You might have noticed in some of the other pictures that the LHS carby is looking very oily. This has only started happening since I fitted the breathers from the rockers to the aircleaners. And I think I've worked out what the problem is.
I foolishly didn't take Hellbugged's advice to fit baffles over the breather fittings where they are in the rocker cover. I figured that because my car doesn't see high revs or massive cornering G's that they wouldn't be required, I should have listened to the pros. The LHS fitting happens to line up perfectly with one of the rockers. I assume what is happening is that the rocker is throwing oil off and straight into the fitting, which is then getting sucked up by the vacuum in the carby. Contaminating the filter and carby with oil.
The fix is easy, fit the damn baffles!!!
I also noticed that the RHS rocker fitting was weeping ever so slightly. So I took it back to the guy at work and got him to lay a bit more silver solder around the fitting.
And I picked this up from work to make the baffles out of. It's a bearing preload shim out of a Kress dump truck or 793 CAT dump truck. This is one of the leftovers after we made a shimpack up. It's 0.030" (0.77mm for the metric minded) perfect for a baffle!
Lop a piece out and the trim to size before tacking into the rocker cover. I ended up trimming this piece into more of a triangle shape before welding it. Once tacked I fitted the rocker cover to the engine with no gasket and checker for any interference to the rockers. All was good so there should be plenty of clearance with the gaskets in place. Weld it out then refit the covers and breather lines.
Smiley ๐
If you said I was a Volkswagen man, you'd be right.
While I had the welder cranked up I fitted the O2 sensor bung into my exhaust for the air/fuel ratio gauge.
Here it is.
I was reading in the manual that fitting the heated sensor without it connected to the gauge will cause it to be damaged. I can only assume that it needs to heat itself and not be warmed up by the exhaust. So all I did was fit a spare single wire non-heated O2 sensor to fill the hole for the time being. And I cable tied everything up for the time being until it's ready to be wired.
I'm hoping to finish off my new dash panel in the next day or so, then I want to get the gauge fitted and wired before Dubs by the Pub, so I can try it out on the drive and know how horribly rich she's running ๐
Smiley ๐
If you said I was a Volkswagen man, you'd be right.
And here is a few quick pictures of the new dash I'm making to fit to the left side of the speedo. I'm hoping to fit the stock fuel gauge and the Air/fuel gauge on here for the time being, until I do some more gauge changes and shuffle things around again.
More updates as is happens, thanks for reading.
Smiley ๐
If you said I was a Volkswagen man, you'd be right.
SebastienPeek wrote:Damn Smiley,
You sure do get busy with Alyce every weekend!
It's great to see such a change and I bet it feels great to see the changes and cleanups too!
Thanks for the positive comments. I actually had a pretty lazy weekend really, I pulled the car apart on Thursday afternoon and put it all back together today after lunch. I should have got it done earlier so I could go offroading. But had to do a coolant change in my girlfriends car. Coolant, bah, I change the air in my cooling system everytime I go for a drive
๐๐๐
I'm hoping to try and get a lot more of my planned mods into fruition in the next month or so. Stay tuned.
Smiley
๐If you said I was a Volkswagen man, you'd be right.
I got the dash and gauge sorted out last Thursday before I drove down to Dubs by the Pub.
Here is the finished dash panel with the holes ground in it for the gauges.
It is replacing this.
Here is the opening in the dash widened out to fit the gauges through.
And all fitted. This side of the dash now tells me how much fuel I've used, and where it's all gone ๐๐
The car is running a bit rich, and the gauge is very accurate and seems to keep up with the loud pedal quite well. I'll now be able to fine tune my carbies some more and hopefully achieve a small amount of fuel economy at least.
Smiley ๐
If you said I was a Volkswagen man, you'd be right.
The next major thing on my massive list of jobs to do before Dubs was replace my front LED blinkers.
The old ones that I had fitted were actually truck side markers so they weren't the brightest kids on the block. I'm happy to report that the new ones are very bright and very visible.
Replace this....
...with this.
Smiley ๐
If you said I was a Volkswagen man, you'd be right.
I've also been slowly working away at my spindle and braking upgrade. There are a lot more things to consider than just bolting them on.
I'll be sending the spindles down to a member on here is SA to have them rebuilt professionally. I am in over my head as far as the machining work that is required. I have neither the tooling or skills to do the job properly.
And while I'm waiting for that to happen I've turned my attention to the wheels and tyres that I want to run.
Because I'm changing to the Commodore 5x120 stud pattern, I've decided to run 16" steelies off a VE Commodore. I chose 16" because offroad tyres are starting to be far more common in a 16" instead of a 15". I know that this isn't the case with road tyres with 16" being the uncommon and less used size in between 15 and 17. But as far as offroader tyres go they are very common.
