Time attack beetle

[kuleinc]

It was nice talking to you at the meet, my new dizzy is retarding itself. So it may be a while before I can make it out to the BLTN meet... Had to take the minivan to work today haha...

[Humble]

Just putting this where it belongs, it's good to be back on the GL forums!

Firstly I finally have all of my safety gear, the last piece was the def-n-der head and neck restraint which I really like but its not made for big shoulders (i'm 22" across the shoulders and 46" around the chest). I 'm worried that it's going to dig into my shoulders once I'm belted into the seat.





Now for the good stuff! I got my race tires as well and stuck them on the car yesterday. They are Yokohama A048 R, 235/40 18 front and 285/30 18 rear on 8' and 10" rims respectively. They look perfect on the car and really give the rear that "I'm hiding something big" stance. For grins I tried a rear 285 on the front and it's a perfect fit. I can also turn lock to lock without rubbing. How many bugs do you see that can tuck a 285 without rubbing, on the front?! I can go bigger on the rear if I move the oil filters and I could go as big as a 315 without moving the oil cooler. Even if I put the rear tires on the front, the rear is still wider than the front by a couple of inches. The front wheels are still using a 1" spacer but the rear wheels bolt directly to the hubs.

For reference, that's the old rear tire a 225/50 16 on the right.

[Humble]

and more...

And the 285 on the front, oh it's mean!







Full lock and I still have an inch or so to play with.


On the wiring front I have 5 more wires to run and then I'm done wiring. I have to replace the starter before I can start it because the kick solenoid isn't working, buit I expect to have it running this weekend.

[petevw]

Damn, those tires are huge.

[Humble]

No pics this time but another update for this weekend. I finally finished up the wiring and went to turn the engine over and the starter didn't engage, it just spun. Checked the part number and it's the wrong part so I'll have to go exchange it this week.

FYI: you need an SR87 '76 and up bus starter if you want to use the stock 091 tranny on a type 1 motor. If you change the bell housing for a 002 unit and shorten the input shaft 1/2" or so you can use a type 1 starter.

Since I couldn't check oil pressure I moved on to the fuel system, setting up the fuel gauge (adjusting the empty point on the sender), and checking for leaks. Boy was there leaks. About a half dozen loose fittings in all the hardest to reach areas took the whole afternoon to fix but it's tight as a drum now. I was setting the fuel pressure regulator and I know the system can hold 70+ PSI without leaks. I set it for 50 PSI for now since it has to be 45 PSI at idle.

I also tested the porsche abs wheel speed sensor with the electric speedo finally and it worked like a champ. I tested the voltage output before but this was the first test with the gauge so I'm very pleased it works.

After the fuel system sprinkler issue I'm going to go through all of the oil fittings before the first oil pressure check to be safe. Then it's time to start the beast and break in the cam!

[ricola]

There is definitely an awesome 'look' that tyres like those give to a car, I like!

[kuleinc]

Those tires are WICKED! Do you have any more info on the speed sensor? I hate my cable and my speedo is on its way out...

[Xellex]

Originally Posted by Humble

For grins I tried a rear 285 on the front and it's a perfect fit. I can also turn lock to lock without rubbing. How many bugs do you see that can tuck a 285 without rubbing, on the front?!

Man that's impressive! How in the world did you manage doing that? Are those stock fenders? Did you use any spacers? What's the ET on those rims?
I just finished mounting the new suspension for the first time, and I could only use a 185/65/15 tire on the ET55 phone dials. I tried a 195/65 tire and it rubs on the fender. I'm only doing trial fits right now but I'd really like to know more of your setup.

[Humble]

the front fenders are 4" wider than stock and the rear are 5" wider than stock, that's how the tires fit The rims are 8x18 et 50 on the front and 10x18 et 40 for the rear.

The best fit I got under stock fenders was 205/40 17 on 7x17 et 55 turbo twists on my street bug. Fits perfect all the way around with 11mm spacers.

The sensor is for the abs pickup in the front spindle of a 968. I don't know if 944 turbos came with abs or not but there should be a boss for the sensor at a minimum. I'll try and get some pics tomorrow since I have to tighten mine now that I think about.

Oh.. and she runs, sounds mean as hell, and leaks a little oil here and there (gotta track those down tomorrow) video and more details forthcoming!

[wrenchnride247]

Bring on the video!

[Humble]

First videos!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMgz4PE00xs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40JZL9VJ45Q


Cam break in is done just need to get the axles back in, throttle cable in and clutch cable in to drive her. Still chasing leaks both valve cover gaskets wont stop leaking and a small drip (now) coming from underneath. I'm worried it's the cam plug or rear main. It was gushing oil before after some fuel got in it, so I changed the oil and the leak lessened by a good margin but it still there. Other than the oil leak and systems are doing well. All the gauges work and and wiring is looking nicer.

2 suprizes though: First the turbo doesn't quiet down the motor as much as I thought it would and noise may be an issue as some tracks. Second, I can't hear the CB straight cut cam gears at all, not even a little bit (exhaust is probably too loud.

Pictures!

Here's the wheel speed sensor, from a 928 not 968 (my bad).





And nicer wiring shots and fire extinguisher mount

[chug_A_bug]

sounds real nice
and what we didn't get to See the Drive way on Fire lol
can't wait to See it all done...

Chris.

[NO_H2O]

Great to see it breathing. Thanks for the videos. Can't wait to see some in-car from the track.

[Humble]

Yeah, I didn't have the camera out for the driveway fire but here's what happened. I slipped another race muffler I had over the turbo to take the edge of during cam break in. It exited even with the driveway and my roommate grabbed a piece of wood to hold the muffler in place. Well the wood went up pretty quick and where the exhaust was hitting the driveway also burned.

The bad news: I'm pretty sure it's the rear main leaking after talking to a few people. So now the motor will have to come out again. I'm going to try and work fast to get it back together because that start up video is a pretty big carrot. I figure a week or 2 for tear down and reassembly before it's ready to go back into the car.

The good news: I've been progressively more and more unhappy with the 091 tranny. Working around it, staring at it, and having to modify a bunch of things to get it to work, and I keep hittng myself with the KISS rule, keep it simple stupid. Since the motor has to come out anyway I threw money at the problem (which I should have done at the start) and ordered a real race tranny from Rancho. It's a built to the hilt type 1, albins gears, ebw hubs, steel forks, type 2 flanges, and the list goes on. I'll recoup some money selling the 091 and other unused parts. The tranny should be here about the time the motor is ready to go back in and I already have a full tranny strap kit with urethane mounts from the old setup.

[Humble]

More progress on the car, 2 steps forward 1 step back. Not only was the rear main leaking but the sump tank emptied itself into the crankcase over the week. It made a real big mess on the driveway as it came pouring out of the bad valve cover gaskets. Ran the motor briefly to empty it, then drained the tank so I could move it. Before I could drop the tank though I had to move the battery. The battery ended up in the forward part of the passenger footwell and I installed the battery cutoff switch while I was at it.





With the battery out of the way I could lower the sump tank about 6" or so. The old bottom mount became the new top mount easy enough but I had to redo the -12 drain line. The old drin line was 4 feet long while the new one is about 4 inches long. It come right out of the tank and right into a bulkhead -12 union with a plug on the backside. It exits in the inside rear corner of the pan down at an angle which should be easy to reach for oil changes. I also lowered the water injection tank for good measure and put it right behind the passenger seat.



After I wrapped up the inside again I replaced the valve cover gaskets and fired her up again to check for leaks. So far the valve covers are dry and so is the interior. If all holds well then she comes back apart for the rear main seal and tranny swap.