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

[flatfourfan]

We're back on the road.......

What I love about this is swap is that we stripped the whole motor to the bare essentials and then pulled it out, put it all back in and she fired up first time. We tried a loaner beetle starter from Dirk first and she sounded fine, I then pulled it out and tried the new torque starter from Midas for beetles and it sounded basically the same, only it turned the motor a lot quicker and it's smaller.

So we dropped the car, bled the water system, that takes less than a minute and I took her for a drive to fill up with some juice.

No more water leaks as well and with the revised pipe system out back, I now have place to put my air intake system. I gave Willem a treat and let him drive the car home as I took the bakkie. Damn she looks hot on the road, I think what stands out most is the fact that its looks like nothing else out there and looks plain menacing from the back.



As we're moving house right now, there won't be updates for a while as the most important thing was to get the car going under it's own power again so that moving it wouldn't be a problem.

But next on the list is the porsche rear tail lights, rocker trim as well as the 912 gauges and then the dash pad can go on. I have had some work done to my SP steering wheel and so far I love it. But that is a seriously long term project.

[flatfourfan]

Good weekend this one.

I've been running the car with a cone filter on the TB, just to avoid anything going in and I've noticed that after 5minutes of driving when everything is up to temp, the car seriously bogs down and loses at least 40% of her power, all down to heatsoak as we ran a pipe out of the bay and even after 30minutes, the car still pulled like a tank. So the task was set up to find 72mm pvc pipe as I didn't want 65mm as it just looked too small.

FINALLY found a place that stocks 72mm PVC pipes and fittings. However I needed about a meter of the stuff and they had no off-cuts, so R180 later for the 6m pipe and another R200 off on 45's and 90's and I was set. What followed was a lesson in cutting, trimming and cutting and feathering to get everything to fit. I wanted to take the wife's car as she was moaning about a noise on it, just as well.



First 45 on, I had to trim off the collar and then butt joint it and glue them together, Once I have the pipe into 1 piece, I'll sand the pipe down and give a layer of glass over the joints and then spray a matt black. I just used tape over the joint as it smooths out the finish.



This gives you an idea of how big the 90 fitting is with the collars. I want all of that off.



Here's the same 90 with the collars ground down and butt fitted. The whole section is pretty seamless.



This really bad picture is where the polo airbox is going. I swear it looks like it was made for back there. I was beginning to worry that I'd have to dump the stock airbox idea as it was just too big to fit in anywhere, bye bye R550.





Once done, the polo air box will actually be sunk into the floor by about 50mm and this will enable the air box to pull cool air from under the rear seat, right by the starter. The ECU is going to be moved to a small enclosure on the right hand side and the battery will go in a vented enclosure. This weekend I need to go and get a 45 silicone reducer for the TB from 65mm to 72mm as well as a straight fitting for the air box. Then I can work on glassing this sucker and finishing it off.

[flatfourfan]

Okay a bit of an update. I got my silicone couplers from MRD in Pretoria, these are the Minaar brothers who are well know for their drag antics in South Africa. I first went to volkspares, but they only had one in stock and it looked used. I then drove 2 shops down to MRD and had a chat to the guy, the sizes that I wanted were interesting. I first worked out that I wanted a 63mm - 77mm reducer with a 45 degree and was quickly told that I'm not going to get one that easily. SO I went home, brought over the car and when the guy popped the trunk lid the first thing he said was "moer, maar jy is gef*k met spasie".

We changed my design somewhat, which will mean that I'll have to do one of my hard line fuel lines over, but it'll look better. I'm just waiting on 2 x 45 degree bends for my pvc pipe and then I can fibreglass them tomorrow and get it in the car. Total cost.....R390-00, volkspares was R240 and R320 for the same parts on special order as they had to get them from the same guys who MRD buy from..........uhuh.

Some things that I've noticed on the car.

1) I got to fill her up last night as I've been driving her for the last 2 weeks and the last time I put in juice was R200 after we got her sorted. I tell the guy R200 again as that was what I was used to filling up when the type 4 was outback, only to find out that she didn't even take R50 as she was still full. I did my sums and worked out that I'm getting about 14km/l around town with spirited driving. I'm over the moon with this result. This thing sips go go juice.

2) The clutch pedal gets a bit hard after driving a while and I'm pretty sure that it's down to lack of grease in the tube, so this week I think it's time to lube up everything as I haven't really touched on anything.

3) The engine lid hinge design is going to have to be modded as the one hinge hits the accelerator cable, so I'm going to be fabbing up some flat fibreglass panels that I'll make into hinges complete with dimples and move them more to the middle of the engine lid. I'm hoping to have this done on saterday as well.

This is what I want.......



This is what I have.......



May not look like much, but it's a good 10cm closer which will solve my issues with clearance. I also want to clean up the engine lid and trim off the last of the messy stuff, so that I can paint it as well as deaden the underside.

4) Also pleased to report that the car cranks over just fine and starts no problems with the updated stuff from gilo.

Stay tuned.

