[Vwdiesel] Gauging interest
Kurt Nolte
syncronized_turbo at yahoo.co.uk
Sat Nov 25 02:26:48 EST 2006
Well, the reason I'd be hesitant to do the body-lift route is that it
would change the suspension geometry of the back end. Perhaps "splitting
the difference" would be a better route, padding the transmission and
motor mounts out and then throwing another layer of soundproofing over
the cargo bay?
And stop, you're tempting me to try shucking my '71 to get your '66...
is it auto or manual? What color? Rust damage? Nooooo, need to reduce
the number of cars... but the allure is so strong!
-Kurt
David Cook wrote:
> Hey Kurt-
>
> It looks like you you've answered the questions I
> asked in my last post, before I saw you had replied.
>
> I think I'd personally do the body lift thing, I don't
> know if I'd want to go through the whole thing to
> raise the height of the rest of the trunk floor.
>
> (Though I can see it would be a great platform for a
> great long road trip vehicle.)
>
> I also really think the '66 has great potential to be
> a sweet car! I just don't know how far down the
> pipeline that project would be, so I wouldn't be
> unopposed to taking offers...
>
> David
>
>
> --- Kurt Nolte <syncronized_turbo at yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
>
>
>> I've done some measuring, had some other folks do
>> some measuring, fitted
>> it all together in my head... and I have to say yes,
>> it will fit, but
>> no, not entirely under the decklid.
>>
>> The Rabbit diesel is only 3" or so longer than the
>> flat-four 1600
>> engine, from transmission mating surface to the very
>> front end of the
>> crank pulley on each engine. Less if you don't have
>> AC. Within the
>> engine bay in the Squareback, there is ~4" of free
>> space at the lip, and
>> ~6" of free space in the bay proper when the flat
>> four is in there.
>> While it will be a tighter fit than the original
>> motor, there is no
>> length problem with this install.
>>
>> Same for width. There is sufficient space on either
>> side of the skinnier
>> Rabbit engine for a framework to be made up to mount
>> a radiator or even
>> two small ones for finer control over cooling air
>> flow. Of course
>> electric fans would be needed to draw air in, but
>> they have always been
>> needed with the 1.6 diesels.
>>
>> The biggest issue is height. Even in a 50 degree
>> format, the valve cover
>> corner is going to stick up past the decklid height
>> by an inch or so.
>> Tilting the engine further is inadvisable; they
>> simply weren't meant to
>> be tilted that much. This can be solved in one of
>> two ways. First, and
>> the route a previous owner has already taken for me
>> with this car, the
>> decklid can be cut and an insulated sheet metal box
>> built over it to
>> handle the extra height. This results in some loss
>> of cargo space and
>> functionality, severity depending on how big the box
>> is. The PO in this
>> case was building a box for an upright Carb setup,
>> so it is sizable. It
>> will be cut down, if I go this route.
>>
>> The other option is to change the relationship of
>> engine/transmission
>> unit to the body. These two must be moved as a unit
>> for obvious reasons,
>> as the diesel will need custom mounts fabricated for
>> it in any case this
>> is not as onerous a task as it could be. The
>> transmission mounts could
>> be built up so as to provide an effective inch or so
>> of body lift and
>> eliminate the need for a box over the engine, but
>> the rear suspension
>> would need to be altered to match the new body
>> height above the
>> drivetrain. Mostly just different shocks and an
>> adjustment to the
>> torsion bars.
>>
>> A third option exists too, but it's really a "fix"
>> for the first
>> option's inevitable box problem. A new deck height
>> could be established
>> in the back of the car, effectively raising the bay
>> height instead of
>> the body height. With this, however, you lose about
>> an inch of height
>> from your entire rear cargo area. For most this
>> would not be much of an
>> issue, as many people never max out their cargo
>> height anyway. The inch
>> of space could be used for purposes such as radiant
>> cabin heat,
>> ductwork, or so on and so forth. Were I doing this
>> project for myself, I
>> would be going this route and using this space to
>> provide such things as
>> a built in toolkit cabinet, extra soundproofing, and
>> a small compartment
>> for the smaller spare parts, such as fuses and
>> bulbs.
>>
>> Of course, were I doing this for myself the spare
>> would also change over
>> to a donut-style spare from something like a
>> Quantum, and be mounted in
>> the back behind one of the side compartments behind
>> the trim. The trim
>> itself would be gone and replaced by painted sheet
>> metal, as well as the
>> rear seat being eliminated in favor of greater cargo
>> space. Ultimately
>> it would become a "road trip" wagon; two seats, but
>> enough space in the
>> back to pull over and stretch out for a nap on the
>> road. Redesign
>> controls for "cruising" comfort, and install at
>> least the driver's seat
>> rails a bit further back, as I'm quite long-legged
>> and don't easily fit
>> into such a vehicle in stock seat positions. The
>> heater channels would
>> have a length of steel pipe run up through them,
>> both to stiffen them up
>> and to provide passage for coolant water from back
>> to front, and a
>> heater core mounted within the dash to provide heat
>> when needed. The two
>> cable controls would be retained for heater control.
