hi Dave, Backtracking here because something dont add up with the engine failure, the clue is the seize (partial?) on no' 3 rod bearing and the seized no 1 main, that is down to low oil pressure, usually due to oil surge, i know you are dry sump, but it can still happen in the d/s tank, i think the other event with the flywheel coming loose?? may be a red herring, its definitely lost oil pressure and that is separate to the loose flywheel im sure. its important to isolate this earliest as it may carryover to the new engine.:eekno: regards anyway.

Well, oil pressure never dipped on the gauge, but that's the other end of the engine case. Over-revved at the end of the drag strip for sure, which could be a culprit. Regardless, the new motor is slated to share no parts with the old motor, except for possibly the fan shroud and the tin. I was going to reuse the oil pump, but that hasn't been completely decided yet. The crank also hasn't been inspected for cracks or damage which could be related the oil pressure...I haven't even pulled the rods off it yet. There is some minor concern that an issue in the rest of the oil system could be at fault, but I'm planning on flushing and checking each line, as well as replacing the ones that come near the exhaust system (in case there is internal heat damage).

Gotta have some risk ;)

-Dave

I've had some long time "off" of the garage, but puttered around a little bit. While flushing and checking hoses I've come to think that either the scavenge-to-tank or pressure-to-filter line may be disintegrating due to heat. After flushing the lines I found some two or three extremely small black specs, I would have passed them off as carbon but they don't break up or dissolve in carb cleaner. I wish I had done each line into it's own container, then I'd know which one the specs came from. I think the solution is pretty easy, however, as there are just three oil lines that come close to the exhaust. I'll swap those out with fresh, and upgrade the heat protection. Could be the reason for losing oil pressure on bearing #1, but it would have had to sneak its way around the oil filter. Odd, but sort of a non-issue at this stage...replace, replace, replace!

In the meantime, I started working on the shifter mounts...

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Bolted in. I need to make 'sides' which will bolt in separately. For now I have lots of measuring and math ahead of me, to ensure I put the hole for the shift rod in the right spot :P
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-Dave

Fit a hydraulic handbrake, it will help you a lot, trust me on this.

Nice work, especially the last picture looks impressive!:yes:

Already planned and designed (see last page), can't use any of the factory equipment anyways.

-Dave

Shifter is now working through all gears. I'm waiting on the handbrake install, but once I take care of that I'll strip the interior and paint the tunnel and floorpans again. The throws are longer then I was expecting, but the shifting is unbelievably precise. Having the shifter so close to the steering wheel more then makes up for the throw length. I still have to adjust the side-to-side limits, but in order to do so I will need an engine and the chance to drive it. As a nod to the Germanlook forum I opted to pass on the standard steel shift rod, and instead made my own from Carbon fiber. It's lighter and stiffer, and an improvement if my aluminium ends bonded well enough!

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-Dave

I love the CF, I just don't know if I would do it myself. After watching WRC for awhile and watching the drivers lose stages because they broke off their CF shifter handles that were works built, I tend to just go with slightly heavier stuff that would bend instead of breaking:D.

Jason

haha, yeah I've definitely considered that. I was more curious if I could make one that would hold, so I figured it's worth a try. On the transmission end I've both bonded the aluminum and used a clamp externally. If it fails, I'm pretty sure it's going to fail at the shifter end. Will keep a metal rod in the car for the first little bit until I'm sure!

-Dave

Well, not a lot of progress to report. I've been working on my Coupe quattro Turbo project, so the bug has been hibernating. I am pleased to report that all the major engine components are in-house now, and going to my engine builder for machining & balancing. In the meantime, I've ordered 3 of these which should make engine pulls much more pleasant:

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-8AN dry fluid breaks for the oil lines. Will allow me to remove the engine without draining and disconnecting all the lines each time.

-Dave

Told ya' so. :rolleyes: Just kidding. Those are pretty neat looking fittings, I haven't seen those before. The only ones I've dealt with are having lines made with the slip-sleeve. How much do those cost?

Scared to type this...but roughly $80 per fitting.

-Dave

Youch, but worth it. The quick connects are used on air lines and I've often wondered why the cost is so much more for fluid lines

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I’ve been spending most of my time lately working on the 1990 Coupe quattro project, but seeing as the pile of parts for the beetle is growing…I best start working on it again! Well, that and I’m sick of working on the Audi.

