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Budget rail rebuild and dual carbs project
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dustymojave
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Joined: January 07, 2007
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Location: Lake LA, Mojave Desert, SoCal
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 30, 2016 3:24 pm    Post subject: Re: Budget rail rebuild and dual carbs project Reply with quote

DON'T DO IT!!!! Exclamation Exclamation Exclamation Exclamation Exclamation Exclamation

http://markvfiberglass.com/seat-c-universal-reinforced-solar-round-bottom-seat-shell-only/
[img]
http://cdn6.bigcommerce.com/s-jxinw/products/178/i...?c=2[/img]

I used seats just like those in my rail back in the mid-70s. They were comfy with 2" of stiff foam padding on the bottom and 1" for the on top of that for the whole seat. In fact one of the 1" full seat pads from one of those is in the way in my garage right now. I was thinking this morning that I need to find a new use for it. Those seats came out of the car because after a time of driving or riding in the car offroad, one has a serious raw sore spot at the tail bone. Some got blisters during a race. The cross bar groove where the seat back meets the bottom is the danger. I decided that was telling me that a hard hit or crash landing had the potential to crush the spine. It's tight in my frame for suspension seats, so I installed poly seats. They're still there, although I would rather have suspension seats.

You have made it clear in this thread and your mirror one on STF-ORF that existing back trouble and concerns about aggravating that rule many of your decisions on this car and it's planned replacement. So please DON'T Exclamation Exclamation Exclamation buy those seats. You could have mine and the mounts for them for the cost of shipping them to you if I were not concerned about their safety.
_________________
Richard
Offroading VW based cars since 1965
Tech Inspection 1963 - 2012 SCCA/SCORE/HDRA/MORE/MDR +
Retired from building Bajas, Fiberglass Buggies and Rails in the Mojave Desert. Also Sprints & Midgets, Dry Lakes, Road Race cars. All types New and Vintage
SoCalBajas Member
Kicked Cancer's A$$...1st and 2nd round...Fight ain't over yet.
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Q13931152
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 25, 2016 11:09 pm    Post subject: Re: Budget rail rebuild and dual carbs project Reply with quote

Looks like a pretty generic fiberglass seat so most any high back cover should fit.
http://www.appletreeauto.com/HIGH-BACK-COVER-BLACK-AC851101C/
Just one possibility, but the mfg should know for sure what works.
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GoMopar440
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 25, 2016 10:40 pm    Post subject: Re: Budget rail rebuild and dual carbs project Reply with quote

I was poking around the web a bit tonight and came across this FG seat. (Style C)
http://markvfiberglass.com/seat-c-universal-reinforced-solar-round-bottom-seat-shell-only/
It looks like almost a perfect match for the seats I have in my rail right now. I'll give them a call on Monday to see if they can recommend a place to find a seat cover that fits these seats.
_________________
Homemade rail for street & off road: BJ front beam (bent), IRS rear (boxed/maybe bent), stock T1 DP 1600, 009, 34PICT-3 (soon to be dual 40HPMXs), 4-1 glass pack exh, T3 brakes (F disk, R drum & Dual MC), Bug trans (002, 5 rib going in soon).
Link to my rail (re)build thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=629493
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GoMopar440
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 25, 2016 5:15 pm    Post subject: Re: Budget rail rebuild and dual carbs project Reply with quote

Well, so much for that idea... Rolling Eyes
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_________________
Homemade rail for street & off road: BJ front beam (bent), IRS rear (boxed/maybe bent), stock T1 DP 1600, 009, 34PICT-3 (soon to be dual 40HPMXs), 4-1 glass pack exh, T3 brakes (F disk, R drum & Dual MC), Bug trans (002, 5 rib going in soon).
Link to my rail (re)build thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=629493
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GoMopar440
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 22, 2016 7:37 pm    Post subject: Re: Budget rail rebuild and dual carbs project Reply with quote

I haven't been able to get out to work on the rail lately due to my back acting up. Doesn't help my knee injury is giving me heck right now as well. The knee acting up again is bothering me in a large part due to the doc telling me that I should get surgery on it. Sad

