Ray Vallero stroker build for my '63 ragtop

[dsimas]

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.

[rick m]

It is looking good!

RM

[dsimas]

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.  



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



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

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/Veeg22Elz6w" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/Veeg22Elz6w</a>

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.



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:



Lilliputian drill bits:



Sort of made my teeth hurt....

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/4-3AhuvK9A4" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/4-3AhuvK9A4</a>

Done, three holes now:



Flywheel is lightened to 11#.  




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

[dsimas]

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.



Spinning in the machine.



Removing material from the flywheel to acheive balance.





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.





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.



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.



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



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. 



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.



Here's a cut piece of the plug boot.



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



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



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

[Harry/FDK]

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

[Hotrodvw]

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?      I should put my bets in with Ray and Tony!   

[Jon]

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.

[dsimas]

Hey Dawn.............just how long do you think you can make them stock axles last with this new mill?    

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...   

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..

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.

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.

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

[dsimas]

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.



<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/RfexJoi1ASU" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/RfexJoi1ASU</a>

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

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/9qv5CktGHhU" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/9qv5CktGHhU</a>

[Hotrodvw]

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!   

[Jon]

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.

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

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

[dsimas]

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.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/EOi5TwBoQUg" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/EOi5TwBoQUg</a>

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.  



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...



Looking down through decklid hinge area:



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



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.  



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.

[Hotrodvw]

SWEET!!!   

[rick m]

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

[dsimas]

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... 

[Fasterbrit]

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

[Berger]

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. 

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!

[Hotrodvw]

Did you run it yet??   Huh?  Huh?  How about now?   

[dsimas]

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.     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.   

[Harry/FDK]

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

[dsimas]

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...



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



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.



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.



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. 

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

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.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/YVSYAF0Fq7g" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/YVSYAF0Fq7g</a>

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?!!   

[Hotrodvw]

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

[dsimas]

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

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

[dsimas]

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



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. 

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/qVX0njYavbI" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/qVX0njYavbI</a>

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. 



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...



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



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. 



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

[rick m]

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

Rick M

[glenn]

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

Rick M

What he said.

[Harry/FDK]

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

[dsimas]

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



Added the breather box:



And plumbed it into the valve covers:



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.



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.



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.



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



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.



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

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZdXMFKvBr1Q" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/ZdXMFKvBr1Q</a>

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.  

[1950split]

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

[dsimas]

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.

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.

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....

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