I love what you did here Chris! I'm going to be working something similar in the next month or two, but I may try to make a custom core to size. Love seeing the ingenuity!

Yes you definitely want one that fits in the box, preferably one that exits out the side. In a stock 914 everything in that area fits PERFECTLY without a mm to spare although it doesn't look that way. Mine was a PAIN IN THE ARSE to install because it's so close to the fuel tank filler. I think an aftermarket Mustang one that is thinner might work. You could trim off the circular piece above the fan right down to the box (which is necessary for any heater core) and then take it to an auto parts store and have them find one for you.

Ah....hindsight...at least it's useful for others...

So "how's it going" with the MS3X install? I think it's best summed up by the first 43 seconds of this clip.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgOfuBB6Mf4


Bob's been helping me a lot but the MS forum has been poor. I think I might post some stuff here in case anyone has other ideas...

Remember the post card with the Cow standing on her own utter which read "So you think you've got problems!"? Well don't feel alone my friend. I damned near took mine out back and shot it this last weekend. I won't pollute your thread with my problems though. But, as with every problem there lies an answer within and I finally found mine. Looks like we may be posting in tandem again.

Please do. I have an older MS installation on my 3.2 twin plug, cammed build with EDMIS and PMO throttle bodies. I've had some of the inevitable bugs to work out after the masterful build by Series9 (Joe O'Brien) that I could share. I've been thinking of improving the current setup with a Clewett TPS (basically a "wide band" TPS) for the PMOs to take advantage of the Megasquirt ability to do ITB tuning maps which is a blend of MAP at lower loads and RPMs and alpha-n under loads/acceleration. I want to get rid of my backfire issues and improve performance. It's complicated!

Wait. So the solution is to shoot it? Or just threaten?

Your spoiled by this forum. I'm on lots of others and this place hands down has much less of the factor. I can name a few others I never go back to., unless I really must.

Post away I will try to help all that I can, you need the coil pack back? Or are you running the coil on plugs still?

Yes I AM spoiled by this forum and the people. Totally agree. Bob has spent HOURS with me but he really didn't use MS on the EG33 for too long before switching engines plus he's 700 miles away. And MS3X is slightly different than MS2. I'm sticking with COP so we're all good on the coil pack (for now at least ). So are you buying Bob's old car? PM me if so. I'll tell you all about it.

MadSwede, will do. Post whatever you want to share! The firing order on the 3.3 is the same as the 3.2. Might be able to adapt some tuning. BTW you should have heard the backfire I got when I tried to start this SOB. Luckily the engine was not cycling at that moment and it came out the exhaust. It was right after I stopped cranking it. Sounded like an M80 going off. kaBOOOOOOM.

Kent's what's wrong with your car?

Well let's just say my last diagnosis was completely inaccurate. IOW's, I was wrong. I'll detail it in my thread so others won't make the same mistake. I will be using the other half of that roll of hose soon if just to clean up the front trunk area. EDIT: I didn't answer your question, "What is wrong with your car?" Answer; the builder!

Ah...still getting a little hot? It'll cool WAY down with the 1.25s. Just try not to have any detours or bends in the hoses. Straight back...think about going underneath this time...way less drama. I can send pics if you need them.

BTW I REALLY want ITBs but the cost is just too much I think. Would look SO GOOD too.

Yep. Engine and radiator temps are perfect but the radiator heats the gas tank. Turns out I'm not the 1st. Tony (cracker) had the same problem. He gave me several pointers. The best being; start by enlarging the wheel well openings!

Has anyone done any successful ducting to exit out the wheelwells? That seems to solve alot of the problems in other cooling systems in exotics, etc. It would isolate the heat from the gas tank and anything else much better and could be relatively light if it's done correctly.

Yes several examples.

Click to view attachment

As much as I like the above unit it is for a oil cooler. I

Click to view attachment

This is for a Radiator

Those are great examples but the radiator is what we're concerned with and while the carbon fiber is really cool, most of us don't have the skills for that so I'm looking for possibly a sheet metal creation of some sort. I'm currently working on the brakes and suspension but when I get to that point I think I'll need to come up with something functional for ducting. I'll probably be making some bends with the hose so I'll need all of the help I can get.