[Tony Z]

awesome. Sounds like you are starting to enjoy her. Keep up the good work

[flatfourfan]

Played a bit this weekend.

Been getting irritated with trying to get the VW polo airbox to fit until I basically hacked it up and it still wasn't 100%. I should of done what I thought about from the start and that was to build one from scratch. I'd have to hack up even more of the firewall to get the box to fit, I thought that it just wasn't worth it in the end.

I have the last of the plastic pipes joined up now so that it all fits under the hood. Next will be to fibreglass the pipes and then paint it up. I'm fitting a cone filter until after cars in the park as I need the decklid off to make a blank section of the bottom.

This gives you an idea of how the pipes had to be wangled to fit in the back.







Once the pipes have dried, I'm going to decide if I want it under the vent lid, or below the water expansion tank to get in more cold air. If I go the second option, then I'm going to have to make a shield to protect it from the elements.

This is more than likely what we'll be going for at the end of the day as I have to clear up my desk lid anyway on the inside.





All of this will be tucked up in the engine bay with a splatter shield attached to the underside to save my ass just in case it rains.

[flatfourfan]

Well my other project linked to my speedster is almost done. We moved about 2 months back and a major priority once the house has been sorted was to get my garage sorted so I know for starters where the freaking hell my tools are. I was always used to just walking in, taking what I need where I put it and then putting it back when I was done. For the last 2 months all my gear has been in packing boxes and crates and I unpacked the last crate this weekend.





It's nothing big, but it's got a nice high ceiling, strong assed walls, no leaks and after last week I decided to put 4 extra plug points at the end of the wall and a new 8ft downlight in the middle. I bought a fat sheet of 2.7 x 1.2 18mm ply and that I've used to my table top and my tool rack. I now have more space on my tool rack which means that I need a few more tools.

With the exception of the two pieces of plywood, everything else was built with scraps that the previous owner left in the garage. I literally got 4 walls and some rickety old shelving.

SO this gave me chance to crack on with 2 other projects that I want in place by cars in the park.

Threshold trim. I got this load our of storage and started measuring up for fitment. I pick up my rubber mat on Friday and I can attach this down with adhesive after that. This trim was bought for under R30 for a 6meter section.



I also added the final parts to my intake pipe before I glass it.



This has been a nightmare to make, but with a bit of tweaking she fits between the fuel lines, exhaust, alternator. I decided not to put it under the rear vent as how air from the engine exits here and with the intake pipe there, it's just going to suck it right back in the engine. So I've built it to be a cold air intake. Before I glass it, I need to heat up the whole pipe and crush certain sections where it comes close to the body.

[Firebird]

Nice work

[flatfourfan]

Started tiding some things up this weekend for CITP.

First was the fat hole that I had going through the firewall for my old intake pipe. I had to build a template on the other side as I had cut right in the middle of a ribbed section, so yeah......Then lay up one sheet of glass fibre and then pull it off and do the back side. The front has since been painted and looks like I didn't do anything at all. I love working and wrenching on this thing.



Next was the intake pipe. I finally got all my bends sorted and now I needed to wrap the joints and then give it all a textured paint to clean it up a bit. I'll snap a pic of it in the car, but I'm happy with it. I'm just going to have to make a bracket to attach the pipe to the engine so that it's nice and secure. Pretty much all of this pipe is hidden from view with only the top section being seen, hence me not being tooooo phased about a few bumps here and there. The final set up will be using a flat panel filter from a polo and the box will be custom built. I need a filter on the car as I need to drive it to sort out and test some new ideas.



Next weekend I have a final hole to fill in the firewall (actually 5 x 10mm drilled holes) and then one in the battery compartment on the floor and the job is then a done one. I also have to remove the intake and exhaust as I want to fit new gaskets. Clean up some wiring a bit and heatshrink some other stuff and I'm ready for CITP. The car will be rough for CITP, but she'll be presentable.

[flatfourfan]

So I finally got some feedback on some stuff that I ordered and I made the mistake of ordering what I thought was 2, but it turns out that it's 2 PAIRS. So I have the following for sale. They are not OEM, but damn they are a really good set and in fact better than the "OEM" stuff that I ordered a while back from Sierra Madre Collection.

Door Handle gasket large - $5.85 each - my price R50 for both
Door Handle gasket small - $5.94 each - my price R30 for both
Teardrop Taillight Rubber Gasket - $20.63 each - my price R380 for both sides
Front boot handle rubber set Small and Large - $12.87 - my price R100
Rubber Gasket for Horn Grille, 356/356A - $13.95 each - my price R200 for BOTH.
Grab handle interior rubber - $4.40 each - my price - R30

Buying them from the states before shipping/ import costs is almost R1500. Take all of the above and we can make it a round R750-00.











Location Pretoria
oh72-21379oh4

Cheers

- Gary

[Mr9a.fastyowner]

Ahhh too awesome love these speedsters love to own one oneday


Will keep an eye out for you at CITP ill be there in a loan beetle and will be making a vid of the show

[flatfourfan]

Well CITP didn't happen for me or the speedy as I got lumped in hospital the week before and wasn't going anywhere.

