2.0 KCC 356 Speedster - www.356speedster.co.za

[Rabid_ant]

coming along swimingly!!!! dont supppose you'll pass on the measurements for your gas shock majango and how far it;s fitted from the doo hicky ect. looking great though!!

[IMPI]

The specs on the motor is as follows
standard pistons and heads 2 liter which means smallish valves
the cam is an unknown entity from the late seventies reground on a stock cam and measures about 280 degrees (depending on where and what lift you use as base) it is outfitted with 2 36idf carbs stock ignition and that home made exhaust. the clutch is standard as well.

it has less torque than a std type four low down but the added displacement really helps when compared to a type one. I made the cam change purely for research and was pleasantly surprised with the engine. it is not optimised by any means and will probably be transformed with bigger valves and higher compresssion. vw supplied them in this state on the 914s which was rated 100hp (cr 8 to 1) and 42 by 36 valves.

[flatfourfan]

coming along swimingly!!!! dont supppose you'll pass on the measurements for your gas shock majango and how far it;s fitted from the doo hicky ect. looking great though!!

I'm going to get to work on it next weekend and should finish it up at the same time, I'll take some pics for you and some measurements as well Kev.............going to look way cleaner......I have a lot of work to do before cars in the park in August.

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Thanks for the info IMPI..............I'm loving the motor.

[flatfourfan]

Well now the time to play has come..........I need to change the front shocks for older worn ones as the nose is way too stiff, this is an easy fix as I kept my worn old set. I've cleaned the carbs again (3rd time) so hopefully that's the last of the crud out of the tank and filter. Easy job, just time consuming, the car just needs the air fuel set and I'll be sorted. It pulls even stronger than it did last time, no hessitation and no spluttering.

Secondly, I need to get the ass down further. I was looking at adjusting the spring plates, but the car is already sitting with some negative camber and I don't really want to get it looking anymore spastic.

So after speaking to a few guys on the speedster forum and KCW.......I'm going the route of the notched/ cut spring plates. http://www.kustomcoachwerks.com/forums/ ... .php?t=562. This is going to take the back down about another inch to 2 inches which is perfect. The recommended max drop is what I'm after. Anything more than this and I'm looking at a gearbox lift kit, which I don't really want to do.

Now I'm really going to have to change the height on the exhaust.

[flatfourfan]

Well we've been trouble shooting the high idle as well as a few other niggling issues.

Part of the high Idle was traced down to two intake manifold studs pulling loose on the head, so that was repaired with inserts. I still have the issue, but it's not half as bad as what it used to be. I'm not going to worry about it too much as I just need to commute in the car to my fibreglass man and Dirk for some mods. Plus hopefully I won't have it for too much longer.....nudge nudge wink wink.

I hate carbs.....lol.

I've also decided to make a transmission lift kit to get the gearbox up about another inch or so as I want the back lower and I'm at the max of where I can be before hitting terrible negative camber, so that'll be on the cards in the upcoming weeks.

The next plan of action is a bumper brace support that I'm going to weld together to support the front bumper and fog lights as well as the same for the rear. I'm still working on my gas shock idea for the boot lid and need maybe an afternoon to finish that up. I want it 100% hidden, so that means mounting the shocks inside the car cabin. Then I also have my luggage rack that I have to finish up. I've got the 16mm rod that just has to be bent up. Time time time.

I also drove her to work today with the hood up for the first time and it makes a helluva diffs, I didn't even have to wear a beanie. I rate once the side windows are in I can drive this all year round. Now's the time to get the car sorted.

[splitfan]

Hijack !Gary cars looking awesome, thought i'd pm you but ...there's no pm option under your name
Can you please pm or mail me.
Thanks
Jacques

[splitfan]

Hi Gary ,tried replying to your pm but.... "No recipient defined" is the message i get when i wanna send it.
Do you mind giving me a call please or pm me your number and i'l call you.
Thanks
Jacques 0827865196

[flatfourfan]

Hi Gary ,tried replying to your pm but.... "No recipient defined" is the message i get when i wanna send it.
Do you mind giving me a call please or pm me your number and i'l call you.
Thanks
Jacques 0827865196

Hey Jacques.......I got it sorted now. You can try my cell, (o)72-2137904, but at work I have zero signal.

