The Cal-look Lounge

So, I am completely new here and found the site because of a hit on Google about Ray's old race car here.  I was around back then, I met Ray in 1983 when he built the motor for my bug, "Hugo".  I was 20 years old, I bought the car in 1978, it was my first car.  I still have it.   ;D  And Ray is still working on it.  I just bought a '66 21-window bus and we put that old motor (that is still strong and just fine) in the bus.  I have a project thread for the bus on a local club forum if anyone is interested?

So, it's time for Hugo to get a new motor.  Ray, being who he is, is building a very fast streetable engine.  Nothing in the motor is left stock, so we wanted to document all that is going into it (except maybe a few secrets that he just cannot release).  Ray is currently working with Tony Klink on Zerstorer (race car that is holding the PRA record for ProGas this year) also.   8)

So, here we are, the same owner, same mechanic, same car, after 28 years...  back in action.   :D  I am writing this for another forum as an educational sort of thread, so keep that in mind when I spell out stuff that is sort of basic. 

Here's what we're starting with, a late model case.  An AS21 alloy case has some very high quality properties, compared to an AS41 (earlier cases).  Note the Auto Union logo indicating it was after VW and Audi merged.  However, it is not an indicator of authenticity, aftermarket cases also still use the logo.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00044-20110719-1812.jpg)

Another feature besides better alloy on the later case is the 2nd drain.  VW added this drain as a response to warranty claims on the flywheel seal leaking.  At rest, the oil level was higher with only one drain and would pool in the case.  There was no silicone yet, early seals were made from neoprene, which hardens with heat.  So they added a 2nd drain to solve this, better design.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00046-20110719-1824.jpg)

So, a little about line boring vs. align bore.  Have you ever wondered what the correct term is?  An align bore is the correct term for V8's and such, because you align the front to the back when boring the case.  But, VW cases are never in line front to back, so you cannot align bore a VW typically (not without running in to off center cranks, other issues).  So, in VW's you are Line Boring, boring the case in a straight line front to back. 

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00021-20110719-1714.jpg)

Line bore and cam bore done:

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00031-20110719-1758.jpg)

Preparation for flycutting the case for the front thrust bearing.  This is done to clean up the thrust surface at a minimal amount, only until it cleans all the way across.  Others usually cut the case to suit the bearing, then you only get two shots, first and 2nd ovesized bearings.  Ray only takes a minimal amount off the case and makes the bearing fit so precise that the case can be reused many times.  There will be no wear.  :)

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00048-20110719-1830.jpg)

Using the Porta-tool gives Ray the abilty to do it this way.  The basic part against the case is stationary, then there's a feeler gauge at .004-.006 to make it a minimal cut, then remove the gauge, and the outside part will cut to the width of the gap.  There's probably a more "mechanical" way to describe this to you guys, but I'm a girl.  I tell it like I see it.  ;)

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00049-20110719-1832.jpg)

Done:

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00050-20110719-1840.jpg)

We measure the case after it is flycut for the thrust bearing.  We are now cutting the main bearing .046.  A standard bearing is one size, with the flange is the same size on each end.  A first oversize (for rebuilds) is .020 smaller in the center (edge is wider), and a 2nd oversize is .040.  I know all you motorheads know this, but I am explaining it for all us girls out there....  ;)

When the case requires thrustcutting, routinely the case is cut to fit the oversized bearing, as I explained above.  Its harder to get a precise fit by cutting the case, so therefore Ray flycuts the front main thrust bearing.  This bearing is double oversized, it wasn't necessarily needed to be 2x, but we didn't have a first oversized on hand and we were custom cutting it anyways.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00038-20110719-1809.jpg)

This chuck was custom ground by Ray because the arc of a standard one this size would bite the inside of a VW bearing and damage it slightly.  This chuck fits VW bearings precisely on the inside, in case he needs to put the bearing back on lathe multiple times.  :)

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00051-20110719-1852.jpg)

Lathe bit on the fixture cutting the bearing on the custom chuck:

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00052-20110719-1855.jpg)

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00053-20110719-1859.jpg)

Nice and tight, there will be no wear on this.  Just one of the many reasons that Hugo's old engine is still strong after 28 years of daily driving.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00057-20110719-1903.jpg)

Now, off to the Bridgeport!

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00235-20110918-1758.jpg)

Here's my barrel on the left, compared to a stock on on the right.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00236-20110918-1816.jpg)

And my pistons, but more on these later...

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00237-20110918-1847.jpg)

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00238-20110918-1847.jpg)

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00239-20110918-1848.jpg)

Ray built the heavy duty base for this, with holes in it to accomodate the studs in the case.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9L_jkSyM1A

Centering the hole for a 94mm bore.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUB4HVrGoGA

Done in two stages for a step up, one for the piston and one for the cylinder.  Many people bore the hole without a step, but Ray likes to leave more material there for strength integrity.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWYGQhEOq3k

First pass:

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00240-20110918-1859.jpg)

Second pass, now showing the step:

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00241-20110918-1915.jpg)

All done.  Next is to remove the plugs in this case.... 

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00242-20110918-1952.jpg)

Ray drilled out the old press-in plugs and replaced with threaded plugs, which are impossible to blow out.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00250-20110924-1048.jpg)

New threaded one:

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00251-20110924-1049.jpg)

There is no reason to use a stock sized oil pump since our motor won't leak internally.  A smaller pump uses less energy (HP).  A stock engine is designed to have a minimum clearance of .003, we are staying within .0015.  Things we've improved on are:  The main bearing is tighter, the rod bearings, the oil galleys are plugged and rerouted, and the end play in the pump is minimized by shaving down the cover.  All of these things allow internal leakage in a stock engine, creating more of a need for a large pump; in ours everything is on the low side of tolerance. 

Difference in pump and gears, and a picture of the cover:

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00274-20110924-1319.jpg)
(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00275-20110924-1321.jpg)
(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00280-20110924-1439.jpg)

We are going to have an external 96-pass oil cooler and two oil filters off of Ray's old porche-body racecar (the only original part that will "live again" :) ).  Two filters carry less pressure. 

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00248-20110924-1027.jpg)

The original inlet and outlet for oil into the pump are both blocked with threaded plugs.  Many people only block the pump hole, but not the case's (or vice versa), which can cause an oil warning light at idle. 

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00255-20110924-1101.jpg)

Then a 90-degree brass fitting is installed on the case.  It is ground down for a tighter package, more clearance behind the pulley so we don't have modify the sheet metal.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00253-20110924-1054.jpg)
(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00254-20110924-1056.jpg)

Back to the Bridgeport.  :D   This is a better look at the fixture that Ray made 30 years ago, especially for VW's.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00258-20110924-1107.jpg)

He is now going to top these old steel stud inserts so they won't shatter when we flycut the deck.

Before:
(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00257-20110924-1106.jpg)

After:
(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00259-20110924-1115.jpg)

In the picture above, you may notice (barely can see them) a notch in the edge of the holes at the inserts because they are so close.  Some people would worry that this will leak.  It will not.  Many people use improper sealer for barrels and these would leak.  Ray uses Ultra Grey sealer, which has a high silicone content.  Not like normal sealers, it sets up harder.  With softer sealers you can pull the barrels right off the case, not so with Ultra Grey.  If sealed properly, these notches are too high to cause a leak.

Now he is going to flycut the deck so that the barrel has more surface area to sit on (rather than on the raised spigot edge), and so they will not move over time (longevity).  The reason that he did not do this at the same time he bored the holes is that we are building a narrow motor.  And therefore, are not going to be using spacers on the cylinders to make them fit.  The deck height needed to be determined first, so we must know where the pistons are in the bore first.  We installed the pistons and cylinders and then check the deck height.  Only then do we know how much to cut the case.  This is important if you are not going to use shims to make up the difference, if you over cut.  This build is different than most, we have 82 stroke pistons with a 78 crank, so the deck plays a big role in what is needed to be cut from the deck.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epFM8DGzEAo

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00260-20110924-1131.jpg)

The radius on a barrel is not a 90-degree angle.  So he files down the new sharp deck edge.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00262-20110924-1133.jpg)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQOGFXCo7V0

Now, putting the cylinders in, they rock a little.  They need trimming to sit down solid.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipazdOKfB3g

And they are touching at the bottom a bit. 

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00263-20110924-1141.jpg)

So Ray ground them down on the bottom edge to sit flat, and on the fins to not touch. 

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00264-20110924-1142.jpg)

Now they are tight, not touching, and need to check that they are exactly the same height.  Checking is important or else the heads will leak.  Once all this is done, each cylinder is specifically matched to that hole, as they are all modified a bit to match one another, so he numbers them with a pen.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00265-20110924-1152.jpg)

Next update we will be assembling the motor to see some clearances!  Looking forward to seeing the whole package.   :cheers:

hi , sorry to hijack your tread , but you're talking about  ray's old porsche , she was this week end at the das drag day event @ bitburg germany  ;)

and by the way welcome on the lounge

fabs

Thanks for the great photo and welcome. 

Ray has been talking a LOT about that car and how badly he misses it and would like to get it back!  Is there any remote possibility?  Was it raced?  How did it do?  What did they change?  Oh, okay, I guess I am hijacking my own thread now....   ;D

The oil pumps you showed is the difference between one for a dished cam gear vs flat cam gear.

About the Ultra Grey, I used it on my engine and so far so good (but it's only been ran on the test stand). I've been told that it sets up very quickly, so put it on the cylinder then immediately slide it in the case. Do not wait around!

Thanks for sharing :)

That is downright scary how he "indicated" the cylinder bores.  :o

I think it's for sale at the moment...

http://cal-look.no/lounge/index.php/topic,16742.0.html (http://cal-look.no/lounge/index.php/topic,16742.0.html)

OMG, I just PM'd madfrog.  Will let you all know if something develops.


Exactly Zach, thanks for pointing that out.  :)

Okay, boys and girls, I am behind on this.  We are working day and night to try to bring my bug "Hugo" to the SoCal Bugorama in Fontana on October 8.  So, check back or subscribe, because I am hoping to upload stuff daily on this thread.  :)

The cylinder is hitting the nut on the deck, so Ray had to grind this to clear.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00284-20110924-1638.jpg)

We put the short block together in order to check clearances.  The rod bolt is hitting.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00266-20110924-1212.jpg)

Took it apart, ground them, now it clears (this is a different one obviously).

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00267-20110924-1213.jpg)

Now a little about my racing pistons, compared to stock (on left).  The one on the right is a slipper skirt piston, it has a narrower cross section at the wrist pin to be lighter.  The stock one pulls on wrist pin bosses instead of the skirt.  The racing one pulls on the skirt and the bosses.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00270-20110924-1215.jpg)

Wrist pin on my 94mm on left.  Normal pin (88mm) on right.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00271-20110924-1218.jpg)

The racing piston has oil return holes instead of a slot, which is stronger.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00281-20110924-1448.jpg)

Stock pistons are designed for less clearance.  The racing piston has a flared skirt, the stock one is straight (see the photo below, the one on the left is touching the one on the right at the top of the skirt).   The stock one's skirt does not grow with heat due to the fact that there's an oil slot cut clear through the piston, which allows the head to grow without the skirt following.  

