for Type 4 engines, and it's specs are (In/Ex) .500/.507" Valve Lift with stock 1.3:1 Rockers, 300/310 degrees of advertised duration, and 260/272 degrees of duration at .050". This is an outstanding Type 4 camshaft, longer exhaust duration to aid with the pitiful Type 4 exhaust port! This has a fantastic midrange and top end, and is one of Web Cams best Type 4 grinds for big engines, with a powerband from 3500 to 7000 RPMs, the more headwork and carburetion the better the top end will be.

I think this cam will be perfect and I can't wait to see how it runs. The builder is going to sort out the suspected head to cylinder leakage. The engine was a brute  with the smaller cam and heads leaking, I really can't imagine what it will run like now.     

I have decided to hold off on buying the Red Puma. Too many things going on now to add that into the mix.     

Very good info, Jimmy. It sounds like a decent plan. I wonder if your engine guy will find an occlusion in the cam, which would explain the breakage.

Does the type 4 use a copper head gasket? Or does the head just interface directly with the cylinders? I always put some valve-grinding compound on the cylinders and hand-lap into the heads. No leaks yet.

He told me that it shouldn't have broke from the high RPMA and he is going to talk with Webcam to see what they say but he don't get your hopes up. Once the cam is out and we can look at the broken ends we will see if it shows any signs of defective material. I don't like the way this happened but I do like the chance to get this hotter cam into the engine. I have confidence it will be a good match to the heads and make the engine develop more power. 

Bill is going to check the heads to make sure the surface the cylinders seat on have been cut to the same depth, if they are not the same he plans to fly cut them until they are square and parallel and the same depth. He will use a copper ring gasket the thickness of the amount removed from the heads to keep the compression ration the same.

,,

.

You know, Jimmy, it's really OK - you're among friends here.

There's no reason at all to be inventing this story about a run away throttle and a broken camshaft.

We all know what happened and can relate.

You're building the biggest, baddest mill ever and then, at the end, are having doubts about whether you're going too far. The hot cam sounds like the icing on the cake, but is it too much? Will you forever be stuck with a lumpy idle and a cold-nosed shrew that's impossible to start? You played it safe with the milder cam, figuring that was the adult thing to do.

But then the day of reckoning. The first time you backed it out of the barn and put your boot into it, you knew.

Coulda, woulda, shoulda.

It needed the hotter cam like chips need salsa.

I will grant you that this story you've made up does check most of the boxes. It neatly explains how nothing else in the innards got tweaked or busted and that the only thing needed for wholesome perfection now is - well, I'll be - a new cam!

What tipped me off was laying all the blame on the SyncLink - a work of godly perfection that might just as well have been handed to us by Moses on the mount. I think a more plausible fall guy would have been practically anything else in the linkage - you must have some crudely finished EMPI bits in there somewhere.

At any rate, the worst is behind you now. No one's seriously questioning your story, and we're all on your side.

Isn't it funny how we never lie awake at two in the morning sweating over the throttle response on the Camry? Could it be just a little crisper? Should I look into cleaning the throttle bodies?

Never happens.

But, ah, Jimmy, these funny little cars weigh on our minds, don't they?

.

Broken cam, huh?  Interesting. I guess he doesn't know where until he gets it apart?

When I was visualizing my broken push rod theory I considereded that the cam/gear flange had twisted off due to resistance in the valve train not being able to cope with the R's.

Fingers crossed they're going to rule it a defect in workmanship and, at least, give you a free cam.  

@Sacto Mitch posted:

.Isn't it funny how we never lie awake at two in the morning sweating over the throttle response on the Camry? Could it be just a little crisper? Should I look into cleaning the throttle bodies?

Never happens.

But, ah, Jimmy, these funny little cars weigh on our minds, don't they?

Everybody looks at things a little differently, and especially cars. Because nobody (or at least nobody I run with) has room or money for the 50 different cool vehicles which would each be perfect for individualized applications.

