Nate - very exciting to see the car out at Bonneville ready to compete! I look forward to seeing the pics and videos from the runs.....good luck!! Jon

Looking at that pic on the salt makes me think that some people go to Burning Man while others go to Burning Gas.

Nice work Nate!

Congratulations Nate!

Don't forget about pictures of the big salty lake you drove thru getting to your pit area! What a frickn mess!

Yeah, I'll have to get one tomorrow.

Were you able to get all that salt off your Harley?? That was a frickin' mess for sure!!

I sure enjoyed meeting you. Thanks for braving the salt lake.

Having a great time down here at World Of Speed. Bonneville (and land speed racing in general) is I think the only place where a privateer on a shoestring budget using junkyard parts and his own ingenuity, can truly compete aainst the big boys and win. It's like you're teleported back to the 1950s & 1960s when hotrodders had to make everything themselves because the aftermarket didn't exist. Every car is experimental in it's own way and out-of-the-box thinking is the norm. Very refreshing if you ask me.

Here's our pits.




Out on the salt this morning just before the HotVWs group photo.



After the first run was in the books, I could officially label the Squarsche as:



In the staging lanes for run 2 this morning.



If you've never been and it's on the bucket list, make plans for the World Finals this fall, or one of the events next summer.

When I get home, I'll post some run videos to share.

Very cool Nate!! Did you make it to 130?

Sadly, not even close. The plan-B motor 2056 just does not have the HP or the RPM range needed to pull in 5th gear here. Shifting at the 5600rpm redline, it pulls through 4th gear but 5th gear is pretty useless without more hp. We are running very rich at the moment due to the elevation (4200ft) and its making this motor feel lazy and lack-luster. I'm hoping to pull some fuel out today now that I've downloaded the right firmware and the correct version of Tuner Studio for the MS3 (my laptop only had a version compatible with my old MS2 ECU.

What we have lacked in speed, we've made up for in reliability and consistency. I've only loaned tools to other racers never needing to tin a wrench on the car and my speeds have been within 2/10th of a MPH at the speed traps. With a leaner tune, I think we'll do much better today.

Fingers crossed. . .

I have enjoyed this thread and watching the progress!- seeing so much happen in a short time here at the end, sorry to hear of the motor issues!
My dad had a squareback, i dont remember what year it was, but had to be @ 65-68, because i remember riding in that thing, and going with when he traded it in for a brand new super beatle in '71 - i have not seen one in person in years!
Good luck running today!!!

Great thread! Thanks for sharing your build and Salt Flats experience.

How does the aero stability feel? Are you permitted to add air deflectors or spoilers? I suppose you can if the front spoiler is okay. Pushing that boxy shape through the air at speed is going to take some horsepower.

Back in Santa Maria. I AM WIPED! Road trips at 70 aren't like they were at 20! Great to meet Nate and Josh, see some other friends, walk the pits (did over 8 miles on foot. Didn't even take the bicycles off the roof of the Krustymobile. Damn things cut my fuel mileage by 30%. Had a GREAT time! Definitely a bucket list thing. You get to see an AMAZING assortment of approaches to the issues of going fast, and meet a lot of great, friendly, innovative, and otherwise VERY cool people. Met a guy who once spun out at 200MPH and recovered, clearing the traps at 202, only to be told the run didn't count because of the spin ............. My wife wants to do this one in another year or two. Gotta go pull the fender liners off the TDI and get the rest of the salt out .....................

The Cap'n

I was pretty nasty but I got most of it off in Wendover before riding back to SLC. Still finding chunks hiding in strange places but should be cleared out for Thursday heading to Grand Junction. Have you thought about my little suggestion? Lots of fans would love to see you in Moab in a couple of days...

We're about half way home and have stopped for the night in Oregon.

Going to Bonneville to race was a whole group of adjectives. Eye-opening, fun, bonding, challenging, aggravating, exhilarating, retro, fun (did I say fun already??), etc, etc

Eye-opening: Anyone at or near seal level who has a hot car will be disappointed in it's performance at 4200'. At home (sea-level) my car pulls hard in every gear. I shift into 5th at around 90mph and it keeps pulling pretty nicely even when I let-off around 105-110mph. At Bonneville, in the thin air my car felt like it was breathing through a straw. In fact it was. at home, WOT is 100kpa. At Bonneville, WOT was 85kpa (with the engine off and the MAP sniffing ambient air). This cannot be overstated. It results in a very lazy feeling car. Having experienced this first hand now, I have even more respect for the guys who go fast especially on a N/A motor.

