@Michael McKelvey posted:@John Bungen, if you become a supporting member you will be able to upload bigger image files.
Right now the only way to upload videos is to put them on a video hosting site such as Vimeo or YouTube then embed it here or post a link. There is no direct uploading of videos right now.
Engine temps: when my engine is fully warmed up (180-190)and I'm driving above 45 mph, the air temperature in the engine compartment runs from 140F to 150F.
This is on a speedster with full engine tin and sleds, but no edge tin or sealing on the compartment (yeah, I know).
@DannyP, have you been tracking your typical intake air temperatures?
@Stan Galat posted:I really, really like this guy. You go, John Bungen!
Stud. Muffin.
Not to mention, without seatbelts!
@Stan Galat well when i went to harbor freight at the next town to buy towels to plug the holes and wear on my head 
I got ductape and these two bicycle hang straps, 36" velcro x3" wide and made a makeshift belt around the seat so at least i had a chance of smashing my face while seated. Also wire ties to hold the top on and window in place etc. It was fun and successful in arriving thats all that matters, just a few bugs to iron out.
@Michael Pickett no, I have not tracked intake temp as of yet. It's a bit warmer than ambient, but not too much as I recall. I don't drive and look at the laptop. But I've seen it get warm hot idling in the garage, which is understandable.
@DannyP posted:@Michael Pickett no, I have not tracked intake temp as of yet. It's a bit warmer than ambient, but not too much as I recall. I don't drive and look at the laptop. But I've seen it get warm hot idling in the garage, which is understandable.
Same here. Driving while looking at the laptop can be create more than engine problems.
I just datalog all the engine readings with Tunerstudio on the laptop or MSDroid on my phone connecting with bluetooth. After you get back home, Megalogviewer lets you do searches on all kinds of combinations of data. For example, when I drive upcountry, I can have it filter out data from a long drive that happened when the barometric pressure was below 100 and just look at data where the intake air temps were above normal (e.g. 139 for me).
Unbelievably useful for fine tuning.
Ok, I went to a well recommended mechanic with over 40 years of experience and grilled him. He is going to adjust valves, change oil and tuneup for first trip miles on that rebuilt motor. He said the motor is not new but has some new parts and that the word overhaul is what i thought i was buying. Anyways, says get led lights vs h4 that i ordered on amazon so free returns. Anyone have the link to the led type, says my wiring will like those better. Also, missing rear trunk spring so maybe i need a new part back there, any leads? Other takeaways were that there is an oil leak by flywheel and another that might be fixed with oil change gasket and some wet by the oil pump. He says if there is metal in oil he will know more etc. Says the reason motor is running hot is due to someone cutting out above engine and right and left sides have gaps letting exhaust heat up instead of forcing air to be sucked through engine lid. Is there some kit I can buy with some of those metal pieces as he is not inclined to fix that unless I bring him the parts. Said its a good car but engine is not overhauled and should have some more power, 1641 has thin cylinder walls and run hotter etc. Worst case scenario is motor sucks after awhile and he charges me 2500 for another and a few hundred bucks labor but we are not there and have high hopes.
@Alan Merklin Since John has a Vintage (I think), would my CMC heat shield templates work on his car or are they incompatible? You’ve seen both types of car so I thought you might know.
If they might fit I could shoot him a copy of the pair.
Yes I've used them on CMV FF & VS ~
@gordon nichols they told me mine was a cmc originally. Here is a pic of the motor area and the areas he told me I should close off to reduce exhaust heating up the motor so much.
@Troy Sloan thx for seatbelts I sent 20 from usbank so keep an eye out.
@Gordon Nichols do you have measurements for stuff? I can have something fabricated? How much?
I have made up two heavy paper templates for the upper and lower heat shields for any CMC Speedster. They are full size and when transferred to HVAC sheet metal (available from any local HVAC shop, often for free when you tell them what you're up to and show them the car) they fit right in, even better and more completely than the cheesy fiberglass ones that CMC once sold.
I have attached the installation instructions to this post ( engine shield instructions.doc below) so you'll know what you're in for. They are easy to fabricate, so between the instruction sheet and the notes right on the templates and with the VW engine tins in place, as well, they will completely seal off the top of the engine from the underbody.
All I ask for is a $5 dollar bill to cover mailing them to you. They're full size so they cost that much for USPS and get to you in about three days. I'll send you a PM with my address so look for that and we'll fix you up.
And BTW: I read that part about using duct tape to seal things up against the rain. Duct tape works really well, but none of us use it as a rain sealant. We all use wide ( 2" ) Blue Painter's tape (Masking Tape).
Why? Because the duct tape leaves a residue that is often hard to remove, especially if it gets cooked on there from the sun. Blue Painter's Tape doesn't leave the residue and seals up almost as well as sticky Duct Tape.
If you're trying to get the tape residue off of a metal surface, then acetone will work, but I wouldn't use it on a painted surface.
Isn't owning one of these little cars just so much FUN?
@John Bungen posted:I used a couple bluetooth speakers i used on my ebikes when i demo the bikes to my customers but they got drowned out with top down so I was thinking just a bluetooth boom box bigger one for behind seats before getting all surgical with the doors and dash and everything.
I used a bluetooth speaker hidden under the dash for the first 3 years / 10k miles of ownership. It does well at non-highway speeds. But once on the highway (or speeds above 60mph), Fuhgeddaboudit.
A friend recommended AirPods, as he's been using them in his Spyder.
The AirPods have made the last three rallies I've been on that much more enjoyable. It wasn't the lack of music that got to me after awhile, it was the wind noise beating into my ears after 8 hours of driving. The AirPods muffle that wind.
As for the temp gauge, I echo a number of the comments. Don't trust your gauges until you prove them right. Use a candy thermometer. You may also want to use a GPS app on your phone to determine your speed. My speedometer was WAY off with the Pirelli 185/15's that was on the car when I bought it.....however, the speedometer is a bit more accurate now that I switched to Vred 165/15's.
