The Wonderbus will be resurrected!

On Wed, 28 Jul 2004 09:49:06 -0700, "Mike Rocket J. Squirrel Elliott" ran around screaming and yelling:

welcome back Mike...we missed you....have fun bicycling?

Check valve clearances. Oil level. Ignition timing statically.

Turn it over with sparkplugs removed to bring oil pressure up, stop when the oil light goes out.

That's about it. Once it runs, keep the revs up around 1500-2000rpms for several minutes, carefully monitoring the engine for leaks and temperature. Adjust carb as the engine runs. I don't know which settings it will have, but we can assume it's "somewhere in the neighborhood". First and foremost, make sure it's not idling lean, by turning the mixture screw out a turn or two. If the idle speed got higher as a result, it was running lean. If it didn't, it's now running rich. Go back and try to find a setting where the idle speed JUST stops climbing, as you are turning the mixture screw out.

Once you have run it warm once like this, I assume it would take 20-30 minutes or so, turn it off and go get a late night dinner. Come back the next morning and check valve clearances again, before firing it up.

Then run it warm again, and adjust carb and ignition according to instructions you probably have saved by now.

Jan

Oh man, the weather in North Carolina was miserable. We had to get up early enough to eat breakfast and break camp so we could start at 6 a.m. This because by 10:30 or so it was too hot for my riding partner (68 years old and waaaaay overweight) to ride safely. He suffered from heat exhaustion on the second day anyway. Had to dig into my backpacking emergency medical training to take care of him.

Wasn't the ride I expected, due to his lack of fitness, so I turned it into a coaching and training experience. By the time I left I felt confident that he could ride alone and my sister-in-law would not end up nursing him or taking him to the hospital. Two days ago he rode into Massachusetts. So I guess I did my job well.

On Wed, 28 Jul 2004 12:29:18 -0700, "Mike Rocket J. Squirrel Elliott" ran around screaming and yelling:

at least you used a bad situation for you to help the other fellow out....congrats... JT

Wow. I can't believe those things have not gone up in price, well they have, by $40, which is what I paid for mine when I bought mine in TJ about six years ago. A little tip, you will have to fill out a tax document when you pass customs. Have your name and your buddies on the sales recepit since you both get a $500 deduction on purchases in Mexico each you might avoid having to pay US custom taxes on reentering the States.

--Dan E

Ooh -- great bit of advice, that!

Will advise. Already mounted a thermostat on my older engine's Brazilian case -- won't be a prob to do it to the Mexi one.

How about the Braz engine compression ratio and carbys - are they set up for alcohol-rich fuel instead of 'merican gaz?

Dunno about a standard Brazilian engine built for sale in Brazil. The one I'm picking up is a Mexican one, built I am told in the Puebla plant. As for my older engine with the Brazilian case, it was built up by VW Paradise in San Marcos CA with a bunch of crap parts they had lying around the shop. Cylinders with broken-off fins, case with sheared-off tin bolts in it. No flaps or thermostat, of course. It had a CR of about 7.8:1

I don't know if Mexican gas is higher or lower octane than US gas, but I do know that your basic Pemex station sells what we Merkins call "gasoline," and not alcohol. So this Mexi engine is likely set up for gasoline. It's a longblock -- I'll be moving the Wonderbus's old engine's dual carbs and other bits to it.

...just remember to re-jet for the smaller engine. =-)

,..Gareth

Duh -- I would-a forgot that step! Thanks, Gary!

Braz engines come in two versions, one they call 'Alcoholera' meant to be run on pure alcohol. The other one is just a normal engine, albeit some of them come with different pistons having a square shaped depresssion in them for lower compression.

LOL -- lots to ponder, all right. I realize that stock all the way might be the best option, but the bank account she is empty and the new longblock she is needing parts to be added to run. I promised the family and neighbors the Wonderbus will be running before the end of August, so with my limited budget I have to swap over the SVDA dizzie and dual Kadrons from the old engine, along with the old tin and other parts. This is not how I'd /like/ to do it: a complete Mexi engine was over $2,000 and I just ain't got the cash-a-roonie to go full stock right now.

don't worry mike....a stock longblock with the "stock" vacuum distributor, and Kadrons will be fine...like others mentioned, you likely will have to adjust the jet sizes....people have been using kadrons on stockers for many years....(which doesn't by default make it "right", but in this case it is "fine"...heh)

------------------- Chris Perdue

"Sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug!"

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