A diesel dually quad-cab 1 ton truck for hauling the trailer. A Q-Wagon for hauling the kids to soccer practice. A Maserati Quattroporte for crossing time-zones in silky speed. A Maybach Merc to show those clowns in the boardroom who's boss. A Dodge Demon Hellcat Redeye widebody Rat-Fink cartoon edition thing to show everybody down at C&C who's really the boss. A Ferrari 250 SWB to drive down the PCH. A Harley Davidson Heritage Softail with beach-bars and 14 headlamps to crisscross Nevada and Utah in style. A Sopwith Camel for severe-clear evenings, when looking at the sunset from the ground just won't do. A front-engined Indy racer for vintage track racing.

Et cetera. I'd love 'em all.

Most folks must make do with one vehicle or two, and they try to make that vehicle everything they might hope all of the others would be. This is why we have pickup trucks with Hellcat motors and leather seats in them, and FWD ricers with flares and scoops all over them. It explains an entire segment of the vehicle market, which has no reason to exist (the FWD XUV)

... but no vehicle can be everything to everybody. Jim Ignacio has cleverly written about the folly of trying.

I think that by making the choice to just buy and drive a fragile, clunky, leaky, unreliable plastic Easter egg, all of us here have made a choice (wittingly or not) for specialization, at least to one degree or another. These cars are not any good at all for a lot of things, but they are perfect for their intended task. The guys who don't last want their cars to have a wider bandwidth.

So what does that have to do with Jimmy's 2786 or Mitch's quote above? The highlighted part got me thinking about people and cars, and why stuff matters to one guy and not another.

I tend to look at "normal" vehicles as tools. My white box hardware store on wheels doesn't say anything about me-- it just hauls tools and stock and ladders from one place to the next. I don't need cool wheels or sticky rubber or a V12 engine in it, because all that would do is make a big white box that much more expensive. I don't want to go faster or look cooler or corner deeper-- I want to haul stuff around as cheaply as possible. The truck has to work for me to make any money-- so it can't be a beater, which is why I buy new. I want A/C, cruise, power locks, and no breakdowns. Anything more is just fluff (although the driver's side slider is pretty nice to work out of, and something I'd pay for again). I don't think I've washed mine since I bought it in 2014-- the rain does an adequate job.

My wife drives a minivan. She wants seats that fold into the floor, heated leather seats, a heated steering wheel, DVD players in the back for the grandkids, and no breakdowns. I want A/C, cruise, power locks, and to never have to work on it. It is not an XUV, because an XUV is just a less functional, more expensive minivan that still looks stupid. I do not have the blackout trim package, because a minivan with blackout trim is still a minivan. The Pacifica crosses time-zones hauling all manner of junk with zero drama, adequate speed, and decent accoutrements. We keep it clean, because nobody likes to sit in Cheetos crumbs in clean clothes (by way of comparison, my trucks headliner has coffee stains, because I wear work-clothes when I work, and I don't care). When the last one got caught in a hail-storm, we named it Hail Mary, pocketed the $10K State Farm gave me and drove it another 50K mi before selling to my daughter.

Things are meant to be what they are-- no vehicle can be everything. "Cool" is probably the hardest thing to pull off, and offers the least return on investment. However-- I've always said that if a thing is cool to me (and nobody else), then it'll always be cool to me-- because my opinion of it isn't dependent on somebody else's whims.

So no, I don't obsess about the throttle response in either of the more utilitarian vehicle/tools. If they work for the intended purpose, then they are fine.

However... I understand that with my plastic-fantastic, everything is something to obsess about. I've dreamed (like, while I slept) about flame fronts moving across the top of pistons, and of oil squirters spraying the underside of piston domes. Obsession doesn't quite cover it. It's madness.

These are hobby-cars, meant to be fussed over and pampered. We have a 4-page long thread every 2 months regarding motor-oil for crying out loud-- and I care about it! I've redone my transaxle more times than I can count, only to end up pretty much where a stock VW has the gear spacing (albeit with a 3.44:1 R/P). We don't just obsess about throttle response-- we build $10K, near 3L 4-cylinder engines we know are going to need torn down for this or that. A man tells us his tale, and we all offer encouragement, because we know we'd do the same thing.