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A while back I did the design for my vertical handbrake, or rather the ‘first’ design. I know I will need to drive around with it and refine it a bit before doing the finished version, so did a basic outline of the handle for now. The problem is, without being able to physically sit in the car with it, how do you know you’re “close”. It dawned on me, while cutting decals, that I have a relatively smart rapid prototype option right here at home. A quick true-size sticker, and some cardboard and…

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Voila! A test unit that can be tried out in the car. Without having the base mounted it was pretty tough to “try”, but at the very least I figured out I was close enough to send the drawing out for water jet cutting.

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With a few additional bits stolen from a Rocket Rally horizontal handbrake, and a Honda clutch master cylinder, I have myself an inexpensive hydraulic handbrake to try out. The last step was to lathe up the pivot bushings, and drop the handle off with Nick at Rocket Rally for some TIG welding. As soon as I get it back, I can weld in some mounts on the transmission tunnel.

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In the meantime, I’m trying to plug away on a number of the little jobs I never seem to do. I’ve had this idea in mind since before the car was finished, but never got around to it. No time like the present!

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Pull cable and radio antenna, when combined, become an external battery-cut-off switch. Now, I suppose I should mention that when I bought the pull cable there were two options. This one, which is a shorter “front of the car” length cable, and the longer “back of the car” setup which I knew i would have to cut down quite substantially. I was prepared to buy the more expensive longer version, but the shop owner convinced me I was wasting money and this one was long enough.

It’s not.

Well, it is. But only for one cable routing option. It’s not long enough to try various options and ideas and then decide which one I like best. Mildly frustrating, but only because I will never know if this one “is” the best :P Still need to make a couple of bits for it, and then I’ll finish the install.

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The Porsche tach, or rather the way the needle bounces on downshifts, has always bugged me. I have a 3 3/8” Stewart Warner tach doing nothing, so why not have a precise tach in my car? Well, the mounting of a small tach in a big hole is a problem. Last year I came up with a pretty good idea, and then crushed an old 914 housing in the lathe. Oops. I figured it was because I disassembled the tach and weakened the body too much. I recently found I have a plastic-faced 914 tach which has seen better days, so time to try again!


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Step one seems to have gone fine. I now have hole perfectly sized for the SW tach, and keeping the Porsche unit assembled definitely makes it more rigid. Now I’ll just flip it over, and use the lathe to cut the back end off the tach…

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Oops.

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Well, lets just move onto other things then. Voltmeter replaced by cylinder head temperature, using a NOS VDO gauge I found at last weekend’s swap meet. Once I confirm it works, I’ll paint the outside rim silver, and touch up the panel behind it. Installing the gauge was a colourful language affair, since I had to run sensor wires all the way to the engine bay…frustrating when I know I have spares hidden in my wiring harness. Just can’t use them as the cylinder head gauge requires using their wires without cutting. Sigh.

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I did solve the tach problem though. Spent just a wee bit of money and dropped a 5” Monster tach into the dash. I’m planning on taking the car down to the VW Classic show in June, and figure this will buy me some street creed with the Cal-Look crowd. :-) But in all serious, it solved the problem was the closest match I could get to the current gauges and allows me to button the dash back up.

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So I finally decided I need to replace the Throwout bearing which was overdue for replacement three years ago. Have you priced one of these things out before? $149 USD! That’s painful. I recalled reading about an alternative option a few years back, but figured I better run the proper bearing for those first few transmission tests. This year, however, I returned to Google to try and search for the solution. I found it on the 356 registry, or did I? Turns out the 356 crowd converts their throwout bearings to the early 911 style because it shifts better and is significantly cheaper then the original option in their cars! Guess I know why I play with VW’s instead of Porsches! Sigh, alright…I’ll order the expensive bearing.

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Starting to cross things off on the list, which is good. I have to have the car ready and tested by March 31st, as I could be away for all of April. Our Spring Thaw classic car rally is April 25th, and the car MUST be ready for that! At least I’m starting to cross things off…

-Dave

Great work, as always!
I use to-do lists too, I find it's strangely fulfilling to cross something off the list... :laugh:

Thanks! Normally I keep my lists on the whiteboard, but with two project cars exploded across my shop the window lists seem easier. Best part of the day is that moment spent crossing things off the list before shutting the shop lights out ;)

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An odd angular growth has appeared off my transmission tunnel.

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And after a little bit of time its like grand central station down here. Not sure how I managed to make it all fit, but it does!!

