Noob, many questions

[jakekrupa]

Hi everyone my names Jake and i bought a rail buggy a few months ago. Its a 1641cc, 69mm crankshaft with oversized bearings, lightweight flywheel, Engle 110 cam with straight cut gears, valves are 40/35.5 with new single valve springs, compression is 11:1, solex single bore 35mm carb, electric ignitor in distributor, lightweight pulleys. The engine blew before last winter so he sent it to Dusenbuggy in Ohio to have it built, so everything is new. 3 rib trans, IRS rear, kingpin front end, external B&M oil cooler, sandwich plate with the big MANN filter.

I have some questions....

1. best spark plugs/wires for high comp? i seen somewhere NGK B5HS @ 0.28
2. im running rotella T6 15-40, not driving in cold conditions ever, is that okay?
3. best exhaust for this setup? not something loud but not something too quiet
4. best distributor/ignition coil?
5. where can i get a shift kit for this trans? the shifter feels extremely sloppy, throwing a hotdog down a hallway is equivalent and getting it into reverse is a chore
6. where do i hook up a rev limiter and tach?
7. best bang for the buck on dual carbs?

will post pics tmrw, im saving all of the offroad/suspension/brake/electrical questions for TheSamba, in which i have a thread already going there

[Ol'fogasaurus]

Hi Jake... hey we are not just stinky cheese here we are aged and really ready for doing a good job of giving advice and spending others money.

As far as the exhaust goes there are several pretty good systems but go with a merged exhaust and stay away from the twin bazookas. You will lose a bit of power with the two ticket getters. I run a modified Tri-mil Bobcat myself.

Most any aftermarket shifter should improve things over the stock shifter for the street. My advice would not to get a shifter with too tight of a shift pattern unless you are racing; you get a little bit better feeling for the gears that way. Also make sure the bushing in the shift box and the connection to the nose cone shift rod are in good shape assuming the connector is a later style connector not an early solid style connector.

As far as a shift limiter, Bosch makes distributor rotors that will limit RPMs. The one I use has a limitation of 5500 I think.

The rest I will leave for someone else.

Lee

[Marc]

All that a shifter does is push the rod fore & aft, and rotate it slightly (and incorporate a safety feature of some sort to make it hard to inadvertently hit Reverse) ...I wish I had a nickel for every aftermarket shifter that was purchased for a VW in the hopes it would magically cure an underlying basic problem. Sloppy shifting is usually more due to slack in the coupler or the internals of the transmission - Bus boxes use an incredibly complicated Rube Goldberg setup to translate the shifter motion into correct shift rail action, since their shift rails are "out of order". I'd start by checking the coupler (and mounts) and then updating the works inside the nosecone. 90% of the time the major culprit is the plastic "donut" on the end of the hockey stick, so you should at least expect to replace that, but if you want to make some significant improvements while you're in there see this article:
http://type2.com/rvanness/transmis.htm (shift upgrade starts about halfway down the page).
The steel bracket which bolts to the gear carrier housing and carries the relay rod can sometimes break at the bends under severe use. Consider welding in some gussets at its corners.
Once the shifter's functioning properly, if you feel that you'd benefit from having a shorter throw, that can be accomplished on the cheap with the addition of a simple kit which changes the fulcrum point of the stock shifter...or spend your money on something snazzier if you must, but don't do either until the basic mechanism has been optimized.

11:1 is scary-high compression for a gasoline ACVW engine, especially one with a cam as mild as the W-110. The only saving grace is that your rail's probably pretty light compared to a full-bodied car. There isn't pump gas sold in America with adequate octane for that combination. NGK's are great plugs, but bear in mind that their heat-range numbering system runs counter to that of the stock Bosch plugs - an NGK "5" is a fairly hot plug, roughly comparable to a Bosch "8". Since you're already pushing things with that C.R., a colder plug would be wise...I recommend an NGK B7HS.