[forcecooled]

Very nice car gary - I wish you well with it!

[flatfourfan]

Well this weekend was quiet, I had two choices, Take the speedster out to the golf club and go play a round on a gorgeous day, or finish stripping and painting the front floor pan and weld up a hole or two.

I went to play golf. Just as well i did though, because I met a friend who had some parts for me.

I was looking at an early bus indicator stalk set up and all the ones that I was finding were worn and would probably end up giving me grief after a while. So I bought a universal one that had the look of the old style. This is only the indicator unit, brights will be on the floor and my wipers are on the dash, so this will clean up the dash and steering column a lot. R120-00.

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Also with that was my universal ignition for the dash, This will be spaced out and mounted almost flush on the dash of the speedster and will have the porsche trim piece, so that it has the old style look. R35-00. Next is to replace all my dash knobs with the porsche ones that I already have on order from Klasse356. I have a feeling that the detailing of the car will probably be the most expensive.

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I also got wiper arms from him, but they're not the same length and they are the later chunky style arms that I don't like. I took them just in case as they were free, but I'll probably make myself a set of old style ones with the single wiper blade.

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Unfinished projects to date.
1) boot front and back shock system for the hinges - Pending (waiting for shock mounting points)
2) rear luggage rack - Pending (waiting for money for 16mm steel)
3) Front dash pad and eyebrow - (finally getting this sorted by Willem this weekend, sand, make mounting holes, sponge and cover)
4) Relocate battery to the nose and do some finishing work in the nose of the car - (this weekend as well, cabling was a bit pricy, but it's the good stuff)
5) finish off luggage are behind the rear seat - (this weekend as well, I want this sealed and lockable)

1.3.4 and 5 should be done by CITP. I was hoping to have the worst of the interior done by CITP, but the doors will take the longest. I've made new blanks from plywood and have started on the upper window mounting sections that should be roughly done by CITP, but won't be finished.

This is the look that I'm going for, smooth clean and no pockets or anything like that. I'm probably going to go with the screws showing otherwise the door will look pretty plain.

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Stay tuned.

[flatfourfan]

This morning while coming into work I noticed a notice board (no pun intended)that had been thrown away by someone, on the back I found a killer extruded ali trim section that is going to solve my woes about the threshold trim. (what's a threshold trim you ask?

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This is the section when you open the door. Many replicas as well as almost all South African speedsters, have the carpet that's simply run all the way up to the door opening. I've been thinking of ideas to get something looking very similar, but haven't found anything that will fit the bill. Until now. This piece will replace section 1-2-3-4.

Now I'm hoping that the sections are long enough, but so far they look perfect. It won't be as intricate as the porsche set-up, but the overall look will be the same and there is no way that I'm paying $57.15/ R500 odd (PER SIDE) minus shipping for the repro stuff from the states.

Next on the list are the rubber middle section (#6) as well as the final trim pieces (#7), which I have seen at a trimmers shop that they use to finish home carpets. Funny how we can make anything work locally.......boer maak n plan.

[Pine]

I was looking at an early bus indicator stalk set up and all the ones that I was finding were worn and would probably end up giving me grief after a while. So I bought a universal one that had the look of the old style. This is only the indicator unit, brights will be on the floor and my wipers are on the dash, so this will clean up the dash and steering column a lot. R120-00

DSC06896.JPG

I've had an identical indicator stalk in HW1 - they work pretty well, except for the fact that you don't have an automatic cancelling function. I would suggest you connect a beeping buzzer to the flasher relay to prevent you from forgetting the indicators on after turning. Take note that the plastic/bakelite on those stalks are extremely brittle, and break very easily, especially when you tighten it around the steering column (I broke the first one, luckily I could exchange it for another one at the parts shop.) Use some plastic steel or epoxy for a more permanent fix. I also fitted a microswitch below it for the dim/bright relay.

