Frank818 -1993 VW VR6 Turbo donor- Build Thread

[mikeb75]

A word of caution, I've found the hardener (catalyst, MEKP) can go bad over time (don't know if it's from light or air). Since yours is 2 years old I'd test it on a small amount of gel coat before making your working batch.

[Frank818]

Note taken, Mike. Since I got 2 MEKs, if the first one is ****ed up the second one should be ok. Will test.

So I can fill mistakenly drilled holes with the gel coat but if it's structural I need cloth. So far I'm ok. I guess once I'll need to stiffen some panels, like the hood, I might need the cloth. But that's a project for after inspection and road driving. No time for that now.

[Frank818]

Good news and other major bad news.

Good news, I am able to throw fire out of the exhaust:



Another shot without fire. My AFR is leaning when I step on it but idle is fine now and engine doesn't struggle or wants to stall anymore:

https://youtu.be/TmSoJGQDtIg



Bad news? Major step back. I need to change the clutch master. No, not for a Subaru one (which I already did 3 times)! That's the problem! After testing multiple ways, the Impreza master is not strong enough, doesn't push enough fluid and pressure to the slave so the fork doesn't disengage fully. When I try to get 2nd, 3rd, 4th as example, the car moves fwd a little and of course the gears don't engage.

I am more than at the max of the rod's length and the piston is bottoming out, I feel it. Any longer and the clip falls off anyway.

Anyone has a trick so that I could still use the Subaru master?

Otherwise my choices are:

- Tilton
- Porsche 911 1987-1989 (70 bucks US)
- Whatever the GTM guys are using with their big V8s and G50 trans

But all those may well required great modifications to the FW and/or pedal box! I do not know the physical specs of any of the above, but the Impreza has 2x M7 rods about 2-3/4" apart.

Changing the master to a completely different one at THIS STAGE OF THE BUILD is hell. There's no way I will remove my front end and flush coolant, so you can imagine the complexity. Plus, the master must NOT interfere with my AWIC tank, which is already rubbing on the bottom of the Subaru master. You can imagine the pain I'll be going through in the next FEW months.

At least I have not blown up the engine nor the trans (very for Dan, praying his stuff will get better soon!). But I don't think I will go kart until Autumn 2016, if I'm lucky.

[Frank818]

On a different note, those with a K-Tuned shifter (Wayne little help here, if you're following this build with the best transplant after the 13b. loll), do you have a small bolt that slides in the side and sideways in the red circle? I've never had one and the shifter is twisting in that area when I shift into certain gears. Anyone can tell me the bolt's specs?

2016-07-19 07.00.54_1.jpg2016-07-19 07.01.42_1.jpg

[Hindsight]

Frank, you sure you have the master cyl rod adjusted properly? With the pedal in the full upright position and the pin removed from the clevis, the holes in the clevis should align with the hole you on the clutch pedal. You should have to move the pushrod or pedal to get it to align. Also, there is a stop for the clutch pedal up top.... I think.... Did you check that to ensure it's adjusted right and allowing the maximum possible travel? Could be that the slave cyl on the Porsche is just larger than on the subaru and requires more volume but I'd double check the adjustment first.

[Frank818]

Frank, you sure you have the master cyl rod adjusted properly? With the pedal in the full upright position and the pin removed from the clevis, the holes in the clevis should align with the hole you on the clutch pedal.

Forget that. I have to unscrew the clevis a lot more in order to get an almost engagement of clutch. If the holes align, the master pushes even less fluid, the pedal hits the FW and the clutch doesn't engage at all. I bled it a few times and no air is coming out after a full reservoir going down the line.

Also, there is a stop for the clutch pedal up top.... I think.... Did you check that to ensure it's adjusted right and allowing the maximum possible travel?

Yes. I can't have more travel, the push rod is at its max pulling out and I push it down forward at its max too. Can't see how I could get more travel even if I modify something, the piston has a certain travel and I'm doing it fully.

Could be that the slave cyl on the Porsche is just larger than on the subaru and requires more volume but I'd double check the adjustment first.

Possibly, which could be why the Subaru master isn't working. I need more pressure in there, which means more fluid.

