Hi Dave, good looking motor!

I have the same shifter problem as you, nudging reverse instead of second. I initially thought it was the reverse stop plate but I have noticed that it occurs most on power downshifts - never on upshifts. I think its to do with the 'box moving around due to torque reation and the bumps. My shift rod is in perfect condition i.e all the bushes are new and the rear is a polybush in the orginal VW cage that takes out any slop. When I have the engine out I will renew the gearbox mounts and add a 5-bar KC brace to stop the frame horns flexing.

Hi Dave

I've cut the video file down too either 211,xxx KB or 796,xxx KB, what would you prefer?

Cheers Steve

I'll take the large one. Will email you a dropbox link shortly.

THANKS!!

-Dave

Hi Dave

I just put the large one in the drop box, let me know how it goes. The large file didn't play as well on my computer but my computer is almost as old as my bug, the smaller file played better.

Steve

Well, tis been a while. Worked on a few minor details over the weekend to try and adjust some issues. First up was grounding each of the temp senders to their own ground, I was getting some flaky readings or the feed-sensor dropping out, and the individual grounds seem to have solved that problem. The feed ground is a little messy, but I'll get in there again next weekend to make sure it's shrink-wrapped and permanent now that I've confirmed it's working.

My F150 was stolen, and recovered. But in the process of the body shop replacing all the locks and repairing the doors, they messed up the interior light. Battery was discharged and charged enough over the course of the week that it was 100% dead. Wouldn't even hold a charge for an hour. As I'm not sure if the problem is 100% solved, I stole the deep-cycle optima from the Bug since they can be discharged flat a number of times without damage. I tossed in a Honda S2000 battery I have kicking around, and Ziptied it in for emergency use :P I figured I would get around to swapping it back soon, but then realized a RallyX is next weekend and I was more likely to show up at tech and then remember I haven't swapped the batteries! A metal-on-metal mount was made for the Honda battery. It's ugly, but will pass tech!
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7233/7...abee45b4_z.jpg

I've also been working on the cooling. The NACA duct flows too much air past the oil cooler, and running on the highway I can't actually get it up to 200deg running temperature. The thermostat I'm using to bypass the cooler still lets a small amount of oil pass through, and this is clearly a problem. A couple of tests with cardboard (blocking the duct) allows the car to come up to temperature...so a solution needs to be found! I honestly don't understand the aerodynamics of the duct well enough, but I know I need to keep the boundary layer intact as much as possible past the duct. This piece of lexan seems to be doing the job so far, might need to make it a little larger and/or adjust the shape.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7095/7...8c05d002_b.jpg

Once I've got the shape/setup figured out I'll then swap the bolts out for Dzus 1500 fasteners. They will allow me to pull the panel at any point when the heat is getting to high for the fan to control. (Hot day at the track perhaps?).
http://britishracecar.com/KeithBurne...MGBGTV8-FD.jpg

I was up doing some gravel testing for the panel (high revs, long stints), which also highlighted another issue I need to deal with. The oil-level in the tank is quite sensitive, and it seems when I have it too high it will burp out of the dipstick tube under high-heat/revs! Will need to o-ring or otherwise seal the dipstick tube. Tough to see the top of the tank is all coated in oil.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7227/7...ba49bf4e_z.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7216/7...4661bfb0_z.jpg

...and, speaking of testing. Here's some proof that the car does indeed move under it's own power. I goofed on the front-mounted cam, and wasn't going to post a vid. But hey, if I keep waiting until I have a perfect one I will never post anything! :P

http://youtu.be/k7yPrwBifGw

-Dave

video looks great and good to see a bug being used. one bit of advice i learnt the hard way, dont have your thumbs inside the steering wheel. hit a rut or a rock and the wheel snatches, it will beat your thumbs hard.

Yup, bad habit indeed. When I was 18ish and starting to rally/rallyx, I had a problem with "happy hands" and too much steering input. To finally beat the problem I just had to focus on keeping the left hand locked to the wheel. I hook thumbs because of it, and just can't break the habit on gravel. I can do it on tarmac, but not gravel :P

I've broken both thumbs and scaphoid enough riding bikes to realize it sucks...but some habits die hard!

-Dave

Do you run the oil cooler and thermostat in the high pressure line to the block or the return line back to the tank (low pressure).

Oil thermostats are not always designed to handle pressure as they are supposed to be fitted in the return line of a dry sump system. The 911 works in that way I think.

Hmmmm...That could be it right there. Its plumbed into the high pressure line. Switching it to the return line for testing shouldn't be too difficult...

