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caseydenise
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 29, 2012 11:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Great thread, more pictures please.
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guppysoup
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 29, 2012 11:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have the same General tires in 205/75/15 with the same rubbing issues. They havn´t bothered my fresh 1600 dp one bit.
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sjhotz
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 29, 2012 11:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks Guppy, that re-assures me a bit, as to the rubbing, i'll keep doing research, mayby ill find a simple fix, say with a ru8bber mallet? LOL j/k!

Casey i'll be happy to post more pics soon, she should be on the road very soon again!
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sjhotz
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 16, 2012 11:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Question time!

So weirdness has ensued! I have managed to break another valve spring only after having the car back after 1 day! My mechanic is PISSED and thinks we got a bad set of valve springs (he is pulling the engine and replacing the whole set). Now it's a Norris 407S Cam & Lifters so it is high lift, which would require special springs right? Is it possible I was sold a set of standard springs bye mistake, hence the 2 breaks? Or are bad valve springs becoming more common these days?
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sxuxrxf
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 16, 2012 12:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

From what I've read, running a high lift cam needs dual valve springs, or at least single heavy duty hi-rev springs. Definitely not stock springs.
How about valve geometry and pushrod length?
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manoa
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 16, 2012 2:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have a Norris 407S. I had a well-known VW head porter do my heads (Mexico 043 with 40 x 35.5 valves). I don’t know what brand of dual valve springs he put in, but he included a spec sheet with the following notes:

Spring Free Install Height = 1.540”
Less .030 Shim = 1.510”
Spring Seat Pressure at 1.510” is 150 lbs
Spring Seat Pressure at 1.000” is 290 lbs
Coil Bind is at 0.900”
Safe to 0.550” Lift

The Norris 407S looks tame on the timing card with 280 advertised (@.020 lift). I hear some mention it’s the equivalent of a cam somewhere between an Engle 120 and Engle 125 (I dunno).

Read some cam talk by Harvey Crane (http://www.harveycrane.com/duration.htm). After that I read that, I consider the 407S a very aggressive cam compared to others. Engle has their W110 and the more aggressive near equivalent with their VZ25. Then there is the W120 and aggressive sibling, the VZ30. And the W130 has the alter ego VZ35.

The 407S has a “Major Intensity” of 24 ([email protected] minus [email protected] equals 24).
The smaller the “intensity” number, the more aggressive the cam (according to Mr. Crane).

Compare this to the Engle family:

The Engle VZ35 has a “Major Intensity” of 31 (309 advertised minus [email protected] equals 31).
The Engle W130 has a “Major Intensity” of 41 (308 advertised minus [email protected] equals 41).

The Engle VZ30 has a “Major Intensity” of 36 (298 advertised minus [email protected] equals 36).
The Engle W120 has a “Major Intensity” of 41 (294 advertised minus [email protected] equals 41).

You got one nasty cam in there.
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sjhotz
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 16, 2012 3:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Looks like bad springs, i'll report after next road test, thank god it's not my daily driver... hmmm I went from 2 running VW's (2 Buses) & a Thing under construction to no running VW's (1 bus sold 8(, 1 bus getting new engine, and Thing with repeated broken springs), /sigh amazing how quickly things go south lol. Oh well NEVER SAY DIE!!!
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manoa
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 16, 2012 9:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Props to you.

Many here (on top of the samba) post questions, problems, etc. fix or find their solution then never get back to share what they have learned.

Good for you Razz
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sjhotz
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 17, 2012 8:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the support Manoa, im picking her back up today i hope, will report back with picks asap.

Side question about suspension, I ordered new KYB GR2 shocks 343143 for the the front, and 343144 for the rear, my local shop had Excel G's with the part number 343144 and told me that KYB was replacing the GR2's with Excel G's. My concern is the Excel G looks like a dinky little shock, shorter and thinner then the front shocks (the actual GR2's for the front seem much beefier). Should i look elsewhere for the rear shocks? Anyone have any insight on the part number KYB oddity or am I having smoke blown up my you know what? 8P

Welp, I called up KYB, they are indeed phasing out GR2's for Excel G which supposedly has the same compressed and extended lengths as well as specs, I will install them tonight if i get her back, tomorrow if not, and report back on my findings.
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sjhotz
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 17, 2012 9:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

She is home and running great! Cruising along nicely on the freeway and surface streets. She is still a bit sluggish but more power than I expected considering the oversize tires. I'll be doing the shocks tomorrow morning and then correcting some bad wiring before cruising her around anywhere I can think of. Want to push her through the heat of the day and make sure all is well before I head out on any trips. So far though she sounds and runs the best she ever has, nice even power band, shorter pedal acceleration length between shift changes than i'd like but i'm heavy footed and i'm probably just getting used to a 1776 T1 coming from a 2L T4 FI in a gutted bus. That Kennedy clutch is a monster! I haven't stalled yet but it was close a few times LOL! Felt like a teenager again, wind in my hair people smiling a paying compliments on my cool jeep (according to one well intention-ed well wisher!), it really was a nice drive home, almost forgot what a joy driving could under the right circumstances.

I want to thank everyone here on Samba, I truly am grateful for the help and support. I share my roadjoy with you all!

