Due to arrive soon

Started by 94touring, August 07, 2020, 01:46:39 PM

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BruceK

That looks awful. And expensive.
1988 Austin Mini
2002 MINI Cooper S
1992 Toyota LiteAce (JDM)
1997 Jeep Wrangler Sahara

94touring

Yeah I'm expecting a large bill.   :(   I am getting a new case at cost in the deal at least.   We're having to get an all new gear set.  The surviving parts were the ring and pinion and differential.  A new alloy gear carrier will be going on and it will be machined for a larger bearing.  The carrier is the end that initially failed which can be seen in one of the pics I posted.  Apparently that bearing deals with a lot of engine torque.  Other thing I'm looking into is going to a 1.21 3rd gear vs the 1.26 for a little taller 3rd gear mountain pulling when 4th can't do it. 

94touring

I got the roof rack off with the plans to paint the roof white.  Holy smokes is it heavy.   Not sure it's going back on heavy.  Not to mention it's a behemoth and will be nearly impossible to get on by myself without major paint damage.  I'm thinking if I do use it again that I'll chop it down into 3rds and use what I need.  I've never had to use the whole rack when we go camping with all the gear.  Another option I'm starting to ponder is having the ability to haul a vespa/vespa-esk scooter.  We're moving our office downtown where we live and it's about 6 blocks over from the house.  Jen's thinking scoot to work.  If we brought it with the bus we wouldn't have to detach from camp every time we wanted to go somewhere.  And next time we break down in the middle of nowhere I'd have a way to get to a rental car place or airport!  So was pondering ways to haul a scooter and found some neat ideas online using 40x48 mini trailers.   Then I started to think well if this roof rack doesn't go back on what about a 4x8 folding trailer, and in aluminum.  Northern tools sells one that weighs under 200lbs minus whatever flooring you use.  Still have some thinking to do which combo would be best.  Smaller trailer with 3rd roof rack or no roof rack and 8 foot trailer.  8.gif

cstudep

Personally I would lean going all trailer if you plan to pull one at all. I hate loading things into/on a roof rack of any sort and they are a huge wind drag. Not that the bus is all that aerodynamic anyway but still.

Not only would dealing with a trailer be easier all around since everything would be at ground level, but I would have to think it would have less wind resistance as well.

94touring

I didn't talk about wind resistance but it's a big perk.  They say that these full length racks by themselves cost up to 5mpg.  I know that when I load it up for our trips I can feel the difference due to wind resistance.  Plus like you say it's a pain in the butt to load it up.  I have to carry a small ladder.  The box with the tent has to be 75lbs. 

94touring

Found a 4x6 trailer at tractor supply that's just at 200lbs.  That should fit a scooter and gear just fine without any modifications, yet small enough to not be a pain.  Figured I'd be around 600lbs all in with about everything I normally carry if we added the scooter.  I suppose deduct 75lbs or so for the roof rack and whatever wind resistance is over 2 tires rolling. 

94touring

White roof day.  Well white primer now and white paint tomorrow. 

94touring

Well here they are.  The new top on the bus is so much nicer than the paint around the glass that I'll end up just doing it too.

94touring

Oh on the transaxle build, he sent me a picture of the upgraded bearing he's going with. A bit larger and an extra ball.  Maybe it makes a difference?

MiniDave

Man, the cut and polish on the bus will seem endless!
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

94touring

Quote from: MiniDave on October 25, 2022, 05:51:40 PM
Man, the cut and polish on the bus will seem endless!

Ha. Yeah, the roof will only get the first foot or so along the perimeter that's visible!  The rest layed out better than what was on there so good enough for me, plus unless you're on a ladder or 7 feet tall can't see it.  The body on the other hand will be hell.  Hopefully lays out well enough I can make it quick and easy.  Definitely need to plan it out to cut and buff the very next day while it's still soft.  Hitting these tomorrow for that reason.

94touring

Here's the difference between the Brazil finish and my finish.

94touring

#537
Got some new stage 1 ported heads in the mail today with port matched manifolds and some upgraded 92mm cylinders from the 90.5s I was running.  Pics to compare ports.  Last 2 are the exhaust ports.   Pretty big ridge on the old exhaust ports just past the valve.  The old intake ports also have all sorts of bumps and ridges as you might be able to see in the pics.  The intake runner volume on the old heads are around 55cc, the new heads 65cc.  Didn't want to go bigger, or above say 70cc to keep intake velocity up for low end torque.


MiniDave

Those look purdy!

Now all you need is a rebuilt gearbox to show up, then you'll be back in bidness.....
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

94touring

I'm pretty happy with how they turned out, at least they look good anyway! Combustion chambers CC'd to 60 to give me 9:1 compression. The old setup was supposed to be 8:3:1 but it spec'd more to about 8:1. Going from a 2110cc engine to 2180cc, upping compression, 1.0 ratio rockers to 1.25, and high flow heads should make a noticeable difference in go power.  Now for the transaxle!  Waiting on a new case last I heard. Will check back towards the end of January.

94touring

#540
Not exciting really but I did take the time to clean up casting flash between the fins where the castings come together. Airflow being critical to cooling of course I want these things to breath as air is pushed down and through the other side.