Any late distributor (or the 0 231 179 009 centrifugal-only unit) which comes with a 107 (04 012) or 215 (04 033) rotor will accept any of the Bosch rev-limiting rotors made for industrial engines, various older Porsches, etc...so there's quite a range of RPM cutoff points available. Your 110 is past its peak by ~5500, and the single valve springs probably start to give up by ~6000, so there's really no point in choosing a rotor with too high of a cutoff. The 04 016 (5400RPM) rotor was stock in some Buses so it's pretty easy to find, but IMO the 04 030 (5800RPM) would be a better choice for your combination. More choices listed here: http://home.comcast.net/~marcsoutlet/si ... ion_parts/

Dunno what single 35mm Solex you're talking about (the whole model number would be helpful). As a rule I'm no fan of the Holley/Weber progressive carbs, but for your application one would actually make sense, "bang-per-buck"-wise. They're pretty troublefree once set up, and don't suffer from the float-level control problems that most dual-carb setups have. The biggest downside to them is that they're known to have a significant flat spot off-idle (not the carb's fault per se, it has more to do with the characteristics of the manifolds they use) but on a light car that's probably going to be used mostly in warm weather that shouldn't be a big issue.

Duals are possible, of course, but as I said they tend to have float-level issues in off-road service, where side-to-side pitching is a frequent occurrence. "Dry-sumping" the float bowls (gutting the floats and installing fuel-cell foam, in conjunction with a scavenge system that maintains the proper level with an electric pump) is a great solution, although not one that's allowed by most race sanctioning bodies. Why? If the electric scavenge pump should ever happen to quit, the carbs will overflow and you could have an engine fire.

As a rule, tachometers just need a simple hookup on the negative ("points" side of the coil). Some electronic ignition setups complicate that (some, such as MSD, even require a special sending unit to modulate the signal going to the tach. You can spend lots of money on a fancy ignition system, some of which even come with an integral rev-limiting feature, but I sincerely believe that it would be of no advantage to you - a simple, stock-based system should be more than adequate for your combination.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

As far as what Marc said, the internals of the transaxle is true and the mounting of the transaxle is also true. Also make sure that the transaxle mounts are supported properly so they don't bounce up and down.

It has also been my experience that the shifter in a rail (I don't have a rail but a buggy but we do have a couple of rails in our group) can also be miss-aligned during the build and a stock shifter is used. I have known several rail owners chase the sifter problem around for a while until they finally found the right shifter for them and got the shifter box properly mounted/adjusted for themselves.

On a rail the longer throw of the stock shifter is awkward as you usually sit so low in the car that it seems to exacerbates the condition/throw of the shifter and can make pushing down on the stock shifter to get into reverse awkward. There are some very good quality shifter w/box and universals that can help miss-alignment that can alleviate some of this assuming that the transaxle is in good shape and tight.

I have moved out of my buggy and into a rail for a short trade and found the rail to be awkward for me and the guy who owned the rail feel similar in my buggy. I'm still fighting with the location of my shifter box after moving up to a 6-rib. I think the relocation is going to be very small but important.

Also make sure that the shifter is properly adjusted.

[Piledriver]

Can you get E85 fuel where you live?

As Marc noted, keeping the engine alive with those specs on pump gas is going to be interesting.
On E85, it would be just about right.
(assuming you can jet up a solex carb enough)

[jakekrupa]

Thank you for all the info and replies. Here are my questions/comments to them:

Ol'fogasaurus, what exhaust would you recomend for high-comp? 1-3/8?

It's very hard to get use to. I dont feel safe nor comfortble putting it into gear. Half the time i dont even know what gear its in, its that bad.

Marc, checked out the link to the trans donut and will deff purchase one. I dont think the problem is internal, just feels like worn/no bushings.

I will look into the B7HS plugs. Should I still run those with e-85?

Will post pics tmrw of the Dist, although i think it is the 009. How do i know if i may already have a rev-limiting rotor? Do they all come stock with rev-limiters?

Will post pics tmrw of the Carb. It says EMPI on it, and the engine is not running right now because I think it needs tuned. Any single carbs you would suggest for this motor set-up that are tight-budget priced?

