have you fired up the engine? or did i miss that post?

Not yet. I'm getting all the details done before that happens. On Friday, Mario from www.thedubshop.net is coming to the shop with my new ECU, full custom wiring harness and custom cam sync (for the COP ignition). Then we'll get her fired-up, broke-in and start tuning.

I had most of the dash out and am converting the wiring for the custom 2 stalk steering column, so I have lots of wiring changes to do, get all my gauges & lights hooked-up and get everything routed above the new steering shaft so nothing is hanging down. I'm hoping to get a lot of that done tomorrow.

Please keep us posted on your progress. Do they pre-assign run times? Any idea what day or time you'll be running?

The Cap'n

I definitely will. Your entry buys a certain number of trips down the track. Depending how busy it is I've heard you'll likely only be able to get 2-3 runs in a day; you just hop in the line and wait till you're on the start line.

My entry fee for the 130 club gets me up to 6 trips down the salt +1 licensing run at no faster than 100mph (to calibrate our speedo/GPS/etc.). Once I have 2 consecutive runs that average between 130.000-139.999 without going over to 140+, I forfeit my remaining runs. If I want more runs to say better my time, I have to purchase another lot of 6.

I got my bottom brace for the front spoiler finished today and I'm really happy with it. The spoiler is really solid now and the only flex is in the rubber base skirt (as it should be). This ties into the front suspension for strength.



Over the past couple days, I turned a mess of a wiring system that was hanging half way to the floor into a working, correctly routed dash. My friend Robert helped me out by extending the gauge wiring a few weeks ago so it made it a lot simpler. Thanks Robert!! This thing is coming together!!

I also wired-in the new custom steering column. My original '67 column was fine and I could have modified it to work with the 911 steering, but it was a single stalk column and I really wanted to have the wipers up by my hands. Having to reach to the dash for it every 30 seconds with this PNW drizzle we get up here gets old on about 2 miles of driving. So if you remember, I severely cut down a '73 Super Beetle dual stalk column. Yesterday afternoon and today, I attacked the wiring and got them all wired-in. The 13 pin blinker went the way of the Dodo bird and I now have an electric flasher unit for the LED lights. As time allows, I may add an emergency flasher box by way of a couple diodes, but there's just no time for such things now.




I also got the driver's seat re-installed for the first time in a long time. That felt good too. I sat down in the drivers seat for the first time since about March of 2013 and it was like re-uniting an old friend that you have been missing. . . I can't wait to beat the crap out of this old friend!!



I also got the coils mounted on the engine and a new set of plug wires routed and cut to length with the correct air-cooled ends. I found that a Bosch set of Vanagon (hack, cough, puke. . .) wires have the correct 90 degree fittings on the coil end for the LS style coils. Just cut them to length and the air-cooled plug ends/seals just screw on like factory.



Friday is the big day that Mario Velotta from www.thedubshop.net comes over to my shop with the new MS3X ECU, custom wiring harness and cam sync so we can get this beast fired-up, broken-in and tuned.

Man I can't wait to drive this thing!! All in good time. . .

That's really a clean install Nate. Is your tangerine cable setup the newer version?

Thanks Kevin. I have no idea what version it is. I bought it used off craigslist.

Bump to the top so I don't have to search for it! How's it coming along?

The Cap'n

Nate - hopefully your runs will be recorded on video for us to enjoy!

I plan to record each run with one GoPro out the front windshield and a second one synced on the outside of the rear window getting the sound looking backward.

Have the windshield one capture the gauges, too

Tried replying to this last night, but the battery died on my laptop.

Yesterday was a day of progress, steps back and delays. Isn't that just typical of racing??

On the progress side, my Thursday trip to the San Juans to fix a car got canceled so I was able to have Mario come out a day earlier. We hit it first thing in the morning and by noon, the engine wiring harness was made and installed on the engine side. By 4pm, the entire EFI system was live and all sensors, coils, injectors and triggers were tested and checked good. In that regard a lot was accomplished. We stopped just short of starting the motor. That's where the step back came into play. . .

The step back came around noon when it was time to install the cam sync on the distributor hole. I had not yet installed the distributor drive gear since having it in there without a dizzy to keep it in place will cause it to rise-up in the hole and bind if you hand crank the engine. Even though it doesn't really matter on this cam sensor how the drive gear is orientated, I still wanted to install the drive gear in the correct orientation. So I began to hand crank the motor with the only thing I can hand turn it with; the alternator pulley. As I got about 3/4 turn, the motor "clunked" and bound-up!! I turned it back the other way and the same thing. . .