Anyway, I just sold my dual cannons so I was able to get a speedometer for the rail with the money I got. Here's the link to the Ebay auction for the speedo. http://www.ebay.com/itm/282020995994 I'll see how well I can translate the chinglish instructions whenever it gets here. Laughing
_________________
Homemade rail for street & off road: BJ front beam (bent), IRS rear (boxed/maybe bent), stock T1 DP 1600, 009, 34PICT-3 (soon to be dual 40HPMXs), 4-1 glass pack exh, T3 brakes (F disk, R drum & Dual MC), Bug trans (002, 5 rib going in soon).
Link to my rail (re)build thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=629493
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GoMopar440
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PostPosted: Sun May 29, 2016 2:59 pm    Post subject: Re: Budget rail rebuild and dual carbs project Reply with quote

I got a couple of minor sprinkles falling on me while I was working outside, but not enough to stop what I was doing. In the end it was my back killing me that had me calling it a day, even though I still had some nice weather left outside. I'm just going to post the pics from today with some short notes above them.

Tunnel top fitted and bolted down.
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Made a couple holes for the shifter and ground down the bumps keeping it from sitting flat.
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Test fit of the shifter looks good.
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Set the tunnel in the rail. The hockey stick and the roller gas pedal shaft were keeping it from fitting where it is supposed to go. I measured the hockey stick location and drilled a 1.25" opening with a hole saw.
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Pic of the gas pedal interference in relation to the tunnel. I need to move the pedals anyway, so I'll address the clearance issue when I do that.
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

_________________
Homemade rail for street & off road: BJ front beam (bent), IRS rear (boxed/maybe bent), stock T1 DP 1600, 009, 34PICT-3 (soon to be dual 40HPMXs), 4-1 glass pack exh, T3 brakes (F disk, R drum & Dual MC), Bug trans (002, 5 rib going in soon).
Link to my rail (re)build thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=629493
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GoMopar440
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PostPosted: Sun May 29, 2016 9:14 am    Post subject: Re: Budget rail rebuild and dual carbs project Reply with quote

Well, it's in the mid 60's and dry right now and the rain isn't supposed to come back until after 5PM. Looks like it's finally time to get back to work on finishing up the tunnel.
_________________
Homemade rail for street & off road: BJ front beam (bent), IRS rear (boxed/maybe bent), stock T1 DP 1600, 009, 34PICT-3 (soon to be dual 40HPMXs), 4-1 glass pack exh, T3 brakes (F disk, R drum & Dual MC), Bug trans (002, 5 rib going in soon).
Link to my rail (re)build thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=629493
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Aerindel
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PostPosted: Sat May 28, 2016 7:38 pm    Post subject: Re: Budget rail rebuild and dual carbs project Reply with quote

Quote:
All of those options cost a lot more than my budget


Mine too. as cheap as subaru's are up here it actually mad more sense for me to modify an outback to be more like a buggy than the other way around.

Quote:
If your timing belt slips or snaps (somewhat common failure) on the non-interference engine, the valves won't hit the pistons and destroy the engine. Wink


Yeah...been there, done that. Doesn't totally destroy the engine, the pistons are usually fine, but it bends the valves and wrecks the valve guides. This is why the first thing I do when I buy a subaru is replacing the timing belt and more importantly...the tensioner, which is in my experience fails before the belt does.

But yeah, the old subaru's would be better but I have more luck finding 2000+ ones for cheap up here. You can snatch up one with a blown engine for $400, and another with a wrecked body for the same amount and swap the engine in a weekend and have a pretty good car.

It actually seems like its cheaper to buy a subaru and cut it down into a buggy than to make a buggy street legal.
_________________
Homemade woods/street, bug out rail. IRS, Balljoint front end. 1967 1600cc DP, Weber 32/36 progressive, tri-mil quiet pack. Rear only cutting brakes.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=630046
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GoMopar440
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PostPosted: Sat May 28, 2016 3:16 am    Post subject: Re: Budget rail rebuild and dual carbs project Reply with quote

If the Scooby turns out to be a bust, all isn't lost. You'll still have a spare drive train for the rail (some assembly required LOL).

