ProVolks Official Shop-Car Build Thread. . .

[MarioVelotta]

I like the old look, but not I'm conflicted... That looks pretty sick

[supaninja]

Ninja Notch approves your wheels

[aircooledtechguy]

Ninja Notch approves your wheels

Supa!! Been too long since you showed your face around here.

I think your Notch was the first type3 I remember seeing with these wheels a couple years ago and they were a nice fit to the type3. I am running the 9"s in the rear though.

[aircooledtechguy]

Not everything goes as planned or hoped. . .

Over the past 3 weeks, I’ve had my clutch go out of adjustment a few times. So I check the easy stuff; the cable (good) and decide to pull the motor to check the pressure plate (good). CRAP!! That leaves only one thing; the clutch tube has broken free. . . *#%&@#!!!!!!!! Out comes the tranny and a bunch of other crap. . .

Good thing I know a guy. . . I have a welder and a sawzall damn it!! I’m gonna make sure this NEVER happens again!!

On the bright side I also get to address the OEM fuel line and maybe I'll upgrade that too while it's all accessible. . .

[Piledriver]

I have also seen cracked brackets back at the trans. the one that bolts to the side cover.
Check first, I didn't notice it until I dropped the engine/trans the second time.

Oh, 901. Probably still want to check the bracketry first.

[aircooledtechguy]

The tube broke free on the last bracket. . .



DONE!!



First I welded the tube back on the bracket. Then I made a .100" thick plate that uses two bushings. (1) that captures the end of original tube on the last 1/8" or so. Then (2) slides in to the ID of the first against the OEM tube that creates the new nipple that will hold the end of the clutch tube. None of the forces will be born by the tube anymore, but rather spread across the rear of the pan via the .100" plate. The bolt on the left is the OEM attachment for the ground strap. The right bolt is one I drilled into the pan end. It is lower and not centered because there is a doubler on the back right in the middle, so this way I could have a flat place for the nut to tighten down on.

[aircooledtechguy]

I've been a little nervous about coupling the new 2.3L race motor to the Squarsche with just a stock clutch installed. In the past I had been able to slip the clutch just a bit in the harshest driving with the 2056cc engine with a disc I used to run. That hasn't been a problem wince I replaced the disc, but I didn't want that to be an issue. So when I found a guy on the local craigslist selling a NOS Centerforce dual friction 914 clutch kit, I bit and picked it up cheeeeeeeep.



He bought it back in 1999 for about $350. I bought it in 2014 just before Christmas for $250. Normally this set-up goes for around $850+ today so it was quite a score for me.

In order to comfortably use this HD clutch assembly, I would have to upgrade my clutch actuation to a hydraulic set-up. So after seeing what was out there and reading mixed reviews, I decided on the SACO in the tunnel MC/slave cyl kit since I could use my existing pedals.



I’m no stranger to custom installs. In fact, a good custom job beats a stock job just about any day since it’s doing something different. I love custom work. What I do not love, is tons of custom fabrication when the parts are advertised as “bolt-in”.

I knew going into this install that it would not be 100% bolt-in because I have a Porsche 923 5-speed trans which is anything but stock so I knew I would have to figure out how to make the slave cylinder work with what I have. I did half way expect the master cylinder install to go fairly smoothly and be relatively bolt-in since the kit was made and advertised for both T-1 & T-3 cars. I can’t speak about how it installs into a T-1, but I can tell you all that the kit takes considerable tweeking to fit into a T-3. In retrospect, I think installing cheap Chinese chrome engine tins and getting them to seal like factory German tins would have been easier.

I’m just glad that I already had a larger access hole cut into my tunnel AND that I have a lift here at my shop so I had easier access than either on my back or through the top by removing the fuel tank.

To fit this MC and bracket into a type3, here are some of the added steps not noted in the instructions that had to be done in order for it to physically fit in it's intended location:

- I had to trim the upper, left tunnel cover mount hole off so the MC mount bracket/MC would even fit into the tunnel (it sticks out of the front of the tunnel approx 2”).
- I had to trim the entire left side of the tunnel access hole so the bracket would fit flat when bolted in.
- I had to use a burr to clearance the bottom, fwd end of the bracket approx ½”X1” in order to allow the 2 mount bolts to align with the factory pedal bolt locations.

