Monster 2786 Type 4 build

I've been off this thread a few days. As I read through the latest comments and photos, I can't help but marvel at how little damage resulted from  that camshaft breaking at high RPM. This is a textbook example of dodging a bullet. You're one lucky dog, @Jimmy V.

Yes it could have been catastrophic but the builder told me nothing should have happened or broken by the short over rev situation. His opinion is the cam was bad to start and probably had a hair line crack in it. All in all it was fortunate but the cost of a new cam and cam gear and new lifters and the labor it is going to cost an easy Grand or more.  Part of the fun I guess. The up side is this engine will be better than ever and the heads are going to have special channeled copper gaskets to seal the high pressure that is developed in the combustion chambers. The cam will be a little more aggressive and the engine will be amazing. I have no doubt.

@Jimmy V. posted:

Yes it could have been catastrophic but the builder told me nothing should have happened or broken by the short over rev situation. His opinion is the cam was bad to start and probably had a hair line crack in it. All in all it was fortunate but the cost of a new cam and cam gear and new lifters and the labor it is going to cost an easy Grand or more.  Part of the fun I guess. The up side is this engine will be better than ever and the heads are going to have special channeled copper gaskets to seal the high pressure that is developed in the combustion chambers. The cam will be a little more aggressive and the engine will be amazing. I have no doubt.

I'm sure you've considered it but I'd go after the manufacturer for all or some of the labor costs associated with the poorly manufactured cam. I had to have a new axle installed on my trailer because the left rear wheel wore out completely after only 12K miles of towing. I got a new axle shipped to me and the axle manufacturer is covering 1.5 hours of labor to install it.

@Jimmy V. posted:

Yes it could have been catastrophic but the builder told me nothing should have happened or broken by the short over rev situation. His opinion is the cam was bad to start and probably had a hair line crack in it. All in all it was fortunate but the cost of a new cam and cam gear and new lifters and the labor it is going to cost an easy Grand or more.  Part of the fun I guess. The up side is this engine will be better than ever and the heads are going to have special channeled copper gaskets to seal the high pressure that is developed in the combustion chambers. The cam will be a little more aggressive and the engine will be amazing. I have no doubt.

What are the odds that Web will cough up some of the parts to make that happen, given that you, more than likely, got a defective cam?

Good thing they aren't interference heads or you would have had a box full of scrap metal to recycle. (He types, trying to remember when he last replaced his 958 timing belt.)

Sorry about the ordeal Jimmy. Glad you are moving forward. My engine is in a different league than yours, but on my T1 2276, I'm using a Webcam 86B with a lobe separation angle of 105 degrees. Heads are ported 42/37.5 but with only 1.25 ratio rockers - I'm leaving power on the table (what was I thinking).

I'm happy with the WebCam specs and I did look at the 86A/86B because I was going to go with a T4 build at one point.

Sounds like you are moving forward!

The rule of one thing leads to another. Changing to a different cam that has a higher lift when replacing the cam that broke has led to a clearance issue with the connecting rod ends and the cam lobe due to the 82mm stroker crank. As the picture shows there is less than the min. of .062" of clearance needed. The builder is going to remove material from the end of each connecting rod and rebalance before reassembling the long block. Mo money mo money that is all it will take.

Have you considered a 78mm crank? And sell the 82mm?

That 78mm crank would give you 0.078" clearance with zero removed from the rods.

That cam really likes to REV, so the shorter stroke may help.

Your 2786 would become a 2650, still a BIG motor.  I know you'd have to rebalance the crank/pulley/flywheel and probably re-do the deck height, chamber size and CR.

Never mind...

Thanks for the suggestion but this isn't the best way to go if you really think about it. 1st the cost of a new crank less what I could sell my used crank would be approx. $300-400.00 once I even find a buyer for a used type IV 82mm crank. The cylinders would to be cut shorter or the connecting rods changed for longer ones or taller pistons bought. Making the stroke shorter the pistons would not travel as far out in the cylinder by 2mm dropping the compression to 8.1 CR. I would lose displacement and thus power and spend more doing it compared to having a small amount of material removed from the connecting rod edge and rebalancing them.

I was starting to write this post and was typing the phrase " Monster Type 4 " and hit the shift key on my keyboard while typing the "4" and this is what I typed " Monster Type $" . How funny and right on the mark is that? This engine has been a fun journey that is still not complete. The engine had more power than any air cooled engine I ever had or drove and all 4 heads were leaking a small amount. When the engine builder gets finished with it having replaced the broken cam with a "hotter" one and installing .040" thick copper gasket rings in the cylinder heads (same amount being removed from the cylinder bottom seating ledges to keep the deck height the same and compression at 9.5:1) to fix the compression leak, the engine is going to be scary powerful. That said I am at torn by how hard the decision was and sad to say it looks like I won't be installing the engine back into the Puma. Carey is picking the Puma up on Dec. 8th to do a Suby conversion on it having it finished by spring 2021. I am shooting for heat and A/C as well in this conversion.  This has been my plan all along and I ran out of time before being able to play with the Monster Type $ engine. So I am going to either offer it for sale or hang on to it awhile to use in a future project. If I held off on sending the Puma to Carey now I would have to wait until next winter to have the conversion done if he would even have the time then. I am going with Carey's schedule and am grateful he has taken on the job. My plan is to have the body restored next winter giving me the summer to enjoy the Suby/Puma conversion.

I have to say air cooled is fun but once again I have proven to myself that the air cooled VW engine platforms have a hard time competing with the smooth power and dependability of the modern Suby engine. The cost to get there with an air cooled is more than steep and still leaves me wanting.  I have to remind myself the two engines aren't apples to apples in comparison. Both have their own attractions but the air cooled engines have far more detractions. They are 50-60 year old engine platforms, and design that cost a fortune to build up and eventually leak oil, and are at least 5 times more fragile than a modern Suby setup. I would even venture to say that a $20k plus air cooled Type 4 engine built by someone like Raby still cannot be fairly compared to the modern Suby engine.  I think Raby is even now almost exclusively building Suby engines, what does that tell you? I am not a purist that must have the correct style engine in a car. I am a hot rodder that loves to tinker and build something not seen everyday and I like to go fast doing it and I think many of us may be this way. I have had a blast with the two engines I have had in the Puma this summer and fall, it is now time for the third and final iteration of the 77 Puma GTE Hot rod.

The comments made above are of course from my opinion taken from my own experience and are not intended to hurt, judge or detract from what anyone else does or decides to do with their cars or what engines they like to run. Thanks for being on the ride with me. Stay tuned for more stupid decisions and unknown outcomes. You just never know with me. You may think me little crazy, but life is too short to be any other way, I think... Happy Thanksgiving I love you guys and appreciate the fellowship we have.

And happy thanksgiving to you, too.  It's a blast to live vicariously through you!

I'm sad to hear we won't be getting road tests of the broken in 2.8, but I understand your decision. And I'll be looking forward to hearing of you "modern" Puma in the spring.

I have a feeling you will be hearing about road tests with the 2.8 because there is a good chance I will hang on to the engine until something comes along that I can mount it in.

I am heading to the engine builder to pick up the Monster type 4 today. I also have made a hard decision to not have Carey and the gang convert the Puma to Suby power this winter. I am going to install the type 4 back in the Puma to first break the cam in and then have some fun finding out how much power the engine will make now that it is not leaking compression on all 4 cylinders (hopefully) and with the hotter cam that will let the heads breath as designed. I can have the suby converted next summer if I still want too. I couldn't stand not seeing the type 4 project through to the end. I will keep you posted.

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Roger, Jimmy.

We copy you going ahead with the Type 4 into the Puma.

You've got a bunch of guys here about to turn blue.

