Neil's Baja Build

[2gr8dgs]

have you ever re-built a bug motor before? I highly recommend the tom wilson book. "how to rebuild your volkswagen air cooled engine"

[neanders]

I built a 1641 many years ago, but I'm old now and don't really remember much about it! I have the Bentley manual, but I'll look for that one, too. Thanks for the tip!
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It's mine now and I want a BAJA!!!

[2gr8dgs]

you don't strike me as the type that's intimidated by a project, but honestly i wouldn't recommend a stroker as a 1st time (in a long time) build. for more power i would look at increasing piston size. something like a good old stock stroke 1915. but that's just me. good luck with whatever you decide.

[neanders]

I admit to being something of a neophyte when it comes to building VW motors, but why would the 74mm crank make that big a diff? It doesn't require any case clearancing, and if I use the proper rods and pistons, and set the deck height and C/R correctly, I don't understand what the big diff is. I think 74x90.5 is relatively mild by comparison to most stroker motors. I ordered the book you recommended off Amazon, and I'm going to do my research before I plunge in headlong. I have some experts I can call, and I welcome to any tips or suggestions anyone might have.
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It's mine now and I want a BAJA!!!

[T.U.F.F.]

Motor looks like fun in the making.

Did you get my email about the tubing bender? I am building one for me and can easily double the order for steel and build 2. I sold my JD2 to a buddy last week when I ordered the bender plans and he coming from Seattle the first weekend I get back to pick it up. I am geting ready to order from McMasterCarr for the pins so let me know soon.

T.U.F.F.

[neanders]

Okay, so I am assembling the parts for the new motor while the case is out being machined. By my calculations, a deck height of .090 will give me a CR of 8.36. Stock for a 1600 is 7.3-7.5, should I consider increasing the deck height to decrease CR? And, that's using a head volume of 50cc's, I assume the head supplier can give me the actual head volume? I am looking for a good balance between power and reliability/driveability, and since this is my daily driver, it doesn't make sense to park my diesel, only to pay the same for premium. I'd rather spend my $$ on parts than gas!!
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It's mine now and I want a BAJA!!!

[T.U.F.F.]

Guess who is back stateside in the fine town of Medical Lake.

Took almost 3 days on the freedom birb but I finally got in this afternoon.

Shoot me a PM wiht your number and I wll give you a call. I am off work till the 23rd of May.

Let me know soon.

[Lotrat]

[neanders]

It did settle out. I've got about 500 miles on the new suspension, and now the drivers side is about 1/8 inch higher than the passenger side. That's a change of about 5/8 inch. I'm gonna crank up the adjusters when I do the body swap next week. And, the 26mm torsion bars I installed in the back have loosened up quite a bit, though my spring plates are still on the stops. I figure I've exercised them a lot over the past month, so after the body swap and lift kit install, I'll get the rear shock installed. I tell ya, that rebound is kinda scary!!
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It's mine now and I want a BAJA!!!

[neanders]

So we got the body swapped today (thanks Billy!) Last night I stripped the orange body, and unbolted it from the pan:

You can see here how bad the body rot was. I probably could have lifted the body of without ever unbolting it!!

But it came off, and the old body is going to the wrecker

Here's the before:

And the after:

Now I gotta get the interior put back together, the rest of the baja kit installed, and the wiring all reconnected.
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It's mine now and I want a BAJA!!!

[Lotrat]

[neanders]

Did I fail to mention that? Guess I did. Yep, 3 inch lift to go with the body swap. And it's going to be a 'hot body'. In addition to everything else, my goal is to have the heaters and defrosters fully functional by winter. I've got a new dash pad, vents, and hoses all ready to go in, and I am going to put some holes in the hood so the fresh air box works as well. It never ends...
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It's mine now and I want a BAJA!!!

[CopperBaja]

[neanders]

If you've ever been through an Inland Northwest winter, you learn to appreciate the power of fully functional heaters!! I have not treated the pan yet, I need to eventually replace the front portion of the drivers side pan. Plus, I am need to figure out how I'm mounting the seats, and I have some holes in the pan to weld up. And, thanks to your pics, I think I've figure out how I'm gonna do the steering. I picked up an early model steering shaft, the one with the clamp for the coupler but not the webbing. I'm gonna cut the webbing off my steering shaft, and cut the bottom ~18 inches off the early model shaft, and join the two together with a u-joint or two, depending on what's needed.
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It's mine now and I want a BAJA!!!

[neanders]

So I got my steering coupler mocked up today. I had to do something to account for the 3-inch body lift, and my goal is to stay as close to factory as possible on the steering column. I picked up a SB r/p coupler for $20, and found that the yoke fits quite nicely on the steering box shaft. I then cut the webbing off my steering shaft, and slid a 5/8 rod into the steering shaft, and the end fit into the other yoke on the steering coupler. I ground a small notch in it to accommodate the clamp bolt, and it all bolts up fine. I still want to get a bearing or bushing on the lower end of the steering shaft, and then I'll tack and weld the rod to the shaft. I am rather pleased with how it turned out!

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It's mine now and I want a BAJA!!!

[CopperBaja]

Looks great!
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[neanders]

Yeah, your setup inspired me!!
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It's mine now and I want a BAJA!!!

[neanders]

Okay, so I've been putting the car back together after the body swap and the lift kit install, and I am working on modifying the cage hoops to accomodate the three in lift. I decided to cut two inches (including the mounting plate off the bottom, slide a 7-inch piece of 1.25 DOM inside, slide a 2 3/4 of 1.5 DOM over that, and weld it back together. The 1/4 in diff is to allow about 1/8 in gap on each side of the sleeve so I can weld both the inner and outer tubes together. I am looking for some feedback on my plan, as well as comments on my welds.

Be gentle, I'm a rookie welder, but I'd like to ensure my welds are not the weakest link in the cage.
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It's mine now and I want a BAJA!!!

[neanders]

Now that the lift kit and roll cage are installed, I am mocking up the shock placement. I got a 3/8 rod, welded a bolt on the end, and pushed it through the fender well.

By my understanding, I want the shock at about 90* at full compression. So, with the stock trailing arms and travel I have, that places it just forward of 90* at full extension.

So, in this position, the shock would intersect the rear leg as shown in this pic:

In this configuration I need a shock ~33 inches long at full extension. I plan to go with Bilstein 5150's, and they make a shock that's ~35 inches at full extension.

My questions are these:

Does this look like a reasonable configuration? Can I just weld the shock mounting boss to the leg where the two intersect, or should I add additional bracing?

thx, Neil
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It's mine now and I want a BAJA!!!

[Skidmark]