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00282-20110924-1503.jpg)

This shows that it's smaller at the top.  This is only when it's cold, once it warms up and swells it will fit tight, within a few seconds.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVRGxdwy6BA

On to the crank and rods.  I'm using a 78mm stroke CB Performance crank.  It counterweighted, nitrited, forged, 4130 chromoly, 8 dowels.  It has chevy rod sized journals, which are smaller.  This is a stroker, so this gives us more room in the crankcase without machining.   The other advantage is that the surface speed on the rod bearing is slowed down because of the diameter change for less wear and heat.  And the connecting rod is lighter due to being smaller for a lighter combination.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00036-20110719-1807.jpg)

The rods are made of a high grade alloy, are smaller, and note they don't have any nuts.  

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00033-20110719-1804.jpg)

The rod bolts are ARP's best bolts, the highest quality on the market.  A difference of $300 just for these bolts, thank goodness Ray had these sitting in inventory for a while, so I didn't have to pay that much or I wouldn't have been using them.  ;)

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00045-20110719-1816.jpg)

Next up cc'ing the heads and assembling the long block...  :)

I will be using Ray's daughter Lynda's heads from her old racebus.   :D  They've already been machined and were laying around for 20 years....this will save us some time.  Just for giggles, here she is racing her bus from 1983-'84, she got high 14's in the 1/4 mile.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/auburnhotvws/lyndavallero1.jpg)

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/auburnhotvws/lyndavallero2.jpg)

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/auburnhotvws/lyndavallero3.jpg)

Her motor:

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/auburnhotvws/lyndamotor1776.jpg)

And Lynda with the racecar when she was about 14 years old:

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/auburnhotvws/valleroracecar1980.jpg)

Oh heck, while we are at it, here she is when she just got started into racing with her daddy:

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/auburnhotvws/lyndaray1.jpg)

Ahem, okay, back to this build...

Here's Ray describing what had already been done to the heads:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdElOXacAw0

One fin has been removed:

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00324-20110927-1817.jpg)

This head is prepared to be cc'd.  It has the spark plug and the valves in it.  We will add water to a level and measure it.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00286-20110924-1732.jpg)

This is the plate that will sit in the cylinder head to measure.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00287-20110924-1740.jpg)

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00288-20110924-1750.jpg)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=te-OxRQTn9o

We want 9.68:1 compression on this engine.  So we look up that up on the compression ratio sheet (under the bore and stroke) and we need 46.5 head cc's. Lynda's only came to 26cc.  So, Ray will grind the head to flow better near the intake valve.  This is called unshrouding the valve.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00289-20110924-1802.jpg)

Measuring the seat diameter so that he can set the cutter on the Valve and Seat Machine:

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00330-20110927-1857.jpg)

Using the fixture to set the cutter for the correct diameter.  Ray radiused the cutter for shaping head bowls.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00329-20110927-1852.jpg)

Quick note:  On 94's the stud holes may break free as shown here, but its ok since the cylinder seals at the face of the head, not the sides.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00328-20110927-1849.jpg)

Preparing and leveling the head for machining on the Tobin-ARP machine:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZfjaN7orWg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnzzcDZSV-E

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00325-20110927-1826.jpg)
(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00326-20110927-1826.jpg)

This shows the radiused carbide cutter insert.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00327-20110927-1844.jpg)

Removing the material from the bowl is a reference to get the correct diameter to hand finish the bowl down to the seat without damaging the spark plug boss.  The cutter will damage the boss beyond what is done here, so the rest was done by hand.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQ-_RY3EMhk

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

That only removed 6cc's or so, and we need to take down 20cc.  So Ray had to hand grind using a ball mill cutter to shape the bowl further.  He unshrouded the bowl to slough off more compression.  We cc'd the head again and still haven't taken enough, so the compression will be about 10:1.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00331-20110927-1929.jpg)

Next up, manifolds and carbs...

nice job  ;)

These studs are too long for this narrow motor (bottom of picture).  The rocker shaft and manifold won't fit.  The head studs need to be shortened.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00290-20110924-1811.jpg)

Quickly grind them down.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00291-20110924-1813.jpg)

All better.  :)

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00293-20110924-1820.jpg)

I will be running 48IDA Webers on this motor.  Ray has a secret as to how he makes these carbs very "streetable".  One reason that we are making this a narrow motor is so that they will fit.  But we will have to modify the manifolds so that we won't have to pop out the decklid with the air cleaners on.  

He has some spread port Berg manifolds that we wanted to use.  But it will take way too much machining on both them and the heads, and we don't have that much time right now.  So, at a later date, he will be making a set of heads for the car for the spread ports.  It's my daily driver, that way I can be driving the car in the meantime and he can do the new ones as time allows.  We will tear it down and swap that out at a later date.  :)  But, here's a video of a set that he modified for his old racecar, when it had fuel injection.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9JE9QO0DWg

Lynda's old motor had Scat Trak manifolds that Ray ported 30 years ago.  They are the one's on the left, the new ones that came with my Webers are on the right.  The nicer thing about the old ones is that the channel at the base has more material to grind away to make them bigger.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00294-20110924-1836-1.jpg)

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00295-20110924-1838-1.jpg)

Ray was going to cut Lynda's down for the sake of time (not as much machining), but we couldn't bring ourselves to do that to these beautiful old school manifolds, so we are cutting the new ones down.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/0925111301.jpg)

He sent them out to Bast Bros. welding since his heliarc welder was moved to a new room and will trip the breaker to do aluminum.  It's not a pretty job, but Ray will machine these later to clean them up.  Here's one with the original length old Scat Trak.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00321-20110927-1800-1.jpg)

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00320-20110927-1758.jpg)

He has started porting the new short ones, but still need a bit more (compared to Lynda's old ones).

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00322-20110927-1801.jpg)

The Bridgeport mill knocked out of index in order to do this:

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00309-20110925-1835-1.jpg)

Next up, we are going to put the motor together to see how the top end stuff is going to fit.  It's a lot more challenging and time consuming to build a motor completely from scratch!

Sorting through $2500 worth of parts from CB Performance.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00277-20110924-1350.jpg)

We are going to assemble the motor on the rack to check if everything fits well.  When building a motor from scratch, it's not uncommon that many things will interfere with other things and need modifying.  We want to do this now before final assembly.

This was done a few days earlier before the manifolds were cut (in order to clear the decklid), so that we could measure where to cut them.  The linkage in this picture shows how it will have to be modified to clear the alternator after they are shortened.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00303-20110924-1955.jpg)

Better pic of these beauties.  Dual Weber 48 IDA's.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00300-20110924-1919.jpg)

The lever on the right is unnecessary, it is just a throttle stop.  We will cut it off so it looks better.  They ran these as singles in Italy originally and apparently needed the lever, and Spain copied it.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00301-20110924-1932.jpg)

Alternator instead of a generator.  The tin behind the alternator is black.  Tidbit from Ray, he prefers black to chrome for quality over looks.  CBP sells chrome and black.  Chrome - china.  Black - VW.  :)

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00298-20110924-1901.jpg)

Competition merged exhaust.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00305-20110924-2057.jpg)

Muffler.  We will have to cut off this flange, it is too small.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00273-20110924-1252.jpg)

Completed motor with exhaust (prior to cutting manifolds).

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00304-20110924-2055.jpg)

Here is after they were cut and we decided to raise the linkage mounts on the carbs.  Ray is going to make spacers for the mount screws out of push rods tubes.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00307-20110925-1831.jpg)

Raised linkage mounts.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00308-20110925-1833.jpg)

View from the front of the engine.  Note the carbs are tilted a few degrees inward to help clear the decklid.  Webers can go 15 degrees in or out and still run properly.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00310-20110925-1853.jpg)

It's starting to get exciting to see what it will look like!

The fan shroud is small, so there's not a lot of room for the coil.  The regulator is inside the alternator.  We want to tuck the coil in behind the alternator mount, but it won't quite fit with the CB mount for it.  We'll need to grind a little off.  How cool that it happens to be red, the car is OG red also?  :)  View from the front of the engine.  "Front" means the front of the car...

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00332-20110927-1954.jpg)

After grinding, fits nicely now, with room for the strap.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00359-20110930-1858.jpg)

View from the rear of the car.  The shroud needed a bit of fabricating to fit also.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00335-20110927-1958.jpg)

And with the distributor, a billet based electronic Magna Spark II.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00337-20110927-2000.jpg)

So, next up on this motor build was final assembly.  Ray always washes his hands well and keeps everything spotless.  The case gets a good bath in the washer.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00341-20110928-1818.jpg)

Using an Engle K8 cam.  Here's its Cam Card.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00347-20110928-1838.jpg)

We have to add the cam gear.  This shows oil pump drive slot.  Ray uses locktite on the bolts so they won't come loose.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00342-20110928-1826.jpg)

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00343-20110928-1833.jpg)

All performance cams come with provisions for the gear to bolt on, rather than preassembled, so that the builder has the choice of what gear sets to use.  We are not putting any advance or retard washers and are running it straight up. 

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00346-20110928-1835.jpg)

We have racing bearings and they are notched, but the case was not on one.  So, Ray had to grind off the tang.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00350-20110928-1924.jpg)

It's very important to be sure that the lifters clear the case before sealing it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4Ny7IhSlLw

Here Ray takes this opportunity to explain "overlap".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTmGf5SorOI

Now on to assembling the crank.  Here Ray is showing how to check for proper rod play, it should sit tight against the crankshaft as opposed to tilting side and side or rocking. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMccNTuHY7I

Ray has been getting racing spacers lately that have been tricky to get on without wedging on the shaft (and risking damaging it).  A racing spacer is solid, as opposed to a stock one that has a gap in it to expand.  It goes between the crank gear and distributor drive.  He heats it up on a hot plate and has to be quick about it and this one went on as good as could be expected, yay! 

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

Don't wait until the motor is together to see if the pulley fits.  You may need to hone the pulley or polish the snout of the crank.  Ray had to heat the pulley to get it to fit, which is nice and tight and will not need any work to get it on later.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00351-20110928-2038.jpg)

You never want to start a new motor dry!  This shows that he has oiled everything well as it goes together.  When we checked for any play, the cam gear did have some backlash, so we swapped it out with another one.   We are looking for is zero backlash, but yet for it to move freely.  In the past you could order cam gears in plus and minus #'s.  Now you have to depend on manufacturers' variations in gear width, so you have to be selective for the gear that you get.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00352-20110928-2139.jpg)

Ready to assemble the case using Ultra Grey.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00353-20110928-2147.jpg)

Ray was an incredible fabricator mechanic when I met him in 1972.  I can only imagine the level of his knowledge now, some 40+ years later.  I learned a great deal just from associating with him and having him do the machine work on some of my early VW motors.

Rick Mortensen

Thanks for sharing your work, interesting thread  ;)

Rick, Ray said it was great hearing from you and thank you for the compliment!  He asked me to ask you if you remember the Karmann Ghia that you guys were going to make an H-Gasser out of?  :)

"Houston, we have a problem."

