Due to arrive soon

[94touring]

Painted wheels and got the rear plates situated.  I have chrome caps on the way but threw some silver on the old ones just to see how they'd look.

[cstudep]

The white wheels with the temporary "silver" hubcaps/soon to be chrome hubcaps looks about a million times better in my opinion.

Makes a HUGE difference!

[MiniDave]

I like the white wheels much better than the dark blue.....chrome caps look good too.....

[BruceK]

I agree with the others - white wheels and chrome look great!

[Willie_B]

Another thumbs up for the white wheels. Never have cared for black/dark colored wheels.

[94touring]

New exhaust arrives today. This will allow me to hook up my wideband.  I also sized the exhaust for an eventual engine upgrade. Sized ok for the current engine but will be suited best for something bigger.  Fedex was kind enough to lose the new alternator and pulley I ordered, so who knows if that will ever show up.  Still waiting on the new dizzy, plugs, and wires so I can get this thing running tip top for now.

[gr8kornholio]

FedEx strikes again.  Not sure what's worse, losing it or dropping it in what seamed like the ocean and still delivering it.  On the other hand DHL left Australia Monday arrived at my door Friday.

[MiniDave]

Yeah, Fed Ex is not exactly living up to their reputation any more - remember when it used to be "when it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight"?

Now its more like when it absolutely positively has to be there someday, maybe, if we don't lose it or trash it along the way.

DHL from England is definitely my first choice, but some of the suppliers won't use them, preferring FuckUp instead, or some third world carrier I've never heard of, bringing stuff in thru Egypt or Carjackistan or somewhere,

[MiniDave]

New exhaust arrives today. This will allow me to hook up my wideband.  I also sized the exhaust for an eventual engine upgrade. Sized ok for the current engine but will be suited best for something bigger. 

Where is the sensor going in that exhaust? Put up a pic?

[94touring]

4 to 1 header so right before the muffler where they all merge into the 1.  The stock exhaust has a pipe feeding into the muffler from two spots, so it's not really suited for a sensor.  This exhaust is also quieter than pretty much all other aftermarket exhaust available which is a plus.  Found an article on dyno comparisons and it will add a few torques and ponies on a stock 1600.  I'm sure my fueling is off so I'll gain a little extra there with the wideband.

[94touring]

Fedex  :-[   Found my packages.  Here at the condos we have "the hub" installed where packages are delivered, you get a notification, go to the hub, and retrieve your package.  This prevents theft and makes it handy for when you aren't home to sign for or get a package.  Well found the 2 lost packages in the office room where the building manager is.  This picture is of my new inline sander.  They set it by the hub and just walked away!  Are you fucking kidding me!?  A buddy of mine called and said hey, you have a fedex package just sitting on the floor down here.  Complaints filed and pictures sent in.   50.gif. Anyways, here's the upgraded alternator and pulley kit.  I did some researching and a popular mod is doing a Porsche 356 alternator pulley, which is smaller in diameter, and therefore increases fan speed a significant amount.  This is ideal on a heavy bus where cooling can become an issue.  I went ahead and ordered one and the proper shims to have on hand for when I toss the new motor in.  The thing I'd want to do betore putting the 356 pulley on would be buy a stronger fan that's welded and balanced.  The stockers can explode apart from the additional revs at higher engine rpms. 

[jeff10049]

Those pulleys work well and yes you need the upgraded fan. It makes noticeable improvement in idle cooling and charging.

I really like your bus coming along nicely.

[94touring]

Those pulleys work well and yes you need the upgraded fan. It makes noticeable improvement in idle cooling and charging.

I really like your bus coming along nicely.

The plan is build up a 2110cc stroker motor for torque and reliability.  Initially I was just going to throw a turbo kit on this 1600.  By time I buy the turbo kit and do other necessary things, for a smidge more I can get a new motor that makes more power than the turbo 1600.  I'm looking at 120-140 hp/tq range build over the 40-60ish hp I currently have, and the 110hp/tq the turbo 1600 kit was making. The 2110 being popular on heavy busses due to torque and the cylinder walls being thicker for strength and cooling.  Pretty much have all the specs figured out for the build.  A cam that's equivalent to a Kent 266 on a mini, aka street cam.  Stock ratio rockers to keep the power band lower.  High rev single valve springs that are easier on the cam vs the duals, but allow for a 5500rpm red line if I really need to get on it.  8:1 compression vs a lot of 7:5:1 street builds and with a bigger valve head, but not race sized valves.  Dual webber carbs/velocity pipes which I was skeptical about but apparently in the VW world that's actually the proper thing to do for power and drivability.  The end result should give me peak power/torque right where I want it in the 3k-3500k range where the fan is most efficient as well.  You really only want to cruise around 70mph in a bus, which after doing 70 downhill I concur.  The main goal being I want to be able to go up mountains in Colorado at 55mph instead of 15mph in 1st gear.  I'll have a CHT gauge and wideband for monitoring and keeping things safe.

