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garage.
106
right now, so you know why I'm inside. Mazda Trix sent me some exhaust parts,
and Racing Beat sent me a cool
465 cfm Holley Carb kit
. Chris from
Chris Welding
has
been helping me A LOT. The boy can weld. When I say boy, I mean he's a retired
US Navy Welder and knows his stuff. He's been helping me lately with the
exhaust
system. So far we've built a custom header, and next we'll be making a
section to go between the catalytic converter and the muffler. The exhaust comes
out of the engine, makes a "u-e", and goes through the cat
and back under
the bell-housing to hook up with the muffler and out the back. This should
add a clean look to the car by keeping the exhaust system tucked out of sight.
Concerns with this approach are too much back pressure or too much heat close to
the power-train. I can use heat shields to limit the amount of heat radiation,
but I will have to be my own experiment on the back pressure issue. I can always
change the exhaust later. Also some time back, I painted the door
jams and dash.
(lot's of oooh-ing, ahhh-ing for you sarcastic types) ;) I plan to
paint the car the same color as my
ghia
was. Nope no more ghia, I sold it with no tears to make room for this
project.
Later that night.... Couldn't resist.
Went out and bolted up the
carb.
Hmmm.
Instructions suck. I mean, these were really weak. About the only help I got was
one torque spec. The rest of the instructions were like some kind of riddle
carefully concocted by one of those old timers who knows how to tell you exactly
what to do in the least amount of words. Sit down and contemplate exactly what
he says for a couple of hours, and you'll get it right. But go right out and try
to do it... hehehe. Anyway, I got it. I learned that when it says "Install the
carburetor on the manifold using flat washers, lock washers, and nuts supplied"
that is exactly right, but keep in mind there is no mechanical drawing. The
correct way is just that. If you have extra nuts and bolts, youv'e done
something wrong. Am I making sense here? What I mean is you have to see through
the riddle. The four bolts go up through the bottom, two of them through a
bracket, with lock washers. The other two, with a flat washer and lock washer.
Then you place the carb on the bolts coming through top of the manifold and use
the remaining four flat washers and nuts to secure it, torqueing them as
specified in the instructions.
;-) I guess you had to be there.
07-28-01. The engine sure looks
better now with a
carb on it.
I've been
working on the interior and wiring of the car today. Taking a little break from
the afternoon heat right now. Seems like there is a little light at the end
of the tunnel. Still need to work on the AC system, and cooling system, but
those are easy tackles. Still, no time frame promises.
07-29-01 Got it running! just
kidding, but I did get the stereo running. Man the wiring was in bad shape under
the dash. I had to rip out the 31 year old
fuse box
and
start over. Some good blade type fuse boxes should reduce the chance of an
electrical fire. For those of you who know me... keep those comments to
yourself. Most of my car fires have not been my fault... ahem, directly ;) I
learned how to do all of this electrical stuff because of those fires
anyhow.
10-27-01: Well, what can I say?
Many hours of contemplation, fabrication, weldication, and hard work with no
vacation ;-)
I've got plenty of work ahead. I still need to do some wiring and some sanding,
but I'll leave the paint to the pros. I've been enjoying this nice weather and
putting in lots of midnight oil on the little VW. My neighbor says I should
call it the junkyard warrior because of the strange mix of parts like a Chevy
radiator and Mazda engine with a Holley carb and, yes, a Ford Taurus radiator
fan all mounted to this poor ol 1970 VW Squareback
IT RUNS! It's alive! My creation lives! email me at
donduck2000@hotmail.com
and I can send you a mini movie so you can hear it run!
First drive. A bit disappointing. After leaving skid marks on the driveway a
few days ago, I thought this ride would have been quicker. Plus the car runs
sooo hot, we had to pull over a couple of times.
Diagnosis: I have an easy half inch o slack in the throttle cable! with no
slack I don't quite get full throttle yet. I can fix the throttIe with a small
adjustment, and by making an amplifier lever which will pull the throttle at
1.25 times the amount I push the gas pedal. I bolted the original fan back on
the
engine, and it seems to hold the temp steady. With a huge electric fan on the
way by UPS, JEGS online, and Permacool, by the end of the week I hope to have a
new story.
goodness. that solid squareback feels like a go-kart.