[Frank818]

Well there you go.

The 02 WRX clutch master's bore is 11/16" and the Porsche one is 19mm (3/4). More fluid going to the slave with Porsche, which is why I'm missing just a little to fully engage the gears.

Wilwood and Tilton make nice short cylinders with a WIDE variety of bore sizes. The big V8 guys at GTM use the Wilwood one, by default the "manual" says to use 3/4" which works. But many use the 7/8" to shorten the throw, give more adjustment and prevent some kind of weird thing I didn't understand on the trans. Apparently the 7/8 isn't that harder to push than 3/4. Some use an adjustable pedal stop to limit the travel.

Of course, Wilwood and Tilton don't have mounting holes on the sides, they have top-bottom and transverse holes to mount on something that is on either side of the master. I also need a clevis that will fit whatever thread pattern, 5/16, 3/8, others. I have a subie so it's metric and Wilwood and Tilton are not! They probably sell some.

I might need a one hose remote reservoir but Wilwood sells kits for that and probably Tilton too.

I need to measure my stroke and get a master with similar stroke.

I guess the hardest part will be to mount somehow the master. My creativity on this build will have to work hard again, apart from those with the Wilwood pedal kit, I guess I'm the only one with a non-subie master but still using the subie pedal box.

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Forget that. I have to unscrew the clevis a lot more in order to get an almost engagement of clutch. If the holes align, the master pushes even less fluid, the pedal hits the FW and the clutch doesn't engage at all. I bled it a few times and no air is coming out after a full reservoir going down the line..

Frank, if you adjust the rod longer, you won't fill the cylinder before shooting.
The rod has to be all the way out of the master cylinder before it opens the passageway for fluid to run from the reservoir to the cylinder.
Bob

[DodgyTim]

Frank, would it be easier to replace the slave cylinder than the master cylinder?
I'm not familiar with Porsche stuff but a smaller diameter slave will provide the same result as a larger diameter master

[Frank818]

Frank, if you adjust the rod longer, you won't fill the cylinder before shooting.

Bob, that's the thing, it is all the way out. Here's why:

It needs to be all the way out anyway in order to bleed properly. Then I push the rod (not screw the clevis!) in order to align the holes with the pedal box. That gives the fitst half an inch or so of travel and fluid, constant small pressure in the system. Then I press on the pedal all the way until the piston bottoms out.

What I did is I put the clevis further in the rod in order to align the holes using the clevis. That reduces stroke, hence fluid, and clutch wasn't disengaging at all.
Then I unscrew the clevis until I only use half of the clevis' threads (not very good). Then I manually push the rod in to align holes and put a 5/16 bolt in to stop it from coming back (easier to remove than the OEM pin, since I remove it 10 times a week).

That is how I use all of the stroke. I'll take pix.

Is that wrong? It might be cuz I'm pressing on the piston all the time, but in order to test the master can I do any better? I haven't found any way to push more fluid in with this master, I don't see how I can use more stroke than the mechanical properties of the master.

[Frank818]

Frank, would it be easier to replace the slave cylinder than the master cylinder?
I'm not familiar with Porsche stuff but a smaller diameter slave will provide the same result as a larger diameter master

Good point. Maybe, not sure. I have to find one that fits easily, it's a VERY tight area in there since the trans is upside down, so the slave is very close to the frame bars. Also I need side ports only and a bleeder on the side or back. Any different and it will not clear the rear diffuser once installed.

It seems masters can be found easily, but slaves are more rare, not sure I'm willing to jump into this one considering I need precise measurements and very specific port orientation. Plus if I need to fab a bracket to fit it in place, I can't drill through the trans and it will lengthen the slave and will it the frame bars. By increasing length it may not push enough on the fork too. A lot of questions... With the master I have more flexibility and mounting flexibility too, although I am space limited but the ports could be anywhere and it should fit. Tiny powerful masters can be found without too much efforts.

I'll keep my eyes open on the slave just in case!

[Frank818]

Guess I'm not that far off on the clutch.

Turns out the subie master I have is weaker than I thought. 10/16 bore! Written on the master, DOH!