DIY links to hooking up a tach like the procedure you mentioned?

Piledriver, Yes I can. About 18~ miles from me they have ethanol. Why E-85 though? What carb would support that amount of fuel and would I have to upgrade the fuel pump?

[Ol'fogasaurus]

Nice question and I am going to cop out on it.

You, like me have a fairly small engine (I have a 1776) so my thoughts would be to use a 1 1/2" tube exhaust but as it has been said if you do a search on line that there can be benefits to either larger diameter or stay with the smaller 1 1/2" diameter tube as it can, under certain situations, move gasses faster especially with a smaller engine. If you were going with a stroker then maybe you would be tiptoeing around in the neighborhood to move up to the 1 5/8" diameter tubes.

Since E 85 has been brought up that takes me out of the mix since I have never dealt with it so my best advice would be to call Tri-mil or whoever's exhaust system you are looking at to see what they recommend.

Also on the shift problem, look at the bushing just behind the shifter that the sift rod goes through. I have had to replace a couple of them.

On the 009 dist, not all 009s are the same. If you do want to run it have it spun at an electric shop on a sun machine. It will tell you the conditions of the bushings and the advance system and they can make changes/re-curve it for you once they know your driving habits/how the engine will be used.

A lot of people recommend a vacuum advance distributor even if you don't use the vacuum part of it. I have also heard of problems with out of the box with aftermarket distributors so rather than chase something down, have it spun/checked out before you install it and save yourself a lot of grief later on.

Lee

[Marc]

An engine that size only "needs" a 1⅜" exhaust system, but a 1½" may be easier to find in a configuration that'll fit your vehicle and it'll work just about as well. The difference is that the smaller system tends to enhance low-end torque at the expense of peak horsepower. Even a 1⅝" wouldn't be too huge, but I'd only get one if the price is right.

The rev-limiting rotors are all much bulkier than the "plain" type, and there are visible moving parts on top (a spring-loaded piece which cuts off the spark when centrifugal force reaches the setpoint).

Almost any carb can be fattened up to run E85, it's mostly a matter of whether you can buy off-the-shelf main jets big enough or it you'll have to resort to drilling/reaming them out. As I said above, the Holley/Weber progressive (32/36, multiple similar models in the Weber DFV/DGV family - the Holley and Motorcraft variants were common on Vegas & Pintos back in the `70s) would probably be a decent carb for your application. They aren't prohibitively spendy brand-new, and there are a ton of used ones out there which can be made to work - for a novice, I'd recommend only getting one from a trusted source who can assure you that it has no major issues. For now, you may just want to work with the carb you already own and just keep an eye out for a good deal on a proggy setup.

As Lee said, not all 009s are the same. Nowadays there are mostly Chinese counterfeits and Brazilian Bosch around; neither is as good as the old German Bosch (they quit making them there a long time back)....but even the German ones weren't known for consistency - their design application was for industrial engines and the acceptance criteria for the advance curve was pretty loose. But mostly they aren't as bad as their detractors make them out to be, and one will probably serve you just fine in your buggy. The "better" distributors which have a vacuum-advance component in addition to the centrifugal curve don't offer any benefit if they aren't receiving just the right vacuum signal from the carb(s) and that's often difficult to achieve with non-stock carburetion. The stock dizzy for 49-state Type Is with manual transmission is generally considered to be the best Bosch distributor for most ACVW applications (provided you can give it the right ported vacuum signal, anyway). Its centrifugal curve is "wider" than the 009's, doesn't all come in until ~3800 RPM compared to the ~2500 RPM of an unmodified 009, which is why some prefer to use it even when they don't have the right vacuum signal...another thing to keep an eye out for, but IMO not worth the price of a new one for your application. I once found a nice one, stripped of all parts except for a good vacuum can, in a 5-gallon bucket o'dizzies at a swap meet for $25... but most people who are selling one know that they're desirable items and ask exhorbitant prices for them. To reiterate, they're arguably the best choice for a stock-carbed engine in a full-bodied car, but may not really be worth the asking price for other applications where the much-maligned 009 actually works quite well.