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This one is kinda funny, I can remember being 17 years old and wanting to buy ATE Blue so badly but not being able to afford it. Then, in later years, I realized that regular-old-Pentosin was just 20degrees off for a whole lot less money. I was buying other parts last week when I saw the blue on the shelf...hell, I'm 34 now I can afford this! Yes, that's right, I bought brake fluid for the colour. But hey, it made flushing the system super easy!?!

-Dave

heh, you can't get super blue in the states anymore... because it's blue. Seriously. It's been on the market for years and got banned for being the wrong color. I still have a couple bottles in the garage waiting to go in the race bug. :)

Shop I bought it from was mentioning the price per bottle was going up March 1st. I wonder if that's related to the US no longer getting it. Unbelievably convenient when flushing the system, I usually do it every 6 months so there isn't a big colour change between used and fresh fluid. Apparently I've been wasting a LOT of brake fluid over the years. Flushes out much faster then I realized.

-Dave

Cell phone pictures for tonight, but they'll do.

First up, the 'factory' (empi?) bolt for holding my shift rod to the transmission has gone for a walk somewhere in my garage. Not overly worried about it, since it didn't seem to fit the Hagertt Performance universal joint. After cutting the end into a cone shape on the lathe, I realized I wanted to make sure I safety wired the bolt this time. I had the shifter come loose and lost all gears last summer while on a road trip. Let me tell you how quickly your heart sinks when you think you've blown a transmission in the middle of nowhere! Since I don't own a safety-wire drilling jig (and apparently none of my friends do either), I had to improvise:
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With the shifter setup now 100% complete, I moved onto to the oil lines. I’m replacing the three oil lines that pass through the exhaust system, as I believe the rubber lines may have deteriorated due to heat. I’m also taking the opportunity to put the Vibrant Performance Dry-Break fittings in the lines. These allow me to disconnect each oil line without losing a drop of oil, or introducing any air into the lines. I’ve put the Vibrant fitting (black) inside two straight hose ends so I could figure out how long each section of oil line would need to be.
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Before finalizing the assembly, the lower section of the hose was wrapped with Thermalflex Isultherm wrap. The lower section of hose will pass either very close, or through, the exhaust system. I’m not sure which, as I’m getting an all new system from Vintage Speed. The Isultherm wrap is a resin-impregnated ceramic wrap which is good to 1200deg F (650 C). If that isn’t sufficient, I can always do an over-wrap for additional protection.
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Thanks to Rob over at www.avrparts.com I have a perfect-condition fan shroud sandblasted, and ready for modification. The new 2110cc motor will not be running heater boxes, so I’m going to modify a new shroud which will still have the Salzburg “look”, but without functioning heater ducts. We’ll just pretend this factory doghouse shroud was in rough shape, and thats why I’m cutting it up…
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Darren at Kroc heads sent me a teaser photo this afternoon. Looks like my parts are back from the balancing shop and he had some time to start the assembly! Where’s the stoked icon???
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Just seven items left on the To-Do list before the car is ready for the Hagerty Spring Thaw Classic. Okay, one of those items is "build the engine", so it's not like they'll all happen quickly. But still, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! Can’t believe I’ve survived this long without the car. I miss driving it!

-Dave

This has been a pretty big week/weekend. Last week I finished up everything on the to-do list, which was essentially a bunch of little annoying items that are time consuming. The only thing left, besides the motor and related bits, is to paint the floorpan again, on the underside. We had a week of straight rain, so I put it off for some warmer weather. Cheaper to heat the garage then!

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You might notice the "Porsche" name on one of those bags, which simply means these items are priced about 3x more than they should be. Regardless, after almost three years of a rough throwout bearing, I figured I'd best replace it. Also bought new plastic mounts, a nylon cup for the clutch arm and the retainer clamp. Pretty interesting to see what those parts are supposed to look like!

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Got the shroud finished up with fake Salzburg outlets. I had more time on this one, so instead of rushing it I worked on at least making the straight and not warped by heat. No shims required for the generator mounting, which is lightyears better than the last one! I did, however, forget to fill a couple of holes I won't be using. Ah well...

