'66 Deluxe

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Dual Port
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Re: '66 Deluxe

Post by Dual Port »

Both of those are a little overkill. I know about bolting but after having solid mounts in a sandrail as a kid I'll never do that again. I'm afraid bolting would transmit too much vibration. Maybe after I break a nosecone or two I'll reconsider. (I stock nosecones :mrgreen: )
Bruce Amacker
'66 Deluxe Bus
'65 Standard Bus
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Dual Port
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Re: '66 Deluxe

Post by Dual Port »

Bus 1 was running a little rough lately and had a "fast spot" while it was cranking which is a bad thing. This indicates low compression in one or more cylinders. For a quick test I put a vacuum gauge on it, and sure enough it showed a leaking valve. :(

Here's a video I shot to help understand vacuum gauge diagnostics:

https://youtu.be/QnFPq5ouAeE

I've had this video floating around for a while about cranking cadence:

https://youtu.be/jGKfVIMOHXc


The plugs looked good coming out, they have about 3-4 years on them. Judging by my fuel economy and the color of the plugs I don't think it's running lean. I can't get to Detroit on one tank of fuel, just past Toledo....
P9280013.JPG
So I did both compression test and leakdown tests which did not look promising.
P9140006.JPG
Before tearing down the engine I checked valve adjustment and found my problems! First was a broken adjuster on one exhaust, and it broke in an odd way- holding the valve open slightly. It looked complete until I put a wrench on it when it sheared off.
PA020019A.jpg
Anyway, there were a couple of valves that had no clearance so correcting all of that landed me back to 125-130lbs compression on all 4 and a motor that runs great again. :D

I must admit I pulled the engine when I didn't have to- I thought for sure the heads were coming off. :oops: Not a big deal, all of this was done and the motor back in and test run in an afternoon.
PA010017.JPG
It runs great and idles 10x better than it did.

I took Bus 2 for a ride today and stopped over at Bill's. As I pulled out of his driveway (nice driveway, BTW!) the front tranny mount broke, binding the shifter and making it hard to get back home. F&@%! So it's on the rack right now, luckily I stock(ed) 2 mounts. Must be a frigging virus going around......
Bruce Amacker
'66 Deluxe Bus
'65 Standard Bus
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Karl Kombi
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Re: '66 Deluxe

Post by Karl Kombi »

Bummer... Better there than at Kelleys! :|
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Dual Port
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Re: '66 Deluxe

Post by Dual Port »

The site's been kind of slow lately so I'll post some pics of what I'm doing. I had Tom Simpson build a 2180 over 10 years ago for my Ghia with a new case and all new parts inside, pretty stout for what it got for carburation. It has a W110 cam and CB 044 big valve heads. It probably only makes 80-90hp with a single Zenith 32NDIX but could easily top 150HP with a hotter cam and twin carbs. I'm pretty conservative on engine stuff and IMO a W110 is a great cam for a light sedan like the Ghia but not really suited for a big heavy bus. Yea, I know guys who run that (or hotter) cam in a bus, but that's not me. I like low end torque right off the line so both of my busses have the Eagle 2280 in them which I really like. When I went to sell the Ghia nobody wanted to pay up for the 2180 so it wouldn't sell, I put a fresh stock engine in it and it sold immediately. I thoroughly oiled the 2180 and it's been on the shelf for a few years.

