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baxsie Samba Member
Joined: August 09, 2005 Posts: 606 Location: Eastern Washington State
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Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2014 10:20 am Post subject: Left front quarter panel seam repair near front door |
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The front quarter panel had suffered some colission in its history, and then perhaps suffered more as that damage was repaired. They had pulled the panel with one of those screw puller things, so the panel was perforated at many points. The original seam had been repaired with some brazing:
The trouble with this old repair was that the entire panel (and door post?) had been pressed in and then the panel had been brought out with a thick layer of bondo. This made the seam much shorter than it should have been. Some time ago we pulled the front quarter panel back to the original profile using the seam as a clamping point. This worked OK, but did more damage to the seam:
We cut a small strip of metal, clamped it in place and welded:
Then ground and sanded:
Here is a closer shot of the lower joint:
We then shot the bare metal with 2K epoxy primer, ready for sandable primer and filler as needed:
_________________ 1975 LaGrande Super Beetle Build Log / Farm boy hinge pin puller / Farm Boy Chassis Rotisserie
"I'm not getting older, I'm getting bitter." |
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baxsie Samba Member
Joined: August 09, 2005 Posts: 606 Location: Eastern Washington State
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Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2014 8:27 pm Post subject: Repairing Stress Cracks in Sheet Metal Cooling Tin |
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The piece of tin that sits in front of the pulley had some small cracks in it. On top of that, we added a hole in it for the crank trigger sensor, which further weakened it:
We formed a welding rod to be reinforecement:
My son brazed it into place, then we bead blasted:
Hopefully that will stop any future cracking. _________________ 1975 LaGrande Super Beetle Build Log / Farm boy hinge pin puller / Farm Boy Chassis Rotisserie
"I'm not getting older, I'm getting bitter." |
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baxsie Samba Member
Joined: August 09, 2005 Posts: 606 Location: Eastern Washington State
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Posted: Sat Apr 19, 2014 3:34 pm Post subject: Smoothing Interior Exhaust Welds at Flanges |
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We tacked the tailpipe to the muffler:
And tacked a brace between the flange at the head and the muffler:
Then my neighbor welded them up nice:
The tailpipe loops around very close to the collector, so we welded a brace between them so they would not rattle:
Where the stainless steel pipe is welded into the flanges, there is some incontinuity:
We decided to use the TIG and stainless rod to fill that in. This is a picture of the second pass at the welding, the first has already been ground down:
We used a burr on a die grinder to dmooth the welds inside the pipe, and a belt sander to flatten the flange. Then a quick bead blast:
_________________ 1975 LaGrande Super Beetle Build Log / Farm boy hinge pin puller / Farm Boy Chassis Rotisserie
"I'm not getting older, I'm getting bitter." |
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baxsie Samba Member
Joined: August 09, 2005 Posts: 606 Location: Eastern Washington State
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Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2014 9:24 pm Post subject: Mounting Sanden Scroll Air Conditioner Compressor |
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We are trying to come up with a good way to mount the Sanden Scroll Air Conditioner compressor. About the only good, beefy mounts available are the generator stand studs. The front set of studs already has the MST belt tensioner under it.
Our plan is to make a bracket out of aluminum, generally simple shapes cut to fit together then welded.
We made a CAD model of the parts:
The green part represents the base of the MST tensioner bracket. The blue piece is a mirror of that bracket created to go on the front generator stand studs.
The bright red part is a "C" channel that will fit over two of the compressor's mounting bosses.
For prototyping, we printed plastic parts using PLA on the company's MakerGear M2 printer:
A quick mock-up of how the parts would go together:
Here is the way the belt would be routed, and the position of the compressor. The blue is tape used to hold the plastic parts in position:
The prototye let us find out that the bracket cannot be completely welded and then installed, there is no way to get it around the generator stand. So we will come up with a 2-piece design, and give that a try.
Our hope is that the beefy aluminum will be strong enough. After some practice welds on aluminum, I think we will want to hire out the welding to a pro.
If the bracket is not strong enough, we may have to grab the mounting ears on the other side and bring some strut down to the case. Maybe the distributor clamp stud. Not much in that area. _________________ 1975 LaGrande Super Beetle Build Log / Farm boy hinge pin puller / Farm Boy Chassis Rotisserie
"I'm not getting older, I'm getting bitter."