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Or is it green? LOL!

Glad to hear the news, Jimmy. Waiting to see your analysis of the results.

@Jimmy V. posted:

I also have made a hard decision to not have Carey and the gang convert the Puma to Suby power this winter. I am going to install the type 4 back in the Puma to first break the cam in and then have some fun finding out how much power the engine will make now that it is not leaking compression on all 4 cylinders (hopefully) and with the hotter cam that will let the heads breath as designed.

I would have won the over/under

@Sacto Mitch posted:

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You've got a bunch of guys here about to turn blue.

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I'm turning green, can't wait to read how well that Puma scoots along with a nearly 2.8 liter Type 4, properly tuned and sorted.

Now for the work of installing the new V2 DTM fan shroud on and engine and getting it ready to slip back onto the ranch trans.

@Jimmy V. wrote- " I am going to install the type 4 back in the Puma to first break the cam in and then have some fun finding out how much power the engine will make now that it is not leaking compression on all 4 cylinders (hopefully) and with the hotter cam that will let the heads breath as designed.... I couldn't stand not seeing the type 4 project through to the end. I will keep you posted."

It's going to be a BEAST!

More progress last night on the Monster type 4 take 2. I like the less complicated look of the V2 DTM cooling shroud. Carbs go on tonight and I am painting the ugly valve covers as well. if all goes well she will be in and running this weekend.

This is just so impressive. The V2 shroud is such an improvement over the earlier one with the hose.

Looking good, Jimmy.

There are bolt on aluminum valve covers available from AA Pistons for the Type 4. $70.

AA Type 4 Bolt-on Aluminum Valve Cover Kit | AA Performance Products (aapistons.com)

I used truck bed liner paint on my valve covers. It dries to a very hard durable finish that the spring clips won't rub off. I worked for a short time tonight installing the carbs. I will be setting up the new sync link throttle system next. The sync link guy sent me an entire new setup with some revisions specific to my engine and carbs. I plan to hear the engine run by the weekend. I think this thing is going to be a power house.

Nice job on those covers Jimmy.

Probably add a little sound damping to the VCs as well.  

I like the truck bed paint. Looks very clean.

What are the metal tabs riveted to the DTM for?

The special aluminum pcs that surround the engine are screwed to the aluminum tabs. This gives the engine compartment a nice tight seal to keep the hot air under the engine and the nice cool incoming air on the top side. See the pic below, the tabs are under the surround pcs. where you see the screws. It is a very well made setup. The type 4 sells the surrounding pcs to fit regular type 1 compartments and a special set just for the Speedster replica's.

RIGHT! I don't have any of that engine intake/exhaust air compartment seal thing.....

Sorry, the light just didn't come on this morning!

I spent a few hours tonight fitting the surrounding engine compartment sealing tin pcs. to the DTM shroud. It was quite tedious because the mounting tabs on the shroud were all attached in the wrong location being too high. I had to drill out all of the attaching rivets and locate the tabs to the correct locations. All in a the fun of it. Slowly getting closer to installing the engine in the puma, maybe Saturday.

The monster type 4 is back home in the Puma and needs to have the wiring routed and hooked up, the header and muffler installed and the revised and hopefully better non sticking sync link throttle cable system completed. Next comes cam break in runs then the mounting and plumbing of the external Derale oil cooler/fan.  I have a bunch of work left to do before the Type 4 makes the Puma go. I was thinking this morning about were this all started, it started with seeing a fellow SOC member's listing for a 2056 RAT type 4 engine which I bought for $1500.00 (almost the original cost of the header it came with). This is a case of a $1500.00 good deal costing me another $9k before it is all said and done. Anyone ever have this happen? Oh well it will be all worth it when this engine lives up to it's full potential. You know that "Ahh yes" feeling of this thing is dialed in now. Soon I hope. My worry at this stage is the 100 possible little things that can go wrong on a custom job like this that can be quickly revealed upon first start. Cross your fingers friends.

@Jimmy V. posted:

This is a case of a $1500.00 good deal costing me another $9k before it is all said and done. Anyone ever have this happen?

Every time I do something to the car.

Every single time.

It seems to always be the case in my endeavours as well.  You start with an upgrade and you screw it up and have to replace this or that.  I looked at getting a Puma recently, then I started running the numbers in my head and the owner of course had a dream price that he was wanting and reality wasn't settling in but as the calculations kept going up and up I just passed on it, because I knew I was only scratching the surface.  Just saying.

@Jimmy V. posted:

... I was thinking this morning about were this all started, it started with seeing a fellow SOC member's listing for a 2056 RAT type 4 engine which I bought for $1500.00 (almost the original cost of the header it came with). This is a case of a $1500.00 good deal costing me another $9k before it is all said and done. Anyone ever have this happen?

@Stan Galat posted:

Every time I do something to the car.

Every single time.

I laughed out loud- so much truth in that, guys!

Hooray!! The engine fired right up and nothing broke or leaked. Once running I quickly locked it in at 2000 RPM for the first 20 minutes of it's new life to break the cam in. Not one single hiccup or issues of any kind. No oil or compression leaks. Pre-start leak down test has all 4 cylinders at less than 2% cold leak down which is good for an engine of this type that isn't using total seal rings. Now that the cam is broken in and everything else looks good I will work on mounting and plumbing the oil cooler. I think the A-1 muffler is actually too quiet for my taste but it makes it easy to hear any engine noises that could indicate trouble. The builder has the valve lash set at .005" which I will eventually reset to the near zero lash that the chrome moly push rods will allow. This will make the valve train noise nearly non existent. Now I can't wait to drive this bad boy. More work before that happens.

@Jimmy V. posted:

...The engine fired right up and nothing broke or leaked...

...Not one single hiccup or issues of any kind. No oil or compression leaks. Pre-start leak down test has all 4 cylinders at less than 2% cold leak down...

Sorry about that, Jimmy.

This usually means it will rain every day for the next three weeks.

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The rain is my fault. It rained when I bought my Speedster in 2014... and it rained when I sold it on Friday / bought its replacement the same day.

My bad...

"Hooray!! The engine fired right up and nothing broke or leaked."  - @Jimmy V.

WOO HOO! That's great news, Jimmy! Sounds great but like you said, it's much quieter than expected. You want to HEAR that beast ROAR!!

@TRP posted:

The rain is my fault. It rained when I bought my Speedster in 2014... and it rained when I sold it on Friday / bought its replacement the same day.

My bad...

And yet you forgot to include a picture of said replacement. Better yet, start a new thread, or add to you old one, and let us in on the secret.

@TRP posted:

The rain is my fault. It rained when I bought my Speedster in 2014... and it rained when I sold it on Friday / bought its replacement the same day.

My bad...

I started calling my Spyder "the rainmaker" the first two years I had it out here. It seems every time I drove it, clouds would appear from nowhere and at least sprinkle on me before I made it home. I've only been caught in one "seek covered shelter" downpour, though.

Congrats on the initial fire up, Jimmy. Looking forward to a road test.

Good for you Jimmy, It's working

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@dlearl476 posted:

...I started calling my Spyder "the rainmaker" the first two years I had it out here. It seems every time I drove it, clouds would appear from nowhere and at least sprinkle on me before I made it home...

The thing is, weather gods have a very low tolerance for hubris.

They don't ask much - only that we acknowledge their presence and standing. If they threaten with clouds or overcast, do the right thing and show them some respect. At the very least, throw an umbrella in the car.

Most of us with Speedsters recognize this and equip our cars with so-called ' tops' - not because they do any good keeping rain out, but as a nod to our place in the hierarchy.