Pics and Video to follow shortly!
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caseydenise
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 18, 2012 7:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

No other feeling like cruising a Thing, congrats!
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sjhotz
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 20, 2012 9:55 am    Post subject: SNAFU! Bent JSP Steel rim! Reply with quote

All is going well except for a sudden surprise! Bent front rim (right), went to get her aligned and correct a slight wobble to find out one of my rims is bent. Called around and cant even find stock rims in LA, crap and i had a trip planned tomorrow!
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kubelmann
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 20, 2012 7:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Here is Colorado it cost $25 to have a vintage steel rim straightened and trued.... OR there are a dozone or so ads here for Thing wheels for sale:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/search.php?...ton=Search
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sjhotz
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 28, 2012 11:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

More weirdness, swapped driver side tires and whamo! No wobble or vibration! Something about a gift horse and a mouth... anyway off I went happy as a clam!

What a perfect weekend up in Refugio CA it was, she ran great up the coast, idling nicely after she heated up. Was able to to cruise along at 65mph no problem with pedal to spare.

Kind of astonished at how much power she had at the high end and torque at the low end.

I was able to climb freeway hills with no issue (appropriately downshifting to 3rd when necessary, usually when traffic ahead of me slowed down going uphill, not because she was lugging and needed to be in 3rd), and she was easily capable of going faster then 75 but I was very uncomfortable with the handling at that point so I kept her under 70.

I took a stab at my first off-road trek over Refugio Road (goes from coastal campground east to Solvang CA via a very steep road paved on the coastal side and dirt on the inland side, unpaved side consists of rock, sand, gravel, and hard pack sand, steep at some points ( 6% - 8% grade mayby?) with a fair number of tight steep switchbacks. Going down was easy, simply stay in first, pick a safe line (if possible) and brake when necessary (avoiding dragging the brakes), very similar to my Bay. Going up was another matter entirely! Keep in mind I have NEVER climbed a dirt road before (except in my Bay on much tamer roads) and was learning as I went.

Things went well at first, long steep straight steady climb, rock, sand, and loose gravel mixed, kept her in 1st and watched RPM's as I climbed. 1st switchback no problem, had enough power from straight climb, and just powered through it. Next 2 switchbacks she proved herself by saving a novice... I had foolishly let off the gas a bit in caution as I was looking ahead and was not going fast enough (or so I thought) when a very steep switchback presented itself, I had an "oh shit" moment, then stepped on the gas knowing from previous experience I was looking at lugging, a stall and being stuck sliding backwards, I trusted in my car my engine and mechanic... wow! I was easily around 1000 RPM to begin, the clutch held (thank you Kennedy 1700lb!), the Torque kicked in and the tires stuck (General Grabbers, boy did they!)! That happened once more due to my stupidity, again she just chugged through it without even shrugging. What a blast that was, I can't wait to go try her in the desert now.

For those of you familiar with both the Thing's off-road capabilities (stock), and possibly Refugio Road near Solvang CA, what do you think? Was my experience typical? Do most Things have that torque range and i'm just late to the party? Was that road (assuming you are familiar with it) indicative in any way of how she will do elsewhere in the CA desert and Mountains (Mohave, Kern Plateau, etc...). Any and all opinions and input are welcome, after all without you all i'd never have made it this far!

Some Pics:
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crofty
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 28, 2012 1:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

kubelmann wrote:
Here is Colorado it cost $25 to have a vintage steel rim straightened and trued.... OR there are a dozone or so ads here for Thing wheels for sale:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/search.php?...ton=Search


http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1340763
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sjhotz
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 14, 2012 11:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Update Time!

So far no issues with tire size and over heating. Found out the bumper was bent on the passenger side, straightened with my Dad's press (thank god my father is an engineer!) and am noticing a lot less rubbing.

Gonna try removing the fender next and re-position it (assuming there is play). If that doesn't work I may try a come to and a tree, or simply give it a few good whacks with the tire removed and a properly cushioned sledge and block surface!

There are serious layers of gunk and dirt on this bad boy, I've done a power wash but she is begging to shine, any tricks to quick cleaning through 15 years of dirt or is it just elbow grease?
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It's a play thing
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 14, 2012 12:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

So over sounds like you like the cam ? I have one I am about to put in my Thing and wanted some feed back.
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sjhotz
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 14, 2012 1:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ya the Cam is a dream, it just wants to keep on going, the rich idle continues to be a problem (fuel smell), and mileage is in the 12's so I'm thinking about switching to some dual 40's I have verses the Weber progressive i'm currently using, simply to take advantage of the available power, and hopefully reduce the richness (and because I have them), but my mechanic is actually re-jetting the Weber this morning so we'll see. I pick her up tonight. I'll update after a weekend of driving.
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It's a play thing
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 15, 2012 2:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I will be using a pair of 44 idf's and I have a air/fuel meter for tuning, which works great. thanks for the information on the cam.
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Bashr52
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 15, 2012 6:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bashr52 wrote:
Skip the progressive, id opt for a set of duals if you can swing it.


As per my previous comment, dump the progressive. You will be happier in the long run with the ease of working with them, better mileage, and the extra power. All the time it will take to get the progressive setup properly will be more of a headache than its worth.
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