I've considered using canvas w/ metal framing if I end up going this route. Quick and easy to fabricate or remove.

^Jon, do you have links to this setup configuration and more details about the TPS?

Sounds like an old airplane fabrication method, dope and fabric.
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/kits...srebuilding.php

Mike,

I think he is talking about the Hall Sensors for the PMO carb. TPS can not be a wideband. yOu could increase its ability to be more precise ultimately it ends as a voltage reading.

Hall Effect TPS for PMO

You could build the shape out of canvas like you said and then coat it with fiberglass and polyester lamenting resin. I had a fiend do that to build a kayak when I was 11

You would have an item to sell if you used a standard cooling that guys building any water cooled 914 could use.

I had heat blowing into my cabin in my old SBC set up in the 70s. “If you want to run cool, you got run on heavy heavy fuel” No I just always thought it was not a good idea to warm up the gas.

Bob B

Ruby914 made that carbon fiber masterpiece. Maybe he would be willing to make some fiberglass copies. Kent I think the thing you need to do is get all of the water lines away from the fuel tank. The larger ones would be a bitch to snake through your longs and then up through the body. I'd just go down the center of the car underneath like I did. None are near the fuel tank even though it looks like it. You could wrap the ends that will be inside the front trunk to keep the heat down too.

Hey Mueller, the latest MS manual has some good info in ITBs. Download the "setting up" manual here and start at page 64:

MS3 Manual

Fleece or tshirt cloth would be better, then fiberglass mat the inside for strength. It's how custom speaker enclosures are done.

http://www.tribalvisiontruck.com/newsubbox.htm

Just checking in on the thread here to see if Photobucket had erased all the awesome photo documentation on this site. Still there! Whoo hoo!

Hey Chris, I started a video series on my Lancia that you inspired with your build thread. This introduction is a bit long and raw and subsequent videos will be shorter and more focused. They will however still be somewhat silly, like me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2MQ3dORePI

914 world calling Chris. Looking for updates. We need our fix. Kent

You might get called out on the slacker thread




It would take the heat off me

Ha! Yes I will update this weekend. The short answer is that unless you have "Bob level" skills, Megasquirting an older Subaru engine using the stock VR sensors is not that easy. I have it up and running on the stock ECU again and it's been behaving very well. I'll post some pics very soon. Was avoiding responding because people are subscribed to this thread and the update is a DUD .

I have to say very quietly that I am less interested in the 914 and more interested in the Vanagon now. Would love to get it up and running but wow what a chore! It's literally just like an old "garage find" 914. Someone put it away very carefully a LONG time ago and it's been sitting ever since. Every system, seal, pump, etc has to be gone through. The boys is totally rust free, amazingly. The engine has a broken head stud though, and that mother f&(*&(*&r does not want to come out .

If you ever get that 914 running correctly you'll forget about that Bus.

Not sure why your screwing with a broken head stud.


Join the dark side Luke er I mean Chris Seems to me that brick is calling for an Subaru of it's own.

Yeah I was hoping I could just get the current engine running with new seals and convert it when i had the time and energy. $100 for the awesome kit from Van-Again.com...why not? The heads look great...no cracks at all. Valves seats are fine.

Unfortunately where I am stuck is that the head stud snapped in a tough spot and I MIGHT have to take the cylinder barrels out....at that point you HAVE to re-ring it, which means "hey, might as well just rebuild it.." but it's a 1.9. Probably not worth the effort for 83 HP. You can buy an entire JDM 2.0L Subaru engine for about $700. 138 hp.

Which one of these is not like the other?

Click to view attachment

Question for you Steve, or another welding guru...I welded a nut on the end of that thing but it just would not adhere to it. a 12mm screws half way on so it was a great fit. I could fill the whole inside of the thing up but it would just twist right off. Not hot enough or what? The nut is not treated or galvanized. Assuming the stud is just a tougher material so it may need more heat.

