McClure 9s beetle from seventies

[70dragbug]

Wow,thanks Frallan for sharing that article with us,truly amazing!
It just goes to show what workmanship,knowledge and experience can accomplish.Amazing numbers even by todays standards.Today hardly anybody would think of running those boost levels without efi and some sort of engine management.Engine management back then was your right foot!

-Mark-

[Lo Cash John]

asked to delete my post.....

What for?

[S/ST 6044]

The BAE bug was sold to Steve Collins (Automotive Engineering) in Hawaii in 1982.Steve Collins sold alot of Porsche turbo kits for Bob and he gave us a Killer deal on the car.Complete setup ready to race on an open trailer shipped to us for 8 thousand. I worked for and drove Steves race cars for him.The BAE bug ran nitro methane and 35 PSI boost. The engine had alot of one off custom built stuff like individual roller rockers,roller cam and lifters,pistons ,combustion chamber shape,injection setup ,intake runners, etc. I was slated to drive the car but the engine had a failure on start up in the shop. It hydraulict on start up,bent #3 rod and ran a bit rough until the rod came thru the case.The car started on alcohol and after warmup switched a lever to engage the nitro just like todays top fuel cars do.That is when the problem occured.After teardown and inspection we were in the process of rebuilding the engine and somebody broke into our shop and stole some of the engine parts,crank,heads,mechanical injection etc.It was never put back together due to the loss of parts.I will say that the car sounded mean and nasty and had alot of romp to it.It was way ahead of it's time for turbocharged VW's.It had no turbo lag and revved like a N/A engine but with the beat of a top fueler on boost.Redline was 9000 rpm. Last I know Bob Simpson of Pele bug in Hawaii bought the car as a roller in 1984. One funny note is that the intake manifold on the BAE bug is strikingly similar to what Marty Staggs had just designed for my Turbo engine.

[TKisner]

Why did you have to delete your post it was some very interesting information which was in no inflammatory?

[Searoy]

I would imagine that the post was removed due to the less than flattering detials of Bob's lifestyle and/or death.

On another note, I wanna work for Joe. What a cool job that would be. Eh?

I wonder if there is any room in his shop for a mediochre mechanic.

[TKisner]

Yeah that would be a great job? I actually want to help design parts for cars for a living. How would I accomplish that? I read as much as I can and realize I would need a degree in mechanical engineering but what else?

[Searoy]

luck, an 'in,' and actually be good at it.

[Frallan]

yeah, I am sorry too that you deleted that post. I did react to one or two statements but why not just edit these parts?
In any case, I read it several times and apreciated learning about your insights of life back then.
I also think there was good learnings on lifestyle that everyone could benefit from, if reading what you wrote.
Play hard and have fun but know the limits or it will hit you bad.

Thanks for the additional information of what happend to the car in Hawaii.
Also knowing how advanced the car was, is really fun.

[da-bug]

if its in hawaii ill try to find it..................

[Joe Sumen]

I deleted my post after speaking to my good friend Mark Zolkieweicz..Mark and I worked for Bob at the time....It's been so long and SO much has happened in between that one's memories are far from sharp. Mark mentioned pretty much the same as what Art has posted adding that I should just have posted that which I remember in reference to the "bug" and out of respect for Bob left the personal details out. After giving it some thought, I wholeheartedly agreed, therefore I chose to delete the post.

Thanks for the info Art.... I CAN tell you that the "bug" went through several iterations of artificial aspiration, including many carbureted versions before Bob decided to "kick the VW world in the butt" with his wacked out (nobody had tried until Bob) A/A injected fuel burning idea. I can't even begin to come up with a number in reference to "blown off" cylinder heads... Being the young pup I was at the time, and primarilly "stoked" to just be involved with Bobs then huge operation, I only "crewed" when absolutely necessary since I had an awful lot on my "responsibility plate".... Mark Zolkieweicz, Byron Petty and Richard (little dickey) Olangther were the guys in the forefront with the "bug".... Art, you mention you folks were distributing the Porsche "kits"....Out of curiosity...which ones?...As I recall (there's my memory again) Back then, we were putting together kits for the CIS 924's and CIS 2.7-3.0 911's and even the 914's of which a certain So Cal "dub" part supplier, still in bizz today! (and this is my opinion, copied)....The 911 kits were acceptable...The 924 systems (as others) were, well umm...problematic...Just interested in your recollections, since I DO remember having to source out a different exhaust manifold supplier for many of our systems (they came from Brazil) and were much too brittle after a relatively short "thermal cycling" time, resulting in a heavy return rate due to "thermal fracturing"....not enough nickel content was the cause...Needless to say, Bob went ballistic! and justifyably so.....

