TheSamba.com :: View topic - Budget rail rebuild and dual carbs project

Wed Jun 17, 2015 10:25 pm

Yup. As long as my back holds out that is. That's been slowing me down more than anything lately.

Today I removed the old brake parts in the cockpit area to make room for the new parts.

The new distribution block and T's went in fairly easily. Just needed to work from the MC out, spacing the blocks to fit the lengths of brake line I had for it and drill a couple of holes for each block and bolt them down. I still had to cut and reflare a few of the lines, mostly on the front side of the rail.

The rear T is just ahead of the shifter and it connects to the two lines that were coming out of the cutter brake. I had to bend the clutch and throttle tubes to get them out of the way of the left rear brake line. That gave me an opportunity to move the throttle cable tube to align it with the gas pedal hook up point better.

I wasn't able to get the right rear bleeder out of the wheel cylinder yet. I tried a left hand drill bit and an EZ out bit with no success. I'll give it another shot of PB Blaster and try again tomorrow. If it still won't come out I'll just replace the whole wheel cylinder next payday.

Wed Jun 17, 2015 10:29 pm

Lookin good. I resurrected a pair of those same CNC cutting brakes.

So are you running one mast cylinder to both front and back brakes? What are you going to do about the brake balance. I don't know about yours but mine has an 80-20 rear weight bias, I don't even have front brakes.

Wed Jun 17, 2015 10:44 pm

I'll need to get the bleeder issue fixed first before I can bleed the system. After that's done I'll run it as is and see how the brakes feel. I'll add an inline brake proportioning valve between the dist block and the front T if I need it. These brakes (all stock bug drums) are getting replaced with disks after I get a little money set back for the upgrade.

Fri Jun 19, 2015 1:30 am

Still no luck with the bleeder screw yet. The ez-out just spins in the hole I drilled in the bleeder. It looks like the ez-out might be rounded off a bit on the splines where it's supposed to grab the screw. I'll pick up a new wheel cylinder for it next payday. Might as well get some new shoes and brake hardware as well since I'll have it torn that far down anyway.

While I was working back there I kept seeing how poorly the wiring was done around the battery cut off switch. The switch itself had a broken plastic key left in it, so it was basically useless for it's intended purpose.

First thing I did was drill a small hole in the broken end of the plastic key and put a wood screw into the hole. Once the screw was locked in tight I was able to turn the remainder of the key out using a screwdriver. I bought a replacement switch off Ebay for the keys, but once I was able to try the keys in the old switch I noticed that they didn't have a detent for the key to lock into in the ON position. The new switch, even though it was identical on the outside, had this detent so I swapped the old switch out for the new one.

Next up was the wiring itself. Once I got rid of a couple of yards worth of messy electrical tape I could see that there was a LOT of unnecessary extra wire in there. I cleaned the tape residue and paint overspray off the wires and ran them where they were supposed to go one at a time. This was done so I could remove the excess while still leaving enough for some movement of the engine and trans.

While I was working on the wires to the switch I noticed something strange a little further forward on the wiring harness. There was a little metal circuit breaker inline with a large red 12 gauge wire that was just hanging from the wiring with no support other than some more electrical tape wrapped around it. I removed that tape as well, cleaned up the metal circuit breaker and then painted it before permanently attaching it to the switch bracket with some nuts and bolts. I cut those two wires to fit better and reconnected them at the new location with new terminal ends.

The big battery cables going to the switch have a lot of extra unnecessary length as well, but I don't have any connectors large enough allow me to shorten it and replace the ends yet. That will have to wait till payday as well.

The switch plate, circuit breaker and associated wiring are now all reconnected and the wires are zip tied up out of the way. I still have to run the wires to the rear lights before I can call the back half of the wiring done. The rear light wires are already run from the lights up to the junction where the rear engine cage meets the back of the frame for now.

Yesterday while I was out running errands I found a slim cooler at Goodwill for $3.99 that looks like it will fit nicely on the rear rack of the buggy. I already have a large surplus ammo can to use for a tool box that will be mounted to the other side of the rack. Both boxes will need a way to mount them to the rack that will keep them permanently attached to the rail and keep thieves out as well. I'll figure something out later on, I'm too tired to come up with something creative right now.

While I working on the rail today I had a little helper that stuck around most of the time I was out there working. She's one of the friendliest chicks I've ever been around. :lol:

Sat Jun 20, 2015 12:43 am

I bled the brakes today (somewhat) by loosening the brake line going into the wheel cylinder with the broken bleeder on it. I also had a small leak in the rear T block that was easily fixed by tightening the loose line in one of the adapters. I wasn't able to get all the air out but I got it good enough to be able to take it for a spin out around the lake near my house.

