Author Topic: The Squarsche - my street legal '67 VW Squareback racer  (Read 35882 times)

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Offline manta22

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Re: The Squarsche - my street legal '67 VW Squareback racer
« Reply #45 on: August 14, 2014, 11:39:31 AM »
Thanks. I used a Porsche transaxle from a 914 in a Sable sports racer that I built. Nice little tranny-- the 901 is much lighter than a 915. You might give California Motorsports a call; they are the best (I'm told) Porsche transaxle guys and they do work for other shops. They might have taller gearsets for your 901.

Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ
Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ

Offline aircooledtechguy

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Re: The Squarsche - my street legal '67 VW Squareback racer
« Reply #46 on: August 14, 2014, 12:18:30 PM »
Actually the trans that I'm running is effectively a 915 trans.  It was a one year only type of 915 that only came in the 912E.  It's basically a 915 with similar gearing 1st-5th but with a 901 main shaft (so it uses a 901 215mm clutch disc) and has a different clutch actuation arm (for an early push style clutch).  The other main difference is the R&P.  It's got a lower R&P than a 915.

All these unique differences were so it could be run with the 2.0L type-4 motor out of a 914 that powered the 912E.  It's got perfect gearing for the engine for driving around town, hwy and track use, but I think for LSR I would benefit from the longer legs of the taller R&P from a 915.  The only thing that stops me from installing one is that there is no clutch disc available currently that has the larger 915 main shaft spline on a 215mm disc. . .  I may have to make one. . . :evil:
Regards,

Nate M.
Anacortes, WA
Owner: ProVolks LLC

Offline manta22

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Re: The Squarsche - my street legal '67 VW Squareback racer
« Reply #47 on: August 14, 2014, 12:41:20 PM »
Try calling KEP.
Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ

Offline aircooledtechguy

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Re: The Squarsche - my street legal '67 VW Squareback racer
« Reply #48 on: August 17, 2014, 07:47:59 PM »
I got my bottom brace for the front spoiler finished today and I'm really happy with it.  The spoiler is really solid now and the only flex is in the rubber base skirt (as it should be).  This ties into the front suspension for strength.



Over the past couple days, I turned a mess of a wiring system that was hanging half way to the floor into a working, correctly routed dash.  My friend Robert helped me out by extending the gauge wiring a few weeks ago so it made it a lot simpler.  Thanks Robert!!  This thing is coming together!!

I also wired-in the new custom steering column.  My original '67 column was fine and I could have modified it to work with the 911 steering, but it was a single stalk column and I really wanted to have the wipers up by my hands.  Having to reach to the dash for it every 30 seconds with this PNW drizzle we get up here gets old on about 2 miles of driving.  So if you remember, I severely cut down a '73 Super Beetle dual stalk column.  Yesterday afternoon and today, I attacked the wiring and got them all wired-in.  The 13 pin blinker went the way of the Dodo bird and I now have an electric flasher unit for the LED lights.  As time allows, I may add an emergency flasher box by way of a couple diodes, but there's just no time for such things now.




I also got the driver's seat re-installed for the first time in a long time.  That felt good too.  I sat down in the drivers seat for the first time since about March of 2013 and it was like re-uniting an old friend that you have been missing. . .  I can't wait to beat the crap out of this old friend!!  :evil: 8-)



I also got the coils mounted on the engine and a new set of plug wires routed and cut to length with the correct air-cooled ends.  I found that a Bosch set of Vanagon (hack, cough, puke. . .) wires have the correct 90 degree fittings on the coil end for the LS style coils.  Just cut them to length and the air-cooled plug ends/seals just screw on like factory.



Friday is the big day that Mario Velotta from www.thedubshop.net comes over to my shop with the new MS3X ECU, custom wiring harness and cam sync so we can get this beast fired-up, broken-in and tuned. 

Man I can't wait to drive this thing!!  All in good time. . .
Regards,

Nate M.
Anacortes, WA
Owner: ProVolks LLC

Offline aircooledtechguy

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Re: The Squarsche - my street legal '67 VW Squareback racer
« Reply #49 on: August 22, 2014, 11:35:55 AM »
Yesterday was a day of progress, steps back and delays.  Isn't that just typical of racing??

On the progress side, my Thursday trip to the San Juans to fix a car got canceled so I was able to have Mario come out a day earlier.  We hit it first thing in the morning and by noon, the engine wiring harness was made and installed on the engine side.  By 4pm, the entire EFI system was live and all sensors, coils, injectors and triggers were tested and checked good.  In that regard a lot was accomplished.  We stopped just short of starting the motor.  That's where the step back came into play. . .

