Chad's Air Cooled Volkswagens

Shocks are done.

2010-05-26T02:14:00.000-07:00

Shocks are in. I had to do some serious hacking on the sheet metal, and a bit of work on the cage for the mounts. Now I'm scrambling to get the rest of the car ready for camping at Coral Pink Sand Dunes this weekend.

Rear Shock Overkill

2010-05-21T18:37:00.000-07:00

I scored some used shocks on Craigslist for $200. Race Runner (Sway Away) 2" diameter, 12" reservoir shocks. They're take-offs from a monster truck fab shop. These are way too long and probably damped too stiff for the Thing, but damn it, I'm going to install them anyway. Lot's of fab work ahead to get these in.

2010-05-13T19:19:00.000-07:00

Um, yah, I got the 002 installed a few months go. I just haven't been updating my blog (although some people posted links to some Asian porn sites while I wasn't paying attention). The car has been running like a dream, and I've been busy beating it up. Here's a video from a while ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGFV5ol-GO8&feature=related

2010-02-14T06:33:00.000-08:00

Welded on washers on the rear mount the frame horn hole, relocated the skid plate mounting holes to align with my current plate and gave it some powder coat. Also cleaned up and installed CVs and axles.

2010-02-07T19:40:00.000-08:00

Transmission is in. It took at least 15 trial installations to find all the areas that required clearancing. This required:
* Cutting out the old transmission mid-mount
* Cutting a hole in the body, above the stock nosecone hole.
* Relocating the clutch and throttle tubes
* Relocating the rear seatbelt mounting points
* Notching the frame horns
* Clearancing the trans mounting holes to shift the transmision to the right and center the CV flanges
* Welding in a mid-mount support

2010-02-05T20:28:00.000-08:00

I have everything I need for Superbowl Weekend:
Transmission mounts
Throwout bearing
Shift linkage Adapter
New Mechanix Gloves
Welding gas
New grinding wheel
Blue Loctite
Misc. Weld Tabs

Hopefully by the end of the weekend I'll have this sucker installed.

2010-01-27T19:18:00.000-08:00

My "new" 002 transmission arrived today. It's definately alot beefier that the Type 1 'box.

2010-01-23T15:33:00.000-08:00

My 002 transmission, picture fresh from E-bay. This will require a bunch of additional cutting/welding and monkey business to install. While waiting for delivery, I did an autopsy on my old transmission. I have no aspirations of fixing it, but I always wanted to look inside and see the "guts". I'm glad I didn't try to just fix the differential. The sincro teeth were trashed.

2010-01-17T14:57:00.000-08:00

Transaxle is out and differential removed. This would be repairable by swapping parts from one of my spares. It's the sincro teeth that were stuck to the drain plug magnet that I don't like. It's definatly time for a Bus trans.

2010-01-16T16:55:00.000-08:00

The engine is back out of the Thing. Hopefully I'll get to pulling the transaxle tomorrow.

2010-01-10T19:08:00.000-08:00

I got the Beetle back on the road this weekend. All it needed is a new starter, battery charge and a good wash. The Thing is off the trailer and in the garage. I started the proccess of pulling the engine and transmission - there's a bit more work to go. It took several hours to remove the skid plates exhaust and rear cage. The engine should come out pretty easy from this point.

2010-01-09T06:24:00.000-08:00

I've been driving and abusing the Thing over the last several weekends. This isn't really a build project anymore, although I still have a long list of items I'd like to complete, add or upgrade.

Last weekend, we trailed the car to Logandale Trails and spend most of the day bouncing the car on sandy quad trails. Finally, ended up breaking the transmission side gear shaft after landing a jump. The consensus from the VW forums is that I should engage the clutch when the car is in the air. I'm going to have to pull the engine and transmission to assess the damage. Hopefully I can fix this cheaply with one of the spare transmissions I have. If not, maybe this is my oportunity to upgrade to a bus transmission.