When I started it up today I noticed the rail started easier than is ever has before. I think I must have fixed something that was loose or corroded in the wiring around the battery switch yesterday.

When I started down the road towards the lake I had a bit of trouble getting the shifter to get into the gears. I'll be picking up new shift bushings and possibly a new shifter to address that issue.

The other big issue was the slop in the steering. Everything is tight with the front wheels jacked up in the air. The only place I'm getting excess movement is in the steering box itself. I can turn the steering wheel about 4" before the pitman arm responds. I'll be adjusting the box tomorrow and see if I can get it back within spec.

On my way back home I looked at the rear tires and noticed the passenger side rear wheel was bouncing a lot compared to the drivers side wheel. I looked a little closer and saw that the top of the shock was broken loose. When I got home I checked it over and saw that the top shock bolt had snapped in half where it passed through the top mount. It is set up as a single shear mount on both the top and bottom. I'll add another mounting plate to all of the shock mounts on both sides to make the mounts all double shear for better durability. For now I just replaced both of the top shock bolts with some grade 8 hardware I had on hand.

After replacing the shock bolt I was heading inside and spotted some fresh oil on the engine and transaxle skid plate. It was getting dark by then so I'll look to see where it came from tomorrow.

Tue Jun 23, 2015 11:31 pm

I've been tinkering with the ape hanger steering lately. I wanted to move the steering wheel lower and get the shaft out of the windshield area. At first I tried moving the bearing block by the wheel end, to under the bottom windshield cross bar instead of on top of it. That moved the wheel right onto my lap and left no room to lift my legs to work the pedals. So then I tried moving the middle bearing block under the cross bar above the pedals. That puts the steering wheel pretty close to where I want it, but then I can't get the steering gear box back into it's original position.

I should probably back up and mention a very relevant fact. The PO has WELDED everything on the steering shaft. From the steering wheel quick release nut all the way to the steering gear input shaft. :shock:

The bearing blocks themselves are not welded, but they are seized to the shaft. I can't fit the entire steering shaft in my hyd press to move the bearing. I have been soaking the bearings with PB Blaster to try to free them up. So far hammering on the steering wheel nut with a socket and a hammer has gotten me nowhere.

I was thinking about just replacing the entire steering system and starting over. However when I looked up beetle steering boxes I noticed something strange. None of them looked like the box I have. The only clue I had to ID it was the MFG casting mark which was a ZF in a circle and some numbers. Searching around on the forum leads me to believe that I have a 356 Porsche steering gear box. Here's the pics I took of it today if anyone wants to chime in and confirm or deny this conclusion.

I filled the gear box with about half a quart of gear oil a few days ago and it's been leaking all over the place ever since. I'd like to just replace the bearings and seals and use it, but I can't remove the yoke from the input shaft since it's welded on. I won't be able to afford a SACO rack to replace it for a while so I'm looking for a cheaper steering solution in the meantime.

Wed Jun 24, 2015 2:36 am

You could try making a temporary external seal with RTV. Won't be a fantastic fix but it could slow things down enough that you can still have fun until you save up for a new one.

Wed Jun 24, 2015 6:31 am

You have an excellent gear box, somewhat rare and expensive. I have been going to chime in, but until now, didn`t know we have similar set ups. If the pitman arm is not at the correct angle, you will get a notchy area. Start off level and o trial and error from there. 3 or 4 degrees will make a big difference. Once you have found the sweet spot scribe some index marks for future reference and tack weld the bracket in place. My set up is also completely welded up like yours. You do have room to cut off the u jt at the input shaft and put on a new coupling.I had 3/4 of an inch left, after cutting. I race, so I tack welded the new coupling on also, but it will be easy to remove, if needed. Bearings and seals are not expensive and Stoddard Porsche has them in stock or your local bearing supply house. Once you are positive of everything being in the correct location, tack weld the coupling on. If you are not doing extreme off road stuff, you might not need to do this, but Itdoes add to your safety, as does welding the bracket. Before I welded my bracket, I did a hard front landing, the box rotated and locked up the steering, no fun at high speed. After welding the bracket, it can handle anything. See my recent posts in the video section.
Moores and Cp1 have the steering couplings. If you need pics, just holler.