[MiniDave]

You lose 25% of your HP at 5K ft, more as you go higher - a turbo makes up for that......I'm sure you know this. Which means at 10K your 120hp is more like 60.....whereas with a turbo your 90 hp is still close to 90 hp.....

I dunno which way is better, there are plenty of people who drive in the mountains with normally aspirated engines and get along just fine - I usually pass them on the way up the hill, in my turbo charged MINI towing a classic Mini.....  ;D ;D ;D

OTOH, neither my green Mini or Don's Honda Mini felt particularly doggy in Aspen, at 9500 ft, or the top of Independence Pass at 12,500.....

[94touring]

My truck does just fine in the mountains and it's not a turbo.

[gr8kornholio]

The altitude really only effects carburetors.  Fuel injection adjusts to keep up the power.  Now a well tuned carb and a motor with plenty of power you won't notice it. 

When I moved to the co springs I had my 82 s10 carb tuned for altitude. It ran great all the way up to 10k ft.  Never drove higher.  It also really loved when I'd go back down to KS.

[MiniDave]

Good point. I lived in Colorado Springs and never thought my car was doggy, till I went back home to KC for a weekend - whoa! Where has all THAT power been?   ;D

[94touring]

Benefits of a wideband is you can see your mixture getting too rich at altitude and adjust accordingly.  It will be interesting to see how much it changes from 1k feet to 8k feet.  From here to there would be a 25% decrease according to the world wide web and give me approximately 90hp vs 120hp.  I was also told to kick up timing a couple degrees.  We'll see.

Got the alternator in. Just buttoning up a few things.  Thesamba had guys say drop the engine.  Well that wasn't required.  I tried to slide the alternator from the fan, but some Brazilian gorilla used too much torque on the 36mm nut and my impact doesn't reach back there.  Ended up loosening up the fan tin and sliding the fan out with the alternator and then hitting it with the impact.  Pics soon. 

[94touring]

Well the crank pulley nearly did me in.  It eventually broke from all the prying and pulling, leaving me a nub to deal with.  I was able to carefully drill into the hub and not go into the casing, then dremel it free.  It still took some time to pull it even after it was loose.  I even ruined one of my pullers.  Since I had to remove a lot from of the rear end tin it will be good for the exhaust which hopefully goes on easier then this tomorrow. 

Pic showing how much hub goes up into the casing and what I had to drill out.

[tsumini]

Grew up in  southern colorado at 7500 ft. needed to go over 10,000 ft passes to get out. All vehicles were jetted for altitude but I didn't think to much about it. I just knew my 68 327 2bbl Camaro would only do 102mph at 7500 ft.

[94touring]

Getting the exhaust on.  I can use the existing J tubes but technically they're the wrong size so have a matching set on the way.  And the old air filter was in rough shape.

[94touring]

Made a modification to the tailpipe.  The way it bolted up the exhaust tip was pointed directly into the rear bumper.  Just being a few inches away that seemed like a good way to melt bumper paint as well as have exhaust fumes swirling around back there if I decide to crack the back open.  Bus exhaust are supposed to exit to the side for this reason.  Grabbed a piece of exhaust tubing and made myself a better exit.  Wideband bung on too. 

[cstudep]

Looking good! I have more broken pullers than I have functioning pullers. Not sure what it is about a crank pulley and/or a wheel hub but they are almost always a problem it seems. That is also one nasty looking air filter.

On another note I sent a reply to your PM, but none of the messages I have ever sent show up in the sent area so I have no idea if it is actually working or not. Let me know and I can send you my email and phone number if need be. I know Dave has my email as well and he may still have my cell number as we have texted briefly in the past if he wants to pass them on to you.

[BruceK]

Is there a provision for an oil filter on that motor? Or does it just have that little screen?

[94touring]

No filter stock, but the engine upgrade I will add one.

Pm received and replied.