Pro Mo's adventure in rust and ruin. (A build thread)

dezertryno · Post by **dezertryno** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 8:17 am

Wow...internet fabbers broke into STF as well. It all comes down to penetration. Most of us are boys, so I'll assume we all know about penetration. I've seen beautiful looking welds fail, and welds that look like crap hold. It all comes down to prep, fitment, and experience with the welder your using. Like most other things, the more time you put into prepping and getting a joint tight, the better chances the weld will do it's job better.

Your car is bitchin Pro Mo...you did all the dimpling with a press, or the bolt-through die? Get the dimple die for dzus tabs too, serves a dual purpose.

Post by **david58** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 5:03 pm

[quote="dezertryno"][/quote]
That brings up a very good point. So how do you test a weld at home? We can start a new thread on this if needed since there are three three three

Mods.

Seriously though we are for the most part not perfessional welders, we are weak end warriors working on our pride and joy. And that was no typo.

I myself will not weld something for someone else that would cause bodily harm. I know I am not a welder. I am still in the learning process, it's like hey studip did you turn the gas on? And I am like no I thought you did I was on the fone when you handed me the trigger.

dezertryno · Post by **dezertryno** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 11:36 pm

David-

I was always taught to go by the heat signature of the metal. You want that "blueing" but not hot enough to burn through. Just enough to see the metal turn color. I was taught penetration before making the weld look good. I learned to stick weld heavy stuff way before I got to a MIG machine. Welding sheetmetal took alot of time for me, especially learning to weld it to not distort it, or having it bend, flex, move, etc.

Then there's the issue of controlling the puddle. Trigger happy guys don't know about this. I have a basic metallurgy book that taught me alot, along with talking to old guys, that have done it their whole lives. Controlling the puddle is key to stacking your spare change.

rickosuave1987 · Post by **rickosuave1987** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 11:42 pm

Guys, if you all want to continue the welding discussions I can split this into a new thread here in the off road forum.

There is another forum here too for this type of discussion:

Tools/Tricks/Techniques/Shop Theory

dezertryno · Post by **dezertryno** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 8:24 am

sorry for the hijack. Where's the pic Pro Mo?

rickosuave1987 · Post by **rickosuave1987** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 8:49 am

Any progress recently? Youve been pretty quiet on the board...

jps1145 · Post by **jps1145** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 9:06 am

Projectile Motion wrote:Sounds good Elvergon! Where in Mexico?

Back to the build. I have a brake question for those in the know. I am trying to plan out the brake lines on the front end. What I was thinking was a hard line out of the master cylinder (With a 2 lbs valve) that goes to a tee in the center of the beam, then hard line out each side of the tee to about the ends of the beam, from there a braided stainless line down the upper arm and into the caliper. Does this sound good or should I do braided line the whole way out from the tee and avoid more connectors? I also would use two or three zip-ties to hold the braided line to the upper arm (Leaving plenty of slack of course). Sound reasonable?

You could also consider running the hard line from the M/C to a tee very close to the rack and pinion and have a small flex line from each side of the tee to the tie rods. Run hard lines on each tie-rod and another small flex line from the outer ends of the tie rod to the calipers. The outer flex line can be pretty short because the distance from the outer tie rod end to the calipers remains pretty constant.

Projectile Motion · Post by **Projectile Motion** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 2:53 pm

Who, what, huh, me?

There is nothing new to report for now. I have moved into a new place with my girlfriend and have yet to move the Bug. I do have a garage but it is small and shares a wall with the neighbors so I am limited to smaller tasks. About the only major fab work left is the rear bumper anyways. Other than that it is just tabs, brakes, electrical and assembly wrenching. I will update soon as I am trying to get the motor components together. (or should I say, trying to get THE MONEY for the motor!).

Thanks for the input jps. I thought of that too but was worried about so many connections. I also thought that if I went all braided line from a tee at the beam that it would run along the tierods.

I guess I missed your question earlier Ricko. The spring rates are 175/225 in the front (Probably going to need a heavier spring or a lot less redound damping) and the rears are 400/400 (those seem to be just about right).
The springs are what Offroad Warehouse had in stock. They are Eibach. Funny thing was that when I got the fronts the guy was worried about only having the 175's in black and the 225's in silver. He seemed suprised when I said I don't care if they match. I guess in the world of bling-buggies different color springs are a no-no.