2009-12-15T19:07:00.000-08:00

Added a bead to the rear fenders using brake line. The raw cut sheetmetal was not very strong and pretty ugly. I really didn't want to add more bondo to the car, but it was cold, windy and rainy this weekend, and I didn't want to spend much money on this project before the holidays. A shot of desert storm paint and they should match the "utilitarian" look of the rest of the car.

2009-12-06T17:19:00.000-08:00

Fun with fabrication. I needed a fire extinguisher mount that would put up with off road and still be easily accessible. I kind of copied this from an established design, but with my own modifications. The main frame attaches to the extinguisher with hose clamps. The frame attaches to brackets on the car with a hook on one end and a spring loaded pin on the other. Yah, I could have bought a pre-made mount for $5o, but what's the fun in that.

2009-12-03T03:28:00.000-08:00

Installed 5-point harnesses this weekend. 3" belts for the front and 2" Jr. Dragster belts in the back.

We trailered the car out both Saturday and Sunday for a couple of trail runs. I expected something to break, but the car ran great. The biggest issue is that the rear end is geared way too tall. First is OK, but I have to row in and out of second on steep roads and sand. Third feels like I'm skipping all the way to fourth.

Here's a little video of Sundays run. At the end of the video, you can see where I beat the hell out of the car on some whoops. The back end was working pretty hard, and getting off the ground. It felt like the rear was going to come around on me a few times. I don't plan on driving this hard all the time, but I had to see what the car's limits were. All in all, lots of fun.

2009-11-26T15:14:00.000-08:00

The rusty fender well (held together with undercoating and spray foam) didn't take kindly to the 5 lb sledge when I was clearancing them for the tires and nearly disintegrated. I cut out the worst of the rust and found some decent metal I could weld patch panels to. The passenger side held up a little better, so I'll leave it alone for now.

2009-11-23T02:54:00.000-08:00

Addressing some rear tire clearance issues. The tires are rubbing on the inner front fender well and the fender lip. Sounds easy, except that the car is a rust bucket with old repairs. Gave the inner fender some "love" with a 5lb sledge, but rusty panels are disintegrating. I'll need to install some patch panels to keep rocks out of the cab. I also wanted to just pinch the fender lip closed, but the PO had used calking as a base for rust repair. This was a "no-go" so I got our the cutter and just cut the lip off altogether. This will need a little more work.

Also packaged up a "basic" tool kit. I'm still assembling comprehensive spares and larger emergency tools.

2009-11-16T19:54:00.000-08:00

Took the Thing to the nearby dry lake bed for some test and tune. The car ran great and we did more testing than tuning. Lack of harnesses and a windshield kept speeds pretty low, but the car handled great on an old race course whoop section. The engine ran perfect, but tall tires make gearing a little long. Now back to the garage for the final bits and some adjustment.

2009-11-14T17:34:00.000-08:00

I got my 14-gallon long range gas tank. I slathered it with half dried bedliner paint, and It's so ugly now, I don't want to post a picture.

Also starting to organize and collect emergency tools and spares. I couldn't find a quality first aid kit, so I made my own with enough quantity of materials to actually be useful if someone got hurt. Tools are half old surpluss from the garage, and half new. There's still lots more stuff to collect.

2009-11-08T17:48:00.000-08:00

No interesting progress the last few weeks. Most of the major work is done, and I'm just waiting to order the last few parts as funds allow. I ordered a new gas tank, bolted in the seats and monkeyed with the hood release mechanism. Good thing, since my enthusiasm to work on this project in nearing an end too. I just want to drive it and have fun now.

2009-10-25T21:17:00.000-07:00

After nearly f'n up my right front drum, I figured out how to get the tap to start cutting square with the drum. I just used the drill press to get it started, rotating the chuck by hand.

The local auto parts store didn't have the right kind of lug nuts, so I used the stock nuts from my Rabbit, and cut them to length.

Up sizing from 12mm to 14mm doesn't sound like much, until you see the difference. The nut on the right is one of the old 12mm nuts. Hopefully, this increase in size will be a real benefit to reliability.

2009-10-24T17:31:00.001-07:00

Frustrating day on the Thing.