So we began the deconstruction to eliminate possibilities each time checking if it would turn. We checked the valve springs for binding (again) - good, removed the rockers - good, checked the valves with a straight edge - good borescoped the cylinders through the plug holes - good, borescoped the intakes through the ITBs - good, Everything was fine. The last time the motor had been rotated was during the valve adjustment and it was perfect. . . confident that it was not caused by anything internal, out came the motor.

Pulling this motor is not as straight forward as most cars since literally everything is custom on it. To fit in, it must be pivoted at a unit at about a 30 degree down angle on the fwd trans mounts, then you can separate it. 'Course that means you must disconnect all the shift linkage or you will destroy it and possible the trans nose cone and shift shaft. So as soon as we get it ready to separate, I loosen the final nuts on the bottom and shift the motor back about 1/4" and try turning the engine; IT SPINS FREE!! So now we know the issue is in the bell housing.

We separate the engine completely and the witness marks reveal that during the balancing process, a small amount of weight was needed to bring the pressure plate into balance with the rest of the assembly, so a small piece of steel was welded to the PP. Unfortunately, it was interfering with the trans case where the throw-out shaft is. . . So I used a burr to take down the boss on the trans case a bit and the problem was solved. Man, I'll tell you what, I'm gonna give my balancer some good natured crap over that one!!

As for the delay, we decided to hold-off with the starting and tuning until Monday. By the time Josh and I got the motor back in, Mario was finishing up with the wiring inside the car and we would have had enough time to do the initial break-in at least, but there were a couple details that I had overlooked and taking the weekend to get those sewn-up I think would be the wiser move. I also wanted to take advantage of one of the nice features on this new MS3X ECU. I need to install, and wire-in, a momentary button and an LED light to my gauge panel. This will enable me to datalog at the push of a button straight off the ECU to a SD card so no device like a computer or bluetooth phone will need to be in the car for this purpose. This is important since I can't legally have a laptop in the car during a race session.

So all-in-all a good day. Not as great as I would have hoped, but progress was made and by Monday we should be starting, tuning and driving this pig!!

I'll see if we can make that happen!!

As a racer, I'm sure you know that all this drama is supposed to be happening at the track, not 2 weeks early in the comfort of your shop ......................

The Cap'n

Spent the day getting all the little details ready for Monday morning with Mario (Part 2). Here’s a couple shots of the offending weld and where it was hitting and binding on the bell housing and the fix for it. . .





Got the motor re-stuffed (I’m getting really good at it and it’s scaring me.) With 2 jacks and 30 minutes it’s out and about another 40 minutes to go back in.

Here’s what it’s like with all the harness installed and zip-tied down. Super clean. IMHO, Mario from www.thedubshop.net makes the best harnesses you can buy.





Speaking of Mario and his products, here’s a shot of the mini cam sync installed that he designed and makes for our motors. This takes the place of this unit from CB Performance and scales it down to about a 1/5th scale. . . Freaking amazing little piece and it works great too.




So as of now, I have 5 gallons of Premium gas in the tank. The fuel pressure is set @ 35psi on the peanut gauge. I cranked the motor to prime it with oil until the light went out. Now all I have to do its wait until Monday morning. I've got the GoPros charged-up and ready to capture that sh*t-eatin' grin on Josh's face when that motor roars to life for the first time. . . Come-on Monday!!

I love everything about this thread. Father and son. Extremely cool car. Reasonable budget, and incredible ingenuity and fabrication. Simply fantastic!

Thanks for the kind words; we're having a good time with this project for sure.

No time for the real paint job before Bonneville and the rules say that your car must have a neat, presentable appearance.,. . . so a quick bomb-can-job will have to do for now so she's all one color. I found the perfect color of grey that I was looking for too. Ford tractor and implement grey; grey with a little brown in it.

My philosophy is: Go fast enough and no one will be able to notice the flaws!!





So far I have the roof, rear hatch and the front-end painted. The rest will be shot later in the week. I really want to drive it to the tranny clinic next weekend so I can break-in the motor before Bonneville. Fingers crossed on that one though. . .