Last edited by baxsie on Wed Apr 23, 2014 3:29 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Chanbob Samba Member
Joined: April 04, 2009 Posts: 59 Location: Idaho
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Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2014 7:58 am Post subject: |
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Love this build. You are doing an awesome job, love the little details. I have heard you say that you and your son are just two farm boys that don't know what your doing, I am starting to not believe you |
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alexvw Samba Member
Joined: February 03, 2011 Posts: 1023 Location: Hales Corners, Wisconsin
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Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2014 6:40 pm Post subject: |
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What type of AC system are you installing, a TXV or orifice system? Where are you going to mount the evaporator and how are you going to run lines throughout the car? _________________ 1995 Mitsubishi 3000GT SL
1974 Volkswagen Superbeetle( Mitsubishi 4G63T Swap in Progress )
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=575769&highlight= |
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baxsie Samba Member
Joined: August 09, 2005 Posts: 606 Location: Eastern Washington State
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Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2014 10:39 pm Post subject: |
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Chanbob wrote: |
Love this build. You are doing an awesome job, love the little details. I have heard you say that you and your son are just two farm boys that don't know what your doing, I am starting to not believe you |
Thanks.
alexvw wrote: |
What type of AC system are you installing, a TXV or orifice system? Where are you going to mount the evaporator and how are you going to run lines throughout the car? |
It is an ICE AC system: http://iceautoair.com/index-1SuperBeetle.html
with the exception that I am using a Sanden scroll compressor rather than the Seltec swash-plate that they supply.
We are going to run the stock ICEAC condenser and fan behind the front grill, stock for an ICE AC install.
The "precondenser" gets two electrical fans, and is under the parcel tray, by the transmission:
full post: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6990659#6990659 _________________ 1975 LaGrande Super Beetle Build Log / Farm boy hinge pin puller / Farm Boy Chassis Rotisserie
"I'm not getting older, I'm getting bitter." |
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baxsie Samba Member
Joined: August 09, 2005 Posts: 606 Location: Eastern Washington State
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Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2014 10:10 am Post subject: Mount for Sanden AC Compressor, take 2 |
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Went back to the drawing board and fixed up the design. Rather than several flat parts cut to interlock and be welded, we decided to go with a 2-piece CNC design. We used the MakerGear M2 to print out the prototype in red PLA:
Here is the prototype mounted to the block, still don't have the correct length studs:
The plastic model is not particularly strong, and the compressor weighs 15 pounds, so I was not sure if it would hold the weight. Surprisingly, the plastic held up very well:
Part of what allows this to work is not having a distibutor or mechanical fuel pump. I'm working with TheDubShop on getting an early version of their MiniCamSync. In theory it would fit in there:
The alignment looks good, with the belt one notch back on the compressor pulley.
There is some clearance between the fan shroud and the compressor:
Next up will be trying to find a CNC shop that can make it for a reasonable price. _________________ 1975 LaGrande Super Beetle Build Log / Farm boy hinge pin puller / Farm Boy Chassis Rotisserie
"I'm not getting older, I'm getting bitter." |
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baxsie Samba Member
Joined: August 09, 2005 Posts: 606 Location: Eastern Washington State
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Posted: Sat Apr 26, 2014 9:11 pm Post subject: Air Conditioner Compressor: Now in the correct orientation |
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Chanbob wrote: |
. . . two farm boys that don't know what your doing, I am starting to not believe you . . . |
Well . . . here's proof I don't know what I'm doing.
I started to wonder if the orientation of the AC compressor was critical.
I was not able to find a definitive answer, but after poking around a bunch, I decided that we had better put the oil fill plug on the top!
Have a 3d model built:
The first of the new parts is printing now in fantastically sexy transparent green:
We will have to test fit these up and tweak them . . . then off to be machined from aluminum. _________________ 1975 LaGrande Super Beetle Build Log / Farm boy hinge pin puller / Farm Boy Chassis Rotisserie
"I'm not getting older, I'm getting bitter." |
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baxsie Samba Member
Joined: August 09, 2005 Posts: 606 Location: Eastern Washington State
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Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2014 9:34 pm Post subject: Progression of 3d model for Compressor Mount Design |
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The first version was rather simple, intended to be laser or water-jet cut plates welded together. The big problem was that it could not be assembled around the alternator stand. D'Oh.
The next version was the same concept, but two pieces that bolted together, and designed to be CNC milled rather than welded:
Then we realized that the Sanden TRSE09's mounting orientation was hosed, since the oil fill port was aimed down. D'Oh. So we did the "logical" thing and rotated it 90 degrees. This put the oil fill port upward at least. At the same time I put a query in to Sanden to ask about orientation. This design puts the compressor at the same height as the alternator, and they are mirrored around the case split.
