Most cost effective way to get my '70 baja "Porschewagen" back on road???

Gentlemen,

Here's a knotty little problem for you to chew on...

About 12 years ago, I bought an unfinished 1970 baja project. The seller decided to move on to Corvettes.

With the deal I got a more or less "finished" baja kit, new rims, a set of new off-road tires, new interior, re-done transmission, and professionally built 1776cc type 1 engine (not installed).

Said engine was built around a new Brazilian case, and all the best and most carefully selected goodies. But it had no carbs. So I bought a set of Kadron twin carbs, installed 'em, and installed the engine.

I got the engine running. Took it for a test drive. Orbited the Houston 610 loop late one night.

Even though I did not abuse the engine, a few things became readily apparent. These were:

The front and rear suspensions were toast. The front steering was so wonky it was scary.

The engine was so powerful IT was scary. Especially with the wonky front end.

I probably drove the car about 15 miles that night. When I got home, while listening to it idle, I could hear a low, ominous, intense sort of "cyclical" noise inside the engine. Of course, it was so long ago, and now, I'm getting so old, that frankly, I don't remember exactly what it sounded like.

But whatever it was, it was ALL TOO APPARENT that everything wasn't hunky dory inside that engine. Another problem that became apparent was that the jets on the Kadrons were way too big. It was raining raw gas inside the combustion chambers.

I jerked the engine out and have never fixed (or sold) it to this day.

Meanwhile, we moved. Another couple of years rolled by. One day I decided to retrofit the 1700cc type 4 engine from my 73 bus, which had a burned valve.

Sparing no expense, I had the bus engine completely rebuilt, back to the 1700cc spec.

The "Porschewagen" was born. I bought an appropriately sized pair of new carbs (Webers if I recall correctly). Got the brand new engine in, a weird galvanized pipe engine cage, designed, built, and installed. And I got it running.

I bought a tricked out off-road, adjustable suspension front axle from a racing place in California. Bought Sway Away 28mm torsion bars, polyurethane bushings, and adjustable spring plates, too.

Then I got distracted by something or other and turned my back on the project. At the time both my sons were probably 7 and 8 years old.

Now the older one's 16. He has a driver's license. And of course, he wants that car!

At his initiative we drug it outta the weeds. Upon draining the oil we discovered an ominous amount of water had penetrated the engine. I had covered the engine with a tarp. But as the years went by it went south then blew away.

We put fresh oil in it. My son and his friend, at my suggestion, dumped about 55 gallons of transmission oil into the spark plug holes and into the intakes.

They let it sit about two weeks. Then they began to wrench the engine back and forth and then over and over.

We dragged out the torsion bars and other suspension goodies. Got the car running. It actually started pretty easy once we wrung out all the transmission oil.

And it sounded pretty good. For a time the smoke cleared up. But then, once it was good and warm, it began to miss and smoke some more. No. 1 plug seemed to soot up while all the others looked pretty good.

Meanwhile, we installed the torsion bar on the driver's side. Based on Jeff Hibbard's excellent book "Baja Bugs and Buggies" I set the pre-load to match the wimpy torsion bar that came out. It came out easily, with no signs of rust at either end.

However, when I got the new Sway Away spring plate over the bottom stop it was kicked out at a little bit of an angle. This was just enough that I couldn't get the bushing bolt to start into the trailing arm.

We looped a chain around the floor jack and upper shock mount. Cranked the spring plate all the way up in an attempt to walk it closer to the frame.

Just as we were about to ease down on the jack the whole assembly spring loose with a loud clang.

To my dismay, although the BOTTOM of the spring plate came down with the jack, the TOP part, this being the part splined to the outboard torsion bar, remained at the top of its arc!

I unbolted the bushing cover and extracted the spring plate and torsion bar. I'd have bet a C note that the torsion bar was gonna come out in two pieces.

But it didn't. It was fine. The splines on both ends were fine.

So I re-installed it to the same pre-load. Rapped everything smartly with a brass maul. But still no spring tension. It goes up and stays up.

This week or next a new center link (for lack of better nomenclature) should arrive by UPS. This is the splined piece that lives in the center of the rear torsion tube and makes the suspension magic happen.

Locating the sucker, much less extracting it and precision aligning and welding in a new piece should be about as much fun as a do-it-yourself prostate exam.

Nevertheless, I have the appropriate equipment and requisite welding skill to do the job.

The bad news is I'm gonna have to jerk the engine and transmission to do this.

The good news is I was gonna have to do it anyway. I still need to do something with the engine. And I also have new polyurethane transmission mounts to install.

If anybody in here has ever been involved in welding in a replacement center link (or whatever it's called) I'll be gushing with gratitude to hear how you think the job should be approached.

As to the engine: I'd appreciate your collective wisdom as to what to do about it. My instinct is to remove the heads and have the valves re-lapped. Inspect the cylinders and re-hone as necessary.

I would like to believe that it won't be necessary to split the case. What we have here is an 8 year old "new" engine that was not even broken in that somehow absorbed about 3 quarts of water, in which it sat with formerly fresh but now poopy oil for at least a few years.

As an odd little footnote to this story, as a direct result of this project I resolved that I just HAD to learn to weld!

And learn to weld I did! I have bought enough high end welding gear to start a frickin' aerospace military industrial complex. A hobbyist gone mad!

But now it's time to fix the "Porschewagen". I'll eagerly anticipate your sanguine points of view about how to approach the suspension welding repair and/or what to do about the engine.

This may be the most long-winded post ever to grace these hallowed halls.

Thank you. Thank you. Over and out.

Vernon

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Reply to
vtuck
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Vernon, Have a look here for a side pic of the torsion tube and here on how to install rear adjusters, same process for you! as to the engine, if it was mine, I would strip it, and besides your son would learn from the experience. Grahame from Australia

Reply to
Grahame Rumballe

Graham,

Thanks! I get the impression you sent or intended to send, some links. However, I don't see anything.

Would you mind emailing these to me? I would very much like to see 'em.

The center link part came today. I also bought some tungstens today. Now I just need to steel my nerves and do the grisly deed. Given the pounding those center links must take I am approaching the welding aspects of the repair quite soberly.

I'm not at all clear what I'm gonna see when I get the tranny out and get my head up in there. The new center link I bought (Sway Away) is not the adjustable one. But it is a thing of beauty. A very nice looking machined part.

Vtuck at tucklings dot com

Reply to
vtuck

Will try again Vernon, Have a look here

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for a side pic of the torsion tube and here on how
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install rear adjusters, same process for you!as to the engine, if it was mine, I would strip it, and besides your son =would learn from the experience. Grahame from Australia

Reply to
Grahame Rumballe

Grahame,

Stunning pictures of the innards of a Volksie.

However, I'm less than clear about one thing.

Can the center pin be replaced with the body on?

V
Reply to
vtuck

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