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I'll be running a new Vintage Speed exhaust system, having beat the last one into submission. Just before I went to pick it up at AVR, though, I remembered it wouldn't clear the oil-pump. A few facebook notes to Lucas (Art's son) and he TIG'd in the required modification. I think I messaged Lucas on Thursday, and Rob brought me the exhaust system completed on Saturday! Couldn't believe my luck, because Darren messaged me that he was going to break in my cam/motor on Sunday morning. So Sunday I was at Kroc's shop to hang out, basically be in the way and watch Darren break in my new motor and do a quick setup on my new carbs. After it was all cleared, and cooled down, we loaded it up in my truck and home I went. It's about now that I should probably post some engine specs, but the honest truth is I haven't been paying much attention! Throughout the whole planning and parts acquiring period of the build Darren would call me up and ask something like "So, what cam did you want to run in this engine?" I'd answer with something like, 'well, I haven't thought that much about it...what would you suggest?' Darren would give me his idea, and I'd follow up with "sounds perfect, lets run with that then." The whole idea is kinda funny, seeing as I've so carefully planned everything else out on the car. I'll update the specs on my 2110 at a later date!

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I actually couldn't have cut this better myself! I went slightly wider with my dimensions this time, and slightly deeper. Now I should be able to remove the oil lines with the muffler on (should I ever need to), and the deeper inset should help with the heat soak.

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The muffler then got some exhaust wrap, and the steel shield which keeps the wrap from tearing off due to rocks.

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Being a glutton for punishment, I wrapped the J-tubes as well. And then whipped up some stone shields for those too. The wrap doesn't go all the way to the ends in the photos, as I like to be able to access the exhaust nuts without tearing up the wrap. On the muffler end I actually wrap the rest of the pipe and the flanges once the system is all bolted up.
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CB Black Box is mounted and wired in. Tomorrow I'll pickup the vacuum line fittings I've ordered, and will run the line through the firewall next to the Black Box. I've run out of space to run wires through the factory routing, so a couple of new grommets were added to the car tonight.

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I'll have to finish the engine-side of things once the engine is in the car, which will make doing the wrap or heat-shrink a little bit challenging!

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Ready to go in, hopefully I'll find time to take care of that tomorrow.

-Dave

I hope to be able to come back to my projects once they are done and tested once to bring them up to the level of detail you're putting in this thing! Really nice to watch.

Jason

Haha, thats pretty funny considering I'm in awe of your Bugster project.

------

Okay, so first we have this:

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and then we have HOLY CRAP! This engine is sweet! I was definitely wasting my time with small motors, torque for the win. Not much else to report, took it for some runs to break in the rings. Did some tuning runs to confirm I'm good on the Airs and Mains, just need to try one step smaller on the idles to see how things are. Currently I'm still running on the 009, getting the jetting dialed in before I fire up the Black Box to start creating my own ignition map. Super stoked, been out driving too much to think about anything else :-)

-Dave

Careful, getting power is a slippery slope, one that I know nothing about ;)

The bug is looking awesome, something about authentic rally scars add to the character, and they go to show this car means business. We need video, inside or out, I'm half tempted to send you my old gopro if we can get some video out of it :D

Haha...GoPro's are not the problem.

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Took it down to Van today and back, no problems drove like a dream. Just before parking it I stopped for gas, on the restart the throttle pedal bound up on something...but popped clear. Thought nothing of it, as if I forgot to ziptie my harness "just right", it binds on the back of the carb. Got home, not the problem. The 1/2 carb is binding without any linkage. Well crap. Guess I'm pulling that off. Here's hoping it's simple.

-Dave

Loving the golf balls. Are they filters or just covers?

How is the Audi coming along? Any build thread on that? :)

Those are Canadian Road-Hockey balls, just keeping crap out of the intakes while I wait for some filters to arrive.

The Audi thread is over on Motorgeek: http://www.motorgeek.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=47160 It does need a bit of updating, the motor is now in, but I pushed the car away and started working on the bug. Back at it yesterday, stripped the moldy interior out of the parts car (yuck!) and will be working on it all weekend.

-Dave

Nice little read Dave.

An epic story it seems, just like the Bug

Just got the new Hot VW's and there's a familiar looking car in there ;) Congrats on the spread!

Yes! I seen that in my new issue as well!! Congrats!!!

Thanks Guys! That was a surprise I didn't even know about :)

-Dave

Congrats. Nice coverage on a great build.

Thanks!

Just finished a 3,400 mile South Western USA road trip adventure (sadly, not in the beetle) and home to Prepare for the Hagerty Spring Thaw. It's wheels-up-wednesday, and time for some new rubber!