With the back-up motor, I knew 130 club was not possible. But I assumed I would be in the 110-115mph range at the end of the 1 mile course. . . Boy was I wrong!! Our car was very consistent but consistently slower than I would have guessed. We ran 94.3-94.5mph on day 2 shifting @ red line (5600) on every shift. I would shift into 5th at around the 3/4 mile mark but it just wouldn't pull in high gear. It couldn't breathe. It was very interesting and aggravating. This morning we did our final 2 runs and made a change to the fuel maps to lean it out a bit since it was pig-rich. Progress was made and we ran a 96.0 on the first run. So before the second and final run of the meet, I removed the air dam since it was only needed around 105 in the past. We really hoped to break 100mph after removing all that frontal area. . . Well, it only improved us to 96.9mph.

The take away for me was that I really needed a better cam (this motor has a stock bottom-end) and the ability to get 6500 or more out of every gear. Going into this meet over 80hp down and 1500 less rpm range blocked us.

Traction was also a big issue. My tires were not ideal for Bonneville, but I knew that. Driving on the salt is like driving on astro turf. It's hard but soft at the same time.

We were super reliable all through the event. I only loaned my tools to other racers. My car needed nothing between runs.

Parting shots from the salt. . .






As for cleaning the salt off the cars, virtually everyone I talked to said the exact same thing: Put it on jack stands with no wheels and put 4 oscillating Rain Bird sprinklers under it for 2-3 days to douche it all out.

BTW, speaking as a spectator as I walked through the staging lanes, I came to the conclusion that land speed racing very well be the last of the motorsports that are still like it was back in the '50s-'60s. These cars are all hand-made with out-of-the-box approached to problems is the norm just like back in the old days when there was no automotive aftermarket.

I wonder how much mph was lost to tire spin/slip?

maybe add more weight for traction next time?

I like that last photo of your tow rig! How about a description of the Ford? Thanks again for this thread.

Our tow vehicle is our '62 Ranchero (AKA: the "Mighty Ranchero"). It's powered by a pretty new 200-6 and a C4 automatic. She's not a power house but she tows at 60-65mph and is dead reliable. On this trip I think we've passed only 6-7 vehicles; all semis and 1 motorhome.

next year for the 130 club. what an experience for you and your son!! far more valuable and they will last for the rest of your lives.

Great looking car. You should have been down about 13-14% on your HP @ 4200' ASL. Is that close to your calc's?

Great adventure for you and Josh, and an awesome build thread. Now you know you can make parts pickup runs @ 96mph!

When we got back to the shop last night, we dropped off the two cars and hopped in the 914 w/ a 1.8L with over 350Kmiles on it. The 914 is a dog compared to the Squarsche and it felt as quick as the Squarsche felt @ Bonneville!! I'd say at least 15% down on power.

I spent the entire day today with the pressure washer wand in hand spraying the salt off the Squarsche, the Ranchero and the tow dolly. Holy ton of salt Batman!! I would guess that I sprayed off 100# of salt off of EACH car!! I pulled all the fenders off the Squarsche to make things easier than the Ranchero. The front fenders weighed about 40# each!! The rears had almost nothing on them.

After 2 cars the the tow dolly were done, the parking lot was solid white from all the salt. Freakin' increadible. . . I am so glad I had Josh douche both cars with two coats of SaltX solution prior to leaving.

A short action video from Bonneville. . .

http://youtu.be/tPFrJx8GY6w

Josh early on the last morning on the salt. . .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qo9LuAI9ghA

That's pretty damn cool to watch, especially the rear view! Jon

that boy needs some schoolin!

Hey Crusty; Remember laughing at this guy in the Camero dressed in a Faux F1 suit??

Click to view attachment

Here's a little back story on him from one of the guys working the event at Lands End. . .

"Hugh Coltharp (USFRA treasurer, works at Land's End) said the guy got to Land's End and wouldn't pay to go on the salt to see the event. He was extra-grumpy and rude and left. I hear he evidently decided to drive around the end of the pavement and the "pay gate" and save himself some money -- showing the USFRA that he was better than them.

Hmm, let's see. he saved the twenty bucks of a one day pass, but spent how many hundreds getting towed out? evil evil rolleyes

I hear he wouldn't speak to anyone after he was freed. Grouch!"

Karma's a bitch!!

We saw him at the car wash on Sunday afternoon. Lotsa pointing and snickering among the folks on hand. Bet he failed to get most of the salt out from under his car. Guess that Go Pro didn't keep him out of trouble ..................... Narcissism is beginning to catch up to Darwinism as a cause of hilarity among the masses.