:(

So, this isn't that uncommon that you get into a project and hit some snags and rethink things.  Ray was not able to remove enough material from Lynda's old racebus heads to cc them to 46cc like we needed to get the compression down.  Those heads had been fly cut too much and he was going to lose a lot of squench area, not to mention they would just plain lose integrity.  Unbeknownst to me, he was going to press on with the build in order to get the car and I to Fontana Bugorama in a week because he didn't want to let me down.  But we'd have to tow it, rather than drive it, because of the high compression.  The upside in Ray's mind was that we could be a serious contender in the Cal Look Challenge.  He got sidetracked in that it's my Daily Driver and full race is not really my main goal.  He was justifying it in his mind with saying he'd make me a proper set of heads after Fontana, swap them out, and make my Driver later.

Time was running out and Tony Klink came by that night to help with the final assembly.  Tony and Ray are like twins separated at birth, I swear they read each other's minds.  It is spooky to watch, they work together with symbiosis and it's like watching a ballet.  Well, okay, dudes doing a ballet, but still it's like a choreographed dance.   ;)   Anyone else trying to help would only slow Ray down.  Tony helps speed things along.  Here are the clowns for the night:

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00354-20110928-2300.jpg)

Here's a video of Tony at Test And Tune last year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAY8RxSTtPU

Here's his motor, Ray is a sponsor and shares his secrets with Tony only.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=az3Hkjf7wcY

At this point I would only get in their way, so I wasn't really involved, other than taking pictures.  I heard a lot of exclamations: "Dude, that's a full race motor!" and other such mutterings, which were a concern to me....but....

They put on the heads and the rockers to measure the push rod length.  

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00355-20110928-2302.jpg)

Ray usually uses aluminum push rods, but had some steel ones that turned out to be the right length, again feeling that they would suffice since it was only going to be doing passes and not driven.  To counter act the high compression on the narrow motor, they put in a .040 head gasket and two .020 barrel shims (NOT what I had in mind) to add .080 total distance and get it to a reasonable compression to run.  Add some racing gas and Dawn was going to kick a$$ at the track in a week and these guys were set on high!

When I saw the direction this was headed, I finally had to stop the freight train that these innovative racers were becoming.  :(  Fun as it all sounded, I have been without my Daily for quite a while now and hauling it to LA was not what I wanted, I like driving my car.  And then redoing so much upon return for more down time is not what I want.  There was no time to machine a new set of heads within a week, so I said I'd have to sit out Fontana and for him to please build the engine just once and start working on some new heads.  Boy, it wasn't easy for me as a girl to tell these guys, like two Happy Puppies playing with the best toy on earth, that the fun was over.  

Hugo isn't going to be done in the next few days after all, but we are back on track and not cutting any more corners due to a short time crunch, which is better.  Tony and Ray are still racing Zerstorer next weekend, of course.  We are counting on him still holding the National Record in his class (PRA - Pro Gas) and winning the point series, it's all good!

Still moving forward...

We got a new set of heads and sent them out again to Bast to be welded to add material to the intake pad, so he can raise the intake port on the short side.

Here's the difference on the intake side.  The lower one is a brand new one.  The middle is mine with the welding done.  The top one is Lynda's that have been machined to show the goal.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00358-20110930-1825.jpg)

Putting a head into the angle plate in order to pick up the angle of the cylinder head from this stock unwelded, uncut head, so that we can then machine the new welded head without knocking the Bridgeport any further out of index.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-KLz3AxcpA

He machined the pad, then was working on porting the intakes.  But the manifolds won't clear a spark plug wrench because they've been shortened so much.  He'll grind a socket to pair with this engine to change spark plugs.  He's never cut manifolds down like this and cannot grind more off them to clear.  Other bugs with IDAs either run cut velocity stacks or pop out the decklid.  We want to have air cleaners under the hood.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00363-20111001-1744.jpg)

We chose to go with 1.3 rockers, which lessens the lift on a K8, it will be .498.   The cam card shows the lift at .534, and we want to stay under .500.  Engle's K8 normally would be ground for 1.4:1.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00369-20111002-1805.jpg)

We ordered 7/16ths double taper aluminum pushrods from Smith Brothers.  Standard is 3/8ths.  But the larger ones will be much stiffer with more strength integrity by tapering at the ends.  The taper also allows them to clear the tubes, provides more clearance, and reduces overall weight. 

In the past, Ray had some custom valve guides made to order that he will be using.  He sells these if anyone is interested.  He will hone them to order, the guide is almost the size of the boss.  It provides extra stability on the outer end by the valve spring, where it needs it.   

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00365-20111002-1757.jpg)

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00367-20111002-1758.jpg)

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00368-20111002-1803.jpg)

Now THAT's a lightened flywheel.  11#.  The stock one is 17#.   I drive 45 miles a day on a mountain road to work, so Ray wants to be sure that I have a nice rapid acceleration rate for hills and passing. Yeah, that's our story and we're sticking to it...  ;)

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00022-20110719-1727.jpg)

WOW.
Keep em coming :)
Ray is a funny guy!

Dsimas,

I remember the GHIA well.  I wish I had kept the body but sold it when moving to Arizona.  Wow....Ray remembers that from 40 years back.  He has not lost a minute from the VW past.  Brought back some memories as the chopped Ghia set in my garage in Fair Oaks before moving from Cal to Arizona.  Tell Ray I hope to visit him some time in the future and reminise about the early days we associated together.  Ask him how Sandy Braden is doing too.   Have not spoken with Sandy for years.

Rick Mortensen

Hey Rick,

He sees Sandy all the time.  Just day before yesterday as a matter of fact.  I'll tell him to say hi for you.  :)  Also, we are hauling the Zerstorer with Tony Klink to Bugorama in Fontana this weekend.  I know it's a stretch, but any chance you will be there?

Everyone else:  Update:

Ray and Tony have switched gears to get the racecar ready for this weekend.  Ray tried to get to my new heads last night for a while, but it turns out these heads have different studs than stock.  Not sure why, but he couldn't put it in the mill to flycut them.  He'll have to shim up the guides for the studs first, so there will probably be a bit of a wait for my next update.  Maybe tonight if we are lucky, otherwise, next week when we return from the races.  :)

We are just getting ready to leave for Fontana for Bugorama with Tony and the Zerstorer.  But last night, Ray got the heads flycut.  :)

Centering the mill over the cylinder head.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00372-20111007-1916.jpg)

First he cuts the head to 94's, then he cuts the top for clearance of the barrel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhMNGYvzZz0

Then he checks for clearance between the top of the cylinder fin and the first fin on the head.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eujenywtu2M

Before (in the back) and after (in front).  It was only a minmum cut to take the step out and cut the size to 94.  It's preliminary since we don't know the cc's of the head yet and there's still a mega shroud right now.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00373-20111007-1922.jpg)

We are going to run zero deck with .040 copper shims, which are needed to acheive .040 between the head of the piston and the squench area.  We don't want the explosion to take place in the cylinder, but in the combustion chamber.  Many people space the base of the cylinders to achieve their targeted compression, but by doing so they have a lazier mix light.  Their barrels are blue on the top from the heat of the explosion taking place in the barrel.  We will achieve the compression ratio by grinding the combustion chamber.   All the heat and power is pushed into the head and into the piston for a more complete burn. 

The copper gaskets serve two purposes:

1)  As the engine RPM increases, the rod stretches and the head of the piston grows up to .035 at 7000rpm.  So if you have less than .040 overall deck clearance, the piston will strike the squench area. 

2)  There is an iron barrel against an aluminum head and they are two very dissimilar metals in their expansion when hot.  Copper absorbs the abrasion caused by the expansion.  The shim follows the head back and forth and prevents the head from being worn from skating in and out against the cylinder. 

Next we will install the valve seats in order to cc the heads.  Then cc them to acheive the 9.68:1, and that will determine how much he will unshroud the combustion chamber around the valves.  That will be next week when we get back.  Off to the races now, wish us luck!

Great post and info !! Thanks for spending the time.

Dsimas,

Won't make the Bugorama in Fontana.  Have someone coming over to pick up a 71 Bay Window from me this weekend.

Rick M

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/auburnhotvws/IMG00408-20111011-1352.jpg)

First and most importantly:  WE WON AT FONTANA BUGORAMA!  Congrats to Tony and Ray for a job well done. He still holds the national record in his class and will win the point series if he simply shows up at the starting line at Phoenix Bugorama next month.   ;D

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/auburnhotvws/IMG00407-20111009-1611.jpg)

So, back to Hugo's heads.  Ray's custom valve guides (shown in previous post) are in place on the exhaust side and will be modified in place.  They are much longer and will be ground within the head when Ray ports the exhaust port.  The intake guides cannot be in place during porting and unshrouding the heads because it would damage them.  Here's the head in the Valve And Seat Machine.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00411-20111011-1913.jpg)

Ray will now be machining the bowl and unshrouding by hand with a ball mill cutter.  But we already showed that when we did it to Lynda's old racebus heads, so no need to repost him doing that here.

The intake valve guide is mounted here on a valve guide pilot to be tapered.  It took a while to find the right sized pilot.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00412-20111011-1915.jpg)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLOmewEcJL8

There is now a 2 degree taper on the guide.  The reason for doing this is air flow.  This part of the guide sits inside the intake port, and there will now be less material blocking air flow, along with the shape being important.  Two degrees results in a long slender taper for optimum air flow.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00409-20111011-1910.jpg)

There is a Phoenix Bug-O-Rama in November?  Where?

Rick Mortensen

November 6 - Arizona VW Nationals / PRA Championship Finals (Speedworld Dragstrip at Speedworld Raceway Park in Wittmann, Arizona)

Further information and current updates visit www.racepra.com

Rick, you have to come!  Ray would LOVE to see you.  Anyone else in the area for that matter.  :)

Gee Rick, think you can make that long trip from Wittmann to Wittmann for the race?  Must be all of a few miles...LOL

I've been to so many VW drag races in 40 years I just need a break. Doing 33 events fried me.  However, I enjoy hang-in out for barbeque's and good company, or the Friday/Saturday night cruise in events.

RM

I hear ya Rick.  Hope to see you on the 22nd.

For those interested, here's a video I made from Fontana Bugorama with Ray and Tony Klink a week ago.  Sorry for the camera shake, I filmed it all with my cell phone (except the in-car camera of the final).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TVaQzWLJ7A

So, back to Hugo's heads.  Now that Ray has been porting the intake runners, he's discovered he can go bigger than he originally thought.  We are now going with 43 x 35.  :)  This will allow us to lower the compression to 9-9.25:1.  The benefit being it will run cooler.  But we won't lose power because it will have a longer torque band of approximately 3500-7000rpms.  With larger valves and intake runners the effective ratio actually rises at higher rpms due to complete filling of the combustion chamber.   The higher you rev it, the more compression it will get because it will fill the chamber with a bigger load of fuel/air mix.  He explained this to me as pouring liquid from a quart jar into a gallon jar and it will splash around more also, for a better burn.  Since we are running shorter manifolds, we want to pick up the air speed in the intake manifold right below the carbeurator.  This makes the air pull harder to the carb so that there is less hesitation.