Maybe preheat it with a blowtorch and initially weld a blob on the end to see if it sticks? Then try the bolt or nut trick?

Studs are hardened steel so you need to weld a blob on the end then weld the nut to the blob. Before that PB Blaster the theaded end and let it soak overnight. I also like to tap it with a hammer a few time to try to break the corrosion bond. If you can get a pipe wrench in there sometimes that will work too.

maybe a visegrip with a cheater bar,if you could even clamp it strong enough.

I'm back at it people! Had a pretty strange year at work but you all know how that goes. Thanks to my pals who checked on me and who didn't get too upset when I went completely dark for several months.

So for the elephant in the garage let me just address the Megasquirting...the car would never quite run right above idle, so I went back to the stock ECU just to confirm everything was OK. It was very hard to start when I switched back, but ran fine once it got through the first minute or so. Turns out it was a bad temp sensor. No resistance at all. Unfortunately in the older Subaru engines the temp SENSOR is separate from the temp SENDER so there was nothing obvious that would tell me there was a problem. I think I will still keep the stock ECU in place for now. Lesson learned...change every inexpensive sensor on a donor engine. Even if it's ok at the moment, it will eventually go bad. This $20 sensor caused me hours of pain.

Another issue...the VW "globe" coolant reservoir started to leak a bit at the seam. I only noticed it while driving it that one last time for the season. Small amount of steam was coming out, barely visible and intermittent, but it would have been a big problem later on.

I'll be switching it to this:

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Aftermarket aluminum tank designed for the Mini (2000-2005ish). It's a nice size and not too pricey at ~$60. Disregard the mounting bracket I made. It doesn't come with that. His a nice mounting plate on the side with two allen bolts (included). Apparently the Mini plastic tanks had a tendency to split at the seam as well which is the reason these were made. I would recommend the one with the 3rd outlet at the filler neck so that you can attach an overflow tank hose to it. There are two types out there and one does not have a 3rd outlet.

Click to view attachment

Then a universal unpressurized overflow tank.

Click to view attachment

This will resolve the other ongoing problem with the globe, which was that during the "self bleed" period it would puke a small amount of antifreeze out the hidden drain hose in the back making a mess. It was fine once the level was set and all of the air bled out but not great for the first few runs.

And hey check out my new "3.3" badge made by Mueller. Very nice quality aluminum emblem. Check the detail with the ridge on the outer edge and all.

Click to view attachment

Note how wide the Porsche font is. The "3.3" is in the exact same scale as the 1.8.

Click to view attachment

He can make any number/letter combo you want and it's very reasonably priced, especially for a custom request. I'll be painting mine black to match the "914".

I like the coolant tank! And one can never have to many Mueller parts!

Thanks Andrew. I'll be installing it early next week so I will report back on the performance.

BTW in case anyone is looking at the Vanagon engine posts, yes, I did finally get that stud out. Here that stubborn SOB is next to its replacement.

Click to view attachment

After trying several methods, including drilling a small hole in it and using a "tee", welding a nut to it, etc., I finally coughed up $20 on this extractor and it came out easily.

Click to view attachment

I soaked it in PB Blaster for a week straight beforehand. That definitely helped.

Yeah. Happy your back at it, Chris. Does this mean you’ll be posting pictures w:o being Hounded.

Yep, that is the correct tool for the job. Welding on a rusted hardened steel stud over 30 years old would never be my first choice. And if it was It would be my last.

If you are going to use the welder as the tool of choice. I would cut them off closer to the base of the stud. If you have some threads there that is even better, put a nut on it, screw it down as far as it can go, but leave a bit of it for a valley. So nut sits a bit proud. I would then heat it with a small torch, burn off the crap. You can't weld dirt. You then take your MIG, I would prefer to use a TIG for this. And you go for the center of the stud, you get it nice and hot. And then work your way out. I would use flux core as it can handle a bit of crap in the weld if something cuts loose.

If doing this with a TIG, you preheat the stud, to fire red, with a torch. That will allow impurities to burn off. And then you can TIG clean metal. With the TIG you can get the tungsten down and start heating the stud before you get into the nut. You can then get them to almost fusion weld the nut to the stud, then you can work out and start adding filler. With this, you could then grind it and polish it up and make it look like a bolt.

