Ray Vallero stroker build for my '63 ragtop

[Bill Schwimmer]

I really like the idea of the holes in the pushrods. I had been thinking of something like this for a long time to cool the valve springs, but this is so much more simple & brilliant. Great thread. Thanks

[dsimas]

I really like the idea of the holes in the pushrods. I had been thinking of something like this for a long time to cool the valve springs, but this is so much more simple & brilliant. Great thread. Thanks

I'm glad you can maybe use it.  Corvairs did it on some engines, and Ray has been doing it on VW's for decades.  He was always suggested by friends to try to figure out a way to capitalize on the idea and make it pay since there's a demand for the result...  But, with this educational thread and it being a big component on how he's been able to make that shroud work, he finally just decided to share it with the masses so that everyone can hopefully use the technique.  There's probably really no way to manufacture or patent it anyways.  Let us know if you do it. 

[Zach Gomulka]

That's a neat mod. Would it be necessary on the 3/4 side at all since that is the side that fills up with oil?

[181]

I have this mod on my 2276 along with Hoover mods...FK 8, dual springs, AC.NET alu pushrods, 42x37 Steve Tims heads... I do not monitor head temps so I can´t comment on any positive effects but every little thing helps I suppose...

[dsimas]

That's a neat mod. Would it be necessary on the 3/4 side at all since that is the side that fills up with oil?

Yes, he does it on all.  As a matter of fact, 3/4 was the side that there was no oil from the rockers initially.  And also that is the side that has less cooling efficiency with the centermount shroud design (we are rectifying that with the interior fan mods).

He starts with all intakes only because this makes oil go all the way across the heads.  The exhaust do not because they are blocked by the rocker stands.  But, exhaust push rods being drilled will add to heat removal if we need it later, on the hottest part of the head.  So, we may do those too as the seasons warm up after springtime and see how it's running.

[dsimas]

We are going to the chassis dyno tonight.  Any guesses as to HP/torque? 

[dsimas]

At Evil Genius Racing's chassis dyno last night.  No simple answer as to the results because, unfortunately, in the rush to get there on time with Sacramento rush hour traffic, we forgot the air correctors in the jet kit that we brought to tune it.  BIG bummer.  Did some scrambling trying to find some racers with some we could borrow, but nobody was close enough for us to connect without being too late to make our appt on the way.  We decided to keep the appt and get a baseline of info and jet accordingly at the shop.

Strapped in and ready to go.



After the first pull at 5500rpms:



128HP at the wheels, 132 torque.  Nice that they are real close.  Running too lean though.  Current jetting is .60 idle, 1.35 main, 1.65 airs.

Went for a 2nd pull at 6000rpms and no noticable improvement.  Rejetted the mains to 1.45 out of curiosity, but coudn't go any higher without airs too.

Last pull at 6500rpms:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/j3EB7D4o4ts" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/j3EB7D4o4ts</a>

That upped the HP to 132HP, but got some popping due to being too lean, so we called it a night.  We're going to go with 170 mains and 200 airs back at home and test drive that, and go from there. 

The power band was nice.  From 3000 to 5000 rmps, it was within 5 #'s of torque.

So, in conclusion:

The last pull was better by 4HP after rejetting the mains a bit:  132 HP, 132 torque.  That's approximately 155-160HP at the motor.  But it's dropping off at 6000 rpms due to the jetting.  Ray thinks it will get approximately 10 more HP when we dial it is and stop starving it for fuel.  It was running out of fuel over 5,000, which makes it go lean and start popping.   So, rejetting, needles and seats, and a better fuel pump, all will improve things.  We are looking for drivability, and a smooth power band and the best HP that can be achieved with that in mind.  Kinda fun tinkering with combinations.  Ray feels it will ultimately get 145-155 at the wheels when we get it dialed in.  We'll go back to the dyno when he's had time to do all the mods.  In the mean time, the car really is only on the idle jets during all my street driving and runs just fine.

Also note that was with a full sized pulley since we're still experimenting with cooling.  We drove there at 70mph for 45 minutes, temp outside was 68, and the heads were 318 when we arrived, oil temp never topped 185.  He's still got some plans for modifying that shroud by making the fan tighter, etc, which we will need when the weather warms up.  Maybe it could run a power pulley at some point depending how it all goes, which would add another 6 HP if we want it.