I just don't understand the cavalier Spyder owner who blithely drives about - even far from home - without any semblance of weather countermeasures. The deities will suffer occasional oversight, but not habitual transgressions. If you drive a topless Spyder for years, thinking you can outwit the higher powers of the universe, you are the architect of your own demise:

.

Spyder weather countermeasures

OR:

@Sacto Mitch,

As you know (given your keen powers of observation), the human male is a peculiar specimen. He is born like Jacob, prone to wrestling with God himself.

He mythologizes the soldier of the lost cause, the lone man rising in opposition to unstoppable forces, the man shaking his fist at God. He imagines this heroic.

It is the instinct of the downtrodden. Fans of Cleveland sports have it in their bones.

It is woven into the psyche of entire nations: of Serbia and Poland and Ireland-- the idea that the mere act of standing erect in the face of crushing opposition is victory in and of itself. Actual (as opposed to psychological) victory is not really hoped for-- indeed, defeat is so woven into the fabric of folklore that should the lone warrior somehow find himself to be the last man standing in a field of smoke and rubble, there would be no plan regarding what to actually do. To fight and lose is the stuff of valor. Victory is unimagined and unplanned for.

Spyder guys are a lot like that.

@Jimmy V. posted:

This is a case of a $1500.00 good deal costing me another $9k before it is all said and done. Anyone ever have this happen?

Every now and again. You might as well spend it on something you love, seeing that you can't take it with you.

I decided the best place to mount the oil cooler is the bottom of the Frunk. The nose on the Puma is long and this is what makes up a fairly large trunk area. I cut 5 holes under the cooler which can't be seen unless the car is in the air or you are laying on the ground. The air will enter through the holes in the trunk bottom and back out through a 6" diameter hole in the back wall the the trunk directly behind the cooler. I plan to plumb and wire the cooler tonight. I also balanced the carbs last night and I was happy with a 900rpm idle and the ruppety rump of the new hot cam. .500" lift 300 deg. duration on the intake and 507" lift 310 duration exhaust with a 106 deg lobe separation. If all goes well I will be test driving the beast this weekend.

Jimmy. Are you sure the total open area of those 5 hol

Is enough opening ? ........Bruce

@aircooled posted:

Jimmy. Are you sure the total open area of those 5 hol

@aircooled posted:

Is enough opening ? ........Bruce

Bust out the Manometer Bruce. That was the first thing I thought of as well. Actually the first thing I thought was, “Won’t there be a vacuum in that area as opposed to air flow?”.

Thank you for the input but I think the hole size and number should be plenty to let in enough cool fresh air. The cooler has 1.5" of clearance from the bottom of the trunk floor and each hole is 3" diameter making a total of 35 squares inches of area to let in cool air. The trunk already had plenty of areas letting in fresh air so I almost thought about trying it without any added holes, so I am fairly confident that the holes will be plenty enough. Regardless, if the size of the holes aren't enough once the hot months arrive I have the ability to add more holes but I would bet what I have will be plenty, however I have been wrong before.

I took the Puma for the first drive today. I needed fuel so I drove it to the gas station and back about a 5 mile round trip. The oil temp needle barely moved and the oil cooler bypass loop was only warm to the touch and this is without an oil cooler hooked up. It is 24 degrees out so that has something to do with it. The car really has power now, I didn't really get on it but it still felt much stronger than the pre-repair engine had on tap. 

Thanks guys but I have done this same setup before with a 914 and it will work well. Just wait and see.

@Stan Galat posted:

@Sacto Mitch,

Blah, blah, blah.

Spyder guys are a lot like that.

Actually, I really liked what you said, @Stan Galat. I just didn't want to take up Jimmy's thread with the whole thing LOL!

@Jimmy V. posted:

The car really has power now, I didn't really get on it but it still felt much stronger than the pre-repair engine had on tap.

2.8 L and a big cam will do that. Holy-freaking-cow, what a mill.

I took the night off working on the Type 4 Puma and plan on hitting it hard tomorrow night to finish up the oil cooler install. Then I can drive the wheels off of this thing.

I was wondering why a heater core with blower fan can't be used as an oil cooler so the engine oil heat could be used to heat the interior of the car? Makes sense to me. I would love to hear the gangs knowledge on this one.

Jimmy....I didn't know those holes were 3" !  That's good ! I sorta knew you would have thought about that.   Your whole project is really interesting to me. I've never worked on a type 4 so I'm paying attention.

I've always thought that VW missed an opportunity to produce a great new motor when they came out with the type 4. I think it was a mediocre improvement on a Type 1 and 3 and could have been better. My comparison is the Suby EJ 25

However, you certainly have demonstrated that a Type 4 can be a monster motor !!

I Salute you.............Bruce

Robert M......You mentioned Manometer !   I had mine out and was using it at a local Dive Shop to check the calibration of their "Magnehelic Vacuum Gauge" used to test and check the cracking resistance of inhalation effort of a second stage on SCUBA regulators. Later this week I will switch it from Water over to Mercury to check a couple of their pressure gauges.  Kind of fun..................Bruce

@Jimmy V. posted:

I took the night off working on the Type 4 Puma and plan on hitting it hard tomorrow night to finish up the oil cooler install. Then I can drive the wheels off of this thing.

I was wondering why a heater core with blower fan can't be used as an oil cooler so the engine oil heat could be used to heat the interior of the car? Makes sense to me. I would love to hear the gangs knowledge on this one.

Seems like it would work great although it might not be the best plan in the summer.  

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@Jimmy V. posted:

...I was wondering why a heater core with blower fan can't be used as an oil cooler so the engine oil heat could be used to heat the interior of the car? ...

Two problems come to mind.

First, in cold weather (when you most want heat), the oil in these engines takes quite a while to come up to temperature (and thus, produce any usable cabin heat). The problem is only worse (in terms of cabin heat) if you use a Mocal sandwich to help the engine warm up quicker (no cabin heat at all until the sandwich thermostat opens).

The heater boxes usually used for heat in an air-cooled engine of course use heat from the exhaust system, which is available pretty much from start-up.

And two, in the summer, when you don't want cabin heat, you're pretty much stuck with it if you want to cool the oil.

The second problem might be solvable if you could find a way to dump the cabin heat before it reaches the cabin, but you'd have to keep air flowing around the cooler if it's going to cool the oil.

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A third problem is that heater cores usually won't take the pressure....  Just saying'

I recommend a gasoline heater(or diesel). That's what I did for meaningful heat. Hot air in a few minutes after startup.

It is a shame to waste that free heat from the oil cooler, though.

That makes sense. I may look into a gas heater sometime in the future. The frunk has a ton of space so that won't be an issue. I assume they have made the heaters safe since it will be burning gas and strapped to a 12 gallon gas tank. Seems counterintuitive to me.

Everybody thinks that but, yes, they are safe.  I have an Eberspacher BN2.  It puts out up to 18,000 BTU which is more than enough to make a 356/550 toasty.  It offered one heat output level and they typically go for upwards of $100 on eBay but you must know a bit about them to know what you're getting.  Parts are available, some from Pavel in Poland and others from Asia but the original fuel delivery system has become Unobtanium.  Fortunately, I have a modern solution to that which works excellently with new parts readily available (new fuel pump and associated controllers).  I have not seen BN2s that run on Diesel.

Danny has a more modern Webasto(?) gas heater with variable heat output and some nice bells and whistles.  It is physically slightly smaller than my BN2, and puts out about the same amount of heat.  Typically, they're used to heat tractor trailer sleeper cabs so heating a 356 is easy.  They run on gasoline or diesel.  I think the real (not Asian knock-off) versions go for around $1,200 complete.

I tucked mine down in the nose area next to the battery.  It pulls fresh air in from just ahead of the wheel well:

Webastos from Russia are less than $600 plus shipping.