It doesn't sound like much, but I cannot stress what a TOTAL PITA this was due to the location and access (or lack there of). Approx 5 hours of back and forth, taking a bit off and try and wrestle it back in only to find I had more to remove here and there. All the while laying across the seats reaching through a sharp access hole. There is no easy way to work in the pedal area; it ALWAYS sucks in the best of circumstances. I cannot tell you all just how many times I seriously contemplated taking this MC & bracket across the street and filling it full of .45 slugs!!!




The slave cylinder was surprisingly straight forward and rather simple. It fit perfectly between the casting on the trans case which holds the clutch cable end and the clutch arm. I simply drilled out the Porsche clutch clevis to fit the S/C. I turned a teflon bushing with my lathe for the other end and bolted it to the trans case being sure that it could move and pivot in the stationary hole. I had to slightly trim one of the ribs about 1/8" so the slave cylinder wouldn't hit it. Lastly, I replaced the supplied 90degree #3AN fitting with a straight #3AN fitting so the braided pressure line would fit better.



Of course, once I mounted the reservoir and bled the system, I quickly discovered that I needed just a bit more pedal movement then I could get with the factory hook. So I had to take out and pull apart the pedal assembly. I cut-off the hook and made a piece that was 10mm longer and welded it to the clutch pedal rod. Then I made a new clutch MC push rod that was about ¼” longer. When I then discovered that I still needed slightly more throw, I relented and cut about ¼” off the pedal stop. . .

FINALLY, a hydraulic clutch that works as it should. No small feat though getting this kit to work on my T-3. Not all the issues I encountered were due to the kit not fitting a type3. However, there was just no way that MC & bracket would ever fit without a lot of massaging of the bracket and the car.

While it seems to works well, I don’t know if I could recommend this to anyone installing it into a T-3 without letting them know what they are in for. Again, I’m no stranger to custom fabrication; it’s just irritating when parts that are supposedly designed to work and fit, don’t even come close to either. I’m glad this was for my car and not for a client.

[aircooledtechguy]

The quest for reliable speed continues. . .

After much contemplation, thought and otherwise thinkin' things over, I've decided that dry sumping the 2316cc race motor would be a wise investment. Here have been my thoughts in random fashion. . .

- The deep sump hangs down a little lower than I would like and otherwise makes me a bit nervous. I'm retired Navy and when I go on base with the Squarsche, I have to cross some pretty big steel barriers that would either (a) hit the deep sump or (b) come darned close to hitting the deep sump and every crossing I would wonder: "is this the day. . ." I don't want to test it!!

- Long sweeping turns are no big deal when you have 12 quarts in the dry-sump. They can be a problem in a wet-sump motor with less than half that. . .

- All the added weight is low and forward of the center of gravity in the car.

- Not having to worry about ruining my high $$$ race motor by running dry on oil; PRICELESS!!

I've acquired a new CB dry sump pump. This will be dutifully modified for use in a type4 and will be ported internally.




The custom mount bar I made earlier will need to be highly modified since the inlet/outlet to & from the dry sump tank are right where the solid mounts are that I made earlier. . . (sigh!) Such is custom car building. . . So a re-design is in order so the oil lines can fit in that space while still mounting the engine. I already have ideas so look for an update on that when I have time to make it happen.

The tank I found was an eBay special in the form of a Richardson Racing 12qt dry sump tank out of a modified race car. Some of the fittings are too big and will need to be made more VW-compatible. Some are not needed. But this tank has an integrated O-Berg oil filter and should fit nicely where the battery now resides under the rear seat. For the price, I couldn't pass it up!!



The battery will be permanently moved to the "frunk" where it belongs and where it will aid in adding weight where needed.

[notched]

That's a great score.

