TheSamba.com :: View topic - Camper Special Rebuild Thread (Solexes@hotmail.com)

Wed Feb 14, 2007 2:26 pm

Wow - that LM1 is pricey - but ---- I can see it's worth. Anyone willing to help me dial in using theirs? lol.

Mostly right now I'm concentrating on tearing apart the GD engine.

I have an exhaust system that came on the GE - but I think its stock - and since Jake sugests it - good bye to that. I'll have it up for sale if anyone wants it. I'll be keeping the flaps and heaterboxes tho.

So - those who have done rebuilds - what do I need to look for in this case when I tear it down? Is there going to be anything that is going to be a show-stopper (I already know to keep an eye on the strainer plate bolts and that area)?

Wed Feb 14, 2007 3:17 pm

We are offering the LM-1 for rental to our customers for a very good rate... Why buy one? Use ours.

Wed Feb 14, 2007 3:58 pm

Quote: what do I need to look for in this case

Has the case been line bored? I didn't find out till we started purchasing main bearings. I needed "line-bored T4 mains in ten under". Also not sure if this applies to your configuration, but I also needed barrel spacers on my stroker. Something tells me that Jake probably has that covered.

Wed Feb 14, 2007 4:49 pm

Ryan, if you want to send in your case for our inspection and etc there is no added charge since you bought a kit..
A lot of people don't know this and I don't advertise it, but we do offer it.

Wed Feb 14, 2007 5:05 pm

I have an innocent question that I hope isn't controversial:

How many "Camper Specials" have been sold?

Is it 10? 100? Several hundred? More than a thousand?

If its a proprietary business secret, that's fine. I'm just wondering, and will follow this thread with interest.

Wed Feb 14, 2007 5:10 pm

About 60 kits have been sold and I have 24 on record in the engine shop as complete builds.

We don't do huge volumes here.. I have no desire to ever sell more than a couple hundred of them as I'd rather know the names of the owners as have them appear as serial numbers in the files.

The Camper Special has become very popular in the past year, we currently are working on 6 Camper Special kits, more than any other kit we offer, even the 2270!

Wed Feb 14, 2007 5:17 pm

Thanks for those numbers, Jake. It helps put things in perspective.

I've owned the "Type IV rebuild Bug Me" dvd for a couple of years now and it is invaluable. Maybe some day you should do a "Camper Special" video or DVD along the same lines.

Wed Feb 14, 2007 5:17 pm

I'll just say that the kit scared me. I feel I'm way less mechanical than 95 percent of those on here. I love this stuff, but still really new to it... plus frankly I spend about as much time working on the buses now that I can get away with. MY two daughters are only young once and I really value my little free time with them. Those two reasons are why I went with the turnkey set up. Jake will put it all together, by first taking apart my old engine.. making note of any failures, then he'll assemble the new engine..all of it including exhaust, and he'll use my components to get the FI dialed in perfectly. (At least I hope right Jake?) True it will cost more than the kit, but my fear was dropping all that money and then screwing it up. The turnkey for my situation takes almost all of the guesswork out of it. He'll even see if some of my old FI parts need replacing to make sure that what I get for him is ready to go in the bus.

Anyway, I just wanted to point out that Jake offers this service to those few on here who are intimidated at splitting a case and doing the fine work on their own.

I too will let you folks know how it all turns out this summer! I can't wait.

Wed Feb 14, 2007 5:25 pm

solexes@hotmail.com wrote: ...I have an exhaust system that came on the GE - but I think its stock - and since Jake sugests it - good bye to that.

By the way, where is Jake at with the exhaust? Is the super-duper new header done yet? If not, what is he recommending?

Wed Feb 14, 2007 7:04 pm

The header is seriously o0n the back burner... My fabricator got the deal of a lifetime and is now doing fab work on the Porsche RS Spyder and the Penske efforts in IRL. He had to leave town in a hurry to get to the new position and he kind of left us in a bind with the header as it was ready to be solid modeled and then CNC bent. Now that he is gone all of my in house exhaust components are suffering and they will until I get the in house operations up to a different level... Look for the header in 2008.

For now the Thunderbird heaterbox system works well with the Camper Special, it was used in almost all the development for the combination. The only two combinations that we have for the Bus that requires more than this is the "Super Camper Special" and the "Super Powerstroke".. Both of them were developed for use with the new header we are working on and we have tested prototypes of these systems on those combinations.

The Type 4 engine is VERY exhaust dependant, using the Camper Special with a stock muffler won't get you any MPG, it;'ll elevate head, oil and exhaust gas temps and it'll end up killing the engine in every way possible.
Think of it like this:
Eat a can of beans then see how you feel after a few hours of not allowing the gas to escape, thats what the engine feels with a stock muffler!!!