2016-07-21 14.35.10-1.jpg

Many of the guys at GTM use 14/16 bore, some say the pedal is firmer, some others say no. All say the travel is less. I will use a pedal stop to prevent over stressing the trans.

I comitted to Wilwood, 14/16 (7/8). Maybe I should have gone with 13/16 but if I think I can't drive with 14 I'll buy another one at 13, it's only 110 bucks with shipping, can't have money restriction on such an R&D build. Too many trials and errors cuz no one knows the answers, I have to test.

compact_remote_combo_mc-lg.jpg260-10371_dwg-sm.jpg

It's 10 bucks cheaper than Tilton and both brands come with TWO different size reservoirs and a REMOTE kit. Not bad, the 818 remote kit is 80 bucks by itself, might as well buy a different and new master, but for a subie engine I admit it's not really necessary. It is for a damn G50. I knew **** all about masters a week ago and now I have learned quite a lot!

So 10/16 OEM subie vs 12/16 OEM Porsche, bought 14/16, I am very confident I found my problem here.


What the hell is Summit Racing doing, I want my master now.

[Canadian818]

Hope this solves your engagement issues Frank. Btw, I somehow was behind on your thread and just seen it shooting flames! Very nice!

[Frank818]

Hope this solves your engagement issues Frank. Btw, I somehow was behind on your thread and just seen it shooting flames! Very nice!

If it doesn't, then I don't think anything will.
Behind? Come on, you are behind on your own build I can't ask you to be on par reading "my" build.
But you're coming back nicely lately (your build).

[Frank818]

How much grease did you guy pressurized in the upper A-arms' nipples?
And how do I know I have enough in?

2016-07-22 17.50.48.jpg

[Hindsight]

Keep pumping grease in there until it starts oozing out the bushings. Then wipe the bushings up.

[Frank818]

Ok the car rolls.

Now that I have your attention, my gear pattern is reversed. Yup, 6th gear (I have none anyway) on the shifter is 1st on the box, 2nd on the shifter is 5th on the box, 3rd is 4th, 4th is 3rd, 5th is 2nd and what the hell. I can't believe that but my Porsche mech got hypnotized by the upside down G50 and didn't take that into account. Grrrrrrrr Reversing all my shifting mechanism at this stage of the build is complex. I got welded brackets in the way, shifter cables meant to be at the place there are now (lengths were taken into account for actual location), oil lines around, oil cooler, coolant lines, all filled up of course.

Remember this picture of my original shifting mechanism:

2016-08-02 09.24.42.jpg


About the clutch. That was it. The Subie clutch at 5/8 bore is way too weak. Here's what I got (7/8 bore):

2016-07-26 14.09.05.jpg2016-07-28 06.22.56.jpg2016-07-28 08.48.17.jpg2016-07-28 09.33.58.jpg2016-07-30 07.06.39.jpg2016-07-30 07.07.03.jpg

Do you recognize the clevis? Sure you do! It's the subie's! How on earth can this M7 (or M6) clevis went on the 5/16-24 pushrod. Well, fortunately enough, the hole on the clevis was EXACTLY perfect to be re-threaded without drilling or worse being to big. I just re-threaded it and it screws perfectly fine on the rod! Ok that was luck, as these 5/16-24 clevis are cheap at Jeg's for example but the shipping is killing! Free on this one here and about a 5mins job.

Made a plate for the master. Slightly tilted (the holes) cuz the bolts then seat on the front FW alu panels and the bolts' heads are exactly the same thickness as the pedal box round tube inside which the long threaded rods come out on each side. This ensures the master to be seated on 4 spots, plus I kept a small 90-deg on the plate at the bottom so it can reach the inner alu panel.

Only thing is the damn FFR hole in the pedal box bracket is 1-3/8 which is just too small for the rubber boot to fit. It cannot be refitted from inside the car cuz there's no enough metal for it to seat on. Doesn't matter for now, but after inspection I'll take the time to buy a big step drill, enlarge the hole and fit the boot from the inside.

I am using remote reservoir cuz the reservoir is just too big to fit in any direction on the master. Mind the zip ties and 3M velcro on the reservoir, that was temporary (now has a bolt). No leaks anywhere!! Thank you Wilwood and thank you for all that I have learned about bleeding a clutch, installing a clutch and whatnot.