Missed you guys at the VW barbecue!

The Cap'n

Poser Justice! Sad part is, he has no clue how silly he looks.

Great adventure Nate. You and Josh have stories for a lifetime...or until you go back to the salt for another try.

Some onlookers later told me the tow guy made the driver dig it out far enough to allow access for the tow rig ......................

The Cap'n

Yeah, when we passed him (pointing and laughing) he had a shovel and was frantically going at it with the tow truck parked across the road looking on. . . Boy he really showed everyone how it's done alright.

I felt really bad about missing the BBQ; sorry about that. We left the salt around 4pm and we took a "nap". At 9:30pm I woke-up and realized we slept through it. I was pretty bummed about missing it. The sun really took it out of us though while we were there.

You should be bummed. I had to share the Santa Maria Style tri-tip with the cooks. Not that they complained .............

The Cap'n

Doh!!

Let it be known that the Cap'n is not nearly as "Crusty" in person as he may seem here. . .

It was really great to meet you. Thanks for your support!!

Busted me! You sure you really wanted to do that? Years of karefully krafted reputation down the drain ................. Guess you're gonna have to wait until the next time I go to Barneyville (just WHERE was that big purple fella, anyway?) to enjoy gourmet beef, Santa Maria Style.

It was a truly great experience, and my wife's sooo pissed she missed the 100th anniversary event. I'll be back ....................

The Cap'n

Saw this on the Volksrod forum.
http://volksrods.com/forum/showthread.php?...537&page=11


"Nate Morse 96.990 T828 130 67 T3 Squareback 2000cc Super Block Porsche 914 Engine
New T3 VW Challenge Record Holder"

Awesome Nate ...

Since our trip to Bonneville, I’ve been driving the Squarsche daily so I can sort out any issues that it has and to refine the front suspension.

The first thing I did was to remove the spacers for the fwd trans mount. Thankfulluy I never had a problem when it counted at Bonneville, but as soon as I got home, I had a hell of a time getting 5th and Reverse. Once I removed them and re-adjusted the shift linkage, smooth as butta. . . 1-5 & Rev.

When driving on the street, I was getting a lot of bump-steer input from the suspension. While it was fairly manageable it could cause some twitchiness in high-speed turns and when I would give quick steering inputs (like darting out to pass someone). The suspension geometry had been altered quite a bit in the grafting in of the Porsche 911 suspension/steering so a slow graduated approach was needed to bring back the responsive steering of a Porsche. I began by playing with ride height since a Porsche’s suspension is dramatically altered by height adjustments. On a Porsche, as you lower the car, it toes-in; as you raise the car it toes out so you have to find that sweet-spot. After a few days of playing, I was able to find the perfect height that balanced toe-in, neutrality and toe-out. There were also differences in how the car handled between a full tank and an empty tank which told me that the stock torsion bars were just too soft in the Squarsche. So I installed a set of Sway-A-Way torsions that I picked-up at the Porsche swap meet a couple years ago. I got them so cheap they were almost free (like $50). Holy crap!! The car is completely different animal now. Very predictable handling and it’s a 2-finger driver at 100mph!! Yeah, it’s loosing it’s soft ride, but I don’t care; it handles like a 911!!

Since the summer weather is pretty much over now, I installed the heater hoses that connect the H/Es and the body. Seat heaters help, but I need a little defrost in the morning when it’s in the low 50s to keep the fog off.

I also finally got the rear brake splash-guards powder coated so I installed those since the rains are finally upon us here in the PNW.

The stereo head unit stopped getting the noise to the speakers, so I’ll have to investigate that, but all I all, progress is being made on the refinements to the Squarsche. I am in work on door panels and arm rests and another accessory for it. No, they’re NOT stock and YES, they are Porsche inspired.

I was browsing Tower Hobbies and ran across this. You may need one of these.

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti00...=LXDDBX&P=W

Now that you've got the easy stuff out of the way, when are we going to see the gyroscopic cup holder installation?

Nate, you got that T-3 to go how fast again? Crazy!

Two rare events in one day. A blazing fast T3 and Instant Karma delivered upon a Ass Wipe. Damn, I woulld have paid good $$ just to witness that stuck in the sand.

The relentless quest for speed and better handling continues. . .