Seat pockets with new seats installed, but not ground yet.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00413-20111015-1455.jpg)

Intake ported.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00414-20111015-1457.jpg)

This shows the ported intake done on one side, not done on the other yet, for comparison.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MIIjRBgORk

Intakes compared between Lynda's old racebus heads (the ones I was going to use) and the new ones (larger now).

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00415-20111015-1502.jpg)

Ray's been machining and porting the heads and manifolds and that is a huge undertaking and so not a lot to report on the thread here lately.

BUT, Velvet the bus lost 3rd gear for good, in addition to having trouble now with 1st and 4th, so she's parked.  I got a complete bus tranny with RGB's off CL and it needs to be rebuilt, so that is after the motor build for Hugo.  That means she'll be sitting for a while, so I said, heck, let's put Hugo's old motor BACK into Hugo so that I can at least go back to driving my car that has been gutted for 3 months.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00425-20111022-1246.jpg)

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00428-20111022-1645.jpg)

So, that's what we did this weekend.  We invested a bit of time getting the external oil coolers (we decided to go with 2-72 pass instead of one 96 pass) and filters (from the 912 racecar) mounted in the car, since this has to be done anyway. 

But, I was eyeballing that competition merged exhaust that is going on the new motor.  Who needs heaters, right?  Let's stick it on and get a feel for it. 

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00427-20111022-1634.jpg)

And, while were at it, let's put on a little racing pulley that I have for a bit more HP.  So, Hugo has some more power in that 28 year old 1600cc, so it's a little kick in the pants to feed the need for speed as I wait impatiently...  It is so small that we had to sink the belt down into the generator by putting about 15 shims in.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00437-20111028-1929.jpg)

These are the braided lines that you want to use with an external filter and/or cooler.  I think it is technically an air compressor hose.  It is has a stainless steel outer jacket and teflon inner.  Burst pressure is 1750#, it's pricey at $11.49 a foot, but so is a new motor.  Rubber deteriotes from the day you put it on.  This stuff never will.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00435-20111027-1155.jpg)

Here are the dual oil filters from the old 912 racecar.  Oil goes at half speed because the oil is going through both at the same time, not from one to the other.  This results in better filtering and less drag on the oil systom.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00436-20111028-1928.jpg)

Here's a shot from the back, looking at the oil cooler mounted.  It is in the center of the picture, under the car, to the right of the shock.  We are going to add another one on the right side too, but don't need it for this motor.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00446-20111029-1817.jpg)

And some shots of the lines.  This was time consuming, but the location for the cooler is the best one with lots of air flow, and the lines are tucked up out of risk of snagging.  As for where the lines go in and out of the motor:  We blocked off the outlet to the oil pump that would normally go to the crankcase and blocked the case inlet off too (see the beginning of this thread).  Now the oil can only go out the pump cover (that replaces the stock plate).  The line should go to the filter first, so that the oil is hot, when it's thin.  Then it goes to the external cooler and back to the case through the main oil galley. 

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00440-20111029-1814.jpg)

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00443-20111029-1816.jpg)

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00445-20111029-1817.jpg)

Notice the hole in the fender well.  It was hacked in there when the engine was built 28 years ago.  Ray says his kids must have done it, not up to his standard...heh, heh.  It's there to be able to access the dual 40 webers.  It had covers, but we removed them entirely because Ray is going to enlarge this hole and make a better "door" for them for the 48's.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00442-20111029-1815.jpg)

Cutting new doors with the plasma cutter (cool tool).

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00447-20111029-1919.jpg)

For the sake of time, it's late and I want to drive my car, we just put them over the old holes.  Later when the new motor is done, the holes will be enlarged and cleaned up.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00448-20111029-1939.jpg)

And from the inside looking at the "doors" on the right and the left.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00449-20111029-1942.jpg)

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00450-20111029-1943.jpg)

It's dark and late.  I'll roadtest this week after we rejet the carbs and add the muffler (needs flange mod).  And then Ray has to get back to the new motor.  Next up on that is shortening the barrels.

We are tweaking this old motor with some new components so that I can drive it again during the build of the new motor. 

Here is the muffler that we are going to use with the 1-7/8" merged exhaust. 

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00273-20110924-1252.jpg)

Ray had to cut off the flange since it was too small and the wrong configuration, and weld the proper flange on.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00429-20111022-2035.jpg)

The old motor can certainly breathe now.  :)

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00432-20111024-1215.jpg)

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00431-20111024-1215.jpg)

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00430-20111024-1214.jpg)

The tailpipe was too far under the car and caused a loud rumbling inside.  I know, I know, good excuse to invest in an amp and subwoofer to drown it out....  :D  But, Ray said it will also turn my fender black, so he welded on a bit more to get the exhaust out from under the car. 

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00434-20111025-1316.jpg)

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00433-20111025-1316.jpg)

It is much quieter now.  But, still has a throaty sound that I really like, even though it's the same old motor.  Going to be really interesting to hear the new one.

The downside, it's now running too lean/hot due to the larger exhaust.  We are rejetting the idle jets from .45 to .50 and the air corrector jets from 1.70 to 1.85.  Going to road test today.  :)

1 7/8" on a 1600 :o

That's 1970's technology, get a single Canton Mecca filter and you'll have less restriction and better filtering.

(http://www.glenn-ring.com/temp/cm2.jpg)
And it filter 100% of the oil 100% of the time since it doesn't need a bypass valve.

Zach:  I won't be running that exhaust on that engine normally.  We just thought it would be nice to see the changes it causes in a known engine since we were pulling that engine out of the bus and putting it in the car and had the opportunity.  The heater boxes and old header exhaust will go back on the 1600 when the new motor goes into the car and this one goes back into the bus.  We've rejetted the dual 40's for it and it's always fun learning and fiddling with the effects of different combinations. They are now running .50mm idle jets, 2.00 air jets, 1.45mm mains.  The test will be today, I drive 25 miles to work climbing a steep grade.

Glenn:  Ray is familiar with the Canton Mecca filter and agrees with you.  The reason we are using these is 1) we had them laying around and they are free and 2) the emotional attachment, it is nice to keep a piece of the old 912 racecar alive.  It was a very special car.  But I am glad that you posted this info for other readers to know, thank you!  :)

So, Ray shortened the barrels by .090 for zero deck using the expanding mandrel.  Here's the difference between before and after.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00458-20111031-1912.jpg)

How it's done.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7z9gJBg_ic

We're within .001 of where we want, we're calling that good.  :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DX0i4qqesr4

Now the barrels need to be honed.  They come "looking" perfect, but you take a fraction off the surface and irregularities show up as shadows. Then Ray hones a few more times to remove those imperfections (they would have manifested as leakage if not removed).  

This is from the factory.  Looks fine, right?  Smooth surface, no shadows.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00462-20111101-2125.jpg)

This is one that was already done and shows the shadows that are a concern.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLJwz-rpQE8

After you hone one slightly, these shadows show up.  They are irregularities under the surface that WILL manifest themselves once in a working engine.  It may sound complicated, but the barrel looks perfect at first, then he hones it lightly to *see* the shadows, then he hones a bit more to *remove* them.  

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00463-20111101-2131.jpg)

How it's done.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpiPS4F0d7Y

In the video, when the barrel wobbles on the honing machine, that is caused by the lumps that are being removed.  When Ray had a dyno, he'd beat them up on dyno (or during a race) and hone again to keep them round.  They tend to want to square up because of the voids where the studs are on the outside fins.  He's rehoned Tony's barrels several times to keep them round after a race.

All 4 of mine have shadows that cannot be completely removed without making the barrel too large.  But they are all near the base of the cylinder below the ring line, so they are not a concern.  But you can see the shadow as a horizontal line along near the edge.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00465-20111101-2133.jpg)

The new heads are coming along.  It's 2-3 days of grinding for each one, very labor intensive.  Ray has to be like a sculptor, it's really an art, to get symmetry in a 3D perspective.  He's about done with one head and here he is straightening the slight lumps with a rattail file.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00461-20111101-2117.jpg)

This is how he checks for lumps in the head by rocking back and forth to see the curvature symmetry after grinding the intake ports. Focus your eyes on the lower part of the hole to the black hole on the other side. By rocking, your eye can catch any lumps in the curve as it rotates past.  This is how he checks his work before calling it good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2pE66X9ifg

Next, we are backcutting the valves to 25 degrees to increase airflow.

Before:

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00469-20111101-2149.jpg)

Using a collet chuck, the most accurate chuck there is.  The chuck on left is what some valve grinders use.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00471-20111101-2150.jpg)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhJ5T3YNxl4

We have now changed the effective lift of the valve.  After:

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00473-20111101-2154.jpg)

I love the build thread Dawn. I've been looking in on it from time to time. It's coming along very nicely!

I have a lot of respect for your builder and this is meant as a constructive critque.

I really REALLY hope that  you are not planning to use screw on hose clamps on that teflon braided hose for the oil system. That hose needs to have properly swedged on hose ends, or at the very least, the proper reusable hose ends. Hose clamps are meant for low pressure applications on rubber hose that has some "give" and can conform to the "unroundness" of the inside of the hose clamp. Teflon hose does not have that conformability

 

Ray Vallero is no newcomer to VWs. When I met him around 1971-72, he had a drag bug that was running 11.40's at 118 mph.  In my opinion, had he lived in Orange County, he would have been in one of the early "How to Hot Rod VWs" books.  Ray has always done everything on his cars.  Motors, trans, fabricating, painting.  He is a very knowledgeable engine builder and fabricator.  I owe a lot of my initial VW hot rodding interest to having known him.  I was impressed back in the 70's with the absolute precision he followed when building VW engines.  

Seeing this thread about honing barrels makes me think back of when I had Ray honing my engine barrels with his Sunnen CK10 honing machine.  Even back then we never ran any barrels out of the box.  It is great to see this thread being posted showcasing what Ray has known and being doing for over 41 years.  If you live in Northern California and you are looking for someone who knows high performance VWs, this is your guy.  His knowledge is comparable with any of the well known VW engine builders from years past.

Rick Mortensen

What Mike said.
I second that hose/end mix as a no go.

Also, if you intend to run that nice little thing on the streets for more than a trip just around the block, why use about the worst fan housing you can find for cooling (?) I seriusly recommend you to chose a better solution. It would be a pity to fry such an engine just because the fan houning looks nice.

And yes, welcome to the left lane  ;D

T

Rick - GREAT chatting on the phone!  Thank you for your comments, Ray was very moved by your kind words.

Mike and Toben - RE:  The clamps on the oil lines.  Hugo had those lines on it for at least 10 years and haven't had a problem at all.  He said the clamps in the picture I took here are too big, he normally uses smaller ones, which we didn't have that night.  He's going to swap those out soon.  As for the fittings you mention, he said that they are rigid and suspend several inches out from the cooler, which could cause the brass fitting to fail from suspension and vibration because of the way the cooler is hung.  Ray has been doing it this way for 25 years never had a leak, one come off, suffered any unroundness, or any trouble reusing hoses.  But that doesn't mean that others reading this thread couldn't benefit from doing your way, so thank you for bringing it up.  :)

Torben - Ray fully agrees that this small shroud is not as efficient as a stock one.  But we have things that will result in more cooling that should compensate.  