Mike:  When is yours due for arrival?  I'm looking forward to hearing how well it works.

@Gordon Nichols, I haven't ordered a heater yet.  I am waiting for my wife's concern about my spending on other things to cool down.

Been there........   Felt that.

@Jimmy V. posted:

That makes sense. I may look into a gas heater sometime in the future. The frunk has a ton of space so that won't be an issue. I assume they have made the heaters safe since it will be burning gas and strapped to a 12 gallon gas tank. Seems counterintuitive to me.

They were originally mounted right next to the fuel tanks in VWs. They are very safe, IF they are properly maintained, as in cleaned and in good running order. All wiring and hoses must be in good shape of course. The mechanical safeties are adequate, and there is a fuse that pops if too much current is being drawn. The flame is inside a double-walled stainless steel firebox, and then there is the thick outer casing around that. If you ever take one apart, they're quite elegant. And safe.

Gordon, the heaters are almost 8000 Btu, not 18,000, the heater says 2000 kcal/h right on it. Do the conversion.

I think my modern Webasto Airtop2000 was around 700-750 with shipping from the Czech Republic. It has all electronic controls and works perfectly every time I turn it on. It won't turn on unless it's below 60F out though.

Standard VW heating via the ducts, both seats are heated, standard from Vintage CA.  Heavier shoes & socks (low $s) and hat.  Comfortable until weather just makes it unreasonable to drive.  As in VWs, lower output from ducts, but the heated seats are grand.  Leave the floor ducts closed and send heat to the windshield.

It's been a long time coming but I am grinning ear to ear tonight!. I finished up plumbing the oil cooler and wiring the fan and thermostat switch. I filled the oil cooler and lines It took over 3 quarts to fill the Derale oil cooler and the 30' of 1/2" ID oil line that it took to plumb the cooler. I fired the engine up and let it warm up while looking for possible leaks and also checking the oil level as the cooler started to get oil flow. I left off the Setrab oil thermostat for now. It will be installed tomorrow now that I know the cooler and lines are full and flowing oil. I took the Puma for a 30 minute ride and the oil temp never reached 180 to turn the fan on but it did a great job keeping the oil cool without the fan. The real reason for the big smile. I wanted to see what this thing could do. I did a mild clutch drop from stand still and then rolled into the throttle, man oh man this freaking thing has power. The tires where spinning as the car is moving forward up the road sideways, as I went to 2nd gear the car straightened out as I lifted to shift but tires started spinning the second the throttle was opened up again, on  into 3rd gear tires still spinning and car kicking sideways, no sign that the tires were going to grab before redline was hit so I let up and let out a OOOHH Hell YESSS!!!!!. Finally the pay off for all the hard work, money and waiting. This engine is a true Monster and one scary ride. The engine feels like it has more that double maybe triple what it had before the compression leak was fixed and the the cam change. I think this cam is the perfect choice for this set up. Man it is nice when it finally comes together. I can safely say this is the most powerful air cooled engine I have ever driven. What a blast this thing is going to be to drive. I wish I had someone to film the 100 yard burn out I just did LoL.. I may need stickier tires.

PS. This is the oil cooler I have, it is the one the guys at CB Performance recommended for my build and promised it would be enough. They also recommended the Weber carb update kit that really makes the 44 IDF's into something much more. The secondary venturi is removed for a spray bar and the choke is enlarged to a 38mm. They told me the kit was designed for big displacement engines just like my build.

Boy that sounds like quite the engine any guestimates on hp?

I am thinking north of 220HP maybe 240-260HP, it would not surprise me, I just don't know. Once I get this broken in (rings really haven't even seated yet) I plan to run the car on a chassis dyno and find out for real what HP this engine has.

@Jimmy V. posted:

The car really has power now, I didn't really get on it but it still felt much stronger than the pre-repair engine had on tap.

@Stan Galat posted:

2.8 L and a big cam will do that. Holy-freaking-cow, what a mill.

Yeah, displacement is everything.  Glad it's running so well, Jimmy.  An engine that size doesn't need a torque monster cam- it makes enough power down low to break most VW transaxles on it's own. What size tubing was the header built with?

The header has 1.75" tubing and it doesn't help much to go larger because the exhaust ports can't be made very large. That is one reason the split duration and lift cam that I used is a popular choice for big Type 4 builds.

	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.

You're going to see about 200 RWHP. Gonna need wheelie bars.

Looking forward to your updates! I have the first portion of your split grind cam (86b) in a Type 1 2276 running 44 Webers and only 1.25 rockers but with a narrow LSA of 105 degrees and it is perfect for the street in my Vintage Speedster. I can drive around town in third gear (not that I wanted to even though I could). What are you running for LSA? What is the curb weight of your Puma? That is way way too too much power

The LSA of my cam is 106 which I feel is perfect. Webcam made it up special and suggested the LSA based on my engines build specs and weight of car which is approx. 1850lbs.The factory specs. for this model say it weighs 1720lbs. the type 4 adds some additional weight bringing it up to 1850lbs, add me it the car and we arrive at a total weight of 2080lbs. I plan to take the car to the to the local farm Co-op scales soon to see what the actual weight is. At the 2080lb. weight and if I have 240hp at the crank the est. quarter mile time is 12.8 seconds. which isn't too shabby. I think it may be faster than that.. we will have to see.

Jim:  I had that same horizontal discharge tube setup on my 40 Dells and yes, it probably adds another 20-30 HP on a 2,110.  Maybe a tad more on your engine.  IIRC, my kit came with a set of 34mm venturiis (chokes) which were downgraded to 32s by Dave at Blackline Racing for me - he also converted them back to stock discharge tubes.  I had a slight, nagging bog as I transitioned to more throttle in the mid-range and managed to make it a bit better by doing all the wrong things (never suspecting the venturiis were wrong).  Going down one size to the 32 was a vast improvement, so remember that if you have mid-range hesitation and can't easily cure it.  Apart from that, they really produce power, especially on the mains.  If I were tracking my car I would still have those discharge tubes in there.

I also have that same DeRale cooler on my 2,110 and it has been great.  Not the most compact, but it is rugged, reasonably quiet when running the fan and holds me to 200-205F no matter what.

Glad you got that beast running and how well it's turned out.  Lotta work but the endgame payoff is really something!

Sounds like the perfect LSA. As pointed out earlier, you have enough displacement already for all the low end power you will ever need. Hell, you are going to need bigger and more sticky tires now. When I got my '69 912 new suspension I had it corner balanced and with me in the car the total weight was 2237 lbs. I got a motor from a dune buggy reworked for the street the T1 2276 with the webcam 86b and was going to use the T1 as temp motor for the 912 while I decided what to do with the original 912 engine. But in hind site, I should have went T4. That T1 motor ended up in my garage and my wife kept tripping over it trying to get to things - even though the motor was on the side of the garaged and tucked away. So I found a home for the T1 by buying a Speedster. Long story short, I should have built a T4 like yours from the start for my 912 Renegade build. John Willhoit offers a 912 2.2 build and the kit alone starts at $16K. But we aren't talking Porsche, sorry I digress. If I didn't already commit to a full rebuild of my 912 616 motor, I would have been a player for your engine.

So far for the little bit of driving I done have haven't notice any bog in the transition circuit. I plan to get the carbs jetted perfectly when I have the car on the chassis dyno. I have used the update kit before on another engine and really had good luck and they do add big power.

I remembered after I posted that Pat Downs told me that he and CB had later upgraded the Dell 40 version of that carb kit to overcome the hesitation (apparently, I wasn't the only one).  Sorry if I mislead.  As it turned out, Blackline did a great job setting up my Dells and I wasn't about to mess with them any more.  I'm happy with them right now (even though I won't be playing with the car for another 3-1/2 months). It's Sleepy-Bye time for replicas in New England, now.  

