Stop smoking...

[sarran1955]

Hello,
Well here we are amidst a sea of shiny tinware:





For the hot parts of the exhaust system, I am trying a metallic/silicone paint...otherwise Hammerite..

So, let us now have a look at the new cylinders and pistons..

The external dimensions are the same :



but the machined skirt that goes into the crank case is shorter, and thinner than standard,



The 'all up' weight of the new piston is greater..



and :



Cylinder and piston, 1600 weighs 2618 grams.

Cylinder and piston, 1700 weighs 3068 grams.



It is worth noting that the cylinder bores were oiled, and the conventional piston rings were nicely 'dis aligned',
so that they can be fitted without removing piston from cylinder.
The wrist pin clips are only circlips, I will re-use the Mahle ones


I have more details on video....

Suppertime...

Cordialement,

[george2490]

John,
Is that really hammerite on the hot parts?
I thought hammerite was VHT but, discovered not so when it started belching smoke on the first run.
Switched off and ran round the back to put out the fire to discover it was the hammerite burning off after 3 miles!
Eyes were big and round I can tell you!

[sarran1955]

Hello George,

Don't panic...

Hammerite for tinware including heat exchanger casing.

High temp silicone paint for the hot spots.

In previous photos and vids you will see that the Hammerite held up really well, needing re doing on the under tins

Cordialement,

[sarran1955]

Hello,

Today, my day off, I decided to build up the engine...

I'm sorry if there are photos lacking, but I have been concentrating on video filming..

Once you have pre-aligned everything, with the circlips at the right end...



then the piston and barrel slip into place.

The gudgeon / wrist pin was a good slide fit, I used the circlips supplied without bother..

Last cylinder on, note 'keepers' on the other cylinder







They should clip into place and hold firm.

Then, as I have decided to fit decompression rings at the base of the cylinders, I then want to check the 'deck height' and so evaluate the compression ratio...



about what I expected..


Now I prepare the pushrod tubes..using a junior hacksaw with the blade inverted..





Then the tubes are adjusted to line up the oil seals...



A bit of 'Pushrod Porn'...



Fit oil filler and engine cross mount, set motor on 'build bench'...



That will do for today...

Cordialement,

[itchyfeet]

I like the hacksaw trick on the pushrod tubes.


flat top pistons look strange to us WBX fans

[bigbadbob76]

The Aircooled is an attractive engine. like an old brit bike.

[matteo]

The photos are helpful and I'm enjoying following the action - thanks!

[sarran1955]

Hello,

Well the Summer season is upon us,

Yesterday I mowed my meadow,( 2 men 1 dog),

and today, some of this..

]

Here we are tightening down the heads, making sure that the studs are centered before torquing

Then the rockers and push-rods, be careful to align the push-rods correctly..

I have shown this on the video, a bright LED torch, a good squint, and patience..

]

Once the rockers are set up, I set the static valve timing at contact plus 1/2 turn for start up.

Now the rest of the exhaust system:

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]

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As you can see the expensive CT heat exchanger is a much cheaper Beetle one with a pipe welded on.....

Reminds me of the Porsche 914..

]

So there we are for this evening,

I'll have to mow the BBq terrace and second parking spot tomorrow, as I have visitors..

Just as well, I am scraping the bottom of the pickle jar...

]

Cordialement,

[sarran1955]

Hello,

Thank goodness the pickle arrived..



Thanks Pat, Eve and Alex..

and so on with the build..

In my Continuing Crusade to remove the ' Wongly Flap Syndrome'..

I secured the air feeder plate to the oil cooler, with a 'tongue' attached to the cylinder cover..

thus:





The overhauled oil cooler with foam fitted..



This means there is no more thermostat, pulley, wire, RH flap, cross tube, clamp and spring.....

Heresy I know, but it feels sooo good..

The inlet manifolds married up to the new cylinder heads without a murmur..

The oil cooler tower gasket was of a much thicker plastic material, oversize, maybe universal Viktor Reinz for 1.6 and 2.0 l..



The tin work goes together, with insulation foam inside the oil cooler tin, airtight...



A few general views:




That's it for this evening,

Air-Cooled Bliss...

Cordialement,

[george2490]

Evening John,
Running on constant open flaps?
I am intrigued, just bought a stat for too much because I thought I should.

[sarran1955]

Hello,

Running on constant open flaps?

I blush at the thought...

Aah..Wongly Flap Syndrome.

My answer in brief..this is a cruiser engine, so flaps locked open, carb stripped of all nonsense, SVDA points and condenser dizzy, no preheat tubes...

Big plastic air cleaner is there for Mr MOT man, other wise a pancake with stub for the crankcase pressure, vacuum on rhs inlet manifold blanked off..

Aircooled bliss...

Back to the build...

Fuel pump push-rod checked, thickness of ruler at TDC

]

Petrol pump goes on...

]

Prepare the dizzy....set the points...swipe of grease on the heel of the points cam

]

Drop of oil on the felt pad under the rotor arm..

]

Necessary tools for P and C heresy..

]

Check the plug leads over, note long plug holders to front of engine..



Distributor on..

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1 and 2..

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3 and 4..

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Crankcase breather tower:

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Quick carb clean, this was set up not long ago..

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Prepare rocker boxes..

Damage like this must be rectified..
Caused by screw- drivering off the spring...

]

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This spring is scrap...

]

Here is the spring removal tool in action...

]

Alternator and turbine on, note foam sealing..



other side view..

]


Engine fire up on the bench next time....I promise..

Cordialement,

[sarran1955]

Hello,

With a cough, a puff of smoke and a rattle of tappets the beast starts..



Rear view, with vacuum and oil pressure gauges..



1.4 bar at tickover +3 bar at 2200 rpm



5mm hg vacuum signal at 750 rpm.



No crank case pressure..



20 minute run, then 1 hr cool down, drain 1 litre oil..



Then sit on comfy stool and re set tappets..contact +1 1/2 turns



Visual check that all the valve adjusting screws are at the same height..

Then button up and run to check..

Before I refit the motor, I'm going to prepare a new Powerspark distributor..

So I'm doing that as a separate video..

Getting the studio ready...



School holidays soon....

Air-cooled Bliss.....

Cordialement,

[bigbadbob76]

Great stuff.
That gauge setup reminds me of the joy of synchronising the carbs on my 4 cyl bike.
Synch 1 to 2, then 3 to 4 then 1+2 to 3+4. it made a big difference to smooth running/vibration.

What does the vacuum check tell you about your engine's health with a single carb though?
I have vacuum gauges so was going to check mine but I didn't know why or what readings to expect. it just seemed like a good idea.

[sarran1955]

Hello,

Great stuff
What does the vacuum check tell you about your engine's health with a single carb though

A very good question from the audience..

When you are setting the timing, in this case 8 1/2 degrees BTDC'ish it is useful to reduce the rpms on the engine to the minimum, finding the 'stumbling point'
where the vacuum gauge drops below 5mm hg.

Set your timing with the strobe, the engine will run very rough, but get the marks aligned. Then when you connect the dizzy to the carb via the vacuum tube the engine speed will rise, then you can adjust the tickover with the air screw, you will find that at a sensible tickover, the advance is already 12 degrees, this is called 'skewing',

that we have avoided with the above procedure..

I know it is a bit finnicky, but I blush if I stall idling at traffic lights..

Today, I have been setting up the new Powerspark dizzy and coil..with separate video..

Air-Cooled Bliss.....

Cordialement,

[bigbadbob76]

Thanks for the detailed explanation Sarran.
I always remove and blank off the vacuum tube from the dizzy when I set the timing but I have a gauge so it makes sense to use it.
BBB.