You want to get heat all the way down the stud length, if you don't part of it will not be hardened. When you apply torque to the stud to try and remove it, it will stretch and snap right at the transition from soft to hardened metal. And you will be

I have also been know to take a impact socket, prep it up, and weld it to the stud.

BTW, if you want the best stud freer around. You take some acetone, and automatic transmission fluid, you mix it together, and you spray, brush, drip, soak, whatever the offending part. It works like a champ Another thing I like to do is the head of the offensive stuck part, that allows the stuff to migrate down into the opening a bit easier. I even have a hammer that fits in an air chisel for just such an offensive item.

We use map gas on on the area around every stud then a snap on stud remover. Heat 2-3 min and then unscrew. I've done a couple hundred this way and never a problem. If I get any real resistance, I add another minute with the torch. Pretty effortless.

If the stud is broken close to the case, then I have our guy weld a nut, I heat the case and then remove.

If there is someone to help, one person heats one stud while the previously heated stud is removed.

We had some bozo cut off balljoints from a strut. Left the shaft in the strut. We welded on a nut, sprayed some penetrating oil and clamped the nut in a vise while turning the strut. Made it easy.

Bummer about the stud, on my 1.8 I used an electric heat gun from HF to heat the area on the case where the stud was. I used the double nut method since I broke my stud remover year ago and keep forgetting to buy a real one.

Glad to see forward progress on this. Keep it up!

Glad you liked the 3.3 , that ought to confuse a few people when they see that on the car.

Thanks Mike! Yes I like it a lot. This year I have a bunch of little stuff to work on on the 914, nothing too serious.

And yes Kent, I will post more than one pic of each project !

I knew about the head stud beforehand so it was all good. Luckily it twisted right out once I got the correct tool. Explains why it was suddenly parked. On an air-cooled engine a broken stud would probably cause a little wobble, but when you lose a stud on a Waterboxer the coolant leaks out. I was all but sure I would do a conversion but now I am thinking about putting it back together and turbo'ing it with a low pressure turbo. That's for the other thread though .

Side note: If you are thinking about a displacement badge like I got, consider getting a matching "914" as well. My plastic "914" looks like crap next to the new one and has a broken post. Will probably be reaching out to you again soon Mike.

Hey Chris, making progress were ready to put an engine in!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-hHcJIREVE

Hey Chris, don't know if you're still having issues with the megasquirt but I happened upon this guy's videos and he seems like he's solved some stuff in his swap. Hope it helps or entertains at the least.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2goHLEVvkh0

Wow that is a great build! Thanks for the heads-up. They are turbo'ing it as well. Looks like you're Scorpion is really coming along!

Well it's finally been warm enough to test out the new aluminum coolant tank I was so dang proud of. And...it leaks. At first I though the cap was the problem, but after looking closely at it while running it's definitely got at least one pin hole in the weld around the coolant neck. It just weeps a drip or two once in a while after it pressurizes. I'm not a good enough welder to fix it, and I don't HAVE a good enough welder to either. Just thought you should know in case anyone is thinking about buying one.

Click to view attachment

Might go back to the globe if I can't get this fixed. There is a version with no puke valve in the back.

That's a bummer! I bought my expansion tank from Canton racing. It has worked out perfectly. https://www.cantonracingproducts.com/cgi-bi...&key=80-202

I purchased it from the garage sale section and paid around 80 bucks because it was scratched. To be honest I still haven't found the scratch? Great product and good service.

Ray

Thanks Ray! Not a bad option.

Here is a picture of it mounted. Click to view attachment I made a bracket that allows me to bolt it into the stock relay panel mount.

Very nice Ray. Always rewarding to avoid making any holes if possible. I have no experience with aluminum but after a few searches it looks like it could be fixed. It takes quite a bit of pressure for it to start leeching coolant. Probably be able to use a brazing rod. I’ll try to get a video of it. If I mess it up no big deal.