This master pushes a lot of fluid. The pressure at the slave bleeder was a lot more. I tested the clutch and I can overstress the trans if I push the pedal too far. So easy to adjust and will use a stopper too (so far it's gonna be a hockey puck! Another free part).

The clutch is hard. I wouldn't want to drive the car too much in traffic.

[Frank818]

I also moved on on the body. God the under panels take time to fit!!!! I hate those!

2016-07-29 13.34.38.jpg2016-07-29 13.34.58.jpg2016-07-29 13.35.09.jpg


Front splitter will be at 2-7/8" out. I aimed for 2-3/4" but while drilling holes things moved I guess. It looks killa.
I have fabed a support to support the center front of the splitter. No pix of it yet but will prevent the center front from bending compared to sides, if I ever get that fast.

Ok what's this?

2016-08-01 11.30.09.jpg2016-08-01 11.30.46.jpg

Well, that is the cut off piece of the upper rear bumper, cuz I'm fitting VRaptor's grills. Since I learned, tnx to Bob among others, that I need to block off the lower opening of the nose insert in order to prevent air from flowing above the splitter and reducing its effect, I found out that the cut off piece has the exact curvature of the nose insert! Just need to cut and epoxy glass it on the nose insert and voila, tabarnak (Quebec swear, those aren't censured).

[Hindsight]

Wow looks like you are speeding up the progress Frank. Very nice. Looking forward to seeing a go-kart video soon.

[choobs]

For your reversed gear select pattern the best way to fix this is to add some pivots to the linkage near the attach point at the transmission. This way you don't mess with a bunch of other stuff. This is an idea I had for the side to side: and a similar fix for backward and forward movement. Tough to make, but you have a MIG welder and parts laying around :P

[wleehendrick]

my gear pattern is reversed. Yup, 6th gear (I have none anyway) on the shifter is 1st on the box, 2nd on the shifter is 5th on the box, 3rd is 4th, 4th is 3rd, 5th is 2nd and what the hell. I can't believe that but my Porsche mech got hypnotized by the upside down G50 and didn't take that into account. Grrrrrrrr

Bummer... but you can get used to it! Call it a passive theft deterrent feature and see if you get a break on your insurance!

[Frank818]

Bummer... but you can get used to it! Call it a passive theft deterrent feature and see if you get a break on your insurance!

I thought of that! A few secs later I said no.

Wow looks like you are speeding up the progress Frank. Very nice. Looking forward to seeing a go-kart video soon.

Not really. This morning I sat down staring at my trans for 6 hours. And I did nothing. Really nothing at all! I can't come up with a design cuz I don't understand how things move. More on that below.

For your reversed gear select pattern the best way to fix this is to add some pivots to the linkage near the attach point at the transmission. This way you don't mess with a bunch of other stuff. This is an idea I had for the side to side: and a similar fix for backward and forward movement. Tough to make, but you have a MIG welder and parts laying around :P

That does not work. Ok explanations:

I thought the GTM guys would need something for them to reverse the pattern. They helped me on the clutch master maybe they have a solution on the gears. They do! Except their shifters are not K-Tuned so the fore-aft movement is reversed already at the shifter. When you push fwd and it pushes out the cable at the trans. That's what I need. But the K-Tuned shifter is the opposite! When I push the lever, it pulls in the cable at the trans!!! I won't sleep for days. This is the 2nd biggest challenge of my entire build.

Why it's a challenge. Well I need not just to reverse the movement in one direction like on choob's picture. I need to take into account the fact the shift rod also moves side-to-side on an axis (the rod itself). This pushes/pulls the so called reversing mechanism left-right and up-down.

On choob's pic, the center hole (pivot) would need to be a ball. Rod ends are balls joints so that would work. But I can't picture how it would function as a whole. I'll explain on next post.

I have a couple of rod ends and tried figuring something out but I couldn't. And it's hard to demonstrate with pictures cuz I have no parts installed.

Also I am space limited so that doesn't help either.