-Dave

Well,

Started cracking down on the various things I need to address before rallyXing the car on the 24th. First up was swapping the Oil pressure gauge with the Voltmeter. Let this be a lesson to everyone, before installing everything else in front of the dash (wipers, airbox, etc.)...put the steering wheel in and make sure you can see everything! Now with them swapped I can monitor the oil pressure without the need to look, and I can see just enough of the voltmeter needle to know if it's charging or not.

With that done, i decided to investigate why Fuel Pump #2 wasn't working. It hasn't worked since the first day I put a battery to the car. I recall testing the relay and all the wiring I could reach, and determining at some point that it had to be the wiring right up at the switch. Since the dash was apart I pulled it all out, and found the switch and wiring to be fine. Hmmmm. Testing all down the line I eventually discovered I bought a $30 dead fuel pump relay. Hmph. Tossed a regular relay in for now (which doesn't have the tach-input feature) and Fuel pump two was working properly. Sweet. Stuffed everything back in the dash, put the airbox back in, did a few other things and triple checked it before leaving the garage. Fuel pump two not working.

Hmph. Guess I'll be going back to deal with that tomorrow night :P

I decided since I'll be working on it tomorrow that I might as well drive my F150 for a day, and put the bug up on Axle stands. It will give me a good chance to look everything over after playing the gravel for over an hour on the weekend. Good thing I did!
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8144/7...b62a77bc_b.jpg

My first thought was that I must have blown a Motorsport CV boot. But upon closer examination it would seem that my catch can drain came loose and the oil was being picked up by the airstream from the tire. The drain is right against the inside of the fender wall, and will need to be changed. The oil tank was slightly overfull before I hit the gravel, and I knew the catch cans were going to need draining...but I guess the bug decided to drain them a little earlier then me. Unfortunately it's all over the brake caliper:
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7244/7...c626fa86_c.jpg

And the inboard brake pad is wasted.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7088/7...bba9b218_c.jpg

I've got the brakes and rotor cleaned up, but will need to check to see if I have any rear pads for the car. I know I have spare fronts, but not sure about rears.

...on the plus side, at least I have something to do?!

-Dave

Well, AVR has brake pads in stock...but I really don't want to drive down just for a set of brake pads. Especially since that means I would have to drive my Ford. Ugh.

So, what I did next comes from the "not recommended" and "historical" section of your library. Back in the earlier days of motoring, when brake linings were riveted to the shoes and a pain to replace, it was accepted practice to clean a pair of oil-soaked brake shoes. The problem being that brake linings are porous, so simply wiping them off isn't enough. First step is to clean them with brake clean, to get the major surface gunk off. Then, using white-gas (called Naptha or camping fuel in Canada) you clean the pads a second time. Once that's done the pads will look new, with some light oil staining. Now the fun begins. Pour some white gas on the pad, wait about 5 min for some of it to soak into the pad...light it up and stand clear!
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8166/7...a0e60f3f_c.jpg

As the white gas burns, it draws the oil out of the pad like a candle wick. Repeat the soak/burn step about 4 more times. This next photo was after the second burn. You can see the pad is clearing up, and also that it had cracked during the burn. Oh, you thought this method was foolproof? lol.
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5338/7...e39d3587_c.jpg

Regardless...what I have is set of pads which are usable for the couple of days until my new set arrives.

uh, not recommended as a permanent solution...but does work for a roadside fix!

-Dave

The rear calipers look to be the standard rear disc kit calipers. If so they are from a 90's Ford Tarus and the pads should be easy to find.

I knew they were ford...but for the life of me couldn't find/google/remember what the fitment was. The set I have on this car don't have any casting markings or stamps, so I was completely blank. Taurus eh? Will do a little more googling today.

-Dave

Dave,
This is a fantastic build an is a credit to you!
I'm looking forward to seeing some video of her being used in anger!
Diarmuid

Thank you! If it would stop raining around here, I'd film more :P

---------

I'm getting closer to sorting out a solution for the temperature issue. Cutting off a portion of the forced-airflow through the duct has helped quite a bit. Here are the three sensor readings after 45min at 120kph: (Engine at front pressure plug, Bottom of tank, , Feed into engine)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7100/7...acef334c06.jpg http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5036/7...7daaef22d9.jpg http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8144/7...cbd96074cf.jpg

All sensors the same brand, but I on the next oil-change I think I'm going to need to pull them and confirm they all read exactly the same at 100deg C. The engine temp reading lower then the feed could be a product of the location, the case temp or the sensor. At this stage I'm most interested in the feed temperature, and so it would seem that I have a bit of trimming to do on my cover plate. I should also order in some of those Dzus fasteners pretty quickly.

-Dave