-Dave

Oh gee, six months away from the GL forums. Whoops! I should really take some time to update the thread. Not much in terms of modifications or fabrication done, but a whole whack of kilometers added to the odometer this summer. My absence from GL has been mostly related to my career move. In January I finished an 8 year career working for a company in Whistler BC, and decided to venture out on my own. Classic Car Adventures has been a side business / project for the past 6 years, and I thought now was the time to see if I could make it fly as my 'career'. Anyone who owns their own business knows it's more work than you can imagine, so I haven't had much time for playing in the garage!

Will sort through my photos and see what I can come up with for some updates...

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-Dave

Tried to post this in Off-topic, but I guess I need moderator approval in there. So! when in doubt, toss it in my build thread:

I've been looking at the Germanlook Button in my bookmarks tabs for months, knowing I need to comeback but always without enough time to really explore all the threads I've missed since taking a hiatus...but, I do really intend to get back involved.

I think it's probably been a good solid two years since I was actively checking daily, about that time I was done with my full-time employer and embarked on turning Classic Car Adventures, my hobby business on the side, into my full-time gig. 2014 was spent planning an expansion, and putting together my plan for the next five years. 2015 was "the year", and I added events in Colorado, Ontario Canada, and Washington/Oregon. Expanding the business with three new events, two of which are a minimum 3-day drive from where I live just to get to the start location, was a bit crazy to say the least!

...but, it actually all went really well. Feedback from each of the new events was very positive, and 2016 looks to have a lot of momentum behind it for my events. Should be a good year!

The rally bug hasn't 'suffered' over the past two years, but it's definitely been neglected in the sense that there have been no upgrades...it has literally just been worked on enough to keep it running for my events. I put just over 60,000km on it in 2015, not exactly sure how many in 2014. Regardless, it hasn't been 'exciting to read about' work, just a hell of a lot of oil changes :P

I did pull the bug off the road for the winter this year, the plan is to go over it bumper to bumper and take care of a few things, including some upgrades. With Classic Car Adventures being my primary income, I've had to put the German Look project on hold...I know some of the items I had planned for it will be going into the Rally Bug instead. Sigh...I've somehow aged a bit and become 'responsible' :P

Anyways, hopefully some of the 'old crew' is still kicking around, and I'm looking forward to reading up on any projects which are being worked on...

-Dave

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Good luck with new venture, with your attention to detail that you show with your car I'm sure the business will be a success

I considered trying to go through my photo library to find some highlights of the past two years, but quickly realized that it would take me forever, and I’d probably never get around to actually updating the thread. So, instead, I’ll simply start from today and if a project comes up that requires some history, I’ll tell the story at that time.

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One such story involves the fairly ambiguous fresh air box seal. From the day I built the Rally Bug, I’ve had a leak I could never find. It wasn’t a big leak, sometimes I’d wash the car and it would have a few drips on the trunk carpet…other times nothing. Sometimes I’d drive in the rain and it would be damp under the trunk, other times nothing. Coming back from our Hagerty Fall Classic event, I hit the biggest rainstorm I’d ever been in. We’re talking 3-4” of standing water on the interstate, and rain just POUNDING down. As I’m considering where I can get off to wait this out (due to 1971 wiper technology) I suddenly noticed my legs were getting wet…REALLY wet. Where is that coming from!?! Oh, it’s only water dripping through the fuse box! I’ve since determined that the seal on my fresh airbox doesn’t actually seal against the hood. So far I can’t figure out why. The seal appears good, the box appears to be at the right height and the hood fits the car extremely well. Ah well, the search for a better seal begins!

Also on the Hagerty Fall Classic, we had some clutch issues. The event began about 5 hours away from my house, and I was almost picking up my co-driver at the Airport when I had the first crunchy shift. “Hmmm, that’s odd”, I thought. The clutch pedal felt the same, but it was as though it didn’t disengage the clutch. Visions of breaking cables, the hook on the pedal and a number of other possibilities filled my head the rest of the way to the start location. As the weekend progressed, things got worse. I adjusted the cable, no help. Any shift was a question mark. Sometimes you’d put your foot on the clutch and it would work like butter. Other times you’d put your foot on the clutch and it definitely wouldn’t disengage…but it felt the same everytime. We finished day two and three with me shutting the car off at each stop, and planned on using the starter to get the car rolling if the clutch didn’t work. The weird part was you’d come to a stop sign, and the car would want to stall with the clutch in. The moment you went to start it, though, the engine would spin freely just fine…even if you never moved your foot off the clutch!?!

