The exhaust is being modified today, found a muffler shop that was willing to have a crack at it.
Valley Mufflers in Fortitude Valley (80 Dogget St).
See how they go; unfortunately I can't take pictures of the process but he is replacing the crimped pipes with straight smooth pipes and removing the baffled cones from 3 & 1 inlets then welding it all back together; some grinding by me and a couple of coats of VHT it will be set
Picked up the muffler and it looks a treat; the metal is very thin so the exhaust guy had a big of a time getting it to weld but he managed.
The 2&4 pipes are now smooth and uniform along their length and end just next to the exhaust outlets; for 1 & 3 inlets the cones were left in there as the J pipes are just a bit longer.
It is now getting a Hi-temp powder coat in matte black and I'll pick it up next week.... more to follow
sander288 wrote:It is running out of breath though at about 130-140kph, which is the exhaust I think.
Reality check for you:
base pobjoy 1916 has around 65hp atw......a base pobjoy 1640cc has 24% less power (as dyno proven by stan)...so around 48-50hp atw. You have a 1300cc with the same specs, so you're going to have around 40hp atw.......you're running out of breath Sander288 as the 40HP you have can only do so much !!
sander288 wrote:The 2&4 pipes are now smooth and uniform along their length and end just next to the exhaust outlets; for 1 & 3 inlets the cones were left in there as the J pipes are just a bit longer.
Well I hope you didn't leave the cones in as they are the most restrictive part in the standard exhaust.
As a matter of interest, how much is this exhaust going to cost in the end ?
Craig, probably the case re the power and running out of breath; even if there isn't an actual improvement I'll be running out of breath with an exhaust that is period and does flow better than the current one.
Re the cones; if that is the case I'll have to drill them out with a larger drill bit as much as I can
The cost is going to end up at $250 (including buying the 2nd hand muffler); if I can sell the current exhaust it will have worked out less than buying a new dansk/german muffler from a shop; If I could weld this would have been a pretty inexpensive exercise
The other thing I did was bolt down the battery instead of the cable tie & old strap combination I had at Eastern Creek (to the disgust of ANDRA! - but they passed me and cursed VW's again)
Just before you go, this amused me no end! 😂
Some of the tech guys weren't around I guess when a leather belt was recommended as a battery tie-down! Not a piece of billet in sight.
Thanks for a great read on a cold wintry morning mate. 👍
Thanks for the reply guys; not alot happening on it atm.
Continued consternation over the exhaust; needing to get a small hole welded in the stock muffler has prompted me to rethink the exhaust some what; that in addition to other issues.
Sooo, the stock muffler is pretty cool and absolute sleeper (not that a 1300 surprises anyone) and is definitely period but does restrict power seeing I have some new rockers to go on and want the most out of it it begs the question should I just bite the bullet and get a new exhaust....?
My criteria for an exhaust are
1. Good ground clearance; even with or just below the rear valance
2. Good performance
3. Well made
4. Stock cut-outs
5. must be capable of having heaters (historic regulations; and need demister for rallies if need be)
6. Adjust valves without removing shit
7. Stock tinware + thermostat
So my options are
CSP Python (violates, 3 & 6; but has great performance and is tuneable)
CSP Super Competition (ticks all boxes but is heavy ~20kg going off CSP nominal shipping weights online)
Vintage Speed (ticks all boxes and is cheaper than 2 above; but does the heater box version perform as well? I know the equal length header one like Matt Berry has is good but no heater, no thermostat and not all tinware possible)
So I'm in a bit of a pickle; the costs are
~$900 for the CSP Super Competition + J tubes ~$165
Around $1100 for the Python + J tubes
~$430 + $150 for J pipes on the vintage speed
Heres some videos; and there is a sticky of pictures for all these exhausts on the tech talk section "VW exhaust Reference Images" or link below
if you haven't seen on my blog and gathered from the posts above I've been looking for a replacement exhaust for a while now; spent too much time looking and thinking about stuff!
Managed to find a really good deal via Aircooled Parts.net from the US and got a complete with J-tubes everything for $440USD with flat $60USD delivery so went for it on a vintage speed superflow system.
Can't wait to install after all this rain is gone and the car is moved to an actual garage! I also purchased some Scat "big-mouth" push rod tubes to allow more clearance on my pushrods once I get around to putting the CB Super stock 1.25:1 rockers on.
VS certainly package their stuff well and the quality looks fantastic!
I also have this exhaust on my '67 Deluxe with the 1300.
I have the non-flanged J Pipes and there appears to be a leak as it backfires when I downshift under engine load. Looks like I will be getting some flanged ones...
Just wanted to ask if you've done anything to your brakes? I've got recently new drums/shoes/lines/master cyl and wheel cylinders which I've adjusted to specs but I'd still like a bit more braking power with a little less pedal effort.
I've read about people changing master cylinder and wheel cylinder sizes and I've seen there are also sintered drum shoes available and also putting type 3 drums on which are bigger but wondered what was the most effective and simple approach.
You mentioned you have friends who race in formula vee .. Some classes they have to run drums don't they? Do they improve them at all or is the reduced weight of their chassis enough?
I just want a bit more braking surety for my stocker..
I think what you've done has probably been the best steps; there are some grippy shoe linings that you can get which provide a decent amount of oomph but obviously won't last as long as a everyday lining.
From what I know about the vees their brakes are just stock; as you said given their weight they get away with it; some may get better shoe linings.
The type 3 rears are a good option but I've never heard someone use them with drum fronts and the wide 5 type 3 stuff is getting thin on the ground in decent quality.
You can get aluminium rings to put around the drums for better cooling but this doesn't "improve" the braking.
My brakes haven't been touched as yet; but I do have some VVDS discs sitting around that may get thrown on perhaps otherwise I am doing as you and replacing what needs replacing but also adding some better linings and aluminium cooling rings and going over to dual circuit.
Something I have though about is testing kombi or type 3 wheel cylinders but have been hard up finding information if anyone else has done this with success in a 4 wheel drum application
Sorry not much help but there are others on here that have played around with this for sometime; hopefully they chirp in 👍
I think I'll try the upgraded linings next and report back to you on how they go for street use.
Then I'll think about master cylinder size..
As you said people mucking around with wheel cylinder sizes are usually trying to get the proportioning right after front brake upgrades or guys with buggies trying to get their buggies to turn under brakes, not many people hanging onto drums.
I really like what you've done with your car mate. I'm pretty keen on doing a "hot" 1300 for mine when the rest of the car is restored. Then I'll make a case with the Minister of Finance 🙂
I've uprated from 56' drums to 63' drums. That was good... but not a patch on front discs. Even without bleeding them properly, they still worked PILES better than the drums at the their best.
One a related note, Type 3 rear drums (the wide ones) are pretty awesome. The only downside with them is regular adjustment of shoes, but that's not all that difficult. They also supply a pretty awesome handbrake for handbrake turns. MUCH better handbrake feel than the EA falcon rear discs that a mate has on his car... and cheaper too.
The problem with drum brakes is not the drums, but lining material. No.8 Beetle would brake heavily, at 160 KPH, lap after lap...with good linings. Even though asbestos is no longer used in brake linings, it is possible to get fairly good linings. Almost as good as the Ferodo woven asbestos linings of 50 years ago.
As Shaun says, aluminium fins help to keep the drums cool - they also help to keep them from going 'oval'. The only reason for me going to 356 brakes [still drums] was because the after-market VW drums are rubbish, and therefore dangerous.
I'd rather wear a Beetle out by racing it than by polishing it!