What I'd need is something like CRAIG (MECHIE3) but swapped out on the cables and calculated for my gearbox (the C bracket has a specific angle I believe it might differ from one box type to another).

http://zerodecibelmotorsports.com/pr...echanism-5spd/

Bell-Crank-Installed.png


I'm desperate.

[Frank818]

I think I need ball joints at every end plus a ball joint as the pivot.
But I don't understand if this will be precise when moving the cable or if things will go in many directions which would create play in the shifter. For example instead of pushing the shift rod it would swivel on a joint until it reaches its max and then push on the rod. That's not good.

This is what I've been looking at for 6hours:

2016-08-04 12.12.50_1.jpg2016-08-04 12.13.01_1.jpg2016-08-04 12.13.11_1.jpg


My problem is this movement:

2016-08-04 12.13.01_2.jpg

I don't know how to absorb the movement on the reversing mechanism.

[UnhipPopano]

I will take a WAG that the motion of the shifter knob front and back is correct and that the problem is with left right motion. If this is correct, then consider changing the shifter you are using. For example, if the shifter works like the one that comes from FFR, then switch to the MR2 shifter. Another option is if the shifter can be rotated 180 degrees, then the lever will be on the other side.

[Frank818]

My problem is with the front-back motion. I need that motion to be reversed.

I thought of changing the shifter, but that's high costs, I built the car around the shifter, if I change that important part, then many many other things need to change, some panels I need to buy again and start from scratch, holes and brackets in the console tubing are for this shifter, etc.

I don't really see how I could turn the shifter 180-deg and still be able to mount the cable mounts. This would also push fwd its plate which will need a major rework on my wiring installation.

http://k-tuned.3dcartstores.com/no-c...ter_p_285.html

[STiPWRD]

My problem is with the front-back motion. I need that motion to be reversed.

Frank, this can be hard to visualize but it can be done with a bell crank mechanism (as choobs mentioned). For example, Mateo had the normal shifter and then switched over the the K-tuned shifter and had to change his shift linkage on the transmission. Take a look at the one with normal shifter:
http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showt...l=1#post165389

And then after the K-tuned shifter was installed:
http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showt...l=1#post217145

He had to reverse one of the cable motions by modifying his linkage with a different bell crank.

[Frank818]

Tnx. Yeah I see what he did, but my situation is different, the k-tuned and subie trans are not compatible on the left-right motion and are on the front back, cuz when you push the lever it pushes the shift rod in tje gearbox. My problem is the opposite cables, I am ok left-right but wrong on front-back.

But the concept is pretty much the same and I think I have found how to use a pivot link with rod ends. I just need a bearing to act as a pivot and a bolt that slides through to secure the plate I would use and I think it will work. I'll ask Mechie he's got millions of pivots|

[Frank818]

Found it! You'll all laugh hard at me.

I thought of doing something like this:

2016-08-04_13-53-42.png

Or simply buy half of Craig's bell crank kit parts, especially the C bracket with bearing, bolts and rod ends and sleeves.
But then, while doing my daily off-road jogging I of course constantly thought about this idea. And came up a laugh, one for which I had a thought about before dismantling the linkage.

Bummer... but you can get used to it! Call it a passive theft deterrent feature and see if you get a break on your insurance!

Re-read this. Before, no. But now that the left-right motion is reversed, this comment makes a lot more sense!
And I adopted it! I love you man. Well... not that I "love" you, but you know... loll A hilarious (not so!) solution that ended up being the good enough solution for me.

Why I adopted it? Cuz it's gonna be like this (except for R which will be left to 1):

Engraved_Ferrari_Voodoo_knob.jpg

If it's been done at Ferrari, it ain't stupid!

As long as I don't end up with this:

shift+knob+w+many+gears1270496551.jpg

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Ok the car rolls.

Now that I have your attention, my gear pattern is reversed. Yup, 6th gear (I have none anyway) on the shifter is 1st on the box, 2nd on the shifter is 5th on the box, 3rd is 4th, 4th is 3rd, 5th is 2nd and what the hell. .

Frank.
at the transmission, mount the shifter cable jacket to the parts that move. Then mount the cable to a fixed point.
All fixed.
Bob

[Frank818]

Hey Bob,

You mean this in GREEN to a moving point and this in BLUE to a fixed point?