I have however been sorting out some bugs on the car and have now got a pack of parts ready to go on the car in the near future.

1) Time to move the radiator closer to the H-beam so that I can get my spare wheel mounted up front. This will also mean fitting the new slim line fan up front as well. I've also decided to re-do the scoop a bit and also to close the sides in with fibreglass and to get it all painted black so that you can't see anything. Because I have the radiator built into a frame, it's a case of pulling the frame out of the car, making the changes and making it thinner and then bolting it back into place. I'm also doing the back part of the radiator that will pull the air out and under the bottom of the car. Sound deadening as well as heat shields are also going in place.

2) Bought new exhaust gaskets as well as intake manifold gasket as well. Original German VW parts for R60 all in.....stoked!

3) Next big body mod (well first of many) is the rear tail lights, I finally have everything that I need and will be getting ready once the radiator mod has been done to fill everything up out back and to fit the tear-drops.

4) Linked to #3, myself and Roger(Firebird) have decided to offer some rubbers to the local Porsche/ Porsche replica guys, we have started small, but the interest has been huge, so without further delays, please check out the following link http://www.aircooledvwsa.co.za/viewtopi ... 76&t=28621. We'll be selling them on the forum and a few other places and will offer discounted prices for bulk sales and forum buyers. We have also identified a few locals who we will be handing comp sets to to do some real testing and some feedback on the product. I think that this is a great idea and more information can be found at the link.

[Bossie2004]

Well CITP didn't happen for me or the speedy as I got lumped in hospital the week before and wasn't going anywhere.
I have however been sorting out some bugs on the car and have now got a pack of parts ready to go on the car in the near future.

jeez Gary, sort out your bugs first, otherwise we don't get frequent updates on the Speedster, and that won"t be Lekke...hope you R UP & RUNNING soon...

[flatfourfan]

Cheers bossie

I'm on the mend though and am pretty much back to normal now and now I have to play catch up.

Current engine bay picture, showing the pig ugly cone filter that will be pulled off soon, but at this stage, it's better than running no filter at all.



I have my weekend planned out to pull a leaking front wheel slave and to hone and fit a kit if possible as well as to start on the wiring for the back to clean up the final mess that's behind the seat as well as to relocate some wiring from the pass side so that it all runs along the drivers side.

That should give enough time for my exhaust to cool down so that I can remove the intake and exhaust and then replace the gaskets for both.

[flatfourfan]

Good weekend, i got in a few hours on Saterday morning and pulled off the intake and exhaust and got to work replacing the gaskets.

The downpipe gasket that I knew was shot from the start. I first had to clean off all the gunk left behind by the exhaust shop.





All the carbon build up was cleaned off the engine side and the gaskets were fitted.



Even though the intake gasket looked ok, I decided to replace it anyway as I had a new one and the manifold was off the car anyway.



Conclusion? No leaks anywhere around the head, but I think that the downpipe flange that the exhaust shop made got warped as I still have an annoying leak somewhere there. Luckily, pulling the downpipe off is 20 minutes work.

Start to finish was about 3 hours work. I got to starting on the slave kit up front, but it seems that the kits didn't help and I'll have to replace the whole cylinder....oh well. I'll pull off the kit as they are brand new and use them some other time.

This weekend is the last of the wiring and sorting out the battery tray and then I can start with the radiator move. That will be the last of the mechanical stuff for the car and then it's making it all look good.

[flatfourfan]

Fiberglass didn't come in on time, so I had to keep myself busy. As this project is always an on-going tweak and tune, I decided to do something that had been staring me in the face since day one.

Bad/ exposed wiring under the dash as well as relocating the water temp meter.

The wiring was split up and was running on both sides of the car, I decided to re-loom all the wiring from front to back and also to group it together to make it neater. All of this will be hidden once the carpets go on, but I'm enjoying driving the car as it is that interior will probably be at least a year away anyway. I also took the opportunity to pull the wires for the tach that will be going in soon.



The heat gauge had also been bugging me, I was wondering why the hell should I mount it when the passenger can see? So when I was shortening all the wires and re-routing, I decided to move it over to the right hand side. Pretty much the same location, but just on the drivers side. It makes for a cleaner install. When you're driving it's right in line with your eye sight. I've already started plans to pull the steering column out and the ignition set up so that I can install the ignition on the dash. More then likely the next job if my fiberglass doesn't arrive in time.

Before.



After:



Next is to fit my modified SP steering wheel, but first I need to get the column sorted out. I really hope that I can pull the dash out this weekend and put in the porsche stuff for once and for all.

We also did some routing around and found the exhaust leaks that we had been looking for. One in the downpipe, (no weld), one on the silencer on the side, (again no weld) and one by the joint to the back box, (my fault), the last is an easy fix, but the other two will mean that Friday I"ll have to pop over to my local to have them weld it up for me. Note: Don't use van der graaf exhausts in Pretoria West. I've had nothing but grief from the install that they did.

Also proud to say that finally the car is water drip free..........3 weeks and no water lost........man that was fun.