@Gordon Nichols posted:

Jim:  I had that same horizontal discharge tube setup on my 40 Dells and yes, it probably adds another 20-30 HP on a 2,110.  Maybe a tad more on your engine.  IIRC, my kit came with a set of 34mm venturiis (chokes) which were downgraded to 32s by Dave at Blackline Racing for me - he also converted them back to stock discharge tubes.  I had a slight, nagging bog as I transitioned to more throttle in the mid-range and managed to make it a bit better by doing all the wrong things (never suspecting the venturiis were wrong).  Going down one size to the 32 was a vast improvement, so remember that if you have mid-range hesitation and can't easily cure it.  Apart from that, they really produce power, especially on the mains.  If I were tracking my car I would still have those discharge tubes in there.

I also have that same DeRale cooler on my 2,110 and it has been great.  Not the most compact, but it is rugged, reasonably quiet when running the fan and holds me to 200-205F no matter what.

Glad you got that beast running and how well it's turned out.  Lotta work but the endgame payoff is really something!

I saw that on the CB website before the last time I talked to Dave. He told me no, that it was made for monster engines like Jimmy's. Going to 32's and a smaller main jet worked perfect on my ~2L motor, just like Dave said it would.

Best of all, I think I'm getting ~25-28 mpg now.

@ZFNHSN posted:

Looking forward to your updates! I have the first portion of your split grind cam (86b) in a Type 1 2276 running 44 Webers and only 1.25 rockers but with a narrow LSA of 105 degrees and it is perfect for the street in my Vintage Speedster. I can drive around town in third gear (not that I wanted to even though I could). What are you running for LSA? What is the curb weight of your Puma? That is way way too too much power

Said no man ever. Lol

When I ordered the update kit for my 44 Weber's CB asked me the application the carbs would were being used on. I told them they are on a 2.8L type 4 engine with a big cam 9.5:1 CR and 48/38 ported heads. They told me that is exactly what the update kit was created for. To give great air flow and still allow the drivability of 44 weber IDF carbs. Normally the engine would be best with 48 Weber IDf or IDA's if racing only but would be a dog for city and everyday driving. The updated carbs are drivable and also breath every as big as the carb body allows. The 38mm sleeve is paper thin and the removal of the secondary venturi really opens the carbs up. Major flow. A s I said they are running and driving great.  I can see why they would not be for all engines. The kit comes with fairly big main jets (.165) which seem to be spot on for my engine. The plug electrodes are light brown in color. The kits had been out of stock for a long time and CB were telling people they had no idea of when they would have them available again. The week my motor was being finished the kits came back in stock. Good break for me. I would love to run tests with and without the carbs modified to see the actual gain in HP the kit gives. The pic below is just a little engine art. I took this pic today. It never gets old.

Lenny has those discharge tubes on his Dell 45s. It took some pretty big jets to get it to run right, both main and idles. He's got a Raby type4 2270 in his Spyder. GREAT motor.

He says it's very tractable, runs well at all loads and RPMs, and pulls really hard at WOT. He has a custom made Tangerine Racing exhaust.

I managed to get mine to run "OK" using 162.5 Mains.  Those were awesome on a pair of Dell 40's with 34mm venturiis.  Get up on the mains and it really rocked and still got better than 26mpg, but it had a hesitation below 70mph so I just tended to cruise on interstates at 80+.  Worked for me.

Dave deleted the horizontal tubes, dropped the venturiis to 32s, ran the idles down from 65's to 45's and the mains from 162.5 to 130's.  It doesn't have the same "snap" when you stomp on it at 75mph, but it doesn't hesitate below 60mph any more, either, and I'm happy with them.

Ok type 4 engine guys I have a tech question for you. Which oil cooler port is the out bound pressure port the upper one or the lower one?

@Jimmy V. posted:

I took the night off working on the Type 4 Puma and plan on hitting it hard tomorrow night to finish up the oil cooler install. Then I can drive the wheels off of this thing.

I was wondering why a heater core with blower fan can't be used as an oil cooler so the engine oil heat could be used to heat the interior of the car? Makes sense to me. I would love to hear the gangs knowledge on this one.

My engine oil rarely gets hot enough to open the thermostatic valve for my oil cooler in summer, and never in spring or fall. You want the oil hot enough to circulate and lubricate properly. Too cold, it's too thick, too hot it breaks down.

I preface what i am about to say with I am in this thing to the end and it will be right and the way it should be without compromise when finished. That said last week I started noticing the signs of head to cylinder leak,,,again!!. So I whistled and out came the engine... again. Seriously it does come out in less than an hour now and the engine was stripped to a long block in another 40 minutes. I did a leak down test of each cylinder with a  100psi Moroso tester while squirting soapy water at the cylinder to head sealing area. I saw what I expecting.. plenty of big bubbles. I also could feel a large amount of air leaking from the intake valves even after popping the valve with a plastic mallet to clear any carbon an such that might have been between the valve and the valve seat. Still the valves were leaking. Between the cylinder to head leak the valve leaking and anything getting past the rings each cylinder had 18-25% leak down which is terrible of course. My goal on engines I have personally built is 2-3% max leakage on a new high performance engine.  I called AA performance the builder of the heads. (Hoffman heads and Type 4 store heads (which are made by Hoffman) were all back logged until late spring ) that is why I tried the AA heads. My engine builder and myself are baffled. He checked and double checked the heads but all the problems seem to be in the heads. Jonathan at AA was very nice when I told him of our situation and asked me to send the heads back which they should arrive on Tuesday. The short block is headed back to the builder to re-check the flatness of the cylinder seating deck just to cover all our bases. I am going to keep smiling and seeing this through to the end which when I arrive there will be a gratifying experience. I firmly believe the payoff will be just short of amazing in the amount of power I am now sure this engine is capable of. Patience is the key it appears.

As I often say (in the shop) %&&^^*##@!!  &^##!+**)(#@!!!

Sounds like the valves need lapped.

That was done at the time the heads were received by my engine builder. The weird thing is if you fill the combustion chamber with alcohol the valves do not leak a drop. I am worried that the valve seats are leaking under pressure. I am baffled by the valves leaking and the cylinder to head loint leaking when everything is square, flat and parallel. I may wind up buying a set of LE200 heads and waiting until March to get them. 

@Jimmy V. posted:

I am worried that the valve seats are leaking under pressure.

With that problem I wouldn't be surprised to see a valve seat get dropped out of the head at some point.  Pursue it to the end, you'll get there and we'll live vicariously.  

I was hesitant about posting about the ongoing problems but then thought what the heck this is real and I am going to have this engine right in the end. I realized this is a good record  going forward if I ever sell the car or engine. There will be a transparent accounting of how the engine was built and what issues occurred and how said issues were addressed and overcome. Thanks to all for the positive encouragement and support.

The heads are to be delivered to AA today. I am eager to hear what they say about the heads. I am amazed at how fast the heads  arrived at AA in Covina, Ca. coming from Louisville Ky. They heads shipped last Tuesday via Fedex Ground.

that oil filter looks awfully close to exhaust manifold, me, id wrap some  that high temp gasket stuff around it..

I have a heat resistant sleeve that will cover the filter. In the cold weather I will be leaving the sleeve off. The engine oil barely gets to operating temps now. It will be a factor to deal with in the summer months. Good catch.

Sacto...any more pics of this beast?

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@Gary Hafner , not sure which 'beast' you mean, but if it's the Spyder video I posted here a few weeks ago, not mine - belongs to @Rick99GSX .

.

Did I hear my name 😁... Funny thing is that we took the Spyder out to stretch her legs out today and sure enough it rained! Not on the forecast but for whatever reason the Spyder probably had a special request 🤪

.