That version was two seperate, independent arms. They were beefy, but you could tell that the stability fore-aft was not good. The next version added a block to join them with bolts, but it never got off the desk:
We got the information back from Sanden. They did supply me with a application drawing of the compressor, which was great since I was able to firm up all my measurements. Concerning the rotation though, I did not like their answer, so I decided to see how this compressor was mounted in its OEM application. I found this parts drawing:
Which to me shows the oil fill port straight up and flat on the top. Going with that, the next version actually looks best of all, IMHO:
The rotation makes the arms shorter, which makes it lighter and more rigid.
A slightly longer belt will move the tensioner closer to flat, and bring it closer to the case center line.
This version still has the beefy-bolted-together cross bar that makes it very stable. I think the weakest point now will be the alternator stand mounting studs:
There are still some fiddly things to work out, a couple of minor clearances to knock out, but at this point I am feeling fairly confident that the design is settling down. _________________ 1975 LaGrande Super Beetle Build Log / Farm boy hinge pin puller / Farm Boy Chassis Rotisserie
"I'm not getting older, I'm getting bitter." |
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alexvw Samba Member
Joined: February 03, 2011 Posts: 1023 Location: Hales Corners, Wisconsin
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baxsie Samba Member
Joined: August 09, 2005 Posts: 606 Location: Eastern Washington State
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alexvw Samba Member
Joined: February 03, 2011 Posts: 1023 Location: Hales Corners, Wisconsin
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baxsie Samba Member
Joined: August 09, 2005 Posts: 606 Location: Eastern Washington State
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Posted: Mon May 19, 2014 6:49 pm Post subject: CNCthrottle cable bracket using desktop manufacturing |
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We got some great throttle pulleys from "slowtwitch" ( http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=25653 ) of Sync Link fame.
We wanted to run individual cables from each pully to a splitter to keep the engine compartment as clean as possible. We purchased some nice looking braided motorcycle throttle cables from Venhill.
Now we needed a way to hold the cable in the right position to engage with the pulley. We made a quick 3d print of a bracket to check if the concept would work:
It looked like the model was correct and the geometry will work OK. So next we added some curves to make it look swoopier. We modeled the part in OpenSCAD:
Then exported the part as STL:
And made new 3d prints of it:
And test-fit them:
Now the hard part begins. We had a cheap hobbyist CNC/Mill (search "3020 CNC" or "6040 CNC" on e-bay) that had been (and continues to be) both enticing and frustrating. Getting the tool paths correct is one of the biggest problems for us. So as a first try we cut the part in wood:
Towards the right, you can see that the program has a problem and it ran the bit hard into the wood. That would have broken the bit if it were metal
To make the part, we planned to mill once from the top and then again from the bottom. So we got brave and bolted it into the mill for the bottom cut:
Soon thereafter, we found that there was a bad connector on the mill's spindle. So the bit would randomly stop, but the XYZ motion would continue, until the bit got snapped off on some material. Many re-starts and bits later, we finally got to where you could see the parts taking shape:
Link
Then came the critical step of flipping the part over in the mill without screwing up the zero. Of course I screwed up the zero--but aluminum is hard to see through so I did not know till later:
Link
After MANY hours manning the mill, and many more unattended hours the parts were finaly ready to be broken out of the base block:
They are pretty rough, but aluminum files and sands well, so soon I had these:
These brackets and the pulleys will be red-anodized to match the other accessories on the engine.
Here is one mocked up against a throttle body:
This picture shows how the cable opening aligns with the pulley slot. It is actually perfect, but my camera was at a bit of an angle:
List of things I need to figure out:
1) learn more about the tool paths
2) find a good round over bit for aluminum in air
3) figure out a better way to zero the mill between sides
In all it worked out pretty well considering we did not have to send the parts out.
There is probably well over 100 hours of my time in the design and milling. Not to mention the mill itself, the upgrades, the PC to run it, the toolpath software, a handful of bits, and $15 of aluminum. Frankly I could have carved them out of a block of aluminum faster! _________________ 1975 LaGrande Super Beetle Build Log / Farm boy hinge pin puller / Farm Boy Chassis Rotisserie
"I'm not getting older, I'm getting bitter." |
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Bashr52 Samba Member
Joined: July 16, 2006 Posts: 5666 Location: On an island in VA
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Posted: Tue May 20, 2014 4:32 am Post subject: |
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Looking good! Just a thought, if you zero the aluminum block to the center of the piece and set of a couple of stop blocks tight with the edges, when you flip the piece you should be able to drop it back in between the stops and still maintain the relationship pretty close to centered. Thats assuming the piece is perfectly square and the first cuts were made into the center. What are you using to zero the piece with? An edge finder/wobbler works good for this. |
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baxsie Samba Member
Joined: August 09, 2005 Posts: 606 Location: Eastern Washington State
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Posted: Tue May 20, 2014 6:20 am Post subject: |
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>> Looking good!