The step back came around noon when it was time to install the cam sync on the distributor hole.  I had not yet installed the distributor drive gear since having it in there without a dizzy to keep it in place will cause it to rise-up in the hole and bind if you hand crank the engine.  Even though it doesn't really matter on this cam sensor how the drive gear is orientated, I still wanted to install the drive gear in the correct orientation.  So I began to hand crank the motor with the only thing I can hand turn it with; the alternator pulley.  As I got about 3/4 turn, the motor "clunked" and bound-up!!  :shock:  I turned it back the other way and the same thing. . .

So we began the deconstruction to eliminate possibilities each time checking if it would turn.  We checked the valve springs for binding (again) - good, removed the rockers - good, checked the valves with a straight edge - good borescoped the cylinders through the plug holes - good, borescoped the intakes through the ITBs - good.    :?  Everything was fine.  The last time the motor had been rotated was during the valve adjustment and it was perfect. . .  confident that it was not caused by anything internal, out came the motor.   :evil:

Pulling this motor is not as straight forward as most cars since literally everything is custom on it.  To fit in, it must be pivoted at a unit at about a 30 degree down angle on the fwd trans mounts, then you can separate it.  'Course that means you must disconnect all the shift linkage or you will destroy it and possible the trans nose cone and shift shaft.  So as soon as we get it ready to separate, I loosen the final nuts on the bottom and shift the motor back about 1/4" and try turning the engine; IT SPINS FREE!!  So now we know the issue is in the bell housing.

We separate the engine completely and the witness marks reveal that during the balancing process, a small amount of weight was needed to bring the pressure plate into balance with the rest of the assembly, so a small piece of steel was welded to the PP.  Unfortunately, it was interfering with the trans case where the throw-out shaft is. . .  So I used a burr to take down the boss on the trans case a bit and the problem was solved.  Man, I'll tell you what, I'm gonna give my balancer some good natured crap over that one!!   :-D

As for the delay, we decided to hold-off with the starting and tuning until Monday.  By the time Josh and I got the motor back in, Mario was finishing up with the wiring inside the car and we would have had enough time to do the initial break-in at least, but there were a couple details that I had overlooked and taking the weekend to get those sewn-up I think would be the wiser move.  I also wanted to take advantage of one of the nice features on this new MS3X ECU.  I need to install, and wire-in, a momentary button and an LED light to my gauge panel.  This will enable me to datalog at the push of a button straight off the ECU to a SD card so no device like a computer or bluetooth phone will need to be in the car for this purpose.  This is important since I can't legally have a laptop in the car during a race session.

So all-in-all a good day.  Not as great as I would have hoped, but progress was made and by Monday we should be starting, tuning and driving this pig!!   :-D
Regards,

Nate M.
Anacortes, WA
Owner: ProVolks LLC

Offline Fiatdude

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Re: The Squarsche - my street legal '67 VW Squareback racer
« Reply #50 on: August 22, 2014, 07:24:58 PM »
I had a 901 in my Ghia and destroyed the main shaft --- had some big 4th and 5th gears for it still in the tool box you interested????



PM me if you want them

Offline aircooledtechguy

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Re: The Squarsche - my street legal '67 VW Squareback racer
« Reply #51 on: August 22, 2014, 10:52:16 PM »
I had a 901 in my Ghia and destroyed the main shaft --- had some big 4th and 5th gears for it still in the tool box you interested????



PM me if you want them

Thanks for the offer.  However, I don't have a 901.  My tranny is a 923 from a 912E which is basically a 915 with a few quirks for a 4 cylinder motor.  Again, I appreciate the offer. :cheers:
Regards,

Nate M.
Anacortes, WA
Owner: ProVolks LLC

Offline manta22

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Re: The Squarsche - my street legal '67 VW Squareback racer
« Reply #52 on: August 23, 2014, 01:31:34 PM »
Fiatdude;

What ratios are those 4th & 5th gear sets?

Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ
Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ

Offline aircooledtechguy

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Re: The Squarsche - my street legal '67 VW Squareback racer
« Reply #53 on: August 23, 2014, 10:14:55 PM »
Spent the day getting all the little details ready for Monday morning with Mario (Part 2).  Here’s a couple shots of the offending weld and where it was hitting and binding on the bell housing and the fix for it. . .





Got the motor re-stuffed (I’m getting really good at it and it’s scaring me.)  With 2 jacks and 30 minutes it’s out and about another 40 minutes to go back in.

Here’s what it’s like with all the harness installed and zip-tied down.  Super clean.  IMHO, Mario from www.thedubshop.net makes the best harnesses you can buy.





Speaking of Mario and his products, here’s a shot of the mini cam sync installed that he designed and makes for our motors.  This takes the place of this unit from CB Performance and scales it down to about a 1/5th scale. . .  Freaking amazing little piece and it works great too.




