Machining case for larger bore cylinders :Acceptable methods

[theKbStockpiler]

I need to have a case machined for larger cylinders. My favorite shop said that they did not have the right fixture to clamp a case down so they could not do it for me. Another shop told me that if I took the studs out of the case they could do the work with a bridgeport mill. I did not get into detail with my favorite machinist but if he does not think he can do something right he won't do it. I also would like to have the surface that the oil strainer meets with milled .015 because it is uneven. How can this be done and are there any thoughts on that procedure?

Thanks for your expertise!

[mxracer]

You're gonna need to remove the studs or have "your favorite machinist" make a fixture. Like this as an example

Or send it out to someone that does VW machining.

[theKbStockpiler]

Why is it that the bellhousing can not be bolted down to a fixture and the mill be turned to the side? The bellhousing is stiff enough but auto machinists just have a basic mill ,am I correct?

[Jimmy111]

I always pull all the bolts and dowels and bolt it down to the bed of the mill.

[theKbStockpiler]

I figured out a cheap and effective method to fix the sump plate surface ,will post some pictures in this thread and how to do it.


But... what is wrong with the bellhousing? It's strong , it has holes in it and IT'S already there! ?????

[Jimmy111]

You obviously aren't a machinist. Rigidity is your friend and you need lots of it or lots of strange things happen.

[66brm]

Yeah too much wobble to get it done accurately
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[scotth17]

Box that bad boy up and ship it to Rimco. They have plenty of experience and screwing up a perfectly good case these days is more expensive than ever....

[vwracerdave]

Rimco can screw up just as bad as any novice out there.
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[mxracer]

If you're going to send it out I'd be happy to take care of it for you.

[nsracing]

A Bridgeport will take a VW case even w/ studs. Just set it up w/ precision parallels and clamp it down properly. It is a simple bore work for the machinist.

Clamping the case w/ the trans mount can be done w/ a very large mill so long as NO OVERHANG. Meaning you have to support the bottom and level it out..and clamp. This setup will take way too much room and too much work to find level. You will be indicating all day long.

The case-halves already have the flats machined so use that.

For people who want to learn machining, I recommend several machining books you have to read and learn its process. Principles of machining I and II, Jigs and Fixture designs, Toolbit designs. Read through these then you might have an idea how not to kill yourself - loose a clamped workpiece and break a toolbit to lodge in your eyeball or brain or hurt someone else. It is not as simple as it looks. Requires proper training.

[mark tucker]

when we got our new seat&guide machine it came with fixtures&cutters for doing vw heads&cases....of corse we didnt do any vw shit for years till I got into it for some stupid reason......real stupid reason.
I use my mill to do it, it's easy&fast, but not like jimmy I think he's cheeten a little.....wish i still had a cheet sheet machine at my fingertips.

I dont think any of those vw fixtures we had were ever used,I do all vw stuff at home in my shop&make all my own jigs& cutters

[theKbStockpiler]

Here are the images of fixing the sump.

[Jimmy111]

[mark tucker]

if I still had that machine I would be doing a lot of neet stuff and putting some much needed biger dia cambearings in these motors among other things.

[mxracer]

Real machinists turn dials

I'm joking of course....I'd love to pick up a CNC machine and to me it's just another tool to work with... but I couldn't resist.

[mark tucker]

hmm ...the herco's I ran had a dial..or was that a ball?? crap I think 1 had a ball& one had a dial for joging. the mind is a tereiable thing.....to waste or loose. I was getting a cnc mill, went to work at a friends prototype shop to learn how to program&run them,I was making all kinds of stuff,fro the big 3 automakers(prototype stuff) and a lot of aerospace stuff and lots of DOD stuff along with piles of other stuff & tool&die work too.I was already to get me a nice cnc mill to start making car stuff&parts, but all i got was 2 different cancers,a sliced longthorassaic nerv and way too much raidiation.(in retrospect I think I should of gone with the cnc mill)

[modok]

To do a VW case they will surely have to rig up or make SOMETHING. Maybe it is just a bushing, maybe it is a particular stack of parallels, three feet of all-thread.... or maybe they go nuts like Jim and take out all the studs???

But whatever it is does have an amount of time, and thought, and effort and therefore a $ amount.
Essentially, it should cost more than the shipping to send it to a shop that already is geared-up to do this.

If they are hungry then maybe they will do it, (any work is better than none), if they are not hungry then send it somewhere else

[mark tucker]

Ive seen them done with the case bolted togeather and a spacer bolted where the cylinders go so it can sit squarly&flat on the mill.you couls probably use something like a head thats milled out for stud&nut clearance&holes for hold downs. anything is possiable with enough time& thinken.

[modok]

yeah, that's what I did last time. Worked fine, rigid enough to face it out halfway through the case savers in one cut, but many shops don't have a mill that big.

If I make a spacer that fits in #1 and makes it the same ID as #4 bearing bore, then I can put a 50mm bar through it and setup very much the same as common engines. I haven't seen that done but I'm sure it has been also.