So I picked up a steelie yesterday and went about seeing how it would fit.
Unfortunately I ran into a drama, although the stud pattern is the same, with the VE Holden went to 14mm studs instead of 12mm, which is on the VN brakes that I am going to be using. Also, the 'snout' that the wheel fits over is 70mm on the VN and slightly smaller at 67mm on the VE. Time for some mods ๐ค
You can see here the piece I'm talking about that the wheels fits over. This is a VN front disc.
And here is the steelie that I bought. They are 16x7" wide so it's a good size for the front and the back. I would be happier with a 5.5 or 6" wide for the front but that's something I can address down the track if and when I get some mags.
Here is the offending hole that is 3mm too small in diameter.
I tried bolting the disc on but there was only just enough threads poking though to get the nuts started.
And here is a picture of the fit after I gently enlarged the hole with a die grinder. The fit is now perfect. And despite that this rim is meant to go onto 14mm wheel studs it all bolts down perfectly. The tapers on the nuts pulled it into position and everything bolts down firm without the nuts bottoming out on the disc causing the wheel to be loose on the rotor.
I thought that I might have to upgrade to 14mm studs but the 12mm ones will be fine. This gives me the advantage of being able to run any Holden Commodore rim (VE if I enlarge the hole)
The plan is to run a 215/70/16 on the front. This is a tiny bit over 28" tall.
And a 265/70/16 on the back, which is around 31" tall.
Now that I know it will fit I need to get another rim for the front on the other side. And maybe order in some tyres.
Thanks for putting up with my ramblings again.
More soon.
Smiley ๐
If you said I was a Volkswagen man, you'd be right.
Smiley wrote:And here is the steelie that I bought. They are 16x7" wide so it's a good size for the front and the back. I would be happier with a 5.5 or 6" wide for the front but that's something I can address down the track if and when I get some mags.
Might be worth speaking to some Euro wreckers.
Some of the more pov spec beamers around E46 had 16" steelies that weren't overly wide about 6" and are same 5x120.
I hear ya re forby 15" tyres being alot harder to source than 16".
Very few 4x4 were actually sold with 15", for the last 20+ years they have been 16" stock and now even 17" is common so 15" AT tyres aren't catered for as much.
Joel wrote:Might be worth speaking to some Euro wreckers.
Some of the more pov spec beamers around E46 had 16" steelies that weren't overly wide about 6" and are same 5x120.
I also noticed this the other day when I was looking on here
http://www.boostcruising.com.au/forums/index.php?showtopic=332862
The only problem is that's it's a bit of a drive to the nearest Euro wreckers, I think I'd have to hit Brisbane. Might be worth a look next time I'm down.
Joel wrote:I hear ya re forby 15" tyres being alot harder to source than 16".
Very few 4x4 were actually sold with 15", for the last 20+ years they have been 16" stock and now even 17" is common so 15" AT tyres aren't catered for as much.
This is the main reason for going to a 16"
If I'm out touring in the desert or half way up to the Cape and wreck a tyre, it's going to be far easier to get a 16" one than a 15.
I saw your car for the first time in person at Dubs on the weekend Joel. It looks the goods as always. It would have been nice to meet you in person too, but I have no idea what you look like hahahaha.
Smiley
๐If you said I was a Volkswagen man, you'd be right.
Ha, yeah I was hiding from the heat with a few mates in the tavern for a fair while.
There is actually a post a pic of yourself thread buried in the archives somewhere, but I'm camera shy and any of me are probably from 10 years ago on my old profile if the links aren't broken, although aside from the hair I haven't changed much in 10 years.
Good advise re. going 16s.
I got the same problem with my forby.
Stockos were 16s but I have wide 15" sunraisers so I can run 31" muddies and trying to find second hand tyres is a PITA.
16s are everywhere second hand.
So I started making up a set of cutting brakes for the car today. It's so simple I don't know why I didn't do this a long long time ago!
First get a bolt and cut to length. Then drill some holes in a couple of bits of flat bar.
Bend the arms slightly to clear your gearstick and centre handbrake lever.
Bolt stuff in.
Now you're almost done ๐
Just need to cut the cable holes off the middle lever and weld them separately onto each side lever. Easy as pie!
Smiley ๐
If you said I was a Volkswagen man, you'd be right.
Finished off the cutting brakes today. They still need a little adjustment and fine tuning.
First of all you cutty cutty this piece off here.
Then grind things smooth and weld a little bit of plate under here.
Cut the cable loops in half and join one to each arm.
Smiley ๐
If you said I was a Volkswagen man, you'd be right.
Then fit it all up into the car.
Here is a shot off the handle brake down....