Bob was a good and decent man....had his vices (don't we all)....Yet always treated those around him with respect and for those who helped him achieve his vision (at least partially).....compensated us all far and beyond...

R.I.P. Bob McClure

[Eddie Brown]

Hi. I remember seeing in the Pelican Parts 914 BBS a picture of an old ad for the 914 kits that were produced by Crown. Joe, did you design that kit?. I have a couple of 914's and I always liked the concept of that design. I don't know how well they performed... It's a shame that no one ever continued those kits. I remember that someone had one of those kits for sale about a year ago. I wish I could've bought it.

Joe, I always look foward to your posts. They're so informative. I feel as if I'm in class or something. As well as all others that give they're knowledge for free in this forum. Thanks.

PS. Joe, is there a link to the picture of the motor that's in your Avatar?Or info on that motor for that matter.

Take care,

Eddie.

[peterjager]

That was a great time back then, tells how old i am now. Anyways, wish i had half the knowledge of some of the innovators of VW Racing, that are no longer with us.

May they all rest in peace.

Peter

[S/ST 6044]

Joe, We were selling the 2.7 and 3.0 CIS kits like mad. At the time we would install the kit with a new clutch(non rubber center) retourqe heads with a full engine service and add an enrichment system for boost conditions .......all out the door for $2250.00 total.We had alot of S/C owners doing this in the late 70's early eighties. It was a good kit for the money and at the time not too many kits were available.You guys at BAE had a good marketable product.Many thanks to all who were involved with BAE.
The bugs name was "Leroy" I believe. I was standing there with the throttle arm in my hand at 2500 rpm when the rod came through the case.Oil and aluminum all over us.The rod broke at the wrist pin.Weird part is that when we dissaembled it we noticed it didn't hit any pistons to the valves ,or head chambers after the blow up. That motor also had alot of static compression.No huge chamber on that setup.It was tight.

[Joe Sumen]

Hi. I remember seeing in the Pelican Parts 914 BBS a picture of an old ad for the 914 kits that were produced by Crown. Joe, did you design that kit?. I have a couple of 914's and I always liked the concept of that design. I don't know how well they performed... It's a shame that no one ever continued those kits. I remember that someone had one of those kits for sale about a year ago. I wish I could've bought it.

Joe, I always look foward to your posts. They're so informative. I feel as if I'm in class or something. As well as all others that give they're knowledge for free in this forum. Thanks.

PS. Joe, is there a link to the picture of the motor that's in your Avatar?Or info on that motor for that matter.

Take care,

Eddie.

Hello Eddie,
As far as the "Pelican" systems for the 914's are concerned. I don't know which system that is, never seen it, though I'm pretty certain it would be either the "Crown" or "BAE" system if old enough. Back then the turbocharging industry was in a continuous state of flux, revisions were commonplace and therefore specifications would always change. Many, times after receiving feedback from distributors we'd attempt duplicating the circumstances leading to the boggle on one of our company "mules" if we had one handy, or work out an equitable arrangement for a willing customer to allow us use of their car as a developement vehicle or do the "field testing" for us while following a specific and strict set of operating conditions....Log the results, anylize them...and proceed with any required updates...My responsibility was basically damage control...Except for the Cosworth Vega, Chevy/GMC SB pick-up, Datsun 240/260/280Z, Jetronic Opel Manta 1.9 which I was responsible for , many other systems/kits were already in place . If we received news of any type of failure, it was my group that came up with remedies concurrent with developing new systems and revising existing ones. At times a daunting task which required a complete re-engineering of componentry.