I bought new rear drums from the local shop. They were custom machined "lightened" and probably left over from someone who never came back to pay his bill. After some discussions on the Samba, it looks like the machining will make the drums more prone to warping and maybe a spongy brake. They felt fine on a low speed run around the block, but now I'm nervous how they will hold up. They look really cool in red powder coat, for whatever that's worth.

I drilled the right front drum to upsize the lug nuts from 12mm to 14mm. The drill press was straight, but the handheld tap wasn't. I was worried the wheel wouldn't center, but it's OK. I'll try to do better with the left drum tomorrow.

Two case of, "I should have left well-enough alone".

2009-10-11T17:50:00.000-07:00

No, that's not the surface of the moon. It's rust pits in the bottom of the gas tank after sand blasting. There's one pinhole, and I don't trust how much material is left in the pits. This tank is officially garbage. At least I discovered this now, and not 15 miles from a paved road.

2009-10-10T16:13:00.000-07:00

Leveled and set the rear ride height. This was a real pain in the ass since it involved some trial and error. I had to disassemble/reassemble the left spring plate twice, and the right three times. It sits a little high now, but I'll wait to see how it settles once loaded up before I mess with it any more.

2009-09-27T20:22:00.000-07:00

After 18-months, the Thing is mobile for the first time and I went for a test drive.

The Good:
* Freebee transmission shifts perfect
* Engine is super torquey, ran great, no oil leaks.
*The car was begging to be taken in the desert.

The Bad:
* Brakes lines are still full of air, need to re-bleed the lines.
* Rear torsion bars not indexed the same, need to level the car.
* Wheel alignment is way off.

The Ugly
* I got anxious to drive the car and forgot to tighten lug nuts on one wheel. Lost all 5 lug nuts 1-block from the driveway. Luckily wheel didn't depart on it's own and all is OK.

2009-09-20T21:25:00.000-07:00

Installed new brake and fuel lines in front half of car with help from my assistant.

2009-09-19T19:39:00.000-07:00

Plumbing brakes.

Bought a metric bubble flare and a standard double flare tool and started cutting and flaring my own lines.

Assembled fittings for the cutting brake, and also a dummy tee fitting. I'm sure the DMV inspector will take issue with a cutting brake, so I'll use the tee until after I get the car registered.

2009-09-13T12:35:00.000-07:00

Not much progress this weekend. I installed rear brake shoes and hardware. I also took the rear drums to the shop to have them turned..they have been cut too many times and are toast. Tally another $200 for parts.

Welded a tab to the roll cage for the rear view mirror mount.

Installed tie-downs to keep the windshield frame up, and another set on the hood to keep it from bouncing around when driving windowless.

2009-09-07T19:13:00.000-07:00

Got a bunch of small stuff done today:
*Installed electric fuel pump
*Installed horn
*Installed master cylinder
*Welded "nublets" on the brake/clutch pedals
*Installed roller gas pedal
*New clutch cable
*New throttle cable
*New e-brake cables

2009-09-06T19:43:00.000-07:00

Spent most of the day hunched in the fetal position patching a rusty section of floorboard below the pedal assembly. This, bar far, is the most miserable job I've had to do on this project.

2009-09-05T18:05:00.000-07:00

Finally finished with front bumper. I did some touch-up painting where the fenders were trimmed, reinstalled lights and wired up driving lights.

I may weld on some tow-bar mounts later, but I want to move on to things that will get this car driveable now.

2009-08-30T19:19:00.000-07:00

Too hot to do much this weekend. Finished welding front bumper and painted it. Trimmed and mounted front skid plate and more trimming on the front of the fenders.

2009-08-23T16:48:00.000-07:00

Added 1" supports to the bash bar. These connect to the front apron with double backing plates and tie to the boxed sheet metal inside the trunk.

Added mounting points for driving lights.

Also cut a surplus piece of 3/8" aluminum for the front skid plate. This will really be overkill, but it was free.

2009-08-22T19:17:00.000-07:00

Fab'd the basics of the front bumper. Lower tubes will support a skid plate, upper loop will protect driving lights. It still needs a ton of odds -n- ends.

2009-08-20T19:52:00.000-07:00

New: Steering box, tie rod ends, steering damper, and hardware.