FWIW, I've been keeping an eye on CL for a rusted out out, but well running, 90-94 Subaru for the drive train. The 90-94 Subaru EJ20 (or 22?) is OBD1 (simpler than OBD2) and is a non-interference fit engine. If your timing belt slips or snaps (somewhat common failure) on the non-interference engine, the valves won't hit the pistons and destroy the engine. Wink

IMHO, the simplest way to adapt one of the Subaru engines and trans assemblies to the rail would be to mount it as a mid engine setup. Then you get a 5 speed and don't have to mess with trans adapters and flipping the ring gear in a VW trans or buying a reverse rotation R&P gear set for the Suby trans. All of those options cost a lot more than my budget can handle. Making a mid mount would just require new engine and trans mounts and swapping out the drive cups on the trans to fit VW or Porsche CVs. This would be easiest to do on a new frame as you're building it. The donor car would have pretty much everything else needed for the swap.

WOW! I just noticed this thread has just hit 20 pages! It doesn't seem like I've done 20 pages worth of progress yet though. Laughing
_________________
Homemade rail for street & off road: BJ front beam (bent), IRS rear (boxed/maybe bent), stock T1 DP 1600, 009, 34PICT-3 (soon to be dual 40HPMXs), 4-1 glass pack exh, T3 brakes (F disk, R drum & Dual MC), Bug trans (002, 5 rib going in soon).
Link to my rail (re)build thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=629493
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Aerindel
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PostPosted: Sat May 28, 2016 2:01 am    Post subject: Re: Budget rail rebuild and dual carbs project Reply with quote

Just have to say, keep up the good work. I've been watching this thread for what? A year now? and it has to be one of most detailed I've ever seen and I really enjoy reading not just what you've done, but how you go about figuring it out, and of course the "budget" part makes it actually interesting since I pretty much just ignore the "throw money at it" builds as that is out of my league.

Makes me want to get back into something fun like my rail. I haven't even had it out since the snow melted.....for some reason I decided that I wanted to turn a 2000 subaru outback into....well, I don't know what you would call it....a battle wagon? And I got in too deep before I know what I was doing. I've spent the last month doing battle with the mysteries of the multi-link rear suspension and trying to figure out how to do a suspension lift on it without just paying someone a thousand dollars to do it for me. (and lacking a covered work area, the rain) But I really want to get back to something that I can understand just by looking at it, and where you can weld onto any part of it.

And also...a more open community. Seems anyone who knows anything about subaru suspension mods is keeping it secret so they can sell it, and everyone else doesn't know the difference between caster and camber.

Hey, at least it is a four cylinder boxer right?
_________________
Homemade woods/street, bug out rail. IRS, Balljoint front end. 1967 1600cc DP, Weber 32/36 progressive, tri-mil quiet pack. Rear only cutting brakes.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=630046
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GoMopar440
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PostPosted: Fri May 27, 2016 6:18 pm    Post subject: Re: Budget rail rebuild and dual carbs project Reply with quote

Here's a pic of that new seal and the brass seal holder after being reinstalled and straightened out. It's also a good pic showing the staking job that helps to hold the seal in place.
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


I spent a little while out in the barn working on the trans mounts again today. This time it was the mid mount's turn. The first thing I noticed was that all four of the studs the mid mount bolted to were going to be too short. After another trip to the hardware store (they still didn't have any metric studs there), I picked up four M8 bolts that were 70mm long. I did the same operation on these smaller bolts as I did to the larger ones on the nose cone. As a result the mid mount plate, washers and stop nuts all fit now with room to spare. The washers were painted gloss black, but I left the shiny new stop nuts alone for now. The tops of the new studs were painted gunmetal while I was touching up a few nicks in the paint on the case.
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


After the paint was dry enough to handle I bolted the mid mount in place.
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


The light rain falling outside turned into a downpour, so I headed inside for the day.
_________________
Homemade rail for street & off road: BJ front beam (bent), IRS rear (boxed/maybe bent), stock T1 DP 1600, 009, 34PICT-3 (soon to be dual 40HPMXs), 4-1 glass pack exh, T3 brakes (F disk, R drum & Dual MC), Bug trans (002, 5 rib going in soon).
Link to my rail (re)build thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=629493
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GoMopar440
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PostPosted: Fri May 27, 2016 2:20 am    Post subject: Re: Budget rail rebuild and dual carbs project Reply with quote

This stuff showed up in the mail the other day, so I brought it out to the barn and cleared off some space to work on the trans for a little bit.
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