I took it today to get smogged and it failed. They are going to get it adjusted
right with the diagnostic computers. It runs great! I'm having too much fun
getting up to the speed limit in first gear, and then just kinda coasting
along. On the freeway today I put it in third to pass a car and at 65 fourth
gear is at the very bottom of the operating range for this engine.! I guess
that's cool to me because most VW's are topped out around 75.
uh, I'm gettn used to the car. I love driving it in light traffic. Umm
farfegnugin, fugnbroken, farfomthinkn? Well, I picked up some stuff at Home
Depot tonight to make an air-dam. I need to do something about the natural flow
of air through the engine compartment so the radiator gets proper airflow. I
went through 1st and 2nd. Nice gentle starts, and nice gentle shifts, but
rolling on the throttle all the way through the power band. Second gear will
definitely get me a ticket in a 35 zone. So second gear just needs a short push
and then you're doing 45 and cruising in third with the engine sounding like a
rodded out V8 at idle. The car is fast, but it's got no hole shot. The gears
are way too tall for that engine. I noticed a LOUD clunky noise on my way home.
It started off as a minor vibration during accelerations, and by
the time I got home I was gettn worried. I think it might be a CV joint. It
gets slower and louder at low speeds, and faster and softer at higher speeds.
Defiantly speed related, not the engine. I'm hoping it's a CV joint, but if I
had to pull the tranny it wouldn't make me feel too bad cuz I think a lower
gear ratio would be better. I've not driven too many VW's where I felt that
way. I guess I'm the beta tester for this car. Only time will tell.
And if any body wants to guess what the FIRST part to fail on my conversion kit
was go ahead! ;-)
Nope!
You guys are all wrong! It wasn't the electrical system, although that was
second. Actually, I got a new rebuilt alternator with a bad diode. Everything
was fine for a week or so, but the diode went bad and drained the battery. I
jumped started the car, check charging voltage and it read good. Thinking I had
possibly left an accessory on, or had run into a new electrical problem in my
untested rewiring job, I wasn't too worried. So I took the car to get smog
tested, and made it about 4 miles. The alternator quit me for good, and the
battery still hadn't regained a charge. I looked for a place to pull over and
found one. I called for backup, but I was able to limp home under my own power
thanks to the help of my handheld jumper battery, aka the juice for my
Halloween costume this year. I was light boy. 200 feet of indoor/outdoor lights
and an inverter coming out of my backpack battery. Well, anyhow, Checker tested
the alternator and happily gave me a new one. If you're still with me, it was
the Ford part that first failed. I don't see any surprised looks do I? The
Taurus radiator fan was a bad idea. I tried to save a buck on a fan, but it
didn't pay off. Guess I know why that car was in the junkyard. Junk.
11-20-01 Well, the car still gets too hot. I can drive it for a few miles, then
turn the heater on and go gently home. The thing is just not cooling. Radiator
temp rapidly accelerates to 210, but will cool steadily at an idle. The
slightest throttle usage just sends the temperature sky-rocketing. I've built
some air dams under the car, trying to encourage good air flow through the
radiator. I'm at a point now where I think there is something wrong maybe in
the fuel mixture or ignition timing that I just don't see. Man the car runs
good. I'm getting used to driving it, and it likes to be driven at high rpms
and wants to go fast. 80 mph on the freeway is a happy speed for the engine,
but too bad I can only be on the freeway for one mile before I gotta pull off
and let
the car cool down. I'm somewhat baffled here. Even though the radiator is in
back, it's huge and dual electric fans should pull enough air through. There is
something wrong I am not yet
seeing. Through perseverance I will find this problem, track it down and cool
that engine off! I'll be back!
ps: I fixed the vibration and clunking problem. Let's not forget to retorque
the lug nuts on our old Vdubs once in a while.
VW project, page one.
VW project, page three.
VW project, page four.
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