Thanks.
>> . . . stop blocks tight with the edges . . .
We did that on the long side with some make-shift "stop blocks" made of a nut and washer.
We had a similar setup on the short side, but found when we flipped it that the short side of the block was not square
The worst of the zeroing mess is that I decided the mill had somehow lost its zero during the flip and I decided to re-zero it. I think that is where most of the error was introduced.
For zeroing, we made some sharp pointers on the mill's arms and made scribe points to optically line those up.
What I really need to do is take the time to install some optical end stops and dig around in Mach3 to figure out how to get it to automatically find the optical end stops. Then once I get the zero for the work piece, I can always get back to that exact same place by re-homing and moving back to the work piece zero.
I also have a RS-422 - USB interface on the list of upgrades so Mach3 can be aware of the spindle (start, stop, etc).
I know that all this stuff is in or can be put into Mach3, it takes time and patience that I am short on right now.
In real life, I'll probably throw it all under a tarp until I need another part . . . then re-learn the whole setup again with all new versions of the software tool chain. _________________ 1975 LaGrande Super Beetle Build Log / Farm boy hinge pin puller / Farm Boy Chassis Rotisserie
"I'm not getting older, I'm getting bitter." |
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Visigoth Samba Member
Joined: August 29, 2013 Posts: 5 Location: Orlando, FL
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Posted: Fri May 23, 2014 5:37 am Post subject: |
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This build is blowing me away, I'm so jealous... |
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baxsie Samba Member
Joined: August 09, 2005 Posts: 606 Location: Eastern Washington State
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Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2014 7:53 am Post subject: Remote Oil Filter Mount the hard way |
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Visigoth wrote: |
This build is blowing me away, I'm so jealous... |
Thanks for the kind words. Trying to accelerate the build. Two years is too long for a kid to wait for a car.
We had not given a huge amount of thought to where the remote oil filter would go. A popular place to put it is in the wheel well, I never liked that since I was worried that gravel might puncture it, plus it us so dirty there.
We wanted to come up with a place where changing it would not be a mess, so ideally any spills from changing should go straight down to the catch bucket.
We decided to put it just behind the number 4 cylinder. There is really not much going on there except the tin.
First up was figuring out the mechanical mounting. We found a Billet Remote Filter Mount from CVR that had the inlet and outlet where they would work well. The closest thing in that area you can mount to is the #4 exhaust port. We thought about a "claw" but they did not put it in exactly the right position. Plus the flanges on the exhaust are so thick, combined with the big tubing and sharp bend, that it would be difficult to get the nut and a claw on the lower stud.
We used 3/16 stainless to make a bracket, and welded it directly to the header's flange:
TIG welded the bracket to the flange, then bead blasted. Later we flat-sanded it to ensure a good seal:
We modified the tin to allow the filter to pass through:
The #4 exhaust practically wraps around the filter, so we made a heat shield to block heat from the exhaust header. It should also help keep any oil change mess off the header. We plan to wrap at least this section of the header to help reduce heat. You can see that the bottom of the oil filter is only just barely in the #3 + #4 exit airflow:
Running the lines was a little tight, but it does work. We used the SummitRacing brand AN style fittings and hose (crosses fingers):
Here is how the plumbing looks from underneath:
_________________ 1975 LaGrande Super Beetle Build Log / Farm boy hinge pin puller / Farm Boy Chassis Rotisserie
"I'm not getting older, I'm getting bitter." |
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H2OSB Samba Member
Joined: April 14, 2013 Posts: 1282 Location: Modesto, CA
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Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2014 12:12 pm Post subject: build comment |
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Sir, this is an exceptional and inspirational build.
johnL (aka H2OSB)
www.superbeetlesonly.com |
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baxsie Samba Member
Joined: August 09, 2005 Posts: 606 Location: Eastern Washington State
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Posted: Sat Jun 07, 2014 10:33 pm Post subject: Painting the Transaxle RustSeal Motor Coater |
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We decided to give the Transaxle a shot of RustSeal's "Fire Red" Motot Coater Paint.
Bead blasting starting:
Looks pretty sharp all blasted. Next we used the AquaClean and AquaBlast - - that made it grey again instantly!
A shot of the painted transaxle:
The paint does and amazing job of smoothing:
Now to let it cure, which we have found takes weeks _________________ 1975 LaGrande Super Beetle Build Log / Farm boy hinge pin puller / Farm Boy Chassis Rotisserie
"I'm not getting older, I'm getting bitter." |
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