Bummer, Rick.

I'll bet you were just getting dried out from the great Tahoe blizzard of '17.

.

Pretty sure we still have some PTSD from that day. Seeing my wife with the blanket over her head today gave us some serious flashbacks 😁

Rick, I feel your pain. I've been rained on, hailed on, and yes, even had freezing rain fall on me.

.

@DannyP posted:

...I've been rained on, hailed on, and yes, even had freezing rain...

I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end
I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend
But I always knew we'd see Rick here again

.

@DannyP posted:

Rick, I feel your pain. I've been rained on, hailed on, and yes, even had freezing rain fall on me.

We are survivors my friend 😂

@Rick99GSX posted:

We are survivors my friend 😂

I've been on a boys offroad weekend in a buggy in hail (we were up around 4,000 ft.) at 25-30 mph.  You try to pull the peak of your rain jacket hood down enough so your cheeks and nose are protected and your hand gets it- even when small it's pretty hard-  hail really hurts at speed!

@ALB posted:

I've been on a boys offroad weekend in a buggy in hail (we were up around 4,000 ft.) at 25-30 mph.  You try to pull the peak of your rain jacket hood down enough so your cheeks and nose are protected and your hand gets it- even when small it's pretty hard-  hail really hurts at speed!

We can totally relate, asides of being worried about possible damage to the car, the pain from the hail in my hand (as I try to shield my glasses) and head was about the worst part!

On the 2017 Tour D' Hoe, cruising from Donner Pass to Lake Tahoe (50 miles) at elevation of 7,000 ft, it went from this......to this within 5 minutes.... @Rick99GSX...and eventually made it safely to our hotel in Tahoe for a toast to SOC adventures and comradery!

Once Jimmy V. finishes tweaking his monster 2786 Type 4, he'll be back in the groove for more SOC adventures (hopefully not in inclement weather)!

Get out of the way, @Robert M. Your head is blocking me.

its a different world up there,,poop happens

@Ryan (formerly) in NorCal posted:

Get out of the way, @Robert M. Your head is blocking me.

Bwaaa Haaaa.

@Ryan (formerly) in NorCal @Robert M

He was busy laughing because I just told him my honorary Samoan name is "Junior Felloffasofa".

Wait, I thought it was "Random Task"?

@DannyP posted:

Wait, I thought it was "Random Task"?

And I could swear he was related to Odd Job.

@Robert M posted:

And I could swear he was related to Odd Job.

@MusbJim lost brother found 😍

^

MUSBODDJOB won't fit on his license plate, though.

Update on the original topic of this thread:

The heads that were leaking from the intake valves and cylinder seating area are back with the supplier for inspection and repair. (AA Performance) The short block went back to the engine builder who stripped the pistons and cylinders off and checked the flatness of the block's cylinder seating areas. He found the side that leaked the worse to be high in the center by .005" the other side was out .003". If the heads were out by some amount this would then be added to the problem. I am committed to seeing this project through to the end and am excited to what type of performance this engine is capable of when all the issues are corrected. It had a ton of power with the heads and valves leaking I can't really imagine what this thing will have on tap with everything sealed tight. I will be running a chassis dyno session when the engine is fixed. Any guesses to the WHP the Puma will have? 

Sorry for the drift, Jim.

What's the case that you're using?  

Was it new for the build, like an AS-41 or a stock one that's been refurbished?

@Gordon Nichols posted:

Sorry for the drift, Jim.

What's the case that you're using?  

Was it new for the build, like an AS-41 or a stock one that's been refurbished?

@Jimmy V. posted:

Update on the original topic of this thread:

The heads that were leaking from the intake valves and cylinder seating area are back with the supplier for inspection and repair. (AA Performance) The short block went back to the engine builder who stripped the pistons and cylinders off and checked the flatness of the block's cylinder seating areas. He found the side that leaked the worse to be high in the center by .005" the other side was out .003". If the heads were out by some amount this would then be added to the problem. I am committed to seeing this project through to the end and am excited to what type of performance this engine is capable of when all the issues are corrected. It had a ton of power with the heads and valves leaking I can't really imagine what this thing will have on tap with everything sealed tight. I will be running a chassis dyno session when the engine is fixed. Any guesses to the WHP the Puma will have?

It's a type 4/914 engine build, Gordon, so the case is used- I don't think anyone casts them new.

Jimmy- 2786(?) cc's, 300/310° advertised duration (258?/272? @.050") on 106° lobe centers with enough everything else to make it rev to 62-6500 rpm, measured on a chassis dyno- 218 hp at the wheels.  I know I'm repeating myself but-

                        IT'S GOING TO BE A BEAST!!!

The case came from the engine I bought from an SOC member. This build started with a $1500.00 engine that was a 2056 Raby engine that had a Raby serial number. It was known to have at least one cylinder with low compression. This may have been from the same issue I am dealing with because the engine only had 2500 miles on it. I was recently told that the cases on type 4 engines are known to warp if over heated. My engine builder wasn't aware of this and didn't deck the case halves. This is what we are setting straight now. So to answer the question it was a used Raby prepped case.

@calmotion posted:

@MusbJim lost brother found 😍

Imagine that hat flying off one's head during a SOC event!

Update on the Monster 2.8L Type 4 project. As we left off I was having issue with the AA performance cylinder heads. They were leaking at the cylinder to head area and the intake valves were all leaking after less than one hour of run time. I sent the heads back To AA at their request for inspection and repair. They had the heads for a month and told me they found nothing wrong with the heads and they supposedly measured them to check that the seating areas were the same depth on both chambers of each head. They also told me the cleaned and lapped the valves. My engine builder received the heads back this week and checked them. The heads are off by .003" from one side to the other. He removed the valves and they have ridges in the seating face which should not be there on valves that have been run less than a hour. We are guessing the steel the valves are made of is too soft. So I am finished with AA performance products . I would recommend anyone else to proceed with caution if thinking about buying from them. I reported what we found to AA and asked them for a full refund upon the return of the heads but have not had a response from them. I ordered a set of LE200 heads from the type 4 store today. The heads won't be available until May. They are built by Hoffman Automotive. They appear to be amazing heads and should be for what they cost. They should be the finishing touch to make this engine as amazing as it should be. I will let you all know how the engine runs and what power it makes on a chassis dyno sometime in late May I hope. Anyone want to buy a set of type 4 heads cheap? Maybe they can be used as cores for a complete rebuild?

@Jimmy V.

DANG, Jimmy! Sorry you're going through all these quality control and machining issues with AA Performance. Hope that gets squared away. Eye on the prize, though. That thing will be a BEAST once you've gotten everything sorted! Looking forward to your report on driving it at it's full capacity.

Looks like I may luck out. AA has responded and they want the heads and intakes sent back in response to my request for a refund. Let's see if  I get credited back on my Credit card. Cross you fingers. I will be better off with the LE200 heads, they are supposed to be amazing. The specs sure seem to say so. I have bought a 6500 rev limiting rotor for the distributor so I don't have a repeat of the sticking throttle disaster LoL..

I'm super-glad you're ending up with HAM heads. Len Hoffmann is the man.

I wish we didn't have to wait until May to get a report on the HAM heads.

Hey Jimmy, when you say "off by .003" which dimension are you referring to.

im glad you're sticking with it, despite the expense. This thread is fascinating.