>> Where the rear seat
>> used to be would be used for a spares compartment,
>> storage for tools
>> that don't fit in the rear cabinet, and a dual
>> battery setup to ensure
>> cranking on cold days.
>>
>> Of course, that's what I'd do. What I actually do
>> would be negotiable
>> with whomever is buying.. price as well. ;)
>>
>> And David: If I had your '66 Square, I wouldn't even
>> be close to
>> thinking about selling. I love the little body
>> differences between the
>> 60's and 70's Squares, it'd be a keeper!
>>
>> -Kurt
>>
>> David Cook wrote:
>>
>>> Kurt-
>>>
>>> Do you think that the diesel engine will fit in
>>>
>> the
>>
>>> squareback?
>>>
>>> I've got a '66 squareback sitting out at my
>>>
>> parent's
>>
>>> house waiting for a restoration.
>>>
>>> It, too, has everything to put together a running
>>>
>> gas
>>
>>> engine as well as a full engine I bought at a swap
>>> meet, no idea how it runs. (And I'd be willing to
>>> sell it to an interested party...)
>>>
>>> When I had the two Rabbits sitting in my yard, I
>>> thought briefly about a diesel 'back but don't
>>>
>> think
>>
>>> the engine would fit mounted normally. I think it
>>> would protrude into the passenger compartment.
>>>
>>> A Fastback or Notchback would be easier, since
>>>
>> both
>>
>>> had two trunks so the rear one could be
>>>
>> "converted"
>>
>>> into an engine compartment.
>>>
>>> Just wondering if you'd come up with a way to
>>>
>> solve
>>
>>> that problem. Or if I'm incorrect in my thinking.
>>>
>> I
>>
>>> never measured, but I didn't think that the
>>>
>> opening
>>
>>> was high enough over the engine. Perhaps a
>>>
>> vanagon 50
>>
>>> degree kit?
>>>
>>> David
>>>
>>>
>>> --- Kurt Nolte <syncronized_turbo at yahoo.co.uk>
>>>
>> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>
>>>> For those who might be interested, I'm not really
>>>>
>> in
>>
>>>> the UK; a misclick
>>>> and a slip of the finger resulted in me getting
>>>>
>> UK
>>
>>>> rather than US while
>>>> registering for the address, but I really don't
>>>> mind. Stands out, for
>>>> sure, and the ads are at least a different step
>>>>
>> from
>>
>>>> the usual US
>>>> oriented ones.
>>>>
>>>> I'm in the Southeastern US. If anyone's
>>>>
>> interested
>>
>>>> enough they'd like
>>>> pictures of the conversion vehicle, just lemme
>>>>
>> know
>>
>>>> and I'll go out and
>>>> snap the pics you want to see.
>>>>
>>>> -Kurt
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
> ___________________________________________________________
>
>>>
>>>
>>>> The all-new Yahoo! Mail goes wherever you go -
>>>>
>> free
>>
>>>> your email address from your Internet provider.
>>>> http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/nowyoucan.html
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> Vwdiesel mailing list
>>>> Vwdiesel at vwfans.com
>>>> http://www.audifans.com/mailman/listinfo/vwdiesel
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>> David Cook
>>> Red '86 Cabriolet Diesel Powered
>>> Red '90 g60 Corrado
>>> Brown and White '78 Westy Campmobile "Bear"
>>> and others in various states of disrepair
>>> Pictures here:
>>>
>> community.webshots.com/user/superdave5599
>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
> ____________________________________________________________________________________
>
>>> Do you Yahoo!?
>>> Everyone is raving about the all-new Yahoo! Mail
>>>
>> beta.
>>
>>> http://new.mail.yahoo.com
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Vwdiesel mailing list
>>> Vwdiesel at vwfans.com
>>> http://www.audifans.com/mailman/listinfo/vwdiesel
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>> Send instant messages to your online friends
>> http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com
>> _______________________________________________
>> Vwdiesel mailing list
>> Vwdiesel at vwfans.com
>> http://www.audifans.com/mailman/listinfo/vwdiesel
>>
>>
>
>
> David Cook
> Red '86 Cabriolet Diesel Powered
> Red '90 g60 Corrado
> Brown and White '78 Westy Campmobile "Bear"
> and others in various states of disrepair
> Pictures here: community.webshots.com/user/superdave5599
>
>
>
> ____________________________________________________________________________________
> Cheap talk?
> Check out Yahoo! Messenger's low PC-to-Phone call rates.
> http://voice.yahoo.com
> _______________________________________________
> Vwdiesel mailing list
> Vwdiesel at vwfans.com
> http://www.audifans.com/mailman/listinfo/vwdiesel
>
>
>
___________________________________________________________
Now you can scan emails quickly with a reading pane. Get the new Yahoo! Mail. http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/nowyoucan.html
More information about the Vwdiesel
mailing list