This is not how most people think. They do not understand building a new house so that one can have a lift in the garage so that the car that always needs work has a place to have it done. They are content to tint the windows in their Ford Escapes, and to get the Titanium edition of same.

Jimmy is not that guy, and neither are any of the rest of us. That's why I stop in here several times a day, for 20 years now. It's pretty nice to not have to explain myself.

Sacto Mitch, Stan Galat and the rest of you with the same sickness as me, thank you for your support and comic relief, for without both this thing we do would not be nearly as fun. I love what both of you posted and couldn't stop laughing as I read your post Sacto Mitch.  I am not sure what you call that type of humor (satire) but it sure made me smile. Thank you both for helping me keep some semblance of sanity as I deal with the event I am now calling the "unplanned high RPM testing of my new engine".

Jimmy....   Let me know when you are to have your planned "High RPM" test.....

My blood pressure could use a boost......  Just ask Stan....  

More news from the engine builder. He has the engine torn down and the good news is nothing is damaged at all except the cam has broken right behind the flange that bolts to the cam gear. We both say it is a bad casting and would have broken sooner that later. The loose flywheel bolts are another thing. I have to look through my receipts but I supplied the new bolts and flywheel to the builder because the engine didn't come with them. I bought the bolts from the type 4 store or LN engineering either way the bolts are soft and not good. Bill said the had stretched. He has ordered German stock bolts. He also found that all 4 heads were leaking at the bottoms. He is going to investigate why the had leaked but told me regardless of the reason he wants to use copper rings that are machined to fit into a channel cut into the heads. He does this for turbo 911 engines that develop huge cylinder pressures. He has guaranteed they won't leak when he is finished. Just think, the engine ran strong with leaking heads, I am excited to think how strong it will be now with the leaks fixed and the stronger cam. Bill has all the parts ordered and will be working on the engine later next week.

This engine was going to have issues one way or another. The flywheel was on the edge and the leaking heads had to be addressed and the cam was probably defective. All part of the fun, really, no kidding!

Interesting to me because I'm in the middle of a Type 4 build for my 914. I've looked at LN and a few other not-so-know vendors with skepticism -probably fine. my Street cam from CB and rods from Aircooled (if they ever get here). German crank was turned and balanced.  Not a religious man but when it comes to the case I'm bible-thumpin', hail Jesus screamin', show-me-the-way-to glory kinda guy.

Glad it wasn't all that bad. From the discoloration it looks looks like a bad casting.

That is what I think Alan and it probably was already fractured and barely holding together. I own a company called Federal Knife Inc. and we deal in hardened and tempered tool steel blades and all types of cast metal products. This is what an already partially fractured part looks like. I was waiting to see if anyone would say just what you just posted Alan.

Glad it didn't take more stuff out with it, Jimmy, and also glad to hear it will be back together soon!  Are you still going with the split 86B/86C cam? Please refresh my memory- what was in it?  Did you get a sense of the powerband before it broke?

That.......    Is amazing.  

I've seen a couple cams shear off the rivets between the gear and the shaft flange, but never seen one shear off after the flange.  One for the books, Jim!

What were you running for valve springs?

I don't know...looks like a little JB Weld would do ya. Let it set up for a day, back together and done.

"I can't explain it, I thought at one time I was through with this but I got pulled back in." - @Jimmy V.

Very Funny, but true. To answer Alan's cam question the engine had a webcam 86a cam which has .435 lift 290 duration. This was the cam of choice when I thought I was going to use the stock 1.8L heads with 42/36 valves and no port work. After the short block was together and the 86a cam already in I decided to go with new 48/38 stage 2 ported heads with matching intakes. I had second thoughts now that the cam was a little mild for the heads and I wouldn't get the full advantage of the big flow potential of the heads but I wasn't going to have the case split to change cams. The builder also convinced me that the 86a cam would be fine. Now that we have the opportunity I am going with the webcam 86b/86c dual duration cam. intake .500 lift 300 duration exhaust .507 lift 310 duration with a 106 lobe separation which aids in some additional lower rpm power as opposed to the 108 lobe separation. From what I have read this is the cam I want.

To answer someone else's question about springs, they are HD dual coil springs.