The "SVDA" distributor: http://www.oldvolkshome.com/ignition.htm#A1974AFD

[Piledriver]

Rotella T6 is 5W40 and I use it all year. (Blue bottle)
The T5 is the 15W-40 (White bottle) and it has a little less ZDDP in it, the T6 is a better bet for flat tappet cams/lifters, but the T5 is probably OK on single springs and mild cams, as Shell puts other magic stuff in the oil to help make up for the lower ZDDP, T5 still hits ~all the Diesel truck wear rating tests, one of which is for cam/lifter wear... More of an issue with a $50K motor rebuild cost.

The main issue with E85 is that once you jet up for it with carbs, it will not run on gasoline anymore... 18 miles is a long way to walk with a fuel can.

With most aftermarket EFI setups you just flip a switch or it figures it out for itself with a sensor, or as on newer GM vehicles, using an O2 sensor after a fillup, it recalibrates the fuel constants automagically. (far more robust method)

[jakekrupa]

Didnt know what type of dist it is, posted a pic. says "tpi dist016" and "F123900300".

Any decently quiet/inexpensive exhaust systems that are 4-1 design with a muffler? Or links where to look at some?

As far as the octane, am i hurting my engine running that low of octane? (93). Worth it to go E-85?

Bosch blue coil okay to keep, or switch to Petronix? Pro's/con's of each?

I am using the t5 then, 15w-40. Typo on my part.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

A tip on pictures: I hit the "return" key a couple of times to keep the pictures separate and not run together.

http://www.tri-mil.com/index.php?cPath=2 This is the Trimil system I use and like. I have a modified Bobcat but there are many options to the muffling system. Your big problem might be finding one to fit you rail as there are so many designs and they must not hit the tubes. On mine, because of the engine cage I use something like the Quiet pack but use a turbo muffler that I can get most anywhere.

I have blown the seams out of one turbo muffler when the + wire to the coil fell off the coil's pin then hit the pin a second time. I had just gone through a noise check (93 minimum decibels max) and was about 50' from the three person team when it happened. Pow! and the buggy stopped on the; I knew right away what had happened as I had forgot to fix the connector from being so loose. I got out of the buggy and turned around looking sheepishly at the testing team which were just getting up off the ground looking sheepishly and peeved at me. I had to go into town to purchase another muffler.

Thought you might enjoy that but the fitting your rail bit is what you need to do. I have seen a couple of Bobcats with two turbo mufflers on it and were very quiet. If you go to a super trap style muffler then look for the forest service/green (or something like that) stamping on it as it would be certified as a spark arrestor. Apparently, not all mufflers may make that distinction now days. The 18" "trap" is fairly quiet.

[Marc]

Carb's a Chinese-made counterfeit Solex 34PICT-3; I'm not familiar with that particular distributor but odds are it's a Chinese 009 clone (looks like the previous owner did a lot of shopping from the EMPI catalog). The exhaust is an EMPI counterfeit Tri-Mil; if you were to buy a new muffled system this 1½" Bobcat would probably serve you well: http://www.mooreparts.com/998-AC251130WMR/
...but since you already own this one, and there's no question that it fits OK within your frame, why not see what a local muffler shop would charge you to add a cheap/lightweight "turbo" muffler to it? The pitfall to running a muffler is that the added mass tends to dance around and stress the welds, so some additional bracing is a good idea. Lee raised a good point, if you'll be running this thing where it'll need a Forest Service approved spark arrestor there are SuperTrapp stacked-disk mufflers that qualify - typically they're rather loud at low speeds and more effective when the pipes are "full".

[jakekrupa]

Copy that on the pics, thank you.

I will look to see what my friends exhaust shop can fab up, then compare prices on the 1-1/2 Tri-Mil system. The exhaust is just entirely ear blistering loud at the moment

I work at a race track where the max decibile we allow is 98. There are F1600 and F2000's that far exceed that and i'm sure this thing is around the 93 mark lol.