We are using a K8 cam with more overlap (cooler).
A 1.5 quart sump.
Dual oil filters.
Two 72-pass external coolers.  

The main reason he wants to try to use the smaller housing is that it's a very narrow motor.  It will be easier to get in and out, will have easier access to things, and we would have to chop and fabricate a stock housing to make it work.  He is going to add directional vanes inside this shroud.  And also fabricate a horn on the front intake.  He is going to test it on the bench to see the amount of air flow.  I have an oil temp gaug in the car and we will be watching it carefully once it's in.  If the heads get too hot, it will ping.  I know not to crank my radio for a while as we test this engine.  We aren't just throwing that shroud in and hoping for the best, that's never been Ray's style.   ;)

Now, that being said, I want to speak for Ray, but this is me speaking now:  This man is a pioneer.  He's made a career out of making things happen that people say cannot be done.  :D  This is something he wants to try and I trust him.  I am very lucky to be close enough with him to know that he will gladly pull the motor again and again if necessary to tweak things in this very unique build.  Not for my satisfaction, but so that he and future builders can all learn from it, and that's why I'm blogging it.  

He wants to try this for two reasons:  Looks and convenience (access).  He's willing to do trial and error to see how to make one work so that others can benefit from it, if it can be done.  If not, we'll put a stock shroud in.  :)  As things progress, we'll see how it goes with mine and report on it.

So, on to what we did this weekend.

Ray is still working on grinding the manifolds.  If you look back in this thread, you will see how they were welded by Bast Bros after Ray cut them to shorten them.  They are now 4-1/2" tall, shorter than any Ray has heard of.  The shortest he could find prefabbed are 5-1/2".  So, now he needed to clean up the welding on the outside.  And it's tricky, since there's no telling if he goes too far.  He did punch through in one thin spot, so that will be fixed.  He still needs to do more porting on them after the exteriors are cleaned up.

One is almost done, the other still needs some more work.  But this is several hours of labor just to this point.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00512-20111113-1340.jpg)

Here's the hole.  It was a result of having to go far enough in that spot to get a nut to fit there when mounting them.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00515-20111113-1341.jpg)

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00516-20111113-1342.jpg)

Ray ran across some lighter weight chromoly wrist pins in his shop over the weekend.  Were they worth the extra work to shorten them to fit my pistons?  Well, we weighed them and they are 40 grams lighter each, so that would be a YES.   ;D   Reciprocating parts have to stop each revolution and it yanks on them harder the heavier they are.  These will be easer on the rod bearings at high RPM'S.  Ray is shooting for this motor turning 8000 and this will help achieve that goal.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00506-20111113-1323.jpg)

He made this cutting block to hold on to the pin so the vice can hold on to it without knocking the pins out of round.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00507-20111113-1327.jpg)

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00509-20111113-1329.jpg)

They are too long, so we are removing .010 off the end with the Winona.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00524-20111113-1442.jpg)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uOXm9KS-co

Then chamfering the new end's edge.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00525-20111113-1455.jpg)

We will be using spiral locks on them, rather than the Truarc snap rings that they came with.  The snap rings, in Ray's experience, fail more.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00521-20111113-1418.jpg)

It is important to clean out the middle of the wrist pins before assembly. This is missed by many.  Look at all the stuff inside them.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00526-20111113-1458.jpg)

Ray has assembled the case and we are now going to measure the deck clearance.  We have zero deck and are shooting for .040 clearance to allow for rod stretch at high rpms and another .007 for carbon buildup since this will be a street motor (not necessary for a racecar).  So, he preloads the dial indicator for .050, put a copper head gasket on the barrel, and we came up needing to use a .010 barrel shim to achieve what we wanted.  

Here he demonstrates how this is done with the fixture he built that simulates a head for accuracy.  After measuring, he returns the fixture to the plate to be sure that it still says zero to be sure that nothing had moves, the video does not show that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9te7Do7JwI

Not a lot to report today, but Ray found some different rings in his shop that he wants to use, rather than the ones we had.  The Sealed Power top rings are chrome, they wear better in dirty conditions and this helps especially if I don't run air filters (I hope to run air filters, but that will take some work to get them to fit). 

Here's the chrome top ring next to the second ring. 

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00531-20111117-1108.jpg)

The scraper (second) ring is CB Performance and is not a Total Seal, but high quality material.  It has a step on the edge, which is a better method of moving the oil back.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00533-20111117-1110.jpg)

The oil ring is an SS-50, stainless steel 3 piece rail type with a low drag, also made by Sealed Power.  Here's the whole set that I'll be using.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00530-20111117-1107.jpg)

Excuse me for asking but after looking at the honing video I wonder if he also measure them after bolting them with the correct torque to for example two steel plates? I have found that I can get the cylinders nice and round but as soon as they are torqued to a steel plate they loose their roundness. I handed over my cylinders to a pro-shop and they never hone their cylinders without torque (stress hone)

-BB-

BB:    I asked Ray your question and he agrees with you.  He just hasn't had time to make any plates of the same metal as the motor for accuracy (not steel).  And in his experience, so far he hasn't suffered any problems  without them.  He does agree though, that plates would be even better.   :)

Time for an update!

Ray's been very busy, and has been grinding on the heads and manifolds off and on for weeks, so that just shows how much time goes in to these kind of mods.  He really has to be a sculptor and be focused and in the right frame of mind.  It's hard to do that in a rush between other work, so the stars have to align and....  Okay, well maybe not like that, but close.

He's ground down the guide bosses in the intakes for even better flow.  Compare mine now to Lynda's racebus heads that weren't done this way.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00617-20111204-1045.jpg)

Lynda's bosses:

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/2011-12-04_10-48-22_898.jpg)

Mine:

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00620-20111204-1048.jpg)

When he put the bosses into the heads, he heats them up 250 degrees to slide the guides in without tearing them up.  Without heating, it may shift going in since it now doesn't have a big boss to support it.

The venturi on the 48 IDA's is 37mm (see the stamped # in there).

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/2011-12-04_10-55-58_129.jpg)

Ray would like the intake port to be overall larger than the venturi (37).  He's gotten it to 40.37 X 36mm port diameter.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00621-20111204-1056.jpg)

Everything in the airway should be larger than the venturi.  So that the signal to the venturi is not restricted.  He has made sure that the seat pocket is also larger than the venturi in the carb, measured with this snap gauge.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00630-20111204-1112.jpg)

Dual springs are needed to follow the cam profile and the rpm range that we plan on achieving.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00653-20111207-1316.jpg)
(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00652-20111207-1314.jpg)

The guide bosses on this side need to be cut for the dual springs to fit.  The one on the far right is done.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00651-20111207-1310.jpg)

Doing the one on the left now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79mL4lq6WPI

We are topping the guides to allow for more lift.  I am running 1.3 rockers for longevity.  Less wear by less lift.  Ray says that there is .060 less lift going from 1.5 to 1.3.  Even though we are running less lift than the cam manufacturer recommends, the stock guides will not accept .497 lift the way they are, so we must top the stock guides to accept approxamatley .525 lift.

We are making up for the lack of lift in other areas in the intake runners, intake pockets, and intake valves. Im sorry, I can't say how we are doing this. Trade secret.    ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_4iwz-h-bo

New valves are not perfect out of the box.  The head binds in the guide, this is why.  
The stem measures 7.91mm.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00637-20111204-1150.jpg)

And the head is 7.94.  

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00638-20111204-1151.jpg)

He will external hone it to 7.91 also, using this tool.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/1207111543.jpg)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PDlHvB1xFs

Semi unshrouded bowls, with the valves in place.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00654-20111207-1320.jpg)

Moving along.... more grinding still needed, then cc'ing the heads.

Dawn,

Is this motor for HUGO?  WOW!

Rick Mortensen

Yes Rick.  It all started when I got my 21 window bus with no engine.  I said, "Hey, that old motor in Hugo will work well for Velvet the bus."  I thought it was time to build a fresh one for Hugo after nearly 3 decades, right?  Ray, being who he is, ran with that.   :o  In all seriousness though, once he got started and I started blogging it, he wanted to use it as an educational one-off creation to share with the masses through these threads.  I may be a little afraid of the dang thing once it has wheels on the ground!

That motor is going to put a big grin on your face the first time you let the clutch out. That old motor from HUGO will seem like a go kart engine compared to what Ray is doing now.  I enjoy the threads because I believe in many of the same exact engine building processes Ray employs.  Have been using what I learned from him from the early days....along with what I've learned since.  Look forward to meeting you in the future if you and Ray are attending events in So Cal. Keep me informed on your other project.  :-)

Rick M

I am hoping to put Hugo with the new motor in the Cal Street Challenge at Bugoramas (a combination of Daily Driver requirement, show judging, and 1/4 mile times), depending on how it goes.  Of course with Tony Klink, Ray will be at all the PRA races down south.  I think Phoenix is in the spring, it's usually the first one?  And I am hoping to drive Velvet the bus to OCTO in Socal next year.  I hope to meet many of the people that I've met through these build threads that can finally see this motor in action.  :)

Dawn,

I do remember the GHIA that Ray and I were going to do for H/Gas. I have a lot of pictures of it.  I will dig them out and post a few.

Rick M

Phoenix BOR is March 25th next year.

In recent weeks, Ray has been on his own working on the heads and valves, since I work for Fedex and it's Christmas (just imagine).  He says:

"I cc'd the head it has 45 cc's now.  It would have 11.20:1 compression, a *bit high*.  We need 55 cc's to get 9.20:1.  I will grind more out for more cc's, keeping in mind the best places to grind for more air flow.  It's a good thing I did not fly cut much out of the heads.  Although I really did know what I was doing because we want about .045 deck, it is harder to work the heads, than the deck.  But will run better the way i am doing it.  The easy way is to shim and get more deck, and then cry when you get beat by someone like us....."  ;D

Here are some "protector valves" that Ray made.  They are to protect the seat from damage while unshrouding.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00622-20111204-1058.jpg)

They are ground down like a razor blade (one on the left) to sit flush.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00624-20111204-1101.jpg)

So, here are my valves that we are using, supposed to be 44 x 37...

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00625-20111204-1103.jpg)

But we measure them and they are never exact to begin with.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00631-20111204-1115.jpg)

In addition to the fact that the valve heads sit on top of the seat.  See pics below, there is a large edge sitting above the seats.  We will reduce the diameter of the valve heads so that they sit more flush for better flow.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/2011-12-04_11-06-50_106.jpg)

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00626-20111204-1105.jpg)

And look at the size of the seat, measured with a snap gauge.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00629-20111204-1112.jpg)

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00632-20111204-1116.jpg)

A bit over 5mm of the valve head overhangs the seat.  We can remove around 2.5mm on each side.