Wed Jun 24, 2015 6:52 am

When you install front disk brakes and or new spindles, you might think about centering the steering box to eliminate any bump steer. You would need to reinforce the arm and make it symmetrical. See Vanapples steering thread.
You might want to re think the cutting brakes. I personally think they put undo stress on the trans. If they are not used regularly, the seals dry out and leak. I took mine out as it was a PITA.
Cool looking rail and the brake line blocks are killer. Pm me if you are making these to sell.

On edit...got my threads mixed up, thinking this was the notchy steering thread, but it is stillrelevant, i think :)

Wed Jun 24, 2015 12:50 pm

Sorry about the lack of detail in my last post. I was tired and trying to get what was in my head down in the thread before I went to sleep. I'm not too keen on using RTV for a permanent fix here. If I was out in the boonies I'd do it if needed to get home, but since I'm at home working on it I want to do it right. Hopefully then I won't need to resort to a boonie fix later.

flashho wrote: You have an excellent gear box, somewhat rare and expensive. I have been going to chime in, but until now, didn`t know we have similar set ups. If the pitman arm is not at the correct angle, you will get a notchy area. Start off level and o trial and error from there. 3 or 4 degrees will make a big difference. Once you have found the sweet spot scribe some index marks for future reference and tack weld the bracket in place. My set up is also completely welded up like yours. You do have room to cut off the u jt at the input shaft and put on a new coupling.I had 3/4 of an inch left, after cutting. I race, so I tack welded the new coupling on also, but it will be easy to remove, if needed. Bearings and seals are not expensive and Stoddard Porsche has them in stock or your local bearing supply house. Once you are positive of everything being in the correct location, tack weld the coupling on. If you are not doing extreme off road stuff, you might not need to do this, but Itdoes add to your safety, as does welding the bracket. Before I welded my bracket, I did a hard front landing, the box rotated and locked up the steering, no fun at high speed. After welding the bracket, it can handle anything. See my recent posts in the video section.
Moores and Cp1 have the steering couplings. If you need pics, just holler.

The beam has a little nub that locates the steering box angle. The rail was steering decently before, other than having the steering wheel positioned way to high. When I moved the bearing blocks under the frame bars vs on top of them. the top of the steering box was rotated back and couldn't get anywhere near the alignment nub on the beam anymore. I'm going to have my wife help hold the box while I try the hammer and socket method again today. Hopefully the PB Blaster has done a little to free up the shaft from the bearings. I also stripped the paint off the steering shaft around the bearings to try to remove any extra grip that might be holding it in place. I'll let you know how that works later today.

I'm sure I could cut the weld off the U-joint yoke on the input shaft if I have to. I just don't have the proper tooling to recut the splines at the moment. Whoever welded that yoke on there did WAY more than just tack it on unfortunately. However (luckily) that input shaft seal seems to be the only one that's not leaking at the moment. For now I'll try making some new gaskets and look around for the other seals on the box. Thank's for the tip about the parts source BTW. :wink:

I'll wait to center up the steering until I get a rack and pinion system for it. For now I'm just trying to get it running reliably so I can use it this year and work out the bugs.

Wed Jun 24, 2015 2:07 pm

I drove mine for several races with leaky seals by using bearing grease instead of bearing oil. Messy but it worked fine. There are only 2 seals. The 4 bolts on the plate need to be extremely tight, i forget the torgue value. I think once you drive with this box, you will like it. It is tight enough to make quick turns, but loose enough to relax on the highway. If you do sell it, it will pay for a saco rack, tie rods and ends. Ck ebay lol.
Maybe you can make a sliding hammer thingy to free the pillow block bearing.

Thu Jun 25, 2015 1:13 am

I've already driven with it since it came with the buggy. I measured it today and it's 2 & 2/3 turns lock to lock. That explains the fairly responsive steering I felt when I drove it a few days ago. It's quick enough to almost be borderline twitchy on the street. I'll have to keep the alignment closely in spec so it doesn't get ahead of me.

The grease trick sounds like it might be a possible solution if I can't get the seals and gaskets working right. I hope I don't have to use it as I'm not sure how well it would hold up over the long term.

Well today was a good news, bad news kind of day.

First the good news:
I got the steering shaft moved enough to get the steering box back into the correct position. I had to get creative on how to support the lower bearing block to allow the force from hammering on it to move the shaft and not the bearing. I used a Hi-Lift jack with the foot resting on the axle beam and the hook on the front of the bearing. Then I tied the upper end of the jack to the frame with some tie down straps. To protect the steering wheel adapter I put a 3/4" impact socket over the end of the shaft and duct taped it in place. Then I was able to use a 6lb sledge hammer and wail on the socket until the shaft moved enough (about 1.5") to allow the steering box to sit in it's proper place again.