2009-08-16T17:31:00.000-07:00

Performed more hack-job sheet metal repair using pop rivets, liquid nails and squirt foam...I was out of duck tape.

Also installed beam supports, backing plates and shocks.

2009-08-08T15:48:00.000-07:00

Finished modifying headlight buckets - I had to cut out the backs and weld in new sheetmetal. A little "love" with a hammer adds the clearance needed for the back of the headlight.

Also finished trimming up the fenders and glued on some plastic beading.

2009-08-02T23:07:00.001-07:00

Installed beam and cycled the front suspension/steering determine where the tires would rub. I had to beat the heck out of the back-side of the headlight bucket and trim the fender.

I'll need to work some more on the headlight buckets, do a little more trimming on the fender, and bead the raw sharp sheetmetal edge of the fender opening....then do the same on the right side.

2009-08-01T18:13:00.000-07:00

Pulled shift rod, replaced shift bushing and reinstalled the shifter.

Wire wheeled loose rust on the frame head, fully welded the seams and gave it a coat of POR-15 paint.

2009-07-26T17:49:00.000-07:00

Assembled beam - sans steering stuff.

2009-07-25T18:16:00.000-07:00

Added gussets and beam support mounts, then painted parts.

2009-07-19T17:36:00.000-07:00

Progress is slow - 115* heat is killing my enthusiasm. Added torsion adjusters, fully welded the shock tower seams and added hook stops to the trailing arms.

2009-07-17T21:30:00.000-07:00

Bought a new beam to replace the old rusted unit. The new one is aftermarket and definitely not up to original German standards. I'll need to do a bit of welding and reinforcement to get it up to par.

Also pressed in ball joints. The cheapo Harbor Freight press worked great.

2009-07-11T21:01:00.001-07:00

Recruited some help with bead blasting. Also, the previous owner got a little rough trying to adjust rusty brakes and tore up the backing plates, so I welded up some washers to reinforce the holes.

2009-07-10T23:02:00.001-07:00

Bead blasted tie rods. I reinforced the long tie rod by hammering it into 1"x0.120" tube (a very tight fit that required some grinding on the tie rod and 20-minutes with a 5lb sledge). I welded the ends and re-tapped the threads. A cheap project, except for the cost of left and right hand taps ($60). I'll do the short rod also, although it's probably not as necessary. Now I'm looking for any other 14x1.5 threads that need to be chased in order to justify the purchase of the taps.

2009-07-05T18:03:00.000-07:00

More de-rustification.

2009-07-03T19:59:00.000-07:00

Built a peg-leg so the car semi-mobile while the front end is out. Also started the tedious task of rust removal.

2009-07-02T19:53:00.001-07:00

Oh boy, another pile of rusty parts to be bead blasted and painted. After disassembling the suspension, I found a way to remove the pressed in ball joints...using a welder.

2009-07-01T19:26:00.000-07:00

A few days of soak time with PB Blaster with liberal use of the impact wrench and the front end is out. The beam has suffered a fatal bout with cancer and will be retired to the scrap heap.

Someone remind me why I chose this hobby.

2009-06-28T09:06:00.000-07:00

Pulled the Thing out of the garage and took some pictures to motivate myself. Next is the nasty work of re-building the front suspension.

I'm betting it will take an entire weekend just to loosen the rusty hardware. Yuck!

2009-06-27T13:21:00.001-07:00

Now with Headrests.

2009-06-27T05:05:00.000-07:00

Added rear seat support headrest frames and made seat covers.

2009-06-20T17:52:00.001-07:00

Building rear seats. UTV suspension seats are too damn expensive, and I wouldn't know if they fit until after I bought them, so I'm making my own. 1/2" plywood for the backs and base. 6" foam on the bottom, 4" on the back. I also found a high tech foam cutter at the thrift store for $8.

They sit up high so kids can see out, but an adult will hit his head on the top of the cage.

I kept the shape of the seats simple so sewing up covers won't be too hard - I hope.

2009-06-15T18:20:00.000-07:00

Added a few tie-down points and ratchet tie-downs to hold junk in place.

