412s

[Bill K.]

Hello again,

Progress on my daily driver '73 412 Coupe has been made over the years and I now have a GL to share.

Most recently, full suspension/brake/wheel upgrade:

* 17 x 7.5 x 55 ET Porsche Cayenne wheels; 195-45 front; 205-50 rear
* 911M front calipers (48mm) with 944 vented rotors (20.4 x 282 mm)
* 20AE Golf rear calipers (38 mm) with 944 vented rotors (20.4 x 290 mm)
* Brake bias valve removed for 1.60:1 brake bias with stock 19mm 412 master cylinder (same as 911)
* Delrin bushings front and rear
* Adjustable front camber and caster
* Lowered front with BMW 318i springs and Koni adjustable struts
* Super Beetle strut bearings and strut brace
* Mazda front spring plate bearings
* Rebuilt steering box
* Modified NOS centerline and ball joints
* Re-sealed fuel tank

http://www.vwbughead.com/412fast/412suspension/after.jpg

http://www.vwbughead.com/412fast/412suspension/front%20left%20oblique.jpg

http://www.vwbughead.com/412fast/412suspension/front%20strut%20exploded.jpg

http://www.vwbughead.com/412fast/412suspension/front%20subframe%20assy.jpg

http://www.vwbughead.com/412fast/412suspension/steering%20assy.jpg

http://www.vwbughead.com/412fast/412suspension/strut%20hung.jpg

http://www.vwbughead.com/412fast/412suspension/strut%20brace.jpg

http://www.vwbughead.com/412fast/412suspension/rear%20wishbone%20assys.jpg

http://www.vwbughead.com/412fast/412suspension/rear%20wishbone%20installed.jpg

The 411/412 has a lot to work with for suspension - struts in front, coil over trailing wishbone in rear - and the wheel wells are huge. Disk brakes in the rear require fabrication.

Before the upgrade, the front had horrible shimmies and was "nose-up", the steering was a bit heavy, and the car had "more motor than tire". Now it's raked, smooth, quick, and stable. I love driving it!

[Bill K.]

I built a 2056 kit from Jake and converted it to SDS before the suspension upgrade.

* 2056-115 RAT Porsche kit, 2008
* 914 2.0L intake runners
* Bus 2.0L plenum and throttle body
* SDS EFI
* Mallory ignition
* Stock pancake cooling

Finished kit:
http://www.vwbughead.com/412fast/412engine/Engine%20Kit/Final.JPG

ECU inside D-Jet box:
http://www.vwbughead.com/412fast/412engine/SDS/ECU.jpg

Bosch injectors modified for stock intake runner:
http://www.vwbughead.com/412fast/412engine/SDS/blueTopModified.JPG

115 HP with real heat (BA4 (http://manuals.type4.org/ba4/ch1/ba4_11a.htm)):
http://www.vwbughead.com/412fast/412engine/EngineBay1.jpg

SDS ECU is in stock location behind panel:
http://www.vwbughead.com/412fast/412engine/EngineBay2.jpg

Stock AAR and air inlet:
http://www.vwbughead.com/412fast/412engine/AirInlet.jpg

SDS Programmer and Race Technology DL1 on the dash; Volts, Oil Temp, Oil Press, CHT under the dash; custom kick panels; 4 on the floor:
http://www.vwbughead.com/412fast/412interior/Kicks/IMG_3749.JPG

Rebuilt stock recliner seats:
http://www.vwbughead.com/412fast/412interior/Seats/SeatInstalled.jpg

Starts up smooth and easy every morning, instant heat/defrost, mopes along in traffic when needed, but hauls ass the rest of the time:D

My three kids and I have enjoyed long road trips in the car and reliability has been excellent.

-Cheers

[Humble]

I used to hate the 411 and 412 but after seeing a few with the german look they're starting to grow on me. Progress looks great so far any motor plans?

Edit: you beat me to it i guess, motor looks good :)

[NO_H2O]

Long time Bill. Sweet 412. Do you know were to cruise that thing to get a good blue shroom bacon burger out there?