Now the bad news:
I split one of the steering shaft bearing mounts in half while hammering on the shaft. I wasn't too surprised about it though since it already had a crack in it from where someone tried to put a grease fitting in the thinnest part.
Ooops...

Time to go back to the drawing board... literally. I sketched up a new bearing block for the shaft using the broken one I cut off for reference. The hardware store in town didn't have a bearing I could use for it so i got a sintered bronze bushing instead. I'll be adding a grease fitting to keep it lubed so it should still work as well as a bearing. Another positive side effect of using the bushing instead of a bearing is it will allow me to position the steering wheel closer to where I want it. I've already made the bushing mount on the mill and made a grease channel inside the bushing on the lathe. I made the parts with a .004 interference fit (bushing OD is 1.002" and housing ID is .998") so I will have to heat the housing and freeze the bushing to allow them to fit together. Once assembled and the temps normalize it will take a lot of force to try to move the bushing. The grease fitting threads will also be holding the bushing in place.

That's all for today, I'm beat.

Sat Jun 27, 2015 9:24 pm

Haven't been able to get much done the last couple of days with a messed up back. Yesterday all I got done was to insert the bushing into the housing. The bushing had been sitting in the freezer in the mini fridge in the shop for a couple of days. The housing got warmed up to 400* in a toaster oven. I pulled the housing out and set it on the bench and then grabbed the bushing from the freezer and dropped it in place. It fell right into place with room to spare and after a few seconds the oil in the bronze bushing started to sizzle and spit out. Once it cooled back down it was locked in place tight. There was no oil on the aluminum, everything on the bench came from within the bronze bushing.

Today I finished the housing by drilling, tapping and counter boring the hole for the grease fitting. I used some locktight to keep the fitting from backing out. The threads on the grease fitting are mated into both the housing and the bushing. I also radiused the bottom of the housing to match a 1.5" tube where it sits against the frame for better surface contact. I used a piece of 3/4" pipe and a pair of vise grips to temporarily hold the steering shaft pieces in alignment so I could drill new mounting holes for it. The old holes were way off with the shaft now going under the frame tubes.

I still need to get a piece of steel big enough to make a coupler to rejoin the steering shaft halves. The 3/4" pipe is way too sloppy of a fit to use it for a coupler.

End result is a much more ergonomic fit (for me anyway) of the steering wheel. It's not blocking half of my field of view and I can turn the wheel and work the pedals without punching myself in the knees.

Sun Jun 28, 2015 9:08 pm

I didn't have any suitable steel stock to make a steering shaft coupler but I did have enough 1" aluminum round stock that would work. I set it up on the lathe and drilled it out to 1/2" with standard drill bits all the way through. Then I started using a boring bar to open up the last 2.5" on each end out to 3/4". I gathered up a few stainless machine screws and lock nuts to attach it to the shaft and drilled and countersunk the holes for them. Then I inserted the upper half of the shaft into the coupler (very tight fit). I used the screw holes in the coupler as a guide and drilled through the shaft. Then I took the parts out to the rail and slid the coupler onto the lower half of the shaft (also a very tight fit) and drilled the holes in that. Once I put on the screws and lock nuts, it felt as rigid as it was before I cut it in half. Since I didn't have to weld it, I will be able to disassemble it to make any needed repairs in the future.

Another plus to using aluminum instead of steel is that the coupler is now a weak link in the steering shaft. The PO that built this rail didn't put the original VW bug rubber donut or crumple cage anywhere on the steering shaft. In the event of a very hard frontal impact the shaft would be likely to get driven backward towards the driver (me). :shock: The aluminum coupler should give easier than steel and bend, or break off, which should act to divert the force of the impact. I don't have any hard evidence to prove that this will work exactly as I predict, but the chances are surely better than I would have had with the previous setup. If anyone wants to copy this idea, just be aware of the fact that it is an untested idea, any to do so at your own risk.

Mon Jun 29, 2015 7:25 am

Dude, that whole thing came out killer.

Mon Jun 29, 2015 1:14 pm

440
Did you find the choke parts you need? I cut the choke off of a 34pict3 for a project I am working on, you can have all the parts I am not using for shipping.

I don't know if the heat element works or not but I have never seen one that didn't.