The performance of any combination is dictated by the ENTIRE combination, thats why we have tested the Camper Special with carbs of most sizes, stock EFI, aftermarket EFI and most all exhaust systems. We can recommend things to the customer knowing exactly what the results will be- the way it should be.

When someone doesn't listen and they make changes its ALWAYS counter productive, many times it will kill the engine in some aspect. A good example is a guy that cut a corner (kit engine) and used a single Weber carb AND stock exhaust together on his kit against our advice, it got 8 MPG and was impossible to tune.

As we always say here "It's all in the combo". When someone buys a turnkey they get the ENTIRE combo from the air filter to the tailpipe and everything in between, if they leave it as is things work great!

Quote: I've owned the "Type IV rebuild Bug Me" dvd for a couple of years now and it is invaluable. Maybe some day you should do a "Camper Special" video or DVD along the same lines .

I am currently working on my own video series and the first one is a Type 4 performance engine video taking the builder of one of my 2270cc TIV kits through the processes 100% from unboxing parts to tuning and breaking in the engine. If the demand remains high for the Camper Special kits it will deem the same necessary video just for the Camper Special to help keep questions to a minimum for us and provide builders with the best info. These videos are 6+ hours each in DVD format. I'm doing the videos only with the assistance of my Wife, all the editing, voice overs and camera work is being done in my basement where I have built a studio for the purpose.

Wed Feb 14, 2007 9:14 pm

Jake Raby wrote: About 60 kits have been sold and I have 24 on record in the engine shop as complete builds.

That's amazing that you can make it work financially with those kind of numbers.

I'm going to start a T4 2L soon, what other options do you offer for kits, other than the camper special, explain the hp and benefits of offerings like "Super Camper Special" and the "Super Powerstroke"?

Thu Feb 15, 2007 4:57 am

The "Super" versions of each of these engines is nothing more than a designation for the most updated versions of each power plant.

The big difference is "Super" engines are only available in turnkey form and will not be passed down to my store for retail kit sales in the future, the way their predocessors were.

We keep the latest and greatest in the engine shop for turnkey sales, thats why most of our customers choose my engine program for a turnkey.

The big differences with the "Super" engines and those that come before them are the cylindder heads and camshafts. The general kits that we offer are coupled to our 7416 and 7424 series heads, these do not receive CNC manipulation. The "Super" engines have different cams and compression ratios as well as our ultimate "LE series" heads (leading Edge)

What this means is even cooler running and 5-8%+ more across the board power mainly due to the relocated and optimized spark plug location.

As for kit offerings, the "Powerstroke" is a stroker version of a camper special in a nutshell. It does the same things and went through even more exhaustive design (14 cam changes!). The Powerstroke is generally only used for towing or those that live in the mountains. I have one in my company bus and have logged 74K miles on it with it's CIS EFI retrofit. I haven't tuned it up in over 5 years!

We abuse and neglect the engine and bus because it's a shop mule... Here it is hauling 1500 pounds of concrete. I have had over a ton in the bus and it still had more power loaded down that a stock bus thats not loaded!
[img] http://www.aircooledtechnology.com/images/DSCN2057.JPG[/img]

I also tow cars behind the Bus and have done so over a dozen times across the Smokey Mountains heading to Sevierville Tennessee for "circle yer wagens" (Tennessee VW show)

Thu Feb 15, 2007 8:28 am

Quote: Ryan, if you want to send in your case for our inspection and etc there is no added charge since you bought a kit..
A lot of people don't know this and I don't advertise it, but we do offer it.

What other engine kit provider gives THIS type of service!? :D

Thu Feb 15, 2007 9:22 am

Hell, no one else even offers a kit!

Thu Feb 15, 2007 10:02 am

I meant ANY kit builder (whether its Type IV or not) - I've never heard of that type of service...

Thu Feb 15, 2007 1:20 pm

I gotta get cracking!!!

I spoke to Jake a little while ago --- the turn around time on this kit is going to be less than one month. Less than 4 weeks. maybe 3 ---- maybe 2. :shock: :o

Which means I gotta get going PRONTO...

I will most likely have any work done to the case by Jake - depending on the verdict.

Wow...gotta get moving....

Thu Feb 15, 2007 2:04 pm

Ryan, your order was placed at the perfect time for a VERY fast turnaround...

Thu Feb 15, 2007 6:08 pm

Ryan, good luck with the build. I'm having a great time putting mine together. I'd definitely have Jake inspect and prep your case. That way he can supply the proper size bearings and such along with the kit. The nice thing about this kit that I've realized is that it's basically a bolt together operation. Aside from a good cleaning of all the parts and calculating deck height and valve geometry of course. No guessing if you bought the right parts to work together properly. I'm looking forward to see how your experience with it goes.

Thu Feb 15, 2007 6:57 pm

Ryan, new case or old?

Thu Feb 15, 2007 8:47 pm

GD case out of a running bus - old basicly Memo