I made further refinements to the front suspension by finally installing the Speedway Engineering 1” hollow sway bar that I bought last spring. This is a bar that I bought used and modified from a Porsche 914. It’s normally sold as a NASCAR sway bar and has 18” billet arms on each side for the drops. These had been trimmed down a few inches and the arms had been custom drilled and tapped with 28 holes each for very fine stiffness adjustments and came with Weltmeister double heim joint drops that attach to the Porsche front A-arm tabs. I don’t have the weight on this, but I can say it’s easily half the weight of an aftermarket type-3 sway bar and is much lighter than a factory Porsche sway bar assembly.

I made some adjustable mounts that hold the bar in the factory type-3 location for the upper front-end tube. I made the mounts eccentric so I could move the bars location in any position within the front-end mount. This will make using the softest and firmest settings more accessible without having the drops at steep angles. I also slightly modified the upper corners of the billet side bars to get just a bit more tire clearance.



This bar is highly adjustable with 28 holes for the drops off the arms. The closer you mount the drops to the sway bar the less twist on the bar is allowed due to lack of leverage and the flatter the car is in the corners. The further you mount the drops from the bar, the more twist is allowed since you’ve increased the leverage on the sway bar. With no experience with this type of bar and certainly on this car, I decided to start-off with hole #14 right in the center. . .



I took it down the street where I have a turn circle that I can properly test it on. . . WOW!! This thing lays flat in the corners!! I can’t imagine what it would be like even closer to the bar!! I really want to get this thing out on the road to Artist Point to give it a full workout, but that’ll have to wait until next summer now that the road is closed. The car’s handling is getting closer now to what I wanted it to be so I may have to check with the local track safety requirements so I can hopefully schedule a track day in the spring. I just hope I can wait that long. . .

If'n ya can't wait, just take a couple runs up Mt. Erie. That'll get the adrenaline flowing.

Makes me smile that your bump steering was happening whe you "darted out to pass someone" all in a square back
Never made to dart out anywhere, and certainly not to pass anyone, ever.

Yea Compression start your automatic 73 Blazer coming DOWN Mt Erie. On tall skinny mud tires. That will get your adrenaline flowing--- and your passengers screaming!!!

That's why I love this platform; no one expects it.



No thanks!! Mt Erie is literally on my way home, but I don't like to drive that road fast. Too tight (calling it a two lane road is a stretch) with too many hikers, bikers joggers and critters popping out of nowhere all the way up and down.

I'm guessing you'd need about 30+mph to start an automatic. . .

Yea something like that. I was to busy watching the road to look at the speedo! And it was a couple decades ago in late fall I think. The tourist had all gone home. It would be fun to get it blocked off for hillclimbs though. Probably upset the birkinstock crowd. And it is kinda small up top.

They're pissed there is even a road or cars to drive on it.

I've been a little nervous about coupling the new 2.3L race motor to the Squarsche with just a stock clutch installed. In the past I had been able to slip the clutch just a bit in the harshest driving with the 2056cc engine with a disc I used to run. That hasn't been a problem wince I replaced the disc, but I didn't want that to be an issue. So when I found a guy on the local craigslist selling a NOS Centerforce dual friction 914 clutch kit, I bit and picked it up cheeeeeeeep.



He bought it back in 1999 for about $350. I bought it in 2014 just before Christmas for $250. Normally this set-up goes for around $850+ today so it was quite a score for me.

In order to comfortably use this HD clutch assembly, I would have to upgrade my clutch actuation to a hydraulic set-up. So after seeing what was out there and reading mixed reviews, I decided on the SACO in the tunnel MC/slave cyl kit since I could use my existing pedals.



I’m no stranger to custom installs. In fact, a good custom job beats a stock job just about any day since it’s doing something different. I love custom work. What I do not love, is tons of custom fabrication when the parts are advertised as “bolt-in”.

I knew going into this install that it would not be 100% bolt-in because I have a Porsche 923 5-speed trans which is anything but stock so I knew I would have to figure out how to make the slave cylinder work with what I have. I did half way expect the master cylinder install to go fairly smoothly and be relatively bolt-in since the kit was made and advertised for both T-1 & T-3 cars. I can’t speak about how it installs into a T-1, but I can tell you all that the kit takes considerable tweeking to fit into a T-3. In retrospect, I think installing cheap Chinese chrome engine tins and getting them to seal like factory German tins would have been easier.

I’m just glad that I already had a larger access hole cut into my tunnel AND that I have a lift here at my shop so I had easier access than either on my back or through the top by removing the fuel tank.