Projectile Motion · Post by **Projectile Motion** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 7:57 pm

What a piece of junk this car is....

Oh wait its mine

Really nothing new with the car. Truth be told I am only working about 30 to 40 hours per MONTH! School is getting pretty intense and the paint trade here in SD has come to a screeching halt with the economy. I have to walk by the car every time I do laundry so I definitely have not forgotten about it. I am slowly gathering money for engine parts so that will be next on the to do list. You know the old saying "champagne taste, beer budget." Hell, tap water budget is more like it. Being poor sucks!

Getrdone · Post by **Getrdone** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 9:45 pm

Glad to hear you are still in the mood. I hear you, no money-plenty of time. Plenty of money -no time. Life is cruel. Add one eager 6 y/o that wants me to build a hoover craft, robot (like NASA not Lego), and 4 wheel mountain bike and it gets overwhelming. When I say I don't know how-he says look on the internet, and use that program your designing the buggy on. That prtty much shuts me up..and make me feel like a hypricate. (don't know how to spell that one)

Post by **david58** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 5:04 am

Getrdone wrote:Glad to hear you are still in the mood. I hear you, no money-plenty of time. Plenty of money -no time. Life is cruel. Add one eager 6 y/o that wants me to build a hoover craft, robot (like NASA not Lego), and 4 wheel mountain bike and it gets overwhelming. When I say I don't know how-he says look on the internet, and use that program your designing the buggy on. That prtty much shuts me up..and make me feel like a hypricate. (don't know how to spell that one)

The kid has too much edgeumoekayshin.

Projectile Motion · Post by **Projectile Motion** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 2:22 pm

Wow, this thread was buried! I gave up looking for it and used the link in the stickies to find it.

Anyways it is time to make some progress. I am starting on the engine (just picked up a crank from DPR yesterday and new CB rods should be here friday). While I wait on the motor parts I was going to get the car ready for it. I want to get the basic electrical done as well as the fuel. My hope is that when the motor is assembled I can drop it in and have it running soon after.

I have never wired a car from scratch. I was thinking of going about it much like the diagram in Leather's sticky in the electrical forum (fifth photo down from the top. I would post a pic but I am on a Mac and still cannot figure out how to pull up the image location

)
Is this a good start and what would you add for the offroad world?

Another question is on the fuel system. I will be running a single 44 IDF (at around 4 psi right?). What are some good fuel pump options? Was thinking of using one of THESE "red" pumps from Holly. Do I need a regulator with that? I have heard of people running those cheap faucet pumps with no issue though and I am always looking to save money. And should the filter go between the pump and the tank or should it go down stream from the pump?

bajaherbie · Post by **bajaherbie** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 2:36 pm

i have a facet pump and haven't had any trouble with it----yet. maybe its time to buy a spare?

i have a fuel pressure regulator(cb perf) and a pressure guage from summit. sanddude recommended a fuel filter before the pump and another after the guage. i think i have about 49 hose clamps from the tank to the carb

Turbo_Manx_Maniac · Post by **Turbo_Manx_Maniac** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 3:08 pm

For a single 44 I would use the facet and a regulator set at 2.5 psi. The Holley pump is really nice, but way over kill for a single carb off road motor. I suggest you buy a spare pump and carry it with you just in case.
Always put a filter right off the tank, another after the pump is also a good idea, additionally to filtering it let's you see if fuel is being pumped if you have a breakdown.

What crank & rod's did you get? (69mm 5.4")? Any idea what cam and heads your going to use?

Projectile Motion · Post by **Projectile Motion** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 7:35 pm

I guess the two filter idea is a good one since I have foam in the tank. I have heard little pieces can break off as it ages, though I have never actually seen it. As far as the facet pumps go, would THIS STYLE be the right one? I know they make a few from around $30 to $80.

Yes crank is a 69mm and unitech 5.4" rods. I know what you are going to say

(I think you were telling me to just go for a stroker) but since this is my first full-on VW engine build I felt safer with the 69mm. I don't know what heads yet but probably a little on the mild side, as is my budget, with 40/35.5 valves. Any recommendations for around $650/pair? Cam is up in the air too but I am thinking I would prefer making power lower in the RPM range.