Where did you get that paint? It's the exact color I need to paint my Westy propane tank.

Good luck on the start up tomorrow.

Ace hardware. It's their "Ace" brand @ $4.99 for a large can with the good style adjustable spray tip too.

Perfect, a CSOB special.

shelton and back. BOLD test for right out of the 'box'.

k

I approve of this!

Let me re-think this. . . Blast it to 130+ (hopefully) out of the box, or give it a shake-down run prior to the blast ro 130+ (hopefully). . . I'll give it a shake-down run thanks. Either way, the miles go on it. I live 20 minutes (15 miles) from the ferry terminal on Whidbey Island. Once you cross the ferry it's only about 60 miles to Shelton on the 101. It's a great twisty drive where I get to test the motor, suspension, everything!!

I don't know, that thing looks pretty low. Are you sure it won't scrape getting on/off the ferry? I'd hate to see you hung up on the ramp as the boat pulls away from the dock.

The suspension is adjustable front and rear. I don't plan to drive this thing on the road as low as it is now. `I will need to have 5-6" clearance in the rear and at least 5" in the front. That means it must come up 1.5" F & R for the street. For Bonneville, I'll have the front flex dam within 1/2"-3/4" off the ground with the rear about as low as I can go to make it flat.

In other news,. . .

The new motor has fought Josh and I from day one. Today was the biggest PITA I have had in memory. From now on, this car will be referred to as "Murphey's Squarsche" cause this pig is going to drive me to drink,. . . MORE.

We have fought poor parts from the word go. Today we discovered that the pump cover was not flat all the way across and it literally poured oil as soon as the oil light went out. Then we found a head leak caused by a bad cylinder. I can tell you with 100% certainty that I will NEVER, NEVER, EVER use AA cylinders again. I don't give a shit how much a set of Mahles cost.

So at the end of the day, we were faced with a decision: Continue to fuck with the new motor with a dwindling time schedule, roll the dice and possibly not have a motor with no time to ready the spare motor. OR get the tried and true spare motor in with the new injection and make make it to Bonneville and run the shit out of this car. . . Not a decision I wanted to make, but not having a car to run is just not an option at this point. I've promised Josh that we're going and I won't welsh on that promise. We're going and we're bringing a car to compete with. So a decision has been made. For now, we're going to shelve the 2.3L and methodically work the bugs out when we're not under the pressure of a hard timeline. When it's ready, it's ready. The 2056cc will go in with the new injection, the new exhaust and we're gonna run the wheels off this bitch. No B.S.!!

We'll get these issues ironed out in time and it'll make the victory all the sweeter. For now I think it better to relieve the pressure a bit so we don't take un-due risk with 3 year$ worth of part$ acqui$ition and turn them into a pile of junk on the floor of the shop because we were cutting a corner for a deadline. That's just foolish IMHO.

On a bright note, I just un-corked a fresh bottle of Deception Distillery, Skagit Moon moonshine. It's the smoothest corn squeezin's you've ever tasted.

i have a set of 94mm mahles when you're ready for them. what a hassle you're going thru so late in the process.

Bump!

The Squarsche is ready for Bonneville!! The only thing left to do is to add a tow hook front and rear and get a 4-wheel alignment. Everything is painted and on the car now. I came out exactly as I had envisioned it. I've driven it about 400 miles in the past 3 days including the tranny clinic and other than the alignment (the rear is out badly and makes it a bit twitchy in high-speed corners), it really drives nice

As of last night. . .

Nate, your shop car looks awesome hope you do well at bonneville. John

Love the rear quarter treatment. The flaring looks great.

Good luck Nate and Josh. 130 here you come!

What group are you running with?

We're running in a street car class called "The 130 Club". To gain entry you must have 2 back-to-back passes that together average between 130.000 and 139.999 without going over. I really don't anticipate going over will be an issue. It's the getting to 130 flat that is going to be the challenge for us now that we're running the back-up motor. Ether way, I'm going to have a good time with my son and soak it all in.

i believe it could be a 'show case' car in hot vws and dune buggies. so much innovation i hope it gets there some day. sounds pretty hot with the 'punny' 2056.

See you out there on the 6th!

BUMP for roll call! Who's gonna be there to support the effort?