So, we go to the Bridgeport.  Using the collet chuck to reduce the head size of the valve.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00636-20111204-1127.jpg)

Cutting the valve...The valve is spinning and the cutter is fixed.  The valve bends a bit, so he keeps cutting until the valve stops bending.  (warning: the cutter "sings" a high pitched sound, prepare to turn the volume down, it may hurt your ears)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQTLG3l8J7k

Ray checks the diameter of the seat vs. the actual valve after cutting it down a bit.  He does this in an old fashioned way of just smacking it hard enough to leave a faint line to get an idea of where it will hit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgE_FCTUc-0

By reducing the diameter of the valve head at low lift, the reduction in size is doubled because you get it on opening and closing.  Full lift only happens once.  Even at full lift, we gain because the valve diameter is smaller.  The valve is what blocks the airway. 

Ray has topped the guides so that the lift is .498 at the valve with 1.3 rockers.  But remember we are cutting the back of the valve to make up for that, so we will pick up more on the back side.  Really, we will have over .500.

People may think it will be lazy because we are using a 1.3 rocker instead of 1.4-1.5.  But it won't be because the valves will open more. 

Intake at full lift:

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMAG0373.jpg)

Exhaust at full lift:

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMAG0370.jpg)

The diameter of the valve is now 42.85 mm, he removed 1.15mm, and YES, we are running that in a 44 seat.   ;)  And now that the edge has been removed, he had to recut the 45 degree angle on the valve face and then do a back cut to 15 degrees.  (note past post in this thread that we had already back cut at 25 degrees, but he rethought it and decided on 15 to get about .030 more lift)

Sorry for the blurry cell phone picture.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/1215111818a.jpg)

The valve on the right is now blended after the cut job, you can see even more lift was gained.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/1217111238.jpg)

The valve on the right now has the stem done also to enhance air flow even more. 

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMAG0372.jpg)

All done with the valves and the heads, finally!

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/1221111819.jpg)

Dawn...Ray is giving away some valuable info!  A lot of stuff that many may not have thought about.... It all works!

RM

Yes, Rick, this was one of his "trade secrets" 20-30 years ago and he labored with me revealing it even now.  He did the valve work a few weeks ago and said to rathole that part of the thread.  Then he changed his mind and said to go ahead and post it because many in racing (competition) do know about it now and the common builders that don't, probably should.  He really wants to educate in this thread.  And he knows that he still has enough secrets to still always win out...   ;)

A week ago he checked for interference between the valve spring retainers and guides.  Which also established push rod length.  Note that test springs are being used for increased visibility.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMAG0385.jpg)

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMAG0384.jpg)

Then we got the pushrods from Smith Brothers.  They are 7/16 double taper aluminum.  Ray has ran aluminum for decades, even though some people dispute that they will work, he's never had a problem.  He ran them in the 912 racecar 25 years ago and often twisted it up over 11K rpms.  Hugo's 28 year old motor has the original aluminum ones in it also.  The double taper is for extra strength.  It's hard to see the difference in this photo, but mine is the one on the top.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00689-20111226-1325.jpg)

He polished the tips of the valves, notice how shiny they are in the first photo below.  Normally, they are run with oil channels, the abrasion on the tip (you can barely see it on the comparison valve he is holding below).  But those ridges/channels file against the rocker tip and create more wear.  Especially when first started cold and the rubbing is slow and there is not as much oil (squashes out because 300# of pressure on tip).  Think of it like a tire tread on wet pavement, when the oil there makes it skate.  When the car goes slower, the weight is pressing down more and the ridges have more grip.  Therefore, Ray feels those ridges are counterproductive and so he polishes the tips.  He's torn down engines for a living for almost 50 years, so I figure he's seen the results of these sorts of things to base these opinions.  And we're lucky to glean the results of all that experience.  :)

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00688-20111226-1325.jpg)

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00692-20111226-1327.jpg)

I had a Berg deep sump (not sure, but it's 3 or 3.5 quart) on Hugo's old motor, I have for 28 years.  But it is very low and so we went with a wide shallower CB 1.5 quart sump for this one.  More cooling!  At first Ray didn't think that the headers would clear it, but he measured them and they should.  If not, we will use a 1 quart that isn't as wide.  Notice it has the Old School "Claudes Buggies" logo on it!  I feel so old when guys that are very knowledgeable and experienced with VW's don't know that is what the CB stands for...   :o

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/1224111223.jpg)

Got new clutch disks.  Better the the one I have and the pressure plate is stronger.  Even though this motor will have a lot of power, I will have to be careful because my tranny is still old and I'm out of $$ for a while....  I wasn't even dumping the clutch at Test And Tune last summer and it smelled bad.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/1223111410.jpg)

Long block assembled!

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/1225111330.jpg)

We've added a new inlet and outlet for the second 72-pass oil cooler, rather than running it inline with the first one.  It's Ray's experience in the past that the first one brings down the oil temp about 30-40 degrees.  But a second one inline only brings it down an additional 15 degrees or so, rather than doubling the benefit.  Early in the build, we were going to use a single 96 pass.  But have decided to do two 72 pass coolers with complete separate lines.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00685-20111226-1314.jpg)

IDA's always look wicked, but on such shortened  manifolds -- Wow!  How sick is this!??   ;D

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/1225112046.jpg)

The tin has been a bear with lots of fabricating due to the motor being so narrow.  Especially around the shortened manifolds.  Being the perfectionist he is, he got a beautiful fit here around them.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00698-20111226-1515.jpg)

We REALLY want the manifolds on for the motor install.  Basically because they will be a beeyatch to try and get to the nuts after the engine is in the car.  Ray did some measuring and the entire motor is about 4" narrower overall, so it should go in with them on.  :)  Look at how tight they fit into the tin.  They flare out so low, those nuts are tight to get to, even with it on the rack in the open.  Hugo has doors in the wheel wells to access the current 40's, which we will make larger.  And we may need a special spark plug wrench, just for this engine.  We will see soon.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00693-20111226-1511.jpg)

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00696-20111226-1513.jpg)

All holes 3% on a cold motor at the bottom, 2% at the top with .017 ring end gap.  Very good leak down!

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/1225111120.jpg)

Isn't this a beautiful thing?

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/1226111846.jpg)

I love the look of this motor...the narrowed straight up manifolds are killer!  I have really enjoyed this thread as I do a lot of my own specialty items and know how long it takes to do all this work. I will have to post some shots of all the specialty tin work I've done.

RM

Thanks Rick.  The carbs are actually tilted in about 15% (Ray says that they are designed to operate just fine up to a certain angle), also in order to help get the engine in the car with the manifolds in, and to assist in fit with air cleaners on.  Makes them really tuck in nicely on an already narrow motor.

:)

It is looking good!

RM

We are getting close to installing this monster finally.  First up is fixing the impromptu holes that were cut in the wheel wells 28 years ago for my 40 webers.  Sort of a hack job, but was functional so it never got improved upon.  Firstly, the underseal needs to be removed to cut a cleaner/larger hole (that is a 40 that you see, on my old motor, don't get tooooo excited yet)  The heat gun makes it easy to remove that 50 year old underseal.  

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/1223110953.jpg)

Hugo's old motor is out (will be going in Velvet the bus):

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/1227111118.jpg)

Cutting them larger with the plasma cutter.  We will close the holes with some removable doors.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Veeg22Elz6w

Since the manifolds are short, the linkage has to be raised somehow.  Ray was hoping to go *through* the alternator, but the regulator inside is right in line, so he cannot.  This is a temporary solution, he cut some push rods to use as supports (pillars if you will) to raise the linkage.  This will not work with the air cleaners on later.  But I want to show this for anyone else interested in using short manifolds that will run stacks only.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/0101121311.jpg)

The 48 IDA's need to be drilled with an extra hole to improve the flat spot for street use.  It puts the transition between idle and high speed closer together.  Some people run IDA's on a street car and say that they do not need the extra hole, but it is often because they jet them too rich in the idle circuit to compensate.

Stock holes:

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00726-20120101-1729.jpg)

Lilliputian drill bits:

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00727-20120101-1735.jpg)

Sort of made my teeth hurt....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-3AhuvK9A4

Done, three holes now:

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00728-20120101-1747.jpg)

Flywheel is lightened to 11#.  

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00027-20110719-1731.jpg)
(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00024-20110719-1728.jpg)

Next up is balancing the flywheel, installing the 2nd oil cooler and an electric fuel pump on the car.  THEN installing the motor!

Now the flywheel needs to be balanced.  I wasn't at the shop to take video of this, so a friend helped with these pics (thanks Mateo!).  If anyone really wants video of this, please ask me, I can go and shoot him doing another as an example.  Here it is sitting in the balancing machine ready to begin the process.  It has been mounted on a crank that is known to be balanced already.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMAG0401.jpg)

Spinning in the machine.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMAG0402.jpg)

Removing material from the flywheel to acheive balance.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMAG0403.jpg)

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMAG0404.jpg)

The flywheel is spinning in the machine, yet the strobe captures our white mark.  This stationary mark helps identify where it needs to have material removed for proper balance.  In this machine, the 'heavy' spot is always at "3 o-clock" from the stationary mark.  If Ray removed too much material in the previous pictures, that mark would flop 180 degrees meaning he took off too much material and now the opposite side of the flywheel is heavy.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMAG0405.jpg)

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMAG0406.jpg)

This shows the needle at zero for proper balance.  You can't see it but the flywheel is spinning.  Ray doesn't use the RPM meter on the right.  You can tell because the RPM meter is below zero and the balance meter is at zero.  So that shows the meter as being active.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMAG0407.jpg)

The flywheel is installed and torqued to 600# w/ torque wrench, not impact, with red locktight.  He has wrapped the j-tubes on the exhaust to help the head temp.  He also spent 3 days bench testing that shroud with additional vane combinations and is currently happy with some good flow of air over #3 and #4 for now.  View of the front of the engine.  You can see the 15% inward tilt of the carbs for better clearance.  This motor is 4" narrower than my old 1600cc with dual 40's was, even with 48's.  We are hoping this will allow for easy access and to close the decklid with air filters on, without popping it out.  :)  It is 28-1/2" wide from manifold to manifold, and so is the car.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/1231111216.jpg)

Here it is, almost ready.  Ray took the exhaust off for an easier install.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00717-20120101-1446.jpg)

Quick note on Hugo.  The car was stripped of chrome, lowered with a Select-A-Drop (not narrowed beam), it has bus reverse lights installed in the low front vent holes for turn signals, etc, for "California Look" back in 1978.  One thing that I have never seen anyone else do in all these years though:  We removed the skirt beading on the body on the front and back, along with filling the tweeter exhaust holes, to complete the clean look.  Yes, that is a crack on the weld on the right side.  It worsened due to the merged exhaust (I was running this exhaust on the 1600) hitting the skirt.  :(

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00716-20120101-1444.jpg)

We are using 5/8" spark plugs and Ray is making a special tool for this engine that will be kept in the car to remove them for the tight fit.  Hey, the wires are Made In USA, yay!  :)  The plug boots are thick and have a groove for a tight fit.  He also put a lot of time into being sure that the tin fits very tightly with no air leaks for helping keep the heads cool as possible.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00715-20120101-1441.jpg)

Here's a cut piece of the plug boot.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00711-20120101-1434.jpg)

The doghouse hole is blocked off as we test this shroud.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00712-20120101-1436.jpg)

The throttle cable tube through the shroud will be offset, so we are using a fine wire braided cable.  Here's the tube:

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00706-20120101-1428.jpg)

Next post will be putting the engine in the car, hopefully with the manifolds ON (personal goal for Ray)! 