As far as the 914's are concerned....They were so underpowered in standard form that even modest boost levels resulted in a transformed driving experiance...Still...They weren't/aren't "turbo-me-friendly" for several reasons. Case/head stud spacing allows larger P/Cs yes (large bore=good).....At the expense of head seal integrity (bad), this became readily aparent under high cycling fatigue conditions, or wide open throttle for any reasonable time period with anything more than .5 bar (7 to 8 p.s.i) manifold pressure. The amount of "blow-by" (at the head of course) was impressively ugly.... High oil/head temps... LENGTHY plumbing due to packaging constraints, along with a first generation F.I. system (unresponsive) made the 914's less turbo-worthy than other platforms....My contribution to the 914 systems was concise and adament...."boost levels are under no circumstances to exceed .5 bar".

Remember....We were attempting to substantially upgrade performance on then new and rather pricey vehicles without tearing into the motor or removing (a felony offense) any emmisions related equipment, though saavy installers knew how to "fudge" and many times did....STRICTLY and ABSOLUTELY Bolt-on was mandatory. Reliability, drive-ability, ease of installation with little or no additional maintenance were the criteria.. Mickey Mousing wasn't a part of our professional lexicon... We utilized only factory components where possible as evidenced by systems such as the early Z where I opted to utilize one of the two Hitachi/Kehin (SU knock offs) constant velocity carbs in a draw through system. The 2.0 litre ford pinto, 2.6/2.8 litre V-6 ford capri/mustangII, chevy vega, toyota R 20/22 systems all used the factory progressive downdraft along with their corresponding ignition systems which were appropriately modified by the installer with the required jets, advance springs/weights etc...which were provided along with detailed installation instructions and a comprehensive tuning guide....Of course we offered "for off highway use only" upgrades for the carbureted systems....mainly DCOE conversions which allowed impressive output gains at a slight corresponding decrease in service life...Still, well worth the effort since the progressive carbs were absolutely horrible....In every case...the DCOE "retrofit" resulted in far superior operational characteristics accompanied by output increases inconceivable with downdraft progressive carburetion....

Back to the 914's....Today...With all of the delightful technology at our disposal at a relative low cost, an appropriate and effective, reliable system could certainly be engineered for the long gone 914's.....Though I honestly do not believe the 914 market makes for a target rich environment....Too labor intensive....And even though much more affordable these days...Still, rather costly.

The type IV can be effectively "charged"...once design limitations have been addressed appropriately....Mainly...additional studs to secure the head to the case....I'm well aware of the "Nickies" available through L&N, and though these are certainly a step in the right direction, they do not address the fundemental design weakness of the type IV..... ....All it takes is $$$$....knowledge and desire....

As far as pics of our "turbo" motor is concerned:

I can only offer 2 at this time, installed in a '59 beetle my former partner, and GREAT GUY!... Billy Shaws car ("Moore Part Source")....There were actually two iterations...both (appearance wise) were identical....one a 2017..the other, a 5.392 rod 2332...Both...crank fired and fully ECM managed....The prior with an SDS system (fantastic value)...The latter with a "Motec M4"...I'm certain. many are sick of seeing these photos since they've been around for a while...But, since you've asked....Here they are....

What you see from behind while being "spanked".

http://photo.starblvd.net/TURBOJOE/1-1- ... &ro=0&co=1

What you see if lucky enough to peer under the decklid:

http://photo.starblvd.net/TURBOJOE

Pretty cool huh?

I've always been a "stickler" for technology and doing things right regardless of cost....This car/application was an indication of just how "ingrained" my philosophy is....Nothing outwardly barking potential (everything under the decklid, no standoffs), yet capable of oppositional humiliation if the need arises....Regardless...do it right the first time...It's hard earned $ well spent....

Thanks for the kind words Eddie...Hope I've helped...

[Eddie Brown]

Thank you Joe. You certainly answered my questions. As far as the Crown system that I saw on Pelicans site, it was just a scanned foto of an old ad from Crown. I don't believe that Pelican ever offered such a kit. I still have some European Car magazines from 1991 that have the "copied" kits offered by someone in the VW industry. I can see your point about the market for a 914 Turbo kit, and that's why most people end up fabricating their own.

I hope that I get a chance to meet you someday Joe or buy parts from you.

Take care,

Eddie.