We figured it must be the pressure plate failing, but when I finally pulled the motor in November I got a bit of a surprise:

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So, apparently the pilot bearing failed. Fair enough, I think it’s the same one from when I built the car in 2012. It’s got a LOT of miles on it. Must have started seizing, and eventually failed completely. I presume, from what I’m seeing here, that the clutch was probably working fine, and the bearing bits were keeping the engine connected to the transmission ‘just enough’. Bizarre, but the best theory I have.

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But that’s a really long around the block story about the next project for the Rally Bug. Adjusting the clutch cable, the fact that over the years I’ve found the 901 to beetle clutch cable isn’t perfect and the fact that I’d like to move to dual masters on the brakes eventually means the clutch cable simply has to go. The ‘big’ project this winter is a hydraulic clutch setup for my car.

Researching it, the early Porsche 901 box I use is going to be a bit of a challenge. I bought the SACO hydraulic clutch kit for a beetle, but quickly realized that I won’t be using it. The external slave would have to either a) be mounted below the frame horn or b) require a bent and convoluted connection to the clutch fork. Couple that with the fact that know the Porsche clutch requires more pull travel vs a beetle setup, and it’s not going to be a simple installation.

So, if its not going to be simple, we should make it even less simple…right? I don’t mind a challenging initial install, as long as once it’s all setup it works and requires little playing with it. Bending linkages just right, figuring out the ideal spot to drill a new leverage ratio into the clutch fork, etc etc. seemed like the external kit was going to be too much work. So, I started looking at concentric slave cylinders.

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A concentric slave cylinder replaces the throw-out bearing, and clutch fork with a hydraulically operated bearing. Once setup, there are no adjustments. It automatically compensates for clutch wear, it feels the exact same from the first shift to the end of the clutch life. There is a Saab unit which is often adapted to transmissions for a cheap(ish) option, but we’ve got a pile of Tilton Racing stuff here for the MK1 Escort project, and I sort of got swept up in using one of those…plus all the dimensions were in the catalog, so I didn’t need to buy one to see if it would work!

http://tiltonracing.com/wp-content/u...00-500x500.jpg

After measuring up the 901 Transmission and related clutch parts, the Type 1 Engine, and using the Tilton bearing dimensions, I came up with the following adapter ring:

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1597/...0cc27dd4_z.jpg

The ring will require some modifications, as the inside of the bellhousing isn’t flat. What this does give me, however, is all the important locating points and a spot to start modifying from. But, I need the part in my hand…So, bring on the 3D printer. I’ve been meaning to buy one for a few years, but never seem to get around to it. With the technology becoming popular though, I had this one printed for $13 and picked it up the next day.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1484/...e08ff187_c.jpg

Before I can start modifying it, though, I need to pull the pivot ball from inside the Porsche bellhousing. On most 901 gearboxes this is actually threaded into the transmission. On the Early-Early 901’s, like mine, it’s pressed in. Okay, easy enough, a slide hammer should pop that out. Hmmm, I don’t own a slide hammer. Fine, went and bought one ($150) and discovered the jaws don’t go down small enough to grip the ball. Hmmm…I need access to a lathe or a mill.

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All of this clutch stuff happened pretty much on the Christmas holidays. I just launched the registration for our first 2016 event on the weekend, so I’ve been pretty busy locking that down. For the past 2-3 weeks, though, I’ve been thinking about how I’m going to make the final mount once I modify the plastic version to fit. I don’t have access to good mill, and my skills on a lathe could create the basic disc, but wouldn’t allow me to lay out the bolt holes in an accurate function. Plus the backside has some radiusing on the mount that require a mill, not a lathe. Hmmm… I think I’ve figured out a solution, which I’ll be taking care of this weekend.

To be continued…

Thanks Steve! So far, it seems to be going pretty well :P

So the clutch project is going to need a milling machine...and, realistically, it’s going to take a couple of test parts to get it all correct and working. I mean, true, I could painstakingly measure and model the inside of the bell housing, but it’s faster to make a part, revise it, and make a new one. So…I kinda went overboard on “the Christmas bonus”...

