Stewartsoda's '72 Super Build Thread

[RWilliamsga]

Probably not good esp if valve hit piston may be it just pushed it back heads got to come off.

[stewartsoda]

Alright, we're doing this again? We're doing this again. Motor's out.

I messed up some of the front engine tin while I was getting it out. Oops.

I think that I found my "potential" exhaust leaks, too, based on the carbon pattern here.

Now I just have to start taking the engine apart...
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1972 Super Build

[stewartsoda]

I got into the engine tonight, and what did I find?

Surprise 92mm pistons!

Oh, looks like #4 is not as good as I hoped...

Guess we're doing a rebuild now!
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1972 Super Build

[stewartsoda]

Also, I can't help but think that this thing should have been doing a lot better than it was since it was an 1835cc motor. That Weber Progressive I think is all out of whack.

I hear clearancing a case for a 78mm crank is not too hard and can be easily done by the most hamfisted of shadetree mechanics who is halfway competent with a Dremel, especially if the case has been opened for larger pistons. Anyone have any experience or comments on the truth of that?

So far here's what I'm thinking. Here's the easy stuff:
92mm P&Cs
78mm counterweighted crank
Stock conrods
Probably stock heater boxes, but I need a new set so if it's not too many more $$$ for 1 1/2" with a matching exhaust then I might do that.

That's the easy part, now we get to talk about the hard stuff.
Heads? I've heard good things about Mofoco, 041 if I'm using stock heater boxes, 042 if I'm going bigger. Or CB Panchito 44s? Or somethign else?
Cam? I have no idea here, open to suggestions for something that would be driveable, probably more torquey than high-revving HP.
Carbs? Weber IDF seems to be the standard, but I'm cheap so maybe the Empi HPMX is okay? 40mm? 44mm?
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1972 Super Build

[stewartsoda]

I guess the other option is to say "screw it" and keep it as-is, get a gasket kit, ear it down, replace bearings as needed, and put the money into carbs, while saving up for my stroker build at some point in the future.
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1972 Super Build

[Buggeee]

[stewartsoda]

Okay, this project has sat for a long time while I cleared another project off my plate. That one isn't quite done, but the weather will put a hold on it. So now I'm back to the Bug.

Progress over the summer:

Scored a new/old hood at the local pick-and-pull which is a little rough in the rust department but at least it isn't all banged up in the front.
Found some heater boxes in better shape than the leaky ones I have.
Picked up some nice chrome rear ashtrays. I don't smoke, but the idea of ashtrays is fun to me.
Picked up a pair of new/old window regulators, cleaned the driver's side one up and replaced the crappy aftermarket one I had bought. Works much better!
Relocated the stereo from my old car (had to go buy a cheapie for my son who is driving it now) to the Bug.
Found out the speakers are trash. Gonna have to replace them all.
New door panels are on the way since the PO cut them to install speakers, but installed them where they are firing right into the base of the seat. Might work if I had ears in my hips or something.

Measured the case and found it has already been line bored .040 over. No thrust cut. Main bearings are still tight and look new. Crank looks in good shape.

Cam looked a bit flat on a couple of lobes. Some light pitting. Lifters looked pretty worn on their faces. Maybe the PO ran the wrong kind of oil without enough ZDDP?

CC'ed the heads. 60cc. That's bigger than I was hoping and will limit my cam choice due to low CR. They are some no-name casting. Sooty. Car must have been running super rich. Remember when I got it the choke was always on?

Measured the deck height with the 92mm AA pistons/cylinders that came with it. Somewhere between .045 and .050 with no spacers. PO had a .040 spacer installed, making a deck height of .090, which gives a CR of close to 7:1. He was running an EMPI 110 cam, which I think is better suited for higher CR. John at aircooled.net says for the Engle W110 (which is supposedly the same duration and lift as the EMPI copycat) to plan for 8.25:1-8.75:1, which the PO was nowhere near with that spacer and those huge combustion chambers.

So I'm rebuilding it with the following:

EMPI 69mm forged counterweighted crank that was in it
New AA 92mm jugs/pistons
SCAT C25 cam
SCAT lightweight followers
stock rods
~7.7:1 CR (no spacers)
No-name DP heads, stock size valves (with new HD springs)
Weber 32/36DFEV that was in it (have to check the jets, I think it was running pretty rich)
EMPI single quiet pack exhaust that I already have

I need a better intake manifold and to do an exhaust mod to make the manifold heat work better so my progressive will run right. The EMPI header just has the manifold heat tubes dump right into the header pipes (both high-pressure areas), I want to relocate one to the collector (a low-pressure area) so I get actual flow. I've read with the way it's set up now you just get kinda ... pulsing back and forth but the actual heat sucks.

Parts are on order and should get here in time for this to be my Christmas break project. Still have to get some odds and ends: the manifold heat riser gaskets, the heater box to heater accordion tube thingie seals, new jets for the carb, spark plug wires, etc.
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1972 Super Build

[AutoMechanic]

Great. Glad you were able to get a new hood for it and fix it up some more.

[stewartsoda]

Tore in to the carb during lunch. It's a Weber 32/36DFEV. Jetting is stock from the factory:

Idle jets: 55/50
Main jets: 137/140
Air jets: 165/160

Compared to ACN's recommendations for my altitude with a poorly-heated intake:

Idle jets: 45/55 (leaner on the primary, a little richer on the secondary)
Main jets: 130/175 (a little leaner on the primary, richer on the secondary)
Air jets: 180/200 (quite a bit leaner on both)

This thing was probably running super rich when I would get into the main jets at higher RPMs. That would explain the very sooty combustion chambers, pistons, and exhaust ports.