Time to dig it out and put it back into service, I did a leakdown test before teardown and it was very tight.
PA230001.JPG
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Here's a shot of the CB 044 head compared to a stock one.
PB050109.JPG
And a shot of the 92mm A&A next to a stock 85.5mm piston.
PB080124.JPG
To change the cam you obviously have to split the case. Many would do a full teardown but I'll cheat and only pull the right side off since it has low miles on it. :mrgreen:
PB080132.JPG
I checked the mains and rods and they look like new but they're Kolbenschmidt bearings. Unfortunately they're not easy to find so it got Silverline cam bearings which show some wear. I'm not sure if this is from low quality bearings or the journal surface on the cam was not perfect but it's not a big deal. I'll replace them and polish the new cam journals with 1000-2000 grit to a mirror surface.
20191025_151114.jpg
The cam has to be machined for clearance on a stroker engine because the con rods pass right near the cam, I had a buddy cut it on a lathe for clearance between the lobes. I see it's still a little close near the center so I'll have him shorten up the center journal about .030".
20191107_175829.jpg
PB080129.JPG
PB080143.JPG
The case surface and oil pump are soft aluminum and I didn't want to score them with a gasket scraper. I used some Permatex gasket remover but thought paint stripper seemed very similar. It seems they are identical, with paint stripper MUCH cheaper by the gallon. :D
PB050101.JPG
Note it does a perfect job cleaning the old shellac style sealer, I think it was Indian Head. Not a bit remains. I used it to remove the carbon from the head above as well as carbon from the top of the piston above, it did a great job.

Here's a shot of the W110, a stock cam, and the 2280. The 2280 is what we called a "cheater" cam back in the day, that means it has roughly the same duration as a stocker but a LOT more lift. It gives you a lot more flow (read HP) without the drawbacks of longer duration (lumpy idle, sluggish bottom end). I'm really surprised with what the 2280 did to the relatively stock 1600 in Bus 2. You can see the beef removed between the lobes for clearance. Anybody want to buy a low mileage W110 and lifters?
PB080115.JPG
The 2180 will go in Bus 1, the 1904 will go from 1 to 2, and the 1600/CW/2280 will go from 2 to the shelf.

More to come.
Last edited by Dual Port on Fri Nov 08, 2019 12:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Bruce Amacker
'66 Deluxe Bus
'65 Standard Bus
WideFive
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Re: '66 Deluxe

Post by WideFive »

Dual Port wrote: Fri Nov 08, 2019 12:14 pm I think it was Indian Head.
Yeah, that's what Tom uses on case halves.... or that's what he use to use.

I don't know if Chuckhole has had a chance to tell him he's doing it wrong :lol:
"There is no restoration process that can give a car legitimacy equal to originality."
WideFive
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Re: '66 Deluxe

Post by WideFive »

You only changing the cam/lifters, no other changes?

#singlecarbsareforlawnmowers
"There is no restoration process that can give a car legitimacy equal to originality."
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Dual Port
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Re: '66 Deluxe

Post by Dual Port »

If you ask a hundred engine builders what they use to seal a case you'll get a hundred answers and none are wrong. It's just a matter of opinion. I've used several including Curil-T which is supposed to be the cat's ass. Even when used sparingly it breaks off and gets "worms" in the oil strainer. I went back to High Tack.

Yes, only doing cam/lifters/bearings, nothing else internally. Yes it's staying with the single 32NDIX.

WTF is #singlecarbsareforlawnmowers? Is that a phone number?
Bruce Amacker
'66 Deluxe Bus
'65 Standard Bus
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Re: '66 Deluxe

Post by WideFive »

Dual Port wrote: Fri Nov 08, 2019 12:52 pm WTF is #singlecarbsareforlawnmowers? Is that a phone number?
It's a secret language only understood by people under 50 yrs of age :lol:
"There is no restoration process that can give a car legitimacy equal to originality."
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THINGE
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Re: '66 Deluxe

Post by THINGE »

WideFive wrote: Fri Nov 08, 2019 12:59 pm
Dual Port wrote: Fri Nov 08, 2019 12:52 pm WTF is #singlecarbsareforlawnmowers? Is that a phone number?
It's a secret language only understood by people under 50 yrs of age :lol:
#OkBoomer :lol:
1966 VW 13 Window Deluxe Bus
1974 VW Thing (2)
1977 VW Westfalia
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wwebner
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Re: '66 Deluxe

Post by wwebner »

Is that JB weld on the cyl studs that are tapped through the case?
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