[Piledriver]

Nice tank setup. should be able to turn a couple of those extra ports into a sight glass setup for oil level.
(1/2" teflon line is clear enough)

I'm still eyeballing replacing my very sturdy rear bus bar w/ WBX vanagon mounts with a bolt-in frame horn setup with integrated kafer brace
(basically a fully triangulated subframe (not factory)) to allow for ~unlimited clearance out back for DS, AC, muffler etc.

[Jadewombat]

The center of gravity on bugs and T3s is on the floor in the back seat, just forward of the battery. I would recommend leaving your battery where it is and putting the dry sump just on the other side, behind the drivers seat. F1 cars move everything closer to the COG, inboard brakes and suspension, etc.

[aircooledtechguy]

My COG has been shifted rearward a bit due to the type4 engine and Porsche 923 trans. Both are significantly heavier and have helped to move the COG to right about the aft/center of the battery. I shed some weight fwd with the front-end swap as well shifting it back just a bit. The next time I'm out by the truck weigh station with a half-full+ tank, I'm going to have to get the true weight bias now that everything is done to this point. that should be interesting.

I was surprised to learn that even with my old weight bias, it was more even front to back than a Porsche 911.

[Jadewombat]

Cool. A good corner-balance job should help with the track work, too.

[aircooledtechguy]

I spent some time today doing some of the mods necessary to correctly fit a CB Performance type1 dry sump pump into a type4 motor. I have to say that it was not much more difficult than the mods required for a 30mm pump.

Here's how the pump breaks down:



The pump uses a 26mm suction side (the bottom pump) and a 21mm pressure side.

On the back side of the pump, there was a small bit of clearancing needed. On the drive shaft boss, I needed to shave approx. '040" off. On the idler boss, I shaved it approx .030" which was basically flush with the pin.



On each end of the drive pin, I shaved approx. '025". On the pressure gear end, I removed the '025 on my lathe. On the drive tang, I simply removed it by hand on a disc sander and re-profiled it.




On both the inlet (from the tank) and outlet (to the tank) I had to drill each approx. .200" deeper and re-tap the holes deeper into the body to be able to attach the inlet/outlet nipples. They would not fit otherwise. Kind of crappy manufacturing, but I've seen this before on other things.



Now all I have to do is to port in internal passages and clean in my ultrasonic cleaner and it'll be ready to install in the motor.

[aircooledtechguy]

This weekend, we got the chance to test the Squarsche at a track event. Evergreen Drift was hosting an auto-X @ Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, WA, so we grabbed our gear and headed down. That was about the best $65 I've spent in a long time!!

The course took most about 1:00 - 1:20 seconds to complete depending on your car and driver's ability to get through it. My best time was around 1:08. I won't even talk about the times on 2 runs that I spun out.

It poured rain for most of the day, so that was to our advantage since we didn't have the HP of some of the other cars giving us better traction. It was very satisfying to beat an R32 Skyline, 'course if the pavement had been dry, he'd have handed my @$$ to me.

I did get to play with the Koni front shocks a bit and found that full firm minus one turn was the hot ticket for that track in those conditions for my car. On full firm, the back-end would get loose a lot easier in the slalom section under braking, but when I softened it up a bit, the rear was more compliant and stuck better. It really handled great! In the back section, I could normally begin to close gaps between us and the car in front. It laid pretty flat in the corners and handled as good and better than I had imagined.

Some areas of improvement that became very evident are:

1. I need a fuel cell. I could smell gas sloshing out of the cap on a few corners.
2. I need new easier to reach adjustment screws for the rear suspension.
3. I need to dyno tune the EFI to this motor. We gave up a lot of time due to tuning and having a lack of power at the moment we needed it.
4. Of course, MORE HP!!

As can be expected with the weather we had, it was a drift-fest and one hell of a lot of fun. The best part was that my son Josh could ride with me in the so we could enjoy it together.

Here's a shot of the Squarsche w/ Josh inside in the staging lanes waiting for the next run.



In all, we were able to make 9 runs around the course. I got them on the GoPro, however I had it mounted upside down on the suction cup. Normally I have it outside the car, but this time I had it inside and it would only fit up side down. If any of you know how to flip the videos before I up load, let me know how please. I'm electronically challenged. . .