94touring

Was wanting to upgrade the venturies in the carbs to take advantage of the additional flow available.  Started with 28mm when it was all new, then went to 30mm which I did notice a difference and required a main jet change.  Thought I'd bump up to a 32mm but also don't want to loose any low end.  Got talking with an engine builder and was pointed towards some grooved venturies.  The way they work is there's a minor and major diameter and according to all the test give you the best of both worlds.  If I want to retain the bottom end of a 30 but have top end of a 34 then I'd choose a 30/34 venturi. So, that's what I went with. A dyno comparison on some 48 webers on a larger, more aggressive setup started with 190hp on a 42 vent. Actually it made 160tq/122hp @4k rpms, 165tq/142hp @4500rpms, 169tq/178hp @5500rpms and top of 160tq/190hp @ 6250rpms. A 40/44 grooved venturi made 168/128 @ 4k, 171/147 @4500, 188/196 @5500, and 185/211 @6k.


94touring

#542
Took today as a work on the bus day.  I've been wanting to go through the brakes and replace the rubber lines.  Simultaneously I've been at a crossroads trying to decide if I want to tap into these brand new ported manifolds for the brake booster.  I decided that I really don't want to do that, so onto figuring out a solution.  My research revealed a few things. Unlike minis where I remove the booster and it's no big deal, there's those in the VW scene that think you're going to kill yourself and everyone around you.  Couple things I learned are brake masters for a booster have a larger diameter piston and shorter stroke.  Those designed for no booster are smaller in diameter on the piston and a longer stroke. Seems those in the VW community that say it doesn't work is because they use the wrong master on a booster that's not hooked up, thus creating a very stiff pedal with less braking action.  A very quick parts search outside the US found bus brake masters for no booster and the smaller diameter piston even listed in the description.  Specifically for disc on the front and drums on the rear, this also matters.  This setup was more common in the Europe and South America markets.  I got a nice deal on a new master and bought a new fluid reservoir that mounts atop the master.  Mine were old looking and I wanted new rubber and plastic anyways.  There's a top reservoir that sits in the cab behind the drivers seat that feeds to the master reservoir.  Anyways that all being said, dimensionally I needed to figure some stuff out on how and where to mount the new master.  The booster has a 4 stud pattern and mounts to a flange welded to the bus.  The brake pedal rod attaches to the push rod going into the booster from this end. The backside of the booster has a 2 stud flange for the master. Early buses without the booster have the master mounted forward about a foot, but due to different paneling and the way the masters and the top reservoirs are designed wouldn't work, at least not easily. I pondered leaving the booster in place and just bolting the new master to it, but upon investigation determined there would be a lot of slop in the pedal due to the internal springs of the booster. I came to the conclusion this is where people said you'd kill yourself.  So, cut the booster apart and stole some parts to begin a fabrication. Used the front 4 stud mount, the rear 2 stud mount, and 2 parts of the push rods.  The rod that enters the booster and the rod that exits the booster.  There's internal guts between those rods that needed to be bypassed. Welded the mounts together, which work nicely because the inner hole is meant for the master to fit snugly within.  After mounting this fabbed bracket, took the old master since the new hasn't arrived yet, and used it to mock up the push rod lengths. Both ends are adjustable on the push rod so just needed to make it close enough.  Once that length was determined, I beveled down the sections of rod to weld together and welded them up. Ground them down and as an additional precaution put a sleeve where they meet and welded that too!  Aint nothing breaking this push rod. So here's what these bits and pieces look like.

MiniDave

Do you need to machine down the outer diameter of the sleeve to fit inside the circlip like the original shaft does?
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

94touring

Quote from: MiniDave on January 07, 2023, 09:48:10 PMDo you need to machine down the outer diameter of the sleeve to fit inside the circlip like the original shaft does?

Oh, no it fits just fine. The sleeve I added (think that's what you're referring to) is just very close to the shaft where you see the circlip on the master.  I screwed in the bolt that fits within that shaft to see how much thread was used before the shaft hits the sleeve in that photo. Another thing not shown is the new master will have a boot that fits over the sleeve. 

jeff10049

I've converted a bus to non power did the same with the booster I think we used a master off of a dodge d-50 pickup if I remember correctly. It stopped fine and would lock up the brakes with ease if needed.

94touring

I plan to make some time to get the master and brakes done when I get home from this trip.  The transaxle guy said the new case arrived, so now it's just him making time to put it all back together. I have some other misc things to sort out in the meantime as well. Jug spacers are in so I can button up the motor and do my rocker geometry.  I upgraded the oil cooler from a 16 row to 34 row, so need to fabricate the mounts and air scoop for that.

94touring

In anticipation for the scooter to haul along with the bus, I went ahead and ordered the trailer.  Marathon 4x6 galvanized frame with 8 inch wheels.  Should be perfect for camping gear too.  The roof rack is staying off so won't need to lug around the ladder and all the straps, tarp, and netting. I ordered appropriate C class tires and will use one of the current wheels as a spare. Only 50 bucks for 2 tires!

MiniDave

#548
Looks like you'll need a deck of some kind.....I used pressure treated plywood on mine, but I don't see much for cross bracing that would be under the deck. Are those stake pockets I see around the edges?

Looks like you'll need some D rings to bolt on for tie downs too? And a front wind up jack?
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

94touring

#549
I believe the framing is close enough that cross bracing isn't going to be an issue.  Not like I'm carrying any heavy loads. I'll slap on some half inch plywood and call it good. Has stake pockets but I'm not sure I intend to make any rails.  I do have some D rings for my big trailer I never used I may install though. 

Oh and it sits so low and is so light that I don't need a front jack.