[wrenchnride247]

Look's great Bill! Those 412's do look good with the GL treatment. :)

BTW, my hard drive crashed, and the info you sent about the DASH quote is lost :o along with your email addy. Can you send me the info again please you should have it under the name Danny Bradham. Thanks.

[Wally]

Love to see your car again Bill. So much loving has been put into this build. Very well done and tnx for posting it up!

[Bill K.]

Thanks for the complements! It's been 5+ years in the making. The suspension and engine swaps were done over weekends to keep the daily driver running, so a lot of prep was required. It's a challenging project because parts are scarce, customization is required, and there are very few examples to learn from.

Plans for the 412, but in no hurry:
* road-trips
* exhaust
* 3rd brake light, carpet, window tinting
* transmission rebuild
* de-chrome/black-out/paint

Humble - these do take work to make look right. Most have shot suspensions and are "nose-up" which doesn't help the "long-nose" profile of the car. The picture shows my car with empty tank just after the conversion. It is normally raked forward a bit more, but one thing I would like to do is lower the front further to eliminate the "air gap" visable above the front tires.

Dave - that's funny :) I was just thinking about THAT place and THAT burger last week. Had a great burger last nite also! Woodinville has great roads for driving - valley's, hills, twisty country roads - and is 20 miles from Seattle. It's good living here. I'm glad to be back at work after 6 months unemployment (other than GoTronix). It was a beautiful summer and I had time to catch up on projects and enjoy the kids. My company is building a facility in Atlanta, so I'll try to get out and see you guys again :cheers:

Walter - your 412 is what got me interested in these cars. Be careful viewing this thread too often or you'll be buying another :rolleyes:

Danny - will do. Here's a similar project I just finished for a 914, but with plans to add the datalogger later:
http://www.vwbughead.com/web/GoTronixDASH2.jpg
4-screen programmable Race Technology DASH2 directly displaying CHT via AEM 4-ch thermocouple amp and Oil Pressure via digital pressure transducer and indirectly displaying AFR, MAP, and RPM via link with the SDS EFI System or datalogger.

SDS EFI System for D-Jet replacement:
http://www.vwbughead.com/web/GoTronixSDS.jpg
"SDS Inside" D-Jet ECU box for clean, sealed installation. PLX WBO2 meter for AFR readings to SDS and DASH2.

Link to DASH2 is short cable connected to D-Jet ECU box.

[Humble]

Is the SDS can-bus capable or is it just a serial link for the dash2? I've been thinking about upgrading the race car to a dash2 (I should have just installed one to begin with).

[Bill K.]

SDS, being a "Simple" system, is not can-bus compatible. The "data link" I refer to is custom. It's made of analog lines tapping into the SDS input signals for sharing with datalogger and/or display. The DASH2 has 4 analog inputs plus a RPM input. This project is using two of them to display SDS sensor values and the other two for direct input sensors. The DASH2 has a serial link to Race Technology dataloggers and for custom screen setup with PC.

For racing, I highly recommend the Race Technology DL1 with either the DASH2 or DASH3 (smaller display, no analog inputs). The DL1 datalogger provides track timing, GPS location, and accelerometers in addition to 8 analog inputs plus RPM. Getting real-time feedback on the track and being able to "replay" races in your "arm chair" is "priceless". Feeling the difference of a performance upgrade or driving technique is one thing, measuring it is another...

[wrenchnride247]

Danny - will do. Here's a similar project I just finished for a 914, but with plans to add the datalogger later:
http://www.vwbughead.com/web/GoTronixDASH2.jpg
4-screen programmable Race Technology DASH2 directly displaying CHT via AEM 4-ch thermocouple amp and Oil Pressure via digital pressure transducer and indirectly displaying AFR, MAP, and RPM via link with the SDS EFI System or datalogger.

I got it and replied Bill, Thanks.

That looks nice if it had a DL1 it would be closer to what I'm getting :D

[Humble]

I've talked to a few touring car challenge guys and they all had good things to say about the dl1 and dash2 combo. I've also been tempted by the AIM MXL dash, and I'm partial to AIM since we had a mycron setup in a kart.