So as of now, I have 5 gallons of Premium gas in the tank.  The fuel pressure is set @ 35psi on the peanut gauge.  I cranked the motor to prime it with oil until the light went out.  Now all I have to do its wait until Monday morning.  I've got the GoPros charged-up and ready to capture that sh*t-eatin' grin on Josh's face when that motor roars to life for the first time. . .  Come-on Monday!!
Regards,

Nate M.
Anacortes, WA
Owner: ProVolks LLC

Offline aircooledtechguy

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Re: The Squarsche - my street legal '67 VW Squareback racer
« Reply #54 on: August 25, 2014, 12:48:37 AM »
No time for the real paint job before Bonneville and the rules say that your car must have a neat, presentable appearance.,. . . so a quick bomb-can-job will have to do for now so she's all one color.  I found the perfect color of grey that I was looking for too.  Grey with a little brown in it.

My philosophy is: Go fast enough and no one will be able to notice the flaws!! :lol:





So far I have the roof, rear hatch and the front-end painted.  The rest will be shot later in the week.  I've got a GTG next weekend that I really want to drive it to so I can break-in the motor before Bonneville.
Regards,

Nate M.
Anacortes, WA
Owner: ProVolks LLC

Offline manta22

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Re: The Squarsche - my street legal '67 VW Squareback racer
« Reply #55 on: August 25, 2014, 12:43:51 PM »
Nate;

That color is close to a VW color they called "anthracite". Good luck, run fast, run safe.

Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ
Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ

Offline aircooledtechguy

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Re: The Squarsche - my street legal '67 VW Squareback racer
« Reply #56 on: August 25, 2014, 07:53:35 PM »
Nate;

That color is close to a VW color they called "anthracite". Good luck, run fast, run safe.

Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ

The exact color is Ford machine & implement Grey.  :-D  Piss-can available at Ace Hardware.
Regards,

Nate M.
Anacortes, WA
Owner: ProVolks LLC

Offline aircooledtechguy

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Re: The Squarsche - my street legal '67 VW Squareback racer
« Reply #57 on: August 26, 2014, 12:00:06 PM »
 :-(

In other news,. . .

The new motor has fought Josh and I from day one. Today was the biggest PITA I have had in recent memory. From now on, this car will be referred to as "Murphey's Squarsche" cause this pig is going to drive me to drink,. . . MORE. :-D

We have fought poor parts from the word go. Today we discovered that the pump cover was defective and it literally poured oil as soon as the oil light went out. Then we found a head leak caused by a bad cylinder. I can tell you with 100% certainty that I will NEVER, NEVER, EVER use AA cylinders again. I don't give a crap how much a set of Mahles cost.

So at the end of the day, we were faced with a decision: Continue to screw with the new motor with a dwindling time schedule, roll the dice and possibly not have a motor and then have no time to ready the spare motor. OR get the tried and true spare motor in with the new injection and make make it to Bonneville and run the ever loving crap out of this car. . . Not a decision I wanted to make, but not having a car to run is just not an option at this point.  We're going and we're bringing a car to compete with.  I promised Josh that we're going and I won't welsh on that promise.  So a decision has been made.  For now, we're going to shelve the 2.3L for this season and methodically work the bugs out when we're not under the pressure of a hard timeline. When it's ready, it's ready. The 2056cc will go in with the new injection and we're gonna run the wheels off this car.  Period!!

We'll get these issues ironed out in time and it'll make the victory all the sweeter. For now I think it better to relieve the pressure a bit so we don't take un-due risk with 3 year$ worth of part$ acqui$ition and turn them into a pile of junk on the floor of the shop because we were pushing for a deadline. That's just foolish IMHO.


Regards,

Nate M.
Anacortes, WA
Owner: ProVolks LLC

Offline Rex Schimmer

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Re: The Squarsche - my street legal '67 VW Squareback racer
« Reply #58 on: August 29, 2014, 04:06:27 PM »
Looking at the pics of your engine it appears that your injector inlet tubes are not "belled". The non belled design as you appear to have is giving up about 15% on inlet flow. I have an article by Dr. Gordon Blair that discusses proper inlet design it is to big to post on this sight so E mail me at rexschimmer@gmail.com and I will send it to you. Might prove interesting.

Rex
Rex

Not much matters and the rest doesn't matter at all.

Offline aircooledtechguy

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Re: The Squarsche - my street legal '67 VW Squareback racer
« Reply #59 on: August 31, 2014, 01:59:42 PM »
Thanks Rex.  I'll shoot you an e-mail today.

The Squarsche is ready for Bonneville!!  The only thing left to do is to add a tow hook front and rear and get a 4-wheel alignment.  Everything is painted and on the car now.  I came out exactly as I had envisioned it.  I've driven it about 400 miles in the past 3 days and other than the alignment (the rear is out badly), it really drives nice

As of Friday night @ 6pm. . .





Regards,

Nate M.
Anacortes, WA
Owner: ProVolks LLC