.....and one with it up. You can see that the little piece of plate pulls up on the underside of the two outer arms. This lets the centre arm ratchet and work like a normal handbrake when you pull it up. But when it's down you can pull up either arm separately to brake either rear wheel.
I then took the vehicle for a test run. She cuts a nice hoop with one wheel locked on ๐
But when I backed back in and under the carport I noticed this.
With the car in reverse or 2nd gear the LHS handle catches on the underside of the gearstick. Something I'm going to have to work out.
I also need to get some shorter handbrake cables (I'm sure you all noticed the stack of nuts ๐) I adjusted the rear brakes and they are screwed down as far as they can go and are working reasonably well, but they could be better.
Smiley ๐
If you said I was a Volkswagen man, you'd be right.
I've also done some more prep work on the car getting her ready for Fraser this weekend.
Replaced the front left wheel bearings (damn speedo cable!!!!!!!!), Tratty managed to fill them with muddy water on the weekend so they weren't very crash hot.
Adjusted the front and rear brakes (can't wait for discs)
Adjusted the link pins and greased the front end.
Changed the engine and transaxle oil.
Cleaned the air filters and reoiled, going to have to find my outer socks for the beach.
Replaced a punctured CV boot.
And I still need to fit the clutch cable cover that Steve was nice enough to give me at Dubs by the Pub.
When I was doing my front end I also noticed this
Looks like I'll be needing some new bump stop snubbers soon. Might be a good excuse to cut them off and net some more travel ๐ค
Smiley ๐
If you said I was a Volkswagen man, you'd be right.
That cutting brake tut is great Daniel! good work mate ๐.
My rear drums are so sluggly though, i can reef it up like mad and never lock it up, would it still turn sharper?
I spose if say 1 rear wheel was in the air and the diff wouldn't put torque to the rear wheel on the ground, having cutting brakes would allow ya to lock up the spinning wheel and put torque on the ground one?
Alyce is a beast haha. I'm keen for Dorrigo if you are when Valla comes around. Theres a whole myriad of old forestry and fire trails because there used to be timber and mining industries there a century or so ago. If you look hard enough, you can come across abandoned untouched train stations and (rumour has it) pubs and brothels that have been abandoned and untouched in the middle of the forests. There is steam trains about too. I been around there twice in 12 months on non-super hardcore stuff, i haven't found the tracks yet back spotted a map online. Found the abandoned train station the second time in the town of Megan.
(รด_!_/รด) (รด_!_/รด)
69' baja: kombi box, thing spindles, irs, disc front, type 3 rear drums, 2 inch lift kit, 31x10 rears. ๐
New engine in process: 94mm p&bs, 74mm C/w chomol Crank, 35.5x39 SP heads, turbo. Wierd combo, hopeful torque monsta!
bajachris88 wrote:That cutting brake tut is great Daniel! good work mate ๐.
My rear drums are so sluggly though, i can reef it up like mad and never lock it up, would it still turn sharper?
Your rear brakes shouldn't be that bad. Mine don't work as well as they should because the cables are too long. Need to get some shorter/newer cables. Are your drums adjusted correctly and handbrake adjusted properly after that? You you've done a bit of sand driving they could very well be out of adjustment, sand eats brakes shoes like crazy!!
Probably a great excuse to change to discs, this is what I'm planning on doing as soon as my front discs are done I'm going to start designing up a kit for the back.
bajachris88 wrote:I spose if say 1 rear wheel was in the air and the diff wouldn't put torque to the rear wheel on the ground, having cutting brakes would allow ya to lock up the spinning wheel and put torque on the ground one?
That's my main reason for fitting them. I've been in a few situations where I'm stuck or can't go any further. And a cutting brake would have had me out in seconds. As I stated above I don't know why it's taken me so long to do this cause it was so easy!
bajachris88 wrote:Alyce is a beast haha. I'm keen for Dorrigo if you are when Valla comes around. Theres a whole myriad of old forestry and fire trails because there used to be timber and mining industries there a century or so ago. If you look hard enough, you can come across abandoned untouched train stations and (rumour has it) pubs and brothels that have been abandoned and untouched in the middle of the forests. There is steam trains about too. I been around there twice in 12 months on non-super hardcore stuff, i haven't found the tracks yet back spotted a map online. Found the abandoned train station the second time in the town of Megan.
Sounds like a great idea. If there's offroading involved I'll be there! It might be a good idea to even take a few extra days off and make a bit of a holiday out of it. Explore a bit of NSW.
Smiley
๐If you said I was a Volkswagen man, you'd be right.
Good tut smiley you make it look too easy.