2009-06-13T21:28:00.000-07:00

I performed a finite element analysis of the stresses of the roll cage (mentally) and determined I needed a big ass gusset. Holes are drilled to minimize weight for maximum performance of the rear suspension as my 70 hp motor pushes the car at speeds up to 20 mph.

2009-06-12T20:45:00.001-07:00

More bars in more places. " Master Chief" has also found his perch.

2009-06-07T17:40:00.000-07:00

Fabricated seat mounts. There won't be much adjustability, so I'm going to wait until the pedal assembly is installed before I drill holes for the the final mounting location. I'll also need to get a quick release steering wheel since getting in/out of the drivers side is nearly impossible.

2009-06-06T16:42:00.000-07:00

Added bars to tie shock mounts to rear hoop. Swapped out some cheapo hardware with Grade 8 bolts. I also bought the second ammo can (night vision goggle cases) for the rear shelf.

2009-05-31T20:00:00.000-07:00

Added a few more cage members. Installed axillary oil cooler on rear parcel shelf and plumbed briaided line and fittings.

2009-05-30T20:24:00.000-07:00

More tubes and water/gas can mounts. I also found some cool night-vision goggle cases at the army surplus shop for tool/spare storage. I bought clamps for the cans, but they don't work well with this setup. I think some tube padding and shortened tie-downs will hold everything in place better and minimize rattling. It won't be pretty, but It should be functional. That's the theme behind this whole project anyway.

2009-05-24T19:40:00.000-07:00

OK, so it's been 1-year since I dragged this POS home, and I still have a long way to go before I'm slogging through the desert. I thought a few before/after photos would be interesting.

2009-05-23T20:15:00.000-07:00

Replaced the one piece push rod tubes with a spring loaded set. Only one was leaking, but I had to have a matched set. I also found a couple other small oil leaks that I hopefully got fixed. I'm trying to take care of a bunch of un-fun tasks on the car this weekend.

2009-05-16T13:42:00.000-07:00

Fab'd mirror mounts and added front grab handles.

2009-04-26T15:32:00.000-07:00

Roof rack - Done. Stuff will sit directly on the cage x-braces. I'm not sure how well that will work, but I really hate to add more steel up high. Hopefully lots of bungees will hold things in place OK.

2009-04-16T19:58:00.000-07:00

Progress has been slow the last few weeks - Project burnout is approaching.

I got 2-race-trim seats. I'd hoped to use a second set for rear seats, but leg room would be nil. Race trim makes similarly styled UTV seats that are shorter and more upright. I think these will be the next parts purchase. The front seats are in storage (away from kids/cats/dog until I get a chance to fabricate the mounts.

I also fully welded the top cross braces. As usual, low res photos are great for hiding ugly welds.

Next on the agenda is the top rack. 1/2" box and welding tabs are ready for the weekend.

2009-03-29T18:14:00.001-07:00

Added cross bracing (1"x0.65") across tops. Added spare tire holder thing-a-bob. Bought a cheapo white steel rim and spare tire.

Most of the new tubes are only tacked in. I was running out of steel mix this weekend.

2009-03-25T06:05:00.001-07:00

Covered the steering wheel with cork bicycle grip tape (for some padding) and then a leather cover. The plastic cover on the wheel is now bolted on, since the horn button is on the dash.

I also used a $5 curtain rod end from Lowe's, and a lug nut to make a "shifting scepter"

2009-03-21T15:34:00.000-07:00

Made good progress on the cage. Still needs lots of cross-bracing.

I'm starting to get the hang of welding upside-down too.

2009-03-19T20:06:00.000-07:00

Over 100-posts and I'm not even close to driving this damn Thing.

I'm on about my 8th pair of Mechanix gloves and burned out another index finger. Maybe I shouldn't use these for welding and picking up red-hot parts. They are so f'n comfy and look cool, I'll just end up buying another set (at $20 a pop)

..on to business. Welded connections between the cage and body at a few locations. The welds are exceptionally ugly since it's tough to get the welding tip where I want it.