I love this thread, learned much about it. But you don't balance the flywheel alone without corresponding crank, pressure plate, clutch plate pulley and all the gears on the crank. Please correct me if i'm wrong.

Please, install those teflon hoses with proper couplings, youre not going to drive this baby slow..

Best regards,
Harry

Harry..........I'm working on that for them.  ;)


Hey Dawn.............just how long do you think you can make them stock axles last with this new mill?   ;D   I should put my bets in with Ray and Tony!   :o 8) :D

Super nice thread, and thanks for sharing all the info!
About the throttle linkage, if it wasn't for the of center fan housing I would have used CSP's push pull system. I have it on my own engine with super short manifolds. It has ball bearings and lets you use it as both push and pull.
With a little welding of stainless it would fit this engine also.

Yeah, that's my main concern.  I am not an engine builder, all of that is Ray's concern.  But mine is having to show enough restraint to keep my foot out of it until I can build a new trans...   :o

Harry:  As Hotrodvw pointed out, he spent some time on the phone with Ray going over the needs of the proper fittings for the oil tubing.  It will be fixed.  Ray has a snag on the fittings on the external oil coolers and Eric is helping him with advice, since he is the expert on it.  :)

As for balancing, Ray says:  No, you don't need all that stuff on the opposite end of the crank.  You don't even need a crankshaft.  Balancers are designed to pick up an imbalance on the right or left of the machine. So you are only balancing the area that you tell it that you are looking at.  It's hard to explain without showing you the machine.  As I said, if this still isn't clear, it needs video to show.  Let me know if you would like that, and I will do one.


Can you provide me with a link to this online so I can show it to Ray.  I am not familiar with it.  Thanks.  :)

Here's a bit more mods we did to the new carbs out of the box.

They also come dry and need some lubricating in a couple places to be trouble free later.  Ray says that these things should also be checked periodically as good maintenance.  First he lubricates the pump roller.  He uses a heat gun so it does the best job of getting the oil inside.  If left dry, and it stops rolling, it will rub a flat spot onto it and could stick.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00729-20120102-2012.jpg)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfexJoi1ASU

He also pins the "accelerator pump stationary shaft" (him using big words, I wouldn't know what it's called) and lubricates the spring.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qv5CktGHhU

I also have some new IDA's.  I'll do the lube job like Ray did.  Good idea.  I was thinking they were a bit stiff form the facory.  See, I learned something already!   :P

Sure, here you go: http://www.vwparts.net/CSP129941110IDA.html (http://www.vwparts.net/CSP129941110IDA.html)

Thanks for the link JHU.  I had that push pull type on the 40 Webers on my old motor for ages, before the crossbar type came out.  I struggled with adjusting it...  But it's certainly an option when we have to come up with something with the air cleaners, thanks.  :)

Success! Warning, Ray is excited and uses a naughty word... ;)  His goal was to be able to install this narrow motor with the manifolds on and it was a perfect fit, both 28-1/2" wide (motor and car).  Got it in very easily.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOi5TwBoQUg

I tried to get a picture of the clearance from the velocity stacks to the decklid by closing the lid and shooting from inside the access hole in the fender well.  It wouldn't come out 3D enough.  But trust me, there's a ton of room between them and the lid inside, hopefully plenty of room for the air cleaners.  I don't have them yet to test it.

This picture shows a notch in the body to the right of the carb (in the red body, near the rubber decklid seal), that was put there to clear my 40 weber air cleaners from the old motor.  :)

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00724-20120101-1602.jpg)

This is freakin' awesome, being able to reach an entire hand/fist to fiddle with 48 IDA's in a bug, without even using the door in the wheel well...

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00733-20120102-2044.jpg)

Looking down through decklid hinge area:

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00734-20120102-2045.jpg)

We bought this alternator pulley, but it's crap.  We're not going to use it.  Wobbles and rattles.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00735-20120102-2046.jpg)

Used an old stock pulley we had laying around.  Shimmed it up to sink the belt into the pulley in order to get a bit more fan revolutions.  

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00730-20120102-2038.jpg)

Still have to hook up gauges, mount the electric fuel pump, put doors on the holes in the fender wells, mount the 2nd oil cooler, etc.  SOON:  first start up.

SWEET!!!   ;D

Looking good Dawn.  Heard you spoke with Art Thraen today.  He and I go way back too.  We did the first BERG Cruises together in 1996-1997.

Rick M

Rick, you need to haul Art with you to CA when you come to Bugorama...  :)

Hey Dawn, this thread is the best I've read in ages. Thanks for taking the time to share it with us - and keep up the good work 8)

Old style push/pull is nothing compared to the CSP bell crank linkage. CSP`s is the best linkage I have ever run, smooth throttle pedal, easy to adjust, perfect return spring and no play anywhere.  ;)

Nice build thread and very nice engine!

Did you run it yet??   Huh?  Huh?  How about now?   :o ;)

Thanks for the compliments everyone!  And thanks for the comment Berger.  I am glad to hear it's better.  The one I had was so annoying, I still have it and can't give it away at swap meets.   :P  So, then the CSP will be an option if we can't figure out what to do after the aircleaners come, shipping out on Friday, so next week maybe...

Eric, we just started it, we've been impatient.  Have the fuel pump jerri-rigged with a hot wire, no time to mount it yet.  The oil cooler is ziptied in for now, no doors in the fender wells, the throttle cable is not finished...  But we had to start it!  I haven't got the vids uploaded yet, will try tomorrow.  At first it sounded like crap because the carbs were so far out of synch.  But they're dialed in and tuned things up and it's runs nice and smooth.  Ran it at high rpms for 7 minutes or so to warm it up and the oil temp stayed down with that shroud, without any airflow over the coolers... so that is encouraging.

I'm touchy feely, I need to drive the dang thing.  Watching it sit in the garage bay running just ain't doing much for me...  I'm about to pop a cork waiting...Ray's been busy all week with "work".  Dang work get's in the way of what's important.   ;D

Big thanks for the IDA tips !!! (Me IDA newbie).

Glad to hear it Harry, that's why we put this stuff on here.  :)  Also, about your balancing question, it came up on another forum and went in to a bit more detail, so just in case it wasn't clear here:

Basically, the junk crank used in the pictures is previously balanced and is a fixture for the machine.  My crank was already balanced, also to as close to zero as possible, I may have forgotten to put that in the thread. And since my flywheel is balanced to near zero too, it's really irrelevant to have to balance them together since there is no offset.
-------------

...Okay, so... I drove it.  It sort of kicked my ass and scared me a bit.  Feel like I need wheelie bars...  OMG.  LOL!

We video'd but it was after dark, so nothing came out last night.  Went for another test drive today and a CHP was on my bumper the whole way (25 miles), so couldn't do anything other than cruise along...  She was WAITING for me to do something.  She saw us and hung a u-turn and followed me the whole way...  :(  I have a Commercial Drivers License, I am held to a higher esteem on what is expected of my driving record.  Off the job infractions of any kind are reported to Fedex and effect my career.  Not an option.

BUT, I can still report to you:

Installed electric fuel pump.  Hugo had one 20 years ago.  I had a Weber catch on fire (air cleaner) in the 1990's and Ray talked me out of not using an electric fuel pump back then.  He wants to use one now, so we mounted it to the same location since it was drilled and wired for it already.  We may move it later, but it's good for now.  His concern is that snow may get up there since this is my Daily.  It's on the passenger side forward facing wall, behind the gas tank.  I don't know what that location is called...

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00747-20120107-1643.jpg)

Put doors to cover the access holes in the fender wells.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00746-20120107-1541.jpg)

Put heat wrap on the j-tubes of the exhaust.  He will wrap the rest of the exhaust later, but right now we are in and out of the valve covers often that he didn't want to drip oil down onto the wrap and have it absorb it.  So, we'll wrap the rest after the engine is dialed in.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00745-20120107-1538.jpg)

Mounted the second 72-pass cooler.  As mentioned earlier, they each have independent tubing in and out of the case, they are not inline to one another.  As for the location, 30 years ago or so, Ray did a *very technical* test on air flow under a vehicle to find out the best location.  They put ribbons all over the undercarriage and put a sign in the back window that said "Test Vehicle In Progress" and followed it.  ;)  He discovered that these locations are the best.  The air flow is pressurized between the pan and the road and gets pushed up vertically into the area right behind the torsion tube, straight up towards the package tray.  It gets pushed through the oil cooler there.  A lot of people put them over the tranny, but there is much less velocity to the flow there, in addition to them protruding more.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00744-20120107-1532.jpg)

The engine holds about 8.5 quarts of oil if it were completely full.  But we have about 7-7.5 right now.  It's the same on Hugo's old motor (one less filter and one less cooler, but 2 quarts more in a deeper sump, same volume).  I've always been told to run it 1 qt low on the dipstick because it pulls oil up from the sump.  If it reads full on the stick, it's actually too full.

The first start up, the motor sounded very rough because the carbs were completely out of adjustment. It was very uneventful.  Nothing blew out of the crank case, that's a good thing.  :)

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

This is Ray's routine at the initial startup of a new engine: 

First he quickly adjusts the carbs left to right to make sure the linkage is synched well.  Then he gets a timing light on it so that there's not too much advance (for this motor, right now he has it at 31 degrees total, 11 at idle), then he raises the rpms and sets it there for 15 minutes or so, being careful to monitor the oil pressure.  FYI, mine currently is 70# cold when revved, 40# at idle.  60# warm, 35 at idle.

The reason for bringing up the rpms asap:  The cam has irregularities and when it's first started they will be taken down by the movement.  You do not want metal on metal or it could create a flat spot on your cam.  Imagine a tire on wet pavement.  The faster you go, the tire begins to hydroplane and separate from contact with the surface (we explained this earlier when addressing the heads of the valve stems and why Ray polishes them).  With motor parts, you WANT that effect, so fast is better.  If you slow the tire down, it will cut through the liquid and contact the pavement again...which you don't want in motor parts.  So, oil is not only a lubricant, it is most important in creating this hydrostatic effect.  When starting the motor for the first time, he quickly brings the rpm's up to 2500-3000 and holds it there, to remove the irregularities from the cam and "blend" the metal surfaces, without creating a flat spot. 

At first the 48 IDA's were jetted at .70 idles, 1.35 main, 1.65 air correctors.  He changed the idles to .80mm.  You want it rich at first, this coats the combustion chamber and head of the piston with a sooty film which will cook on to prevent fire against the parts, like a shield.  Then he rejetted them back to .70 for the test drive.   

Here we are after adjusting the carbs and timing, and rejetting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVSYAF0Fq7g

The oil *and* head temps are both very good, so his mods regarding heat are working in the test drives.  I will report on this in the next update, so please be patient. 

Not long and I'll get a driving video...  Sofa king exciting, huh?!!   ;)

Very cool!   What dist are you using?  Is it CB's distributor?  Digital? 

It's a billet based electronic Magna Spark II from CB.  :)

Can we say "Sleeper"?  Little old VW takes us to Starbucks...