I was starting on the front end first, so I cut the triangularish front mount from the package. I unbolted the original Bus mount from the nose cone and set it aside. When I dropped the new mount over the studs on the nose cone, it was rocking around noticeably. When I took it off I saw that the old mount had worn down the raised pads on the nose cone unevenly. To fix that, I removed the nose cone from the trans and cleaned it up inside the piece. The cover gasket was glued down with some clear rubbery stuff and tore into pieces when the parts were separated. As I was cleaning off the gasket remnants, I noticed that the gasket surface on the cover looked like it had already been filed and/or sanded down previously to remove the indentation from the big bearing. The trans fluid that came out and the plastic ball on the end of the hockey stick both looked like new, which lent a bit more credibility to the story I got about this trans being rebuilt not too long ago. Since I had access to the hockey stick now, I went ahead and polished the sliding surfaces on both ends, as well as the other long pin and cast sliding part. All the pieces looked to be in good shape and didn't have any nicks or gouges on them anywhere. This was kind of surprising, especially for the big end of the hockey stick that usually seems to get grabbed by vise grips or pipe wrenches for some reason.

Next I took the nose cone over to the mill and bolted it down flat onto the table (too big for the mill vise). I used a carbide insert flycutter to cut down the raised pads. I only cut deep enough to get the majority of the pad surfaces level. There's still a few low spots left from wear, but not enough to prevent the new mount from being able to sit solidly when bolted down.
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


I removed the seal holder from the snout on the nose cone so I could replace the seal. The seal didn't look to bad, but the outer edge of the big end of the brass holder was dented pretty badly on one side. After a little gentle prying I was able to get the old seal out without doing any more damage to the brass holder part. I popped the seal holder back into the nose cone to hold it while I made the larger diameter end round again. In case any machinists are reading this, the narrow end of a standard R8 tooling collet has the correct OD to fit inside the brass seal holder to reshape it to fit the seal properly. It took just a few taps with a rubber mallet to bottom out the R8 collet holder into the brass seal holder. Then I was able to tap the outside edge of the brass back into shape while using the collet holder as a mandrel to smooth out a few stubborn kinks. The collet holder came out without much effort and the seal holder now looked almost like new. The seal still had enough resistance when being driven in to know that it won't be going anywhere unintentionally. I also reapplied the three seal retaining divots around the outer edge of the brass seal holder, like VW did at the factory, to lock the seal into the holder.

Before I bolted the nose cone back onto the trans, I greased up a few spots where the parts would be moving around. The snout area between the seal holder and inner bushing was filled with waterproof grease. I also applied some grease to the plastic bearing and the shaft the cast slider rides on. I only used a little grease inside the cover as the trans oil will be doing most of the lubricating there. To replace the gasket for the nose cone I used a thin layer of Ultra Grey RTV around the outer edge and around the bolt holes. I let it set up with the cover just finger tight for a while as per the directions before tightening it to the final torque.

The two original mount studs weren't going to work with the new mount, so I needed to address that next. The unthreaded center section of the original studs was right where I needed the nut to go to be able to hold the new mount. The hardware store didn't have any M10x1.50 studs, so I got a couple fully threaded bolts that were long enough to get the job done. I clamped the bolt heads in the vise and cut the threaded part off with the cut off disk on the angle grinder. The cut end was cleaned up on the grinding wheel and then I put a starting bevel on to make it easier to get the nuts started on them later. I used some Locktite on one end of the newly made studs and threaded them into the nose cone. The new mount was next, followed by a few thick washers and some lock nuts.

I had some other things I needed to do, so I stopped there for now. I almost forgot to mention the nose cone was repainted gunmetal grey after milling to protect the newly exposed metal, and make it look like the rest of the transaxle. All the new main mount pieces (front, middle and rear), as well as the nuts and washers, were painted gloss black. The top straps and the mounting hardware are still in the package for now, so they'll get painted gloss black before I use them.
_________________
Homemade rail for street & off road: BJ front beam (bent), IRS rear (boxed/maybe bent), stock T1 DP 1600, 009, 34PICT-3 (soon to be dual 40HPMXs), 4-1 glass pack exh, T3 brakes (F disk, R drum & Dual MC), Bug trans (002, 5 rib going in soon).
Link to my rail (re)build thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=629493
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GoMopar440
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PostPosted: Sat May 21, 2016 3:22 pm    Post subject: Re: Budget rail rebuild and dual carbs project Reply with quote

The local fab shop messed up the top piece when it slipped in the press brake. They got it close enough that the piece still fits over the frame, but the sides are different lengths instead of being equal. I can still make it work so all is good. They didn't charge me for bending it since they screwed it up.