2009-03-15T19:06:00.001-07:00

Added additional braces, pulled cage ass'y out for final welding, quick flat black spray-bomb and bolted it back in.

Rear hoop and more bracing next.

2009-03-14T19:44:00.001-07:00

Cut/drilled 2"x 0.125" angle iron for cage foundation along with a 2"x0.125" steel strip below the floorplan.

Finished front/middle hoops and tacked them to the angle.

Cut/fish -mouthed top tubes.

2009-02-28T20:00:00.000-08:00

Bent the first hoop for the cage. It's not perfect, but it turned out better than I expected (for a first attempt at multiple bends). Also, thanks to a patient wife willing to help hold the tubes at the right orientation while I made the bends. I also found the big mesquite tree and landscaping rocks are placed perfectly to help realign and tweak the bends, although any onlookers were probably befuddled at what the hell I was trying to do with a bent pipe prying against the landscaping.

2009-02-26T02:54:00.000-08:00

Did I say no oil leaks? What I meant to say what no catastrophic oil leaks. @#%&$#!!!
Looks like another 100$ bill for adjustable pushrod tubes and several more hours not building my cage. At least I don't need to tear down the motor.

2009-02-22T07:23:00.000-08:00

Started engine for first time. Except for a few minor glitches, the engine started right up, ran well, and no oil leaks.

2009-02-20T18:39:00.000-08:00

Oil system is plumbed. The top loop is temporary until I get the oil cooler installed. If all goes well, I may be firing the engine up for the first time this weekend. The way Murphey's law has been treating me lately, I'll have 5 oil leaks and suffer a spun bearing..well there's only one way to find out.

2009-02-18T19:43:00.000-08:00

Fun with plumbing.

Remote oil filter with oil cooler thermostat. Bottom lines are to/from engine. Top lines are to/from oil cooler. Blue/red fittings are -8 AN connectors and will hook up to braided steel hoses.

2009-02-15T20:25:00.001-08:00

Fabbed and installed reinforcing gussets.

Installed new Bosch starter.

Installed SVDA (Single Vacuum Dual Advance) distributor - was on back-order for the last two months.

Installed throw-out bearing and engine for (hopefully) the last time.

Installed rear cage and skid plates for (hopefully) the last time.

2009-02-14T20:39:00.000-08:00

Finally done with the rear cage and skid plate, pending flat black spray paint.

Welded mounting points for skid plate wings, added upper support tubes and oil filter mount. I also drank a couple fruity rum drinks as evidenced by the empty hurricane glass.

2009-02-08T20:56:00.000-08:00

Completed engine case skid plate. Cut skid plate "wings" from 14 Ga steel.

2009-02-04T00:26:00.000-08:00

Cut engine skid plate out of 1/8" steel to match the transmission plate. This will protect the engine case and angle up to the rear bumper.

I have some lighter gauge steel that I will use to make "wings" to provide some additional protection to the cylinder heads.

2009-02-01T17:38:00.000-08:00

Fabricated exhaust and rubber mounts to support the weight of the muffler on the rear bumper. The 2-1/2" exhaust is probably too big for a low RPM torque motor, but it looks damn cool!

Also installed a buggy whip mount.

2009-01-31T19:46:00.000-08:00

I cut off the stinger to start building the exhaust pipe. Take a look at the collector - what a piece of crap. I had to do a little cleanup here. There's no way I could have seen this mess, or fixed it without cutting off the pipe.

I installed the first part of the system, a transition from 2" to 2-1/2" pipe. I'll need to reinstall the motor and rear cage to fit-up the rest.

2009-01-29T18:50:00.000-08:00

I bought a muffler and pre-bent exhaust tubes. I'll need to find a way to mount this behind the bumper, in a place that looks good and doesn't hinder engine access.

I started welding caps on the end of the bumper tubes. My welds are too ugly to leave raw here, so I'm grinding them flush - a real PITA!!

2009-01-27T06:07:00.001-08:00

Relocated bumper tube and bent license holder our of 3/4" EMT. I think it looks much better now.

