Finally time for another update.
After my last update, I finally got my pulley back after the balancing company sent it in for a slight trim of the sealing face. Decent work was done and the seal is actually good, much to my surprise.
After having discussions with 4AGE (Louis) on this forum, I purchased a Gotech Pro X system from him with a semi made up wiring harness based on my current application.
I was thinking about running the mormal MSD setup that many others have done in the past. But then after talking to Louis, I realised that for a little extra than the MSD system, I would have a full electronic system will unlimited tuning adjustment. Plus for a long time I have been secretly wanting to run a fuel injection system. So if I ever do get to the stage that I decide to make that leap, then I already have the Gotech system to run the fuel injection with, at which time I would have had to discard the MSD system anyway.
For now, I am using the Gotech Pro X for timing ONLY. The 48IDF carburetors are still in place where they belong. Louis - I did look at the website you sent me to - those throttle bodies are the bomb and would be so nice to have. Nice to have and no more (for now).
Another beauty of this Gotech system (Louis, you can pay me later for all the advertising and name throwing
) is that it cleans up the engine bay nicely.
Take one Delrin plug which I made up on my last ship
and insert this plug into the engine where the distributor used to live.
First though, it is time for pics of my pulley.
Note the amount cut away to get the unit balanced. Also note the 5 allen head bolts inserted into the back
On the front of the pulley you can see the 60-2 timing wheel which tells the Gotech unit's hall sensor where the engine is in relation to crank angle.
Now you can see the engine with the pulley, hall sensor and the distributor plug installed
Then it was time for the coil pack to be mounted.
The coil comes from an early 16V Opel. it is a twin coil pack designed to run in wasted spark mode. The term wasted spark describes the spark event and in this case one spark is wasted. Coils designed for this have 2 spark plug leads attached to each coil, so it fires two cylinders at the same time. One of these cylinders is the cylinder that need spark, the other is busy in its exhaust stroke (this is the spark that is wasted). So with the beetle having a 1-4-3-2 firing order, cylinders 1&3 are connected to the same coil and 2&4 are connected to the other.
I mounted the coil to the back of the fan housing and mounted the spark plug wires to the housing to for a clean look. I'll tell you what though, using riv-nuts without a riv-nut gun is quite the accomplishment, but I got it right.
Here you can nicely see the twin coil pack
I am actually proud of the way I ran the plug wires - not once do they cross each other. Running side by side all the way from the coil until they separate to attach to the plugs.
From there, it was a point of installing the exhaust and all the fuel lines.
Then running all the electrics from the Gotech unit into the engine bay. After that, I finished assembling the cooling tin and the rest of the engine bay.
Connecting the Gotech to my laptop was an issue all in its own - thanks Windows. But I did finally get it going.
I made some rough timing maps. I turned the key and the engine started on its first try. Wow was I impressed. It took me a little getting used to the tuning program, but after a while I had it going (more or less). The timing is now set perfectly at idle. The beauty is that I can run one set of timing for startup and another timing point at idle. I still have a lot of work to do to get my full timing map set up correctly, but thats a project for next holiday.
Before the Gotech install, the bug would barely make it to 5800rpm in second and nothing above 5000 in 3rd after starting in first gear and putting my foot flat on the floor. Now I can smash it through 1st, 2nd and 3rd - hitting 135 in 3rd at just under 6000 with the bug still pulling like a banshee.
Pic of the engine bay as it looks now
Then on to the interior. I ran another power lead from the battery to the front of the car. This is fused at the battery and connects to a new fuse box via a relay which only closes when the ignition is started. All my gauges now have their own fuse. Fuel pump, tachometer and radio now also have their own fuses, as does lambda sensor and anything else in the front that needs a fuse. The Gotech system is still lying loose in the back at the moment because I am still busy with wiring. It is plugged into battery through a fuse now. I have an ignition on signal from the switch operating a relay which switches on the Gotech module. I also have an immobilizer to install next time I get home.
But for now, I am back at work and sitting on a ship. So the bug is parked up and resting until I get home again. More planned for next time.