New jets and a new better heated manifold on the way now. I'll try and find a local muffler shop to do the preheat modification I need on my exhaust manifold. If the preheat and new manifold work well I may have to drop down a size on the jets, we'll see.
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1972 Super Build

[stewartsoda]

Ugh, the better manifold was a bust. It's the kind that runs the heat up the manifold, not just along the base.

Unfortunately someone drilled right through the bottom so it's not really doing its job any better than the one I already have.

So maybe I'll run my oil line through the manifold instead of messing with my exhaust. I'll be getting dual carbs at some point down the road anyway, negating the need for external manifold heat.
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1972 Super Build

[stewartsoda]

So. Seat bushings. I ordered some new seat bushings from Jbugs (I think) and they are too thick or something. The seat binds when sliding it back on the mount.

I managed to force it and it broke out the end of the bushing from the bushing catching inside the track on the seat bottom.

So for now I have the driver's seat in a spot where I like it and won't be moving it for a while.

Not sure if there's an easy fix for this.

EDIT: This thread describes a fix. Shaving down the bottom of the bushing helps.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=721750&highlight=seat+bushings
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1972 Super Build

[stewartsoda]

I got the right jets in the carb. The float setting was WAAAAAY off. I don't remember what it was, but it would have made the fuel level in the bowl way too low. This would have leaned out the mixture, maybe negating (partially) the over-jetting of the carb.

We'll see when I get the engine back together.
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1972 Super Build

[Buggeee]

Hey Stewart good to hear you're plugging away at it. I like knowing that others out there are enjoying the process as well.
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1966 Sportsmobile Camper https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...mp;start=0
72 Super Duper http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=672387
(adopted out) 61 Turkis Pile https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=728764

[Rome]

Did you receive the parts you intended to order?

[stewartsoda]

[stewartsoda]

Mofoco 041 heads on order now.

Aircooled.net says I should target 7.5-8:1 CR with the Scat C25 camshaft. With the 55cc Mofoco heads that means I need .060 deck or I'm gonna be too high. Guess I need some spacers.

The engine came with .035 spacers (at least measured by my cheap calipers), that would put me at 7.8:1, assuming the new pistons and cylinders give me the same deck height as the old set I measured.

I got the crankshaft together over the weekend. The main bearings looked pretty good, but I replaced them anyway. Couldn't get the cam gear off so I didn't replace #3. Three our of four ain't bad, right?

I weighed and balanced the rods (they were pretty close), and the pistons. One of the rods was a little heavy, one of the pistons was a little light, I balanced them so the heavy rod and light piston were on the same side of the engine as the lightest combo, it should be within a gram of the total weight of the other side. Trying to keep things balanced from a lateral motion perspective. I know there will be a slight yaw moment due to the skew in weight, but the weight difference is within tolerances (under 5g).

The thing I'm currently noodling on is how to deal with the pickup tube extension for my deep sump. the larger extension tube slips nicely over the existing pickup, but then I can't use the screen because the socket that tube fits in is too small. The smaller tube fits nicely in the screen, but I'd have to use the larger tube as a sleeve to connect it to the pickup. I guess that's what I'll do.

My Scat lifters have the oiling hole it looks like. I'm excited that they are the light ones (72g vs 90something), but that oiling hole has a burr on a few of the lifters so I think I'll have to stone it off with a fine diamond file or something. My lifter bores seem in pretty good shape.

For the exhaust I have an el-cheapo EMPI header and single quiet pack muffler. I was reading about how Vintage Speed manifold preheat works and I think I'm going to try welding some little scoops on the inside of the header near the preheat tubes. One just upstream on one side to create a low pressure area, one just downstream on the other to create a high pressure area. That should help crossflow better than the current setup which I've read just pulses back and forth.

Round two of upgrades is a while off but will probably be dual carbs and maybe a new exhaust, then I won't be worrying about preheat anyway.
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1972 Super Build

[stewartsoda]

I keep thinking about the engine's old setup: a CR of 7.3ish:1 (too low for the cam), Empi 110 cam (with worn out lobes and lifters), and a Weber 32/36DFEV with the float level and the jetting all wrong and the choke stuck on (!!) this car probably ran like absolute trash and I didn't even know any better. I'm excited to get it running well.
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1972 Super Build

[stewartsoda]

Alright, this weekend's work was on the front end. I knew I had to get the spare tire out so I could get to the steering damper mount. Problem: spare tire was crunched in place in the PO's front end accident. The spare tire well was smashed in a bit in the front.
(bad pic, but you can see where the apron is smooshed and the tire well was as well)

I aired up the tire to 45PSI to try to bend it back a bit (didn't do much). Then I released the air and started to get after it with a pry bar. It took a little elbow grease but I got it out.

Hey, look at that destroyed steering damper bushing!

So I replaced the damper and the bushing, next I'm going after the idler arm. I also discovered that my bearings need adjusting on the right front, so I'll get that done, too. Then comes black urethane bushings from Energy Suspension on the control arms and swaybar.

Still waiting on my heads. I am not a patient man.
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1972 Super Build

[Rome]

[stewartsoda]