Unbolted the assembly and fully welded the tubes. I'll need to get some end caps for the bumpers and clean up a few of the uglier welds.

The vertical tubes will get shortened and will eventually tie to the rear hoop. The whole assembly needs to be removable so I can get the engine in and out.

2009-01-25T19:15:00.000-08:00

Finally started fabricating the cage. Ran tubing below engine to support the engine skid plate and added a rear bumper.

The aesthetics of the rear bumper isn't good. I spaced them so the license plate fits between the tubes, but they appear too far apart. The tubes are only tacked in place now, so I may do something different here.

I also need to triangulate a few things so I can lift the rear of the car with a high-lift. I doubt it would support the weight of the car right now.

2009-01-11T17:47:00.000-08:00

Fabbed and engine cradle/dolly that fits the socket on the floor jack. This will be handy since I'll probably have the engine in-out of the car 10-times while I build the roll cage.

I already knew the exhaust conflicts with the frame horn reinforcements installed earlier, but now you can see where it will need to be redone.

The engine is not in the car yet, but I had to take a picture just to goon out on what it will look like.

I didn't notice before, but the cheapo EMPI stinger isn't straight. It's no biggie since I'll had planned on cutting it off to install a muffler, but I'd be pissed if I wanted to run it as-is.

2009-01-10T18:13:00.000-08:00

Set crankshaft endpplay, installed main seal, flywheel and clutch.

Powder coated exhaust with high temp paint.

2009-01-08T18:15:00.001-08:00

Trimmed off lower rear fenders and sheetmetal.

2009-01-04T20:32:00.000-08:00

4 new Definity 235-75-15 MT tires. I'll need to do some hacking on the fenders to get them to clear without rubbing.

Also, here's my big accomplishment from my Christmas vacation; 3~ 5-liter mini kegs of beer..gone.

2009-01-02T15:38:00.000-08:00

Removed rear sheet metal and interior panels to make way for the motor and bobcat type exhaust.

2009-01-01T16:42:00.000-08:00

More Parts. Damn near done!

2008-12-31T09:43:00.000-08:00

It's starting to look like a motor now!

2008-12-29T20:06:00.000-08:00

Tapped breather box and oil filler for hose barbs.

Cleaned and painted tin (black Hammertone).

Stripped crappy paint from exhaust.

2008-12-28T18:41:00.000-08:00

Modified doghouse tin to vent to a 2.5" vent pipe. This will allow me to direct hot air toward the rear of the engine and away from the fan intake.

Also added welded in heavy duty breather box and coil mounting points on the fan shroud.

Finally..the tin is ready to paint.

2008-12-27T18:10:00.000-08:00

Fabricated outside tin sleds where stock heater boxes are normally installed. Also filled in gaps on lower cylinder tins and beat on sheet metal some more trying to get it to all fit right.

2008-12-27T02:50:00.000-08:00

It's taking hours and hours to get the tin to fit right. The combination of a Brazilian case, cheap Chinese tin and aftermarket heads really complicates things. Test fit..trim..hammer..repeat..

I also tapped the bottom of the heads and installed studs to support the sheet metal needed to close off the bottom tin "sleds".

2008-12-23T21:26:00.000-08:00

Spent about 3-hours shuffling shims to get rocker play right and setting valve geometry.

Installed oil cooler, sump plate and alternator stands.

2008-12-22T09:21:00.000-08:00

Assembled top end.

2008-12-21T16:54:00.001-08:00

* Assembled case
* Installed sand sealed pulley and oil pump.
* Checked deck height.

I'll be at 8:1 CR and close to 0.60 deck with no shims..Just right for running cheap gas in the desert heat. Hopefully I'll get the top end and valve train set up tomorrow.

2008-12-20T20:05:00.000-08:00

Lots of cleaning and prep for the engine:

Scrubbed cylinders with Lava soap to remove any residue from machining.
Cleaned Crank
Removed burrs and thin metal inside case.
Chamfered oil galley to align with oil pump outlet
Replaced cheap Chinese oil pick up with a German pick up.
Cleaned case
Test installed crank and cam to check bearing fit.
Pulled it all apart again for final assembly.