Yeah, he really didnt seem to care about it. He built it for his wife. The thing was half pink and then i painted it black. Im having a major problem with the steering and need to take out the cutter brakes and run seperate lines from the master cylinder to each drum, weld seats in, weld front chassis brace, weld front tree-bar, literally re-do the whole electrical system since NOTHING is fused and its all just tied into a junction box, get new wheels and tires and bearings, and fix the shifter problem.

So the carb is junk correct? What one would you recommend for the Holley/Weber series? I guess it really depends if I go E-85 or stay 93, but if 93 is hurting my engine then i'm switching to E-85 asap.

Keep the dist or junk it and grab OEM or a better one?

[Ol'fogasaurus]

96 decibels' is loud Bwahahaha that is fairly quiet compared to some of the exhaust systems guys run. A Tri-mil exhaust that points straight up, with no bends (the bend does make a difference), and a 6" super trap would get me close to 96/98 decibels. In most places on the Oregon dunes we have to run 93 decibels now. If you listened to an open stinger or even worse a Wankle/rotary with un-muffled pipes, that probably would come close to shattering glass and you would be stopped up for a week. The two Bazookas are usually around or a bit over 103 decibels but putting a pair of turbos' on would probably cause them to crack because of the weight. You really need the 4 into 1 merged setup.

http://www.tri-mil.com/product_info.php?products_id=87 I use something like this but have added some extra pipe with a turn down at the end. The bends make a difference especially the last turn down. The picture is an older one and by the chair in the back I was heading out to the Pacific Ocean for some R&R.

[Marc]

...So the carb is junk correct?...

Actually, it's "Junk-Correct" ...a counterfeit copy of the Solex 34PICT-3. I haven't heard much about them (good or bad) other than that some early samples had problems with casting porosity - if it isn't oozing fuel it's probably worth working with.
Holley & Autolite built the progressives under license from Weber, typically set up for 2 to 2.3 liter engines. There are a multitude of emulsion tubes available; jets come calibrated by "flow-rating" as well as by the original metric sizing. Some carbs came with an accelerator pump nozzle that squirts into the primary only, some are drilled to squirt into both barrels. For alcohol you'll want to ream out the nozzle some, and possibly drill the secondary side out too - as with any center-mounted 2-bbl, tuning out the inevitable flat spot on acceleration can be challenging. There is a "deluxe" manifold available that has substantially better manifold heat action than the standard item, but for a light vehicle in warm weather it may not be worth the expense - and since the exhaust systems under consideration lack any heatriser pipes, those would have to be welded in for any manifold heat with either style intake.
You can get bigger jets for the Solex, too (or just resort to drilling) but the emulsion tube's not designed to be changed readily. E85 isn't readily available in this neck of the woods so I've never tried to set up a 34PICT-3 for it, but I've heard that it's been done. Either carb has a rubber accelerator pump diaphragm which may not hold up well. Ethanol's not as corrosive to most rubbers as methanol, but for the latter we used to have to coat the diaphragms with Vaseline every week or so in IDF Webers.
The thing about E85 is that the alcohol percentage isn't fixed - it can vary anywhere from 51% to 83% and still be legally labelled E85. This isn't a problem for a modern computer-controlled fuel-injection system that's capable of self-adjusting to compensate, but it adds to the challenge of setting up a carburetor for it - you may find a local source that's consistent, but you can't count on it being identical if you travel out of town.

It takes quite a bit of head flycutting to bring a 1641 up to 11:1 (I used to build methanol-fueled ones at ~11¼; with valve clearance notches in the pistons and .050" deck height the chambers had to be <30cc, compared to the stock ~52cc.) Without the notches, 11:1 would require around 34cc, so your heads would need to be cut ~.200" ...that necessitates milling the whole bottom fin off the head - was this done? If not, the C.R.'s not as high as claimed and you may be OK with pump Premium.