When you have an engine that has separate cylinders as our Type 1 and Type 4 engines have it makes it a must that the cylinder heads are perfectly parallel. The measurement I am speaking of is the depth of the head where the cylinder and the head seals. If the depth of one head chamber is different from the other it will cause the head to not lay perfectly flat across both cylinders and then they will leak compression and not seal. In this case one cylinder sealing area was .003" lower than the other. This is fixable by anyone with a good machine shop and some know how. If this was the only issue my engine builder would have touched the head off and made it parallel. The valves leaking and looking like they did was a more troubling issue. We think the valves were made of soft material or the valve guides are not perfectly in line with the valve seats causing the valves to hit the valve seat out of square. They should not have had the ridges worn into the valve edge. So being as we returned the heads for inspection and repair once and were told the heads measured to be perfect and were good to go and they came back still not right, I decided it was time to bail on these heads and buy the LE200 heads that appear to be nothing short of amazing. I should have known from past experience. Good heads make the engine and buy the best heads your budget will allow. That said, I was happily surprised that AA Performance has offered to refund my money upon the return of the heads and port matched intakes. I have to say this is at least a sign they want to make this right and do the right thing. At the end of the day the engine is going to end up better because of this ordeal.

Gotcha. Each head was off cyl to cyl. I wondered if you meant left head was off from right head. Good thing you caught it. Seems like that could cause all sorts of issues down to road as well.

Hi Guys, I was contacted yesterday by Nicole of the type 4 store letting me know that my heads are in the batch being sent to the coating co. Calico. They will ceramic coat the combustion chambers and valve tops and coat the outside of the heads with a black thermal barrier type coating. Nicole also asked me to advise her what cam I was running and the Piston and cylinder size, this info she forwards to Len Hoffman. Once the heads are back from Calico Len Hoffman will assemble the heads and drop ship them to me. All of this will take another 4-5 weeks. I am dreaming of how amazing this engine will be once the LE200 heads are installed. This is the last pc. of the elusive puzzle that is called the monster 2786 Type 4 build. My bi lateral (double) knee replacement is scheduled for 4/19 so it will be possibly be mid summer before I can get the heads back on the monster. Oh well it is good to have something to dream about while I recover.

Jimmy, I assume your orthopedic doctor has put you on a extensive pre-surgery exercise program. And to add, post-surgery take those pain meds without fail prior to going to physical therapy to recover a full range of motion for your knees.  Wishing you a speedy recovery.

Yes and I will Alan, thanks for the advice.

Those heads are SWEET! Good luck with the knees Jimmy!

Good luck on the knees.

My LE200 heads are still 3-4 weeks out so I thought I would make a post to let you all know my Monster 2.8L type 4 engine is still in process.  The project has taken many twists and turns and I am patiently waiting for the heads I should have gotten last summer to start with. The engine is going into a 77 Puma GTE which has a Rancho Pro suby transaxle. It is built with a Rhino case and special Weddle gearing for higher HP engines such as the 2.5L Subaru Impreza engine. I expect this big type 4 to really put out some dependable HP and torque. I have switched cam's and heads in the search of the engine I set out to build. Of course this now $10k engine started out by buying the proverbial good deal which was a used but complete Raby 2056 type 4 engine for $1500.00 proving one of my dad's sayings. The saying being "that $1000.00 purchase will end up cost costing you $5,000.00" I just doubled his saying LOL.. The purchase of the $4400.00 set of LE200 heads (including intake manifolds) from the type 4 store had a big part to play in this end price, but this is what the engine needs to be just right. I am looking forward to screaming down the highway soon. Stay tuned my fellow gear heads and car lovers.

Mm, mm, mm!  Such a sweet looking car.  I hope to see it in the flesh sometime, Tom.

How are you feeling after the surgery?  Are you up and at ‘em a little bit yet?  
My brother did them one at a time, but they had him walking within 24 hours for both knees.

WARNING : Long post concerning my health insurance struggles. Don't read if this offends you. It has been healing for me to write about this since I was asked about my now cancelled Knee replacement surgery.

Let me tell you about the saga of my knee surgery. The short end of it is that I am getting it in on both ends by the surgeons office and my health insurance company. My surgery was cancelled. My health insurance denied approval and I first heard this from my surgeon's surgery coordinator telling me my insurance told them that the Doctor hadn't sent adequate proof for need of surgery. This I was told 3 weeks prior to my surgery date. The Surgeon's girl told me they appealed and sent more records and for me not to worry. I never received a letter from the insurance company but I called them checking this and they told me it was in appeals process and the they had until 4/28 to give a decision and my surgery date was the 19th. The surgeons office had been following up every two days having the appeal placed in an expedited condition but having no decision three days before the surgery date the hospital had to cancel my surgery. I figured this is the insurance company's game seeing if someone might give up during the first denial and they would have to approve but it would come by the 28th deadline when I would then get scheduled for surgery. That sucks but not the end of the world. On April 19th ( the date I was to have surgery) I received a notice letter from my insurance company that was mailed a month prior (postal service delays ) giving me notice of the original denial of coverage. It had listed as the reason for denying coverage being that the Surgeon and hospital was not in network with my insurance. I about fell out of my chair , this was the first I had heard about this . The surgeons office thought I was in network as well. I had been told by my insurance and the surgeons office that I was in network when I first started down this road 3 months earlier. After double checking it appears that I am indeed not in network and I have no coverage. I wasn't a happy camper to say the least.

I am not a quitter and have some hope. I found out that because of Covid the health care marketplace enrollment period has remained open instead of being a month in Dec. each year or I would have to wait until next year to get the desperately needed surgery . I was able to contract health insurance through a new provider who absolutely IN NETWORK with my surgeon and hospital. It takes effect May 1st. At that time I plan to get in writing proof that the insurance is in network with my surgeon and the hospital he works out of. I will then start the entire process over placing my surgery date sometime in July at best case. I am self employed and am forced to use the Obama Care system of Health insurance. During this ordeal I spoke with a good friend that works for a large health insurance company. The first thing he said was this: "people are mistaken that health insurance companies care about them or their health, they do not. Health insurance companies care about making a profit only" I guess I always suspected this but now I know for sure. I have had other insane dealings with health insurance in my past. Years ago I was waiting approval for surgery for a herniated disc in my neck. They insurance company who had been taking my premiums and paying all of my covered bills told the surgeons insurance coordinator that they didn't know who I was and that I wasn't insured by their company for over a year.  I asked the insurance company how this can be? They had cashed my premiums and paid my bills, even paid this surgeon's office for my recent visits. I was told that I should feel lucky that they had been paying my medical bills when in fact I had been cancelled over a year ago. I was furious, but I got nowhere, I guess it is true, that you can't fight city hall.  I am all for universal health care. I loved it during my times in the UK. Good luck to all who read this and I pray they have better experiences with their health insurance. Thanks for listening , it is healing to get it out.

I'm suing Blue Cross for something they refused to pay in 2016. I even have it in writing and a recorded phone conversation that they would pay.  Yup.....They just play a waiting game hoping you give up. All correspondence takes 45 days to and from.

Bruce

I've always been against all forms of government largesse, but after hearing so many stories of how insurers try to shirk their obligations to their subscribers, having dealt with such an issue myself with dental insurance, and being my parents' POA for the last few years of their lives and having several positive experiences with their Medicare Advantage plans, I'm for Medicare for all if it's structured similar to the current Medicare, where the agency tightly regulates their private insurer partners.

Jimmy, sorry to hear about your woes. But thank heavens you found this out before your surgery.

I’ve had a couple of cysts on my kidneys that were discovered when I had an ultrasound of my liver and needed to be monitored. I had these done regularly in both Las Vegas and New York and my copay was $35-$50.

When I returned to Utah, I scheduled one, jumped through all the hoops because I was COBRA-ing my Union insurance (BCBS) until I qualified for Medicare and had the procedure done. I should have been suspicious when the co-pay was $150, but we all know how insurance had been heading the last 20 years.