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/0108120734.jpg)

I'm at work during the week, so Ray is behind the wheel and Mateo used his camera and uploaded to his youtube.  Note:  this was going up a grade on the freeway, probably 4-5%.  And going down on the way back on the onramp.  But you can see the front end coming up, especially on the second pass downhill, in all gears.  This is with all my tools and spare tire, and two dudes in the seats, and NOT at full throttle yet.  :)  He babying the tranny too, it's got lots of miles. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVX0njYavbI

He sent me this link this morning.  This was my reply:  "Spun the fan belt off"  "Should I stop filming?" "Yeah"  WTF?

Turns out it was an old belt.  Luckily, the shop was about 1/4 mile away.  Ray used one he had in the shop, not realizing how old it must have been.  Normally they would twist and fly off, but this one just blew up. 

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/0112122133.jpg)

Reason being:  Big pulley = 2 to 1.  The RPMs were probably about 7,000, so the alternator and fan are going 14,000.  A power pulley helps, but it may likely run too hot.   So, for now, a new better belt should be okay. 

Carb update:  The throttle currently only opens about 7/8.  I think I posted pics way back initially on the carbs, but we are using a Gene Berg long arm on the linkage.  It gives a longer sweep at the pedal.  There's plenty of power with it like this, but later we will have to modify the pedal up front for full throttle.

We went with .60 idle jets and got rid of the major stumbling.  Ray was the first to admit that he thought it was stumbling due to a lean spot, but it *was* too rich.  He took advice of the thread here, thanks folks.  It's such a different combination, there's no typical scenarios on this with the short manifolds, heavy breathing, with IDA's for street...  So we are not going to be drilling a 4th hole, not necessary now.  Almost all my driving is on the idle circuit.  If you put your foot in it, the mains are happy.  Runs well now.  He wants to continue experimenting with the main/air jets later.  180/180 and maybe even 160/200, 170/200 and so on.  I have a call into Art Thraen for some input, he PM'd me.  He's a carb specialist.  :)

The accelerator pump is leaking at idle and that still needs to be addressed.  It's not a driving issue, but at idle when the butterfly is closed.  I'm not sure what else he's working on, but he texted me this picture last night at 10pm...

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/0112122001.jpg)

The lifts are full, so Hugo's butt is in the air like in the old days...

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/0112121727.jpg)

The alternator has some end play.  Ray has ideas on what is going on with that, I don't know myself.  So, he's taken that out and I will be reporting on what he finds out next. 

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/0112121955.jpg)

Hoping to go to Test And Tune tomorrow if he can get it together and is happy with everything....    ;D

Art can dial you in on IDAs for street driving. He is the master!  Had him go through mine.

Rick M

What he said.

And HotRodVW will of course fabricate your oil-lines to -8 size..., and boy does that baby sound good.

Ray always uses Valvoline 20/50 Racing oil.  And right now he's added zinc:

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/0114121328.jpg)

Added the breather box:

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00751-20120114-1147.jpg)

And plumbed it into the valve covers:

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00750-20120114-1146.jpg)

Added return springs to the carbs.  I drove it yesterday and they are too tight for my liking.  Such a different feel because of the harder pedal.  Ray and Art are going over what he needs to buy to rebuild some issues with these 48's, they aren't worth sending back because apparently it seems these issues are pretty common, so easiest to just fix.  The leaking accelerator pump is one thing, it's due to a loose shaft and the tight spring holds it from having that play a bit better.  So, for now, it'll be that way until this week when Ray gets what he needs and discusses more with Art.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00749-20120114-1145.jpg)

Here are my air cleaners I got off thesamba.  But we are saving them for later when we can get to it.  They're too close to the fire wall.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/aircleaners.jpg)

Ray got a new Gates belt.  He wants it a bit loose so that it will slip on the alternator at high rpms and not overev it, but not slip otherwise.  Considering that it would turn the alternator at 15K-16K rpms at peak (double the crank pulley at 2:1) when shifting.  But this belt doesn't slip when he turns the engine with a wrench, even though it's a bit loose.  We'll see how well it works.

We have monitored oil tempurature everywhere with an infared thermometer. At the 1st and 2nd oil cooler, at the oil filters, at the engine block.  The temperature is consistently between 170 and 180 degrees.  If we push the car hard, we can get it to 185 under high speed heavy load.  The temp readings are made immediatley after high speed runs, with no waiting, no cooling time.  The thermometer jives with the dipstick gauge, so they are accurate within a couple degrees.

He took some sheet metal off the heater box assembly of a donor and put it on the front side of the heads (pointing to it with the screwdriver).  It is bent inward to channel the air directly on the fins from the fan in a tighter fashion.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00754-20120114-1205.jpg)

Also, added tin on the back side of the heads for the same effect.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00752-20120114-1204.jpg)

He then checked the valve's adjustment, which was okay, but noticed they were starved for oil at the top and drying out already.  This was caused by the rockers being too tight to allow oil to flow, a design issue, or bad set (they were much worse on the left side).    So, here's a big reveal of a something Ray has never shared, but decided to go ahead and divulge.     He drills a .025 hole on the intake pushrods.  They rotate within the tubes, so this makes them pump oil around like a Rainbird sprinkler.  This oil cools the valve springs and the head.  This has not only solved the dryness, but is something Ray has done for 30 years to help also reduce head temps.  He says that oil is there to remove heat (by absorbing it and taking it away--to the coolers) as much, if not more so, than for lubrication.  Currently on this engine, he has only done the intakes.  The exhaust push rods could be done later also.  This is why it is so important for us to cool the oil, in order to assist the heads in staying cool (since we have no doghouse and a shroud that we are testing).

Here's a picture of the drilled push rod.  Sorry, it's blurry, Ray took it with his cell phone and I'm not there now to get a better shot.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/0115122124.jpg)

You can see the oil mist and rain flying around the valve train in the spotlight's shine if you look closely:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdXMFKvBr1Q

As most of you know, the centermount fan shroud is very substandard as is.  
Firstly:  The fan is too narrow for the shroud.  He needs to add the ring from a regular 1600 shroud to the center mount shroud to suck it in closer to the fan and create the desired vacuum effect.  Secondly is the directional vanes (or lack of them):  Ray and our friend Matt spent several days bench testing and modifying it to get MUCH improvement before we ran the engine at all.  Here's Matt's detailed report:

"The shroud as it comes is ineffective in getting any air at all to the 3 & 4 cylinders.  The comment about tangential airflow from the fan is correct in conjunction with the steep angle of the shroud in my direct observations.
 My observances were that air coming off the fan at say 10 o-clock slams directly into the angle of the shroud and is actually blocked from flowing back down towards the engine by air coming off the fan at say 9 o-clock, which makes matters worse as again the angle of the shroud seems to direct this air flow upward.
Air from the fan at 11 o-clock and above seems to be sucked over to the 1 & 2 side of the shroud by an almost venturi type effect.
All off this together seems to create a vortex of dead air on the left side of the shroud.
 
Without opening the kimono too much:
 
It has been necessary to add 'directional aids' similar in effect to that of a stock shroud to clean up the air flow.  Air flow on the left side of the fan needs to be captured as it comes off the fan and cleanly directed upward and then 'hair-pinned' back down towards the motor.  This stream then needs to diffused across the lower width of the shroud.
The air flow on the right side of the shroud also needs some diffusion to help break up the venturi effect described previously and balancing out the flow throughout the shroud.
Dawn's shroud is a prototype of this concept and at this time we are achieving about a 60 / 40 split of air flow between the two sides of the motor, a drastic improvement from the stock shroud.  With further refinement it may be possible to gain a true 50 / 50 split.
All of this work has been done spinning the fan in the shroud at idle speeds, a limitation of the test bench.  The question that needs to be answered now is if the improved air flow continues at increased cruising speeds on the freeway or does it break down because there is just too much airspeed and flow for the small chamber in the shroud to handle.
If it works at cruising speeds it is worth continuing the science project, if not then it is on to shroud design #2.
If nothing else it has been fun, and you wouldn't want to forsake anybody that..."

And it is working well.  

We cannot use the thingy that goes in the spark plug hole to get head temps because the manifolds are too tight a fit there.  He's been using the infrared thermometer (like a laser beam gun).  Even when we went to Sacramento Raceway in the afternoon yesterday.  Sitting in traffic on Sunrise Blvd for miles, running through 1st through 3rd gears only at slow speeds, sitting at long lights, for 40 minutes or so.  The ambient temperature at the pavement with the gun was 74 degrees.  The oil temp did climb as high as 195 sitting in traffic, but the moment we'd move around 25 mph, it would drop back down to 180 within a minute or so.  We've decided that the solution for hotter weather/traffic/slow speeds will be adding a fan onto each cooler.  I have two toggles on my dash that haven't been hooked up to anything in 30 years...now they can have a purpose.  :)

Head temps have been no higher than 350, but more typically in 200's.   Also he mentioned that there is no "spark knock" at startup.  After a hard pull, he shuts the engine down, then when he starts it again, there's no "bucking" or "spark knock".  (Forgive me, I don't know what that is)  After working on VW's for nearly 50 years full time, he knows what hot heads feel and smell like.  *I* even know when I open a decklid, I can feel it radiate out and smell it.  There is none of this.  Even after hard driving up steep long grades in warm weather here, nor at the racetrack in the 1/4 mile, nor on the rack at high rpms for 30 minutes with no air flow.  We will use it also on the dyno soon, while it's under a load, for the truest number.

So, we are pleased with the success of the shroud modifications and the car is running well within safe temps so far.  Right now, I have been given the assignment of driving it.  A lot.  Put some miles on this thing for a week or so.  Then Ray will take it back and resolve the carb issues and alternator end-play (getting a replacement sent), and anything else needing tweaking.  Dyno on Wednesday hopefully.  :D

Thanks for this great thread Dsimas!

I'm fighting the same issue with my brand new idas at idle. If you don't mind telling us what was done on yours once they are fixed it would be simply great! I'm sure many could use this as this seems to be a common problem with IDA's.

Phil

I will indeed report here, but I also recommend people call Art Thraen at ACE for help too:
http://www.aircooledengineering.com/

By the way, we went to Test And Tune and did a pass to see where we are at.  Ray really had no estimate since this combination is so unique and has so many mods.

Got a 14.92 at 2200+# w/ tools, spare tire, full gas tank, etc.  Took it easy on the old stock tranny and the linkage is not even allowing full throttle yet.  We think it would realistically get high 13's if lighter, new trans, and some tuning.  I'd say I'm very happy with that. :D

Tony Klink was psyched though after going for a ride and putting ideas in my head, saying with a racebox and 400# taken out, no alternator, the car would be in the high 11's, he said this with a BIG cheesy grin on his face.  He's dangerous to be around....

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

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.  :)

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?

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...

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.

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

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.

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00762-20120118-1712.jpg)

After the first pull at 5500rpms:

(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn47/DSimas_2008/Hugos%20new%20motor/IMG00763-20120118-1731.jpg)

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:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3EB7D4o4ts

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.

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

X2

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.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-X-ZsR4tZPY

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

looking good

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.

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.

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

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!

awesome thread...thank you for sharing

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.  8)

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