To fit this MC and bracket into a type3, here are some of the added steps not noted in the instructions that had to be done in order for it to physically fit in it's intended location:

- I had to trim the upper, left tunnel cover mount hole off so the MC mount bracket/MC would even fit into the tunnel (it sticks out of the front of the tunnel approx 2”).
- I had to trim the entire left side of the tunnel access hole so the bracket would fit flat when bolted in.
- I had to use a burr to clearance the bottom, fwd end of the bracket approx ½”X1” in order to allow the 2 mount bolts to align with the factory pedal bolt locations.

It doesn't sound like much, but I cannot stress what a TOTAL PITA this was due to the location and access (or lack there of). Approx 5 hours of back and forth, taking a bit off and try and wrestle it back in only to find I had more to remove here and there. All the while laying across the seats reaching through a sharp access hole. There is no easy way to work in the pedal area; it ALWAYS sucks in the best of circumstances. I cannot tell you all just how many times I seriously contemplated taking this MC & bracket across the street and filling it full of .45 slugs!!!




The slave cylinder was surprisingly straight forward and rather simple. It fit perfectly between the casting on the trans case which holds the clutch cable end and the clutch arm. I simply drilled out the Porsche clutch clevis to fit the S/C. I turned a teflon bushing with my lathe for the other end and bolted it to the trans case being sure that it could move and pivot in the stationary hole. I had to slightly trim one of the ribs about 1/8" so the slave cylinder wouldn't hit it. Lastly, I replaced the supplied 90degree #3AN fitting with a straight #3AN fitting so the braided pressure line would fit better.



Of course, once I mounted the reservoir and bled the system, I quickly discovered that I needed just a bit more pedal movement then I could get with the factory hook. So I had to take out and pull apart the pedal assembly. I cut-off the hook and made a piece that was 10mm longer and welded it to the clutch pedal rod. Then I made a new clutch MC push rod that was about ¼” longer. When I then discovered that I still needed slightly more throw, I relented and cut about ¼” off the pedal stop. . .

FINALLY, a hydraulic clutch that works as it should. No small feat though getting this kit to work on my T-3. Not all the issues I encountered were due to the kit not fitting a type3. However, there was just no way that MC & bracket would ever fit without a lot of massaging of the bracket and the car.

While it seems to works well, I don’t know if I could recommend this to anyone installing it into a T-3 without letting them know what they are in for. Again, I’m no stranger to custom fabrication; it’s just irritating when parts that are supposedly designed to work and fit, don’t even come close to either. I’m glad this was for my car and not for a client.

Always wanted one of these

The quest for reliable speed continues. . .

After much contemplation, thought and otherwise thinkin' things over, I've decided that dry sumping the 2316cc race motor would be a wise investment. Here have been my thoughts in random fashion. . .

- The deep sump hangs down a little lower than I would like and otherwise makes me a bit nervous. I'm retired Navy and when I go on base with the Squarsche, I have to cross some pretty big steel barriers that would either (a) hit the deep sump or (b) come darned close to hitting the deep sump and every crossing I would wonder: "is this the day. . ." I don't want to test it!!

- Long sweeping turns are no big deal when you have 12 quarts in the dry-sump. They can be a problem in a wet-sump motor with less than half that. . .

- All the added weight is low and forward of the center of gravity in the car.

- Not having to worry about ruining my high $$$ race motor by running dry on oil; PRICELESS!!

I've acquired a new CB dry sump pump. This will be dutifully modified for use in a type4 and will be ported internally.




The custom mount bar I made earlier will need to be highly modified since the inlet/outlet to & from the dry sump tank are right where the solid mounts are that I made earlier. . . (sigh!) Such is custom car building. . . So a re-design is in order so the oil lines can fit in that space while still mounting the engine. I already have ideas so look for an update on that when I have time to make it happen.

The tank I found was an eBay special in the form of a Richardson Racing 12qt dry sump tank out of a modified race car. Some of the fittings are too big and will need to be made more VW-compatible. Some are not needed. But this tank has an integrated O-Berg oil filter and should fit nicely where the battery now resides under the rear seat. For the price, I couldn't pass it up!!



The battery will be permanently moved to the "frunk" where it belongs and where it will aid in adding weight where needed.

frunk... that's funny

Nice work as usual

Very keen to see how this turns out. I've been think about a dry sump conversion for a while. As in understand the CB pump still uses the same oil pickup and pressure ports in the case?
I seem to remember something about it being more difficult to run a remote filter and cooler like with some others. I assume it's still easy to adapt to ports in the block for that though.
Very keen to see how it sits behind the fan shroud. Would it be possible to show it with 914 engine mounts?
Cheers
Edwin