So, a couple of weeks later I get a check from BCBS for $1800 (no direct pay because they were out of network) and a bill from the provider for $5K.

Because they told me I was pre-approved I told them to take a hike, that my $150 and BCBS’ $1800 were all they were going to get. They stopped calling after a year, when they no doubt wrote off the debt.

@Eric (McGruff) posted:

I've always been against all forms of government largesse, but after hearing so many stories of how insurers try to shirk their obligations to their subscribers, having dealt with such an issue myself with dental insurance, and being my parents' POA for the last few years of their lives and having several positive experiences with their Medicare Advantage plans, I'm for Medicare for all if it's structured similar to the current Medicare, where the agency tightly regulates their private insurer partners.

I couldn’t possibly be happier with Medicare and my Medicare advantage plan (Select Health)

Just about every co-pay I had with my union Cadillac plan gone down, with the exception of $65 optometrist. (Used to be the same $10 as other docs). Most of my Rx are now free.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled Massive Type IV program.

Private health insurance is a shell game. The companies want to cover healthy people only, because that's how they make money. Paying for surgeries or chronic care is not profitable, so they look for ways to avoid doing so. I'd probably do the same in their shoes. So would you.

That's the system we're currently stuck with, and it never made any sense.

There is no logical reason to split the risk pool this way, with thousands of different "insurance plans" pitched to tens of thousands of companies and millions of individual workers. All this does is create confusion and aggravation for consumers and providers, who might be "in network" when you choose them in December but thrown out of network when you visit them in May. It's absurd madness. It serves no one well except a dwindling few insurance executives and some investors.

The way to do insurance is to have the largest pool possible, with automatic coverage and no way to opt out, so that the young and healthy pay even though they don't "need" health care, and that creates enough premium income to cover the old, sick peoples' medical expenses. Basically all civilized countries do this, or something very much like it.

In the USA it's called "socialism" and "communism" and it's been a political non-starter for my entire life. It's one of the three or four key reasons America is not as good as it could and should be.

Here's hoping it will change for the better, and soon.

The saga continues.

   I received the LE200 HAM built heads last Friday, they are a work of art to behold but all is not as it looks. I installed the supposed end all beats all heads this past Saturday and ran a standard 100psi leak down test with my Moroso tester. I was shocked to see over 30% leakage. The intake and exhaust valves both leak profusely. A little bit of soapy water squirted into the intake port created a bubble machine.

I called Len Hoffman at HAM this morning and he was surprised and agreed they should not be leaking and he issued a UPS shipping label, so off the heads came and back into the boxes they went. The heads are going back to Len to be inspected and repaired.

   Just think, most people never check new heads and just install them on their builds. I wonder how many of Ham's heads, start out life like mine , already leaking? Make sure you perform a leak down test when building an engine. I will let you all know what happens next.

Geez, Jimmy. It seems like you can’t catch a break on this engine. Two steps forward, one back. At least Len didn’t give you any grief over it, like the last head supplier.

I feel for you.

@Jimmy V.

DANG, Jimmy! Hope it all gets sorted out properly.

So sorry for you too.... Jimmy...just good that members and any fellow VW real and kit car builders out there....have a heads up on the ups and downs these projects face...from beginning to end.  My project is triple over budget because of nefarious and just careless merchandizers ...and my own steep learning curve on the sorting out the whet from the chaff.Hope this will be the last issue in this build...but sure it won't be..
58' CMC and FAT 2.8 liter Type 4 coming soon AFTER 24 YEARS AND MANY FALSE STARTS On Monday, May 17, 2021, 04:15:20 PM PDT, SpeedsterOwners.com <alerts@crowdstack.com> wrote:

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@Jimmy V.

DANG, Jimmy! Hope it all gets sorted out properly.

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There was a time when you could open a parts box installing the new part without a concern. Now days you open the box that has been traveling the globe for weeks and have to inspect and often alter to get that part to fit. I just opened a new duel carb kit I bought and there was two globs of aluminum on the intake castings, had I not seen then may very well have broken loose over time and destroyed the motor.

Bummer, Jimmy!  That must be frustrating...

Yeah, so I broke a brand new Mahle cylinder that was custom machined by my buddy Mike. I ordered a single replacement from aircooled.net and the new one arrived already bent/cracked in the same place. So close to finishing this motor. Eventually I'll get all the parts to finish.

I feel your pain Jimmy...

@DannyP posted:

So close to finishing this motor. Eventually I'll get all the parts to finish.

I feel your pain Jimmy...

Went through a similar situation with my last build. Wrong size main bearings delivered and then I broke one compression ring during assembly. These motors:  "🎶 Just like fleas, they long to be, close to you...🎶"

Good luck, Jimmy and Danny!

Dang, everybody.

I bought my 69 912 with a grenaded motor. It took me about a year to assemble the various pieces and parts to build another one. One of the last pieces to the puzzle was a pair of NOS factory heads.

When the package arrived, my years of experience in shipping/receiving taught me to open the smashed box in front of the UPS driver which revealed that all the fins on one corner of one of the heads were broken off. 30 years sitting in a warehouse and they didn’t survive a 3 day UPS trip.

I fought with them for about 6 months and ended up getting $70 out of them. The shipping charge.

The day I finally got it installed, after 4 years.  I wish I’d have taken some pictures of it before I installed. It was clean enough to eat off of.

Wow, that's terrible. But it begs the question. Does nobody lap valves anymore?

I think you're right: somebody skipped a step.

I lap cylinders into heads as well.

Hey Danny, were you aware of the connections between Puma and Beck/Special Editions when you bought your Puma?

Jimmy has the Puma, not me.

Hey dlearl476 I did know of the connection with Keven Hines being the US distributor of The Puma cars. They imported them sans engine, transaxle, front H beam and tires. However Kevin also supplied the needed parts to finish the car. This of coarse was to get around the government regulations that the Puma didn't meet. I think Carey told me his  father (Kevin) still owns one of the Ali Stinger prototypes that was left over from a failed venture between Puma, Keven and Muhamad Ali to sell a special edition Puma that would be financed and promoted by Ali. Now that is one rare Puma.

I will have my heads back from Hoffman Automotive today. They told me the Ceramic coaters got a lot of the coating were it shouldn't be. They lapped the valves in and sent me a vacuum test with the valves without springs holding 30HG of vacuum. I just wonder why this wasn't caught the first go around? In the mean time the fun just keeps coming. I dropped and broke the skirt off off one of my cylinders, yes I just had to laugh after a few tears. I ordered a new set of cylinders yesterday which will then need to have the height cut down to match my setup. Who said one step forward two steps back? I am way to far into this to give up. One day it will be a good story and a hell of a good running engine.

Boy do I feel that! Stuff happens, instantly sometimes. Aircooled.net supposedly shipped a replacement cylinder yesterday, waiting for the tracking number to go active.

In the meantime, I've got to order a dry sump tank, hose, and fittings. Because that's what the customer wants, so that's what he gets. I plugged both the case and the pump and machined a special full-flow cover to work with CB's dry sump setup. All ORB-AN-8 fittings on the pump. It should be pretty sweet.

Carry on, Jimmy, you'll get there.

I ordered an entire set of cylinders which were supposed to ship yesterday but of coarse they didn't In the mean time for your viewing pleasure see below, it is titled  "OH Sh*T!!!"

OUCH!

@DannyP posted:

Jimmy has the Puma, not me.

Doh!

I am glad I am not the only one with butterfingers...almost lost the CMC body when a new saw horse developed a crack holding it up for electrical work...had to change my pants ....

JB Weld won’t exactly fix that now will it?

duct tape will and then spray with wd-40

Sorry to see that, Jimmy. Maybe someone can repurpose it as a cupholder...

I have two 94mm cupholders....