80605_2.jpg

Good idea yeah! I don't have enough space behind the trans (nothing can be longer than the rod itself) but if I fab a kinked L-bracket, layed down on top of the rod and coming back in over the trans I could fix the jacket there and then another L-bracket for the cable end that would fit on a bolt or whatever on the side, that is quite possible! I'll remember that idea, although for now I have to move on this build so I'll keep the Ferrari pattern until I have time to figure out some brackets.

Tnx Bob! I love you too! lolll

[Frank818]

BIG SURPRISE!!

Now oops...

Now that I got your attention (again), today was (is still) a very very special day that probably none of you guys have had (haven't seen on threads).

On April 27th 2014, which is 38,014 years ago, I had a dream. I had a goal of driving my SOB (that's how I call it) on my 40th birthday. After seeing the IMMENSE issues of the gearbox fitting and in need of a complete new drivetrain orientation, I said ok my goal is to at least Go Kart the SOB on my 40th birthday.

Yesterday I was totally depressed after wasting 6h doing nothing but staring at the *** of a gearbox. I new I'd fail. Then came a few ideas from the awesome pals on this forum, a hilarious one and I decided to give it a lot of work this morning. I woke up 30mins late, not to help me, but after spending 6h again working on the car, working very fast, fixing a few clumsy issues cuz working too fast, I decided to do it cuz it was simply ready:




Today really is my 40th birthday and on a 31C (88F, a few off the max we can get here) with 55-60% humidity, I go karted the SOB. I made it.


See next post for 2 more vids and impression of the car.

[Hindsight]

Wow Frank, big congrats! Been a long time coming and hopefully this will add to your motivation to keep at it.

[Frank818]

Actually my shift pattern is not like Ferrari. It's like any normal car but the opposite, so on top I have 2-4-nothing and at bottom I have R-1-3-5. A bit weird to launch at the bottom and then push the lever top to reach 2nd. Seems harder to pull the lever for R than push (R is hard to get on the G50, needed 2 hands a few times). I don't slide it right at all. I will reverse that some day, but it's ok to drive for now and I really don't have time to fix this.




Adam (ref to your thread), that car is so ****ing low!!! lolll I thought I was buggy rollin'!

Buggy-Rollin-patinar-con-todo-el-cuerpo.jpg

A lot of rocks projected into the car and onto me. No body and sticky tires.

The car needs fuel tuning but it sounds promising. It sounds... it sounds ****ing AWESOME!!!!!!!! lolll When I accel the sound is sick! Only the purist can tell it may come from a VR6, otherwise the std deep resonance tone of the VR is less noticeable and makes place to an overall deep tone and hearing every cylinder fire. The resonance waves are mostly killed by the muffler, that's what they claimed. Seems to work. I think it helps making it less loud. I've heard a couple of Golfs here that sound louder than me! And I have no exhaust, just a muffler and almost no pipe.

No fumes, except when I was way off tune. No smell either, except at idle but just a little. At idle I don't mind at all.

I couldn't shift, I didn't trust my fuel tune to increase RPMs more.

The steering... Go kart, really. Heavy in parking maneuverers, man... manwhatever, but not that much. Really precise when rolling. Reminded me of the Corrado!!! Yeah, with proper suspension, tires, stress bar, sway bars and 320mm SW, the Corrado was extraordinarily precise and heavy just enough (thumbs up to old VW engineers, one hell of a steering on the Corrado). The 818 feels similar, except at parking where the 818 really is a lot more heavier.

Clutch is heavy but when you're concentrated on driving you forget about the clutch.

I was VERY impressed at the flywheel. This thing went off without jerking at all. I was driving an OEM Subaru, damn it. Really nice transition of the clutch when lifting pedal. I did a lot of 1st and R and all went as smooth as Melanie Trump's behind. Or her daughter's. I wasn't excepting that at all. With the Corrado, the Autotech flywheel was tricky, not the perfect RPM match and it jerks off on launch. My pick-up point is way too close to the FW right now but my hockey puck was preventing me from pressing any more. I will slice it thinner.

No leaks! No exhaust leaks, no oil, no coolant, no grease, just sweat!