Casey

Mon Jun 29, 2015 6:22 pm

HERC wrote: Dude, that whole thing came out killer.
Thanks. I've just got to mess around with the top and middle shaft bearing/bushing bolts some more. They are a little out of alignment and are adding some resistance to the steering feel. I used to be able to turn the wheel with one finger when I had the front tires jacked up off the ground. Now I have to grab the wheel and put some pressure on it to turn it.

earthquake wrote: 440
Did you find the choke parts you need? I cut the choke off of a 34pict3 for a project I am working on, you can have all the parts I am not using for shipping.

I don't know if the heat element works or not but I have never seen one that didn't.

Casey
Those choke parts would definitely help. I'll shoot you a PM after I finish this post.

As far as the other missing carb parts go I think I'll be ok. The missing lever behind the main throttle arm is an emissions control lever of some kind. There's no need for any of that stuff here in MT so I'll just take up the slack from the missing arm with a small washer about the same thickness. I already ordered new throttle shaft bushings a while ago and I'm just waiting for those to show up in the mail. They're supposed to arrive somewhere between today and July 3rd.

I also located a distributor rebuild kit that has all the shims and some other small assorted parts with it. I'm going to be buying that on Wednesday when I get paid. There are a few small plastic spring retainers that broke while I was disassembling the distributor to clean and inspect it. From what I've read those parts are NLA so I'll just make them on the lathe out of some plastic or teflon.

There's not too much I can do today since we've been getting some heavy rain and 1/4" hail off and on.

Mon Jun 29, 2015 9:08 pm

I got a present in the mail today. A chrome E-brake handle assembly for my rail.

In case you haven't guessed by now, I don't leave much alone when I get my hands on it. I wasn't too impressed by the bland looking black plastic button on the handle and decided to make my own for it. I had some small aluminum bar stock that was the same diameter as the plastic piece so that made it fairly easy to make a modified copy. I put the stock in the lathe and faced off the bottom of the button first. Then I drilled and tapped it to fit the 5mmx.8 threaded end on the release rod. Next I parted it off and turned it around so I could shape the button head. A flat file was used to copy the radius around the top and then I used sand paper from corse (220) to fine (800) grit to get the file marks out. Then I used a sharp V point tool to make concentric rings on top for a little grip. After that I took the parts over to the polisher and brought the buttons to a mirror finish. Now they look like something that belongs on a chrome lever.

Next up will be a teflon or plastic sleeve for the new button to ride inside. That will help make the button work smoother and keep it from getting scratched up. I was thinking of making an exterior grip handle, but I'll need to come up with some larger diameter aluminum bar stock first. The steering coupler was made from the last of the 1" diameter stock I had.

I'll still need to get the parts to make a e-brake mount behind the shifter. This homemade rail never had one from the donor bug they got the parts from. Berrien/Acme has them available, but I may decide to make one myself if I can find some dimensions for it.

Thu Jul 02, 2015 10:51 pm

Not much done on the rail lately with Dr. appointments and helping out with the honey-do list items.

Today I fixed the steering feel/pressure issue that came up after installing the new bushing. As mentioned earlier the steering had a much heavier feel to it after installing the new bushing. From looking at the shaft, it seems that now there was a slight bow to the middle where the new connector was. I slightly loosened up both steering bushing and bearing nuts just enough to let the steering shaft come to it's natural resting position. Then I tightened the bushing first, since the bushing doesn't pivot like the bearing, and then the bearing. Now the steering shaft is straight once again and the steering feel is back to normal.

Fri Jul 03, 2015 12:32 am

Just placed an order for a wheel cylinder and some shifter and shift shaft bushings. I also ordered another rubber breather nipple for the bottom of the steel vent line that comes off the oil filler. The one I ordered from WW a couple of months ago is already falling to pieces. Those parts obviously won't be here before the weekend so I'll try to track down where the engine oil leak is coming from until then.

While I was out running around today I also picked up some new spark plugs and a Chiltons VW Beetle manual today. I'll install the new plugs after I check and set the valve lash. The new Bosch capacitor and rotor I got for the 034 dist, and ended up not using, will go in the 009 that is on the engine now.

The Solex 34 PICT-3 that is on the rail now is missing a couple of accelerator pump cover screws. I'll clean it up and try to track down some temporary replacements for it tomorrow as well.

I also need to connect the tail, stop and reverse lights yet. That will probably get done this weekend as well.

The dual cannon exhausts I put on never got the holes drilled in the heat risers for the intakes before I put them on. I'd like to drill those holes before I try to take the rail out for a spin again. Does anyone here know what size I need to drill them out to?