[flatfourfan]

I've had an identical indicator stalk in HW1 - they work pretty well, except for the fact that you don't have an automatic cancelling function. I would suggest you connect a beeping buzzer to the flasher relay to prevent you from forgetting the indicators on after turning. Take note that the plastic/bakelite on those stalks are extremely brittle, and break very easily, especially when you tighten it around the steering column (I broke the first one, luckily I could exchange it for another one at the parts shop.) Use some plastic steel or epoxy for a more permanent fix.

I hear you Pine. The cancelling function doens't phase me one bit as I currently don't have it anyway. Plus the type 3 gauges make it pretty stupid proof with regards to leaving them on.

I was wondering if the plastic stuff would give me issues when tightning it up. So I've got a nice rubber gasket that will go underneath and then I'll go bos on the epoxy. I want to change colour to beige anyway to go with the rest of the knobs and whatnot.

[flatfourfan]

Another weekend, another very productive one, even though it didn't start off that way. Pulled the speedster out of the garage only to notice a puddle of wet, followed by a whole load of drips of wet........oil? Nope......petrol.

Popped the hood and it looked like it was coming from the carb...............drove it to Willem and proceeded to strip her down. I was hoping to do just fibreglass work, but it all had to take a backseat for this. Pulled off the lower trim panel, so access is easier and it looked like the diaphram was leaking. Makes sense as Armand did say that the engine had been sitting for a while. I used this time to also pull out the jets again and clean them out as the idle jets were clogged. The bottom of the carb also had a lot of gunk in it, so I pulled out the trusty tin of jumbo carb cleaner and cleaned out the channels and whatnot. A LOT of shit came out of it. I think that the other one must also be just as dirty. I'll do that one next weekend. I can't wait to have EFI.

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Yup........it was toast, there were a few pin holes in it by the plunger and the mesh looked like it was about to tear as well. Luckily Willem had a few old ones that were almost right that we modded and fitted. Presto. Sorted. It'll need a new one at some stage, but I was quoted R350 for a rebuild set from Weber.

Then I pressed on with what I actually came here to do........Move the battery and fibreglass the front hole. Cut and trimmed off the last of the crap that was in there. There was a bucket mounted below this and everything used to hit it as well as not being able to use an A-frame. So I sliced it off.

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Old ADT sign mounted from underneath and then I laid the good stuff on.

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I went from hole in the front, to a nice solid layer of cured fibreglass in about 30 minutes. Gotta love nice hot days. Then I painted the sucker black to finish it off a bit. There are a few more thing that still have to get done such as a trim section for the front mounting bolts as well as the adjustable front suspension and then also the grease nipple. I'm going to use beetle access plates so it looks as stock as possible.

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After painting out the rest of the front, only the rubber trim on the hood remains to be put in and then I should be almost done. There is a lot of loose paint that had to come off and it was looking very tatty. I also fabbed a temporary hood prop up as the gas shock idea was going to cost over R400 as I had to get new shocks dialed in to work. Pass. The final hood prop will be much longer and will attach to a section in the top of the nose to keep it stable.

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[flatfourfan]

Finishing the front off then got me started on the layout of the sparewheel and battery.

What a mission.

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Basically...............it's not going to fit with the space saver and a full sized battery up front The wheel is too high. If this is the case, then the spare will probably end up on top of the fuel tank as I want the battery out of the back so that I can use that area for storage. It seems a shame as it's a nice big lockable area that only holds a battery. I want to fill up all of the holes, paint it out and carpet it properly. I tried it the other way with the battery in front of it, which was a little better, but still no joy.

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I either need a flatter battery in order for it to fit behind the wheel as in the first load of pics. Or a slimmer battery in order for it to fit in front of the spare wheel in the last pic. I'll get it sorted though.

Just for the info, I'm going to be running a marie biscuit with an adapter in case of a flat.