The Cap'n

I'm there in the afternoon- got talked into a golf tourney in the morning... I don't even play golf

Lookin' good Nate. You'll probably see a horribly-painted yellow Opel GT there with a cheesy Honda-looking rear wing there... it is our 24 Hours of Lemons "race car." It is a tribute to the number 8 ALMS Corvette car, but I'm sure the team would be hugely embarrassed. Tell Mike not to blow it up again this year -- last year we blew it up at 118mph on the Salt. So far, it is the World's Fastest Lemon. The following weekend, the "Tinyvette" is scheduled to run newly-expanded Thunderhill Raceway.

Good luck!

I'll see you there mgp4591!! Strawman; I'll definitely check it out. I love the Opal GTs (mini-vettes).

Josh and I have the truck loaded w/ the car on the dolly and we're out of here before dawn headed for Bonneville. I'll try and update daily on how the adventure is going.

Keep your fingers crossed. . .

I would, but then I couldn't pick my nose....

Gonna finish loading an extra heavy assortment of Krust into the wagon, bikes are on the top, the ice chests are getting filled, and the stinkin' diesel Krustymobile will be on the way tomorrow AM. Plenty of insults and disrespect, as well as sarcasm, to go around. See ya'll there! We'll be at the motel 6 when we're not out at the track.

The Cap'n

I know it's the 6th thru the 9th but are you planning on running the 6th? I can't be there til later in the afternoon and I hope to see you along with some other bitchin' rides. I also get up for work at 4 am on Sunday so staying late isn't an option...

We left at 0-dark-30 (3:30am) and left the shop @4:30am. We made pretty good time in the "Mighty Ranchero". We just checked-in at the Super8 in Burley, ID which is about 30 miles east of Twin Falls on the I-84 after a marathon day. We're planning to get back on the road @ 6am so we can be at the salt around noon tomorrow to get the pits set-up and hopefully get the car through tech inspection before it closes at 6pm.

I'm hoping to race most of those days if I can. There's no schedule or anything. When you're car is ready, you get in the line and wait your turn. That's about the long and short of it.

I look forward to seeing both of you guys!!

That's never stopped you in the past. . .

Wow. Just Wow. Absolutely awesome car.

I spent my Kindergarten through 8th grade years (73 - 81) being shlepped back and forth to St Johns Lutheran School in Orange, CA in an perfectly/anally maintained yellow squareback.

Best project ever. Absolutely LOVE it.

AWESOME
I hope the rain and thunderstorms stay away!
Good luck

Insert smiley of man standing with arms crossed, impatient expression and tapping his toe while waiting for and update.

O.K., sheesh. . . patients is a virtue right??

Friday:

We got on the salt by 11:30. Spent about 3 hours getting out pits set-up. Most of the air-cooled VWs are together in a long row. We're next to the Appletree guys.

Breezed through tech with no issues. One minor rule they added literally while I was in line was taping the headlights, so we did that and it was a done deal.

Saturday:

We arrived late and missed the drivers meeting. No big deal as it's pretty straight forward. Right about 9:30 we got in the 130-club line on the short course. Soon after that, racing was stopped because a gal driving a streamliner motorcycle (250+mph) crashed and the only ambulance at the flats had to take her to the hospital to get checked out. Around 1pm racing resumed. The VERY NEXT car on the long course was a steam powered streamliner. It too crashed and racing stopped again until about 3pm.

By about 4pm I was able to make my qualifying run(!). It went off without a hitch. The car is running very rich due to the high altitude (4200ft) so I'll have to address that in the morning by adjusting the altitude compensation % in the ECU. Because of this the the motor was really lazy feeling , 5th gear was basically useless. It just couldn't pull in high gear. Shifting at a conservative 5K, we held 90mph through the speed traps. We were limited to no more than 100mph on the qualifying run so we could feel-out the car. The car is absolutely rock solid. Not a wiggle or shake or wander to be had. I couldn't be happier with how it drove.

We were able to officially be the first type-3 to ever compete at Bonneville and we bested the current type-3 top speed by 15 mph on the speed limited qualifying run. Once I get the AFRs leaned out to where they are at sea level, this thing should really fly.

After we got to the pits Cap'n Krusty walked up with his friend and we spent the better part of the afternoon chatting and watching the car fly by at the 3 mile marker on the long course.

More to follow. . .

pictures ?!!?!?!

During the marathon wait in the staging lanes. . .

Click to view attachment

I'll post more tomorrow evening. I'm spent for today.