It's been raining for the past few days and is forecast to continue through the weekend. In the meantime I've been out in the shop working on a few guns until the weather lets up. I've also been rounding up a few more needed parts for the rail.

As far as the bus trans mounts I decided to just go with a complete kit that has both the mounts and the top straps together. As a result, I'm making it solid mounted instead of soft mounted. I'll work out how to make a set of soft mounts for the Bus trans when I get the new frame. I also got a weld in solid mid mount piece so the nose cone doesn't get stressed out. Appletree had the main kit for $5 less than Cip1 and my order ended up over $75 so I got the free shipping deal as well.
http://www.appletreeauto.com/BUS-TRANS-MOUNT-6539-10/
http://www.appletreeauto.com/BUS-TRANSMISSION-CENTER-MOUNT-17-2538-0/

I decided to stick with the early type shift rod coupler so I picked up an adjustable shift rod adjuster as well. The early type will leave me more room in the tunnel frame for clearance.
http://www.appletreeauto.com/SHIFT-ROD-ADJUSTER-EARLY-5528/
_________________
Homemade rail for street & off road: BJ front beam (bent), IRS rear (boxed/maybe bent), stock T1 DP 1600, 009, 34PICT-3 (soon to be dual 40HPMXs), 4-1 glass pack exh, T3 brakes (F disk, R drum & Dual MC), Bug trans (002, 5 rib going in soon).
Link to my rail (re)build thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=629493
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GoMopar440
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PostPosted: Wed May 18, 2016 3:12 pm    Post subject: Re: Budget rail rebuild and dual carbs project Reply with quote

It's starting to rain, so I'm done working outside for now. I got a good bit of work done beforehand and am at a good stopping point right now, so it's not really holding me up much.

Today I started out by getting the second tunnel side installed. All the holes for this side were drilled and countersunk and the screws and nuts were installed. Then I took the grinder and trimmed back a 1" wide area along the back edge of both sides so the end cap would have a flat area to wrap around onto. I cut the rear end cap piece to shape and then stuck it in the vise to make the side bends. The bend was a couple inches wider than the vise jaws so I used a pair of wide jaw vise grips to help hold the part that was outside the vise jaws. I tapped the part over with a hammer to get the 90* bend on the first side and then flipped it around and did the bend on the other side. It took a little bit more hammer work to get the fit just right, but it turned out fine. The end cap was clamped in place with vise grips and then four holes were drilled and countersunk just like the sides.
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Once I finish getting all the tunnel pieces fitted, I'll be welding the nuts to the inside of the frame. That way I'll only need a phillips screwdriver on the outside to assemble the tunnel when I'm done.
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


At this point I started getting the top piece ready to fit to the tunnel. I drew a center mark at the front and rear ends and wrapped the mark around the end from the top to the bottom. I wrapped a piece of tape around the middle of the narrow top ends of the frame and marked it along the center line as well. With these marks in place I was able to sit the top piece into position and still be able to see that the marks were aligned. I clamped the top piece in place at both ends with vise grips and then traced a line along the edge of the side pieces to mark the under side of the top piece. Then I brought the tunnel and top piece to a local fab shop in town and showed them where and how I needed the top piece bent. I left it with them and am just waiting for a call to let me know when they're done with it. I can't do much else until I get the top piece back, so I'm kinda at a standstill right now. That's mainly why I'm not sweating the rain coming down right now.
_________________
Homemade rail for street & off road: BJ front beam (bent), IRS rear (boxed/maybe bent), stock T1 DP 1600, 009, 34PICT-3 (soon to be dual 40HPMXs), 4-1 glass pack exh, T3 brakes (F disk, R drum & Dual MC), Bug trans (002, 5 rib going in soon).
Link to my rail (re)build thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=629493
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GoMopar440
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PostPosted: Tue May 17, 2016 10:58 pm    Post subject: Re: Budget rail rebuild and dual carbs project Reply with quote

I haven't been feeling well enough to get back out to work on the rail lately, but I have received some parts in the mail at least. The most useful ones being those little rubber cable gaitors to connect and seal off the throttle cable and tube. They're about 4" long with a 1/8" hole on one end and a 1/4" hole at the other. I should have no problem making them work to keep the cable lube in, and the dirt and water out, of the cable tube. I picked up 4 of them, so I'll have 2 extra for spares. I'm running a Hyd clutch so I don't need them for that. The heat system will be electrically controlled, so they won't be needed for that either.