Suspension is bumpy. I have the smoothest setup dialed in. Bumpy but the good way.

Can't wait to see how this SOB drives after a tune.

[Frank818]

Blurry video, don't know why.



So here's what I did with the shift linkage. Doesn't look show car, but it works. One day after inspections I will fix that for something more beautiful and with the correct shift pattern.

2016-08-05 16.39.32_1.jpg2016-08-05 16.39.40_1.jpg2016-08-05 16.39.50_1.jpg2016-08-05 16.40.09_1.jpg


This is what I was afraid of on the axles. It may wear out the rubber boots, but since the rubber doesn't slide face to face, it just touches always at the same place, it may last longer than expected. BTW I confirm that with 4" angle on the axles they don't make any sound and nothing prevented the car from rolling. I think they will work.

2016-08-05 16.40.21_1.jpg


I also think my alignment is ok. Ok doesn't mean good enough for driving, but I did not feel any change of direction, weird tremors in the SW or any tendency to go on one side. My caster seems ok as I did not feel any difference from a normal car.

I'm not sure if my speedo works, I forgot to look at it and I can't see it on the videos. The water temp works, I saw it on the video.

Overall, I WANNA DRIVE THIS SOB AGAIN! lollll

[flynntuna]

Hey Frank, congrats glad you didn't have an "oops" moment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wK0o...=RDwK0o-8LWLFM

[Frank818]

Tnx Steve!

Flyn, nope, looks like I'm better than Will Smith. All the major oops moments happened before my go kart. Phew.


About the engine, there is a lot of torque at low end. It takes off without effort and without feeling any pressure on the gas pedal. Already I feel it faster than my Corrado and not comparable to my automatic Subie. I think going to a smaller turbo that would full boost at low RPMs is not a good idea on this engine. Unless you have kick *** traction control like Steve.

So far though the power feeling was amazing. I'm running 8.5CR and no boost and it was amazing. What should I expect at 20psi from a GT3582R? No answer plz.


I lost a friend during this trip. A fellow companion who fought with me and won many battles and wars... my tinny pocket LED flashlight. A must for those inaccessible places, which I'm plenty of. Will have to ebay myself another one from China. Oh well...

[svanlare]

Will solved the shift problem just by turning the post-it around - so you did much better without having to back into the garage wall first. Well done!

Huge congrats on the first drive!!!!! Mine no longer has an engine in it so it will be a while before drive 2, but you look like you are solidly into debug mode now with hopefully the big construction issues behind.

On the topic of shift issues, when I bought my current mazda, it had the wrong shift knob on it. On the test drive, everything was great until I went to shift into reverse to park. The car kept rolling forward ???? After getting close to an opps moment myself, I tried the 4 corners of the shifter to see if there was another gear around somewhere and it turns out the car was a 6 speed (not the 5 on the knob) and R was next to 1 and you had to push down to get to it. And that was a production car that couldn't get the shifting right.

Congrats again on driving!

[AZPete]

Frank, I love go-kart vids but yours is the best ever! Best because you came a long, long way and cleared so many hurdles. I really admire the way you have conquered so many challenges making the VW work and now it sounds great. The BEST birthday gift ever! Congrats.

[BN]

Frank, I love go-kart vids but yours is the best ever! Best because you came a long, long way and cleared so many hurdles. I really admire the way you have conquered so many challenges making the VW work and now it sounds great. The BEST birthday gift ever! Congrats.

Congrats Ben

[Canadian818]

Frank, I love go-kart vids but yours is the best ever! Best because you came a long, long way and cleared so many hurdles. I really admire the way you have conquered so many challenges making the VW work and now it sounds great. The BEST birthday gift ever! Congrats.

I was going to try to come up with something to type that acknowledged just how big a deal this is, and I'm not sure I can do better than Pete.

Congrats Frank! I'm so happy for you, often times on the road less traveled you doubt yourself, wonder if it was all a fools errand. But one impossible obstacle at a time you pushed on, determined to succeed. Well Frank, you did it! It's all gravy from here compared to what you've accomplished. It's a shame you're so far away, cause I'd love to buy you a beer!