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1587/...52d7bea1_z.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1614/...a59cc6f7_z.jpg

Okay, its not a ‘real’ mill, but rather one of the smaller “Mill/Drill” machines. Table size is 33”x8.5” and its got a 1.5hp motor in it. At 650lbs, it’s about the largest machine I can get and still realistically move. Plus, it’s the perfect fit in our garage, any larger and it would be a pain to squeeze in there. So far I’ve found it to be quite capable, even using a 3” facing mill was no problem at all. True, I won’t be taking ¼” of steel off in a single pass, but do a number of light passes and it works just fine.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1456/...bb09379e_c.jpg

The Tilton slave cylinder finally arrived, and I sat down at the computer to remodel the adapter using some thoughts I’ve had while waiting. My original design couldn’t fit the 0.150” clearance they spec between the bearing and clutch fingers. If I swap out the studs holding the clutch guide tube with button-head hardware, however, I can do even better.

I suppose I should mention at this point that I’ve never actually been trained on a mill. My high school didn’t have a shop class, and while I’ve borrowed a buddies once or twice it’s always been for a specific modification to a pre-built piece. Turning a chunk of metal from the store into a finished part is totally new. I’ve used a lathe a fair bit, made a bunch of parts there from scratch, so I did have some knowledge to work from, but not a lot that was mill specific. I think it’s much easier now a-days, especially with the You-Tube. Not sure how do something, there’s a video for that!

After working out the part design, I worked out what I think are the most logical steps to make the part, ensuring the front and back both end up “on center”. First I had to make a pallet to go on the rotary table, something big enough that I could bolt the parts, and a jig to. Then I made a simple jig to hold the part after the first flip.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1553/...070417bc_z.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1587/...fe02a403_z.jpg

And then I started machining the “bottom” of the adapter. The bottom, or bell housing side, integrates the clutch tube mounting shape into it. Originally I was going to make the part to fit over the factory clutch tube, but I figure I’ll just machine in the necessary bits. The backside will be done in two stages, first the main steps, then the part is flipped for front-side machining. Then it will be flipped one last time for some final work on the back.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1479/...9b1e97a3_c.jpg

...will make more chips tomorrow.

-Dave

Stoked to see your operation with the annular throw-out!

Are you _sure_ there's enough room for the throw-out when fully compressed?
A hard measurement to get..

Wally performed a similar operation with his G50.
Dig through his build thread.
Using a Passat throw-out IIRC..

There's also a thread on the transaxle forum about this, too.
None used the Tilton AFAIK, however.

I chickened out on my 923 trans.
(street car)

Excited to see how this works out.
Glad to see you back..!

Honestly? No.

It's a very difficult measurement to get, and the Tilton is damned thick. I did have a few tricks up my sleeve though. First off, I found a "clutch depth measuring tool" at the PRI show. I took photos (which I can't find at the moment) and was able to reasonably duplicate it in the shop. Well, I think. hahaha.

I was also smart enough to disengage my clutch cable without touching the adjustment (one benefit of the Porsche arm). This meant with the engine out I could manipulate the clutch arm and get a visual of "about" where my bearing sits. My Porsche clutch guide tube has some wear marks from the throw-out bearing, which I was able to confirm are in "the right spot". I was able to compare wear marks on my old throwout bearing and my newish (2yr old) one to the marks on the guide tube, and confirm where the "clutch action" was occurring. That measurement matched up almost exactly to my measurement on where the pressure plate fingers *should* be from the bell housing. So with all three measurements coming up within the same tiny area, I figured I had to be pretty close.

Funny enough, in all my research for this I never thought to check the Germanlook forum, instead focused on the Porsche forums. There is lots of G50 info, and plenty of options out there...but very little on the 901 trans, and even less on the early 901 trans. Tilton DID have a Porsche 901 throwout bearing setup a few years back, but it was for the later 901 gear box that has a different bolt pattern and clutch setup.

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads...98399908.7.jpg

I also think that I'll end up milling two initial adapter plates. The first one is the plate I *think* is correct, which will help me work out where I need to clearance the plate and/or the bellhousing. The second plate, which is actually the first one I'll try, is going to be designed to slide snugly over the factory guide tube...but not actually "bolt in place". If I do it right, I should be able to bolt the engine in, and using the clutch lever arm hole slide the bearing forward and back to confirm I have the needed 0.100-0.150" clearance. Either that, or I'll find out I've really messed up and have a very expensive paperweight!

Thanks! Sorry to be gone so long.

-Dave