I also got a couple of small dual Cree LED back up/driving lights from Ebay. I don't know if I want to rework the rear lights on this rail, rather I was thinking these will be good to use on the next frame.

Most of the stuff I bought for the Baofung UV-5RTP hand held radio has shown up as well. The only things I'm still waiting on are the radio itself and the mag mounted mobile antenna. I also thought about getting that UV-5R vehicle mount on Ebay for it as well, but it's just a little bit of bent metal with a nut welded to the back. I can make something myself that will serve the same purpose, and not cost over $17 like that one does.

I may not have been working on the rail much lately, but that doesn't mean I haven't been thinking about what I want to do with it. I've decided to seal off the small rear end of the tunnel in order to help keep the cabin separated from the outside air once the rest of it's enclosed. Doing that will allow me to use a trans shift snout to body seal. I'm referring to the bellows type rubber unit found on most Bugs, Bajas, T3s, etc.
_________________
Homemade rail for street & off road: BJ front beam (bent), IRS rear (boxed/maybe bent), stock T1 DP 1600, 009, 34PICT-3 (soon to be dual 40HPMXs), 4-1 glass pack exh, T3 brakes (F disk, R drum & Dual MC), Bug trans (002, 5 rib going in soon).
Link to my rail (re)build thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=629493
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GoMopar440
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PostPosted: Mon May 16, 2016 1:33 pm    Post subject: Re: Budget rail rebuild and dual carbs project Reply with quote

I think I finally got all the answers I was looking for!

I just got off the phone with Gary who is the Off Road specialist at CIP1's Tech Support help desk (PH# 800-313-3811). He's done an almost identical bus trans swap on his Baja a while ago and had all these parts figured out already. His setup is pretty much the same as mine is going to be, so his experience is directly applicable to my situation. Bus trans into Bug frame horns with stock boxed IRS arms, Type 1 stubs and outer CVs and Type 2 CVs at the trans.

For the axles, he's been running the stock Bug axles without any issues for a while now. He just had to cut the axles at the snap ring groove with an thin cut off wheel, bevel the ends of the splines to a 45* angle and omit the spring washers. The axle is free floating as a result of not having the clips or washers, but there hasn't been any problems running it hard off road like this for a while now. Not having to buy new axles will save me $190 and definitely makes this trans swap a LOT more affordable now.

As far as the mounts go, we've figured out a solution that gives me most of what I wanted, which is far better than any of the other options I had found so far. This kit still uses the stock Bug rear trans mount support that ties both ends of the frame horns together. That way I can still use the stock rubber or urethane mounts at the bell housing. The rubber or urethane mounts bolt to the cad plated brackets in the kit, and those cad brackets bolt to the Bus trans bell housing. At the middle the kit uses a solid mount that welds to the frame horns. At the nose it is left loose, relying on the mid and rear mounts, as well as straps over the top if they're used. I do want to use the straps over the top of the trans, so I'll have to make a way to reattach the rear strap and will also need to make a new mid strap to fit the bus trans profile. The mount kit is $24.64 and two new stock rubber mounts are $5.09 each. So now the total trans swap parts cost (not including the trans) is looking like it's going to be just $34.82, plus whatever shipping is going to be. Color me happy! Cool

Here's the link to the mount kit:
http://www2.cip1.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=C26-311-205

And these are the stock rubber rear mounts for the bell housing:
http://www2.cip1.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=VWC-113-301-263