68 Baja - It's a growing pain!
58 Baja ute - and the pain spreads!
85 T3 Kombi - still growing
89 T3 Kombi - parts car
hey smiley i have a unifilter sock from my old custom filter somewhere, you could cut it in half and use it if ur intrested (mind u i have to find it first) give me a text if ur intrested as i dont get on the computer much anymore...
steff......
Life with out a v-dub is no life at all!!!!!
baghall wrote:Good tut smiley you make it look too easy.
That's cause it is easy!! Everyone with an offroad VW should do this mod!
And here's some pictures from last weekend's adventures to get you nice and inspired.
Tratty was nice enough to come up from Ipswitch and hang out with me. We hit the beach for the morning. But then the real fun started when we found some wild muddy forestry tracks after lunch
๐
This is where Tratty got stuck turning around.
Smiley
๐If you said I was a Volkswagen man, you'd be right.
Bob's Bridge. Maybe a little worse for wear?
Me coming up a slippery and steep incline.
Smiley ๐
If you said I was a Volkswagen man, you'd be right.
On this trip I have come to observe Tratty's interesting method of doing water crossings. He tends to hit them as hard as possible so all of the water gets out of his way ๐๐๐๐
Unfortunately for him this didn't work on one occasion, which leads us to my favourite series of pictures ๐
DOES ANYONE ELSE WANT TO COME TO CQ YET!!!!!!!???
Smiley ๐
If you said I was a Volkswagen man, you'd be right.
When the dual cabs finished and has some 34" super swampers on it , I'll be there .
grinderman wrote:When the dual cabs finished and has some 34" super swampers on it , I'll be there .
I'll be happy to have you
๐
Always keen for people to come out offroading in their VWs with me.
Smiley
๐If you said I was a Volkswagen man, you'd be right.
I might have worked out what that vibration was ๐คช๐คช๐คช
The rock was wedged in there really tight. The car runs so much smoother without it fitted ๐
I also finished tidying up my breather setup. Found a late model filler without the dump pipe and fitted it up. Had to change a few of the breather hoses lengths but now all is well.
Smiley ๐
If you said I was a Volkswagen man, you'd be right.
Shoulda just added another rock opposite...... Lol.
I had a rag wedged in mine one time
65 Meyers Manx
68 Country Buggy (KO 367)
68 Country Buggy (KO 669)
68 Country Buggy (KO 789)
68 Country Buggy (KO 815)
68 Baja Bug
76 Baja Kombi Twincab
11CAB wrote:Shoulda just added another rock opposite...... Lol.
I had a rag wedged in mine one time
Where did it suck that up from?
Smiley
๐If you said I was a Volkswagen man, you'd be right.
I'm not answering that question for fear of incriminating myself ๐
65 Meyers Manx
68 Country Buggy (KO 367)
68 Country Buggy (KO 669)
68 Country Buggy (KO 789)
68 Country Buggy (KO 815)
68 Baja Bug
76 Baja Kombi Twincab
Well I've been putting the cutting brakes to good use over the last few weeks. I have found them great for crawling in and out of deep holes and ruts. When one of the back wheels starts to lift off and spin, all you do is gently pull that brake on and she crawls straight out!
I was getting a little sick of the stupidly too long cables though. So I went and got a set of swingaxle beetle handbrake cables, which are about 60mm shorter than the Superbug ones I was running.
Remember that it looked like this, with a leaning tower of nuts on each cable!
So I fitted up the new cables and decided to take it for a test drive to see how they would work. And within 5 minutes I had snapped the ends off both cables! ๐ฌ๐ฌ
The issue that I had was that the section that the cable was running through on the brake handles was pulling back on the cable at too much of an angle. Causing snappy snappy. The old ones didn't do it cause the entire length of the crimped threaded end was out of the handle, so it was just cable flexing around the angle.
Time for cutting brakes Mk II!!!!!
Smiley ๐
If you said I was a Volkswagen man, you'd be right.
Ok. So this is what I started with.
There are two issues that I want to address. First of which is how the cables attach to the handles, and secondly how far the handles can travel. How the cables attach caused the breakage, but I think handle travel had a bit to do with it too. It's all too easy to get too excited in the heat of the moment and rip up on the handle too hard. So for this reason I'm going to build some stops into the handles.
So we add a little more metal to the back of the handle like this.
Then profile it so when you pull up on it the new end runs into the tunnel when you have the handle as high as you want it. This stops you overextending the cables or pulling to hard on the handle.
Smiley ๐
If you said I was a Volkswagen man, you'd be right.
Next thing you want to do it cut that shitty Mk I cable retainer of the side. Then bend and shape a piece of flatbar, weld it on and drill a hole in it.
Repeat the above steps for the other handle then cool in the fridge ๐ When this is done you should have something that looks a little like this.
Smiley ๐
If you said I was a Volkswagen man, you'd be right.