[61ragtop]

Fantastic thread, thanks for sharing.

Ive been at this for over 20 years but have learnt a whole heap from reading through this

cheers james

[Harry/FDK]

I really like the idea of the holes in the pushrods. I had been thinking of something like this for a long time to cool the valve springs, but this is so much more simple & brilliant. Great thread. Thanks

X2

[dsimas]

Took the car for it's first road trip with Ray and some friends on a two day caravan last weekend.  First to the VW Museum in the bay area.  Then to the CA coast for the night and cruise down Hwy 1 the next day to Santa Cruz Beach and Boardwalk and into the coastal redwoods.  A route that this car and I have been making for over 33 years together.  Car ran like a dream, temps in the 70's (F).  Life is good.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/-X-ZsR4tZPY" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/-X-ZsR4tZPY</a>

[Rick Meredith]

There's a VW museum in the Bay area? Where?

[fredy66]

looking good

[dsimas]

There's a VW museum in the Bay area? Where?

It's a private collection of one man.  We got special permission through friends.  But he DOES open it generally once a year when the Kelly Park VW Show is nearby.  It's in the South Bay area, San Jose.

[Rick Meredith]

Cool. I've been going to Santa Clara once a month so I'm always looking for things to do in that area.

[dsimas]

Cool. I've been going to Santa Clara once a month so I'm always looking for things to do in that area.

Kelly Park Show is April 22 this year.  Odds are the the museum will be open on the 21 or 22.  Watch google or samba for info.

[rick m]

That is something I should attend. Would be cool to drive the chop top up for the weekend.  Who says IDAs won't work on a road trip!

Rick M

[dsimas]

Sorry for the huge lapse on this thread.  The motor is still not finished because pretty much all the new components of the motor have needed work.  The alternator has serious endplay, the electronic ignition was not working right and we put a 009 knockoff to test it and it fixed the bucking/missing, the new IDA's need rebuilds out of the box, and the new heavy duty clutch broke at Test And Tune 6 weeks ago so CB is warrantying it out. 

The shroud is working well and the weather is warming up here, so we want to add fans to the external oil coolers for when I am in traffic and don't have as much air flow.  We can also drill the exhaust push rods for more head cooling, we just didn't want it to run too cool until we tested it for a while.  It's consistently at 185 oil temp at all times, under a load, on hills, in traffic, at the race track, regardless of ambient air temps.  But the weather here will go up to the high 90's F in the summer, so we will be adding the exhaust push rods and fans.

The car has been sitting for 6 weeks at Ray's shop because he's been very busy.  I'm hoping that he'll be getting back to it soon....  I miss my Daily Driver!

[58vw]

awesome thread...thank you for sharing

[tonybone]

great job guys.
Nice to see such detail and dedication in the build.. Right through to what looks like a stunning road trip. Well done.
Many of us have been reading this thread with great respect, so keep the news coming.

Tony. 

[dsimas]

Just throwing this out there:

This engine is going up for sale. It may or may not be paired up with the "indestructible" transmission that Ray finished building to match it, literally days before he died.  (Also has a build thread on this forum)

I have $8500-9000 in parts alone in this engine. I don't even recall the $$ I had into the tranny. And this does not include any labor or machine work done by Ray, which was all traded for the publicity. Easily a priceless amount, hundreds if not 1000's of hours over the period of a year or two for the build. Truthfully, not a single component wasn't modified by him for a perfect combination build.

I don't want to part it out, even though that would make me more $. I'm waffling on how to go about this. As you can imagine, it's a bit emotional. Opinions appreciated.

The motor got 34mpg when I kept my foot out of the IDA's, just commuting and running around town. It ran cool, almost too cool in the winter here in CA, and around 185-190F in the summers. I can discuss this more with those interested.

Since Ray passed away, I haven't driven Hugo much at all. Without the mechanic/builder, I lost my passion for racing. Ken Porter of Porter's Precision (who drove Hugo for me at BOR and got it into the mid 13's pretty easily), removed this incredible motor and has put Hugo's old motor back in. If you recall, Ray Vallero built a 1600cc 100hp motor in 1983 for me that I drove for 30 years. We did a build thread on freshening it up for the first time a few years ago for Velvet, my bus. It is nice to have my original old motor back in my car and hopefully it will last the rest of my lifetime, knowing Ray's skill and trackrecord.

Peace,
Dawn