FWIW: Gary at CIP1 was a very informative, knowledgeable and helpful. If anyone else has any hard to answer questions about any off road related parts combinations I'd highly suggest calling and asking for him specifically. He wasn't afraid to offer suggestions that would keep me from spending money that I didn't need to, even though that meant I would spend less at the shop he worked at.
_________________
Homemade rail for street & off road: BJ front beam (bent), IRS rear (boxed/maybe bent), stock T1 DP 1600, 009, 34PICT-3 (soon to be dual 40HPMXs), 4-1 glass pack exh, T3 brakes (F disk, R drum & Dual MC), Bug trans (002, 5 rib going in soon).
Link to my rail (re)build thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=629493
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GoMopar440
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PostPosted: Fri May 13, 2016 8:16 pm    Post subject: Re: Budget rail rebuild and dual carbs project Reply with quote

I was outside working for a few hours today, but it doesn't seem like I got a lot done. I cut the sides and top pieces for the tunnel out of the big sheet of diamond plate. The two sides are 6" x 5' and the top is 5&1/8" x 5'. I had to remove the raised diamonds from a 1" strip along one of the long sides of each of the side pieces. That is to allow the top piece to sit flat on it once the edges are bent over. The top will have 1" of each long side folded over so it will wrap around the frame and both side pieces. That should cap it off nicely and keep it looking neat once it's bolted in place. The narrow top edges of each side piece were also radiused to allow for the bend in the top piece. All this cutting and grinding is what took the most time today.

Next I started to attach the first side by lining it up on the frame and then clamping it in place with a couple vise grips. I marked the holes on the bottom 1/2" up from the lower edge and spaced them about 12"apart. I raised up the holes on each end slightly to avoid the thick welds in the corners. On the top edge I started 6" back from the first corner and then marked the rest of the holes at the regular 12" spacing after that. When I mark the holes for the top piece, they will be 1/2" from the top edge and lined up directly over the holes along the bottom edge. Doing it like this allows me to bolt the sides down independently and still have them stay put when I remove the top piece for any reason. I drilled the holes to 3/16 to clear the #10-24 countersunk screws. I used a countersink bit to open the tops of the holes so that all the screw heads are flush with the surface of the diamond plate. I installed a screw and nut in each hole as soon as it was finished before moving on to the next hole. That way everything stayed aligned as I drilled it.
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


I ran out of daylight right after the first side was finished so that's where I stopped at for today. There's supposed to be a couple more days of rain coming starting tomorrow unfortunately. However, the messy cutting part is already done so I can finish drilling the diamond plate inside the barn. I'm not sure yet how I'll put those two long bends in that top piece without a sheet metal brake. I may have to farm that job out to a local fab shop.

EDIT: BTW, If I wanted to temporarily run the 5 Rib transaxle with the stock IRS arms, what length axles would I need? The inner CV's would be Type 2's and the outers would be Type 1's with this setup. I was just planning on doing it this way until I can afford 2"x3" arms and outer stubs for the Type 2 CV's.

I'm also looking for recommendations on where to get trans mounts to put the 5 Rib in the rail. I don't want to have the 10* tilt mounts since I'm making this new tunnel taller to work with the higher shift shaft location of the bus trans. I want to be able to use either factory rubber or urethane front and rear trans mounts since this will be a DD when I'm done. The mounts I'm seeing everywhere for the Bus to Bug trans swaps are either the solid mounts, 10* mounts or both.

_________________
Homemade rail for street & off road: BJ front beam (bent), IRS rear (boxed/maybe bent), stock T1 DP 1600, 009, 34PICT-3 (soon to be dual 40HPMXs), 4-1 glass pack exh, T3 brakes (F disk, R drum & Dual MC), Bug trans (002, 5 rib going in soon).
Link to my rail (re)build thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=629493
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GoMopar440
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PostPosted: Wed May 11, 2016 8:34 pm    Post subject: Re: Budget rail rebuild and dual carbs project Reply with quote

When I got it, it was maybe OK for just putting around on dirt roads, but not much more than that IMHO due to the neglect and outright scary work done by the PO. I already had an idea of what I wanted out of a rail before I got this one, so it was destined to be tinkered on quite a bit. Making it street legal adds a lot of stuff to the basic package by itself. Then you have to remember that I want to make it a DD that I can drive year round, in Montana. So a completely enclosed cabin, heat and window defrost are other things I'll also have to add. This frame is tweaked pretty badly also, so a new frame is on the "to do eventually" list. Can't forget the performance upgrades either. Dual carbs are in hand and I'm going to be going through the second carb soon. There's also the 002 5 rib transaxle and Type 2 Bus CV's and axles I already have, but I still need 2x3 rear diagonal arms before I can install the bus trans and axles. If I had to guess, I'm probably about halfway there overall. lol

Ok, back to today's progress. Before I could do anything else, I needed to remove the bolts holding the passenger foot rest. Like almost every other bolt that was sticking out the bottom of the rail so far, they all needed their nuts cut off to get them loose. Wait, that sounded REALLY bad there... Shocked LOL.

Then I went under the rail and traced the outline of the frame on the new piece of floor so I would know where to drill so the screws would hit their marks. I got everything lined up well enough that every hole hit its mark, but the crappy self drilling screws I bought were having trouble in the thicker pieces of metal. I have over half of them in so far, so I just left it at that for right now. After I have everything fitted and located, I'll take it all back out for final paint and finishing. I'll go back and get the rest of the floor holes drilled and screwed down at that time. I sat the tunnel frame in place and centered it side to side. It has also been slid all the way back to the rear torsion housing.
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


After than little bit of surgery, the tunnel was finally able to sit flat on the floor. However, the roller for the gas pedal was halfway inside the tunnel and had no room to move forward without hitting the upper part of the tunnel frame. For now I just unbolted the roller to get it out of the way. I'll also be repositioning the pedal assembly so I'll move it a little away from the tunnel at that time.
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


I also had to remove some of the left over bug sheet metal around the middle of the rear torsion beam. A couple quick cuts with the angle grinder and they weren't an issue any more. I might need to stick with the smaller old round style of shift shaft coupler. I'll need to check them both out to see which ones will work inside the narrow tunnel. I'll go with which ever one works best.
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Then I put the drivers seat back in place and slid a piece of steel under the front to temporarily give it a little extra support. I loosely bolted the shifter to the mounting plate and maneuvered it into place on top of the tunnel. Where I had previously guessed it would be is going to be way too far back for comfort. It's a couple of inches more forward with the tunnel sitting flat on the floor now. I ran it through the limits of the gear throws, including reverse. Here it is in 3rd (approximately).
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


This is where reverse should be.
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


A look at the shifter in the reverse position looking straight from the side.
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And the shifter in the same position, just looking at it from the other side.
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


This is a peek under the hood showing where the tunnel is ending up at. I'll build the small front bulkhead somewhere between that blue bar and the front of the tunnel.
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Last pic is showing the top of the tunnel in relation to both seats. I'm happy with how it's turning out so far.
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

_________________
Homemade rail for street & off road: BJ front beam (bent), IRS rear (boxed/maybe bent), stock T1 DP 1600, 009, 34PICT-3 (soon to be dual 40HPMXs), 4-1 glass pack exh, T3 brakes (F disk, R drum & Dual MC), Bug trans (002, 5 rib going in soon).
Link to my rail (re)build thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=629493
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notime2d8
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PostPosted: Wed May 11, 2016 5:25 pm    Post subject: Re: Budget rail rebuild and dual carbs project Reply with quote

When you started this thread, I did not think that it was going to end up at 19+ pages. I thought your rail was ready at the start of the thread, obviously I was wrong. Also going to bug you with a PM.
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GoMopar440
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PostPosted: Wed May 11, 2016 1:33 pm    Post subject: Re: Budget rail rebuild and dual carbs project Reply with quote

My wife posted the autographed Don Garlits book on Ebay for me. Here's the link in case anyone is interested. -> http://www.ebay.com/itm/301940455232?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

It's still overcast outside but we're not expecting any rain today. The temps are up to the mid 50's so I'm heading outside to work on the rail some. I hope to get the tunnel fitted and the shifter location figured out today if possible. That should be do-able if I don't run into any unexpected snags along the way.
_________________
Homemade rail for street & off road: BJ front beam (bent), IRS rear (boxed/maybe bent), stock T1 DP 1600, 009, 34PICT-3 (soon to be dual 40HPMXs), 4-1 glass pack exh, T3 brakes (F disk, R drum & Dual MC), Bug trans (002, 5 rib going in soon).
Link to my rail (re)build thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=629493
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