Wifes Citation II Dune Buggy

[tardis454]

Re: Wifes Citation II Dune Buggy

I disassembled the trans that I cut the bell off of for a break in stand.
It was a mofo to get apart, but I got it & learned a little bit about VW transaxles.
Now I know why people send their VW trans out &/or buy rebuilds. :D
Here's the pics:





I counted the R&P teeth, pinion is 8 ring gear is 31. Did the math & it works out to 3.875 R&P ratio.





I think this is the gearset the tranny shops use on 3.88 freeway flyers. Need to research this a little more...

[tardis454]

Got the engine parts back from Brothers VW Machine Shop. They really fuct me on this deal. I sent them "MY" matched set of German rod cores to "machine & return" like we agreed, & they kept my German rods & sent me a crappy mismatched set of Mexican rods.




Bottom of the barrel crap...



Off center wrist pin bore #1, FAIL!




Off center wrist pin bore #2, FAIL FAIL!




I sent them a nearly perfect cam core, they sent me a nicely reground cam with a nicked & pitted gear. They also sent the wrong cam bearings.




When I talked to the guy he gave me the run around, told me those rods & that cam would be fine. Well, the rods would be fine if they would've rebuilt the German cores I sent!!!!! And the cam would be swell if the gear wasn't a nicked & pitted POS!!! It looks like I have to return this defective crap they sent, & pray I get some better less defective crap in return. There goes another 2 weeks of wasted time!

I can't win, that's 3 times now I've got hosed on VW parts. I'm hating VW's right now.. These so called reputable shops charge good money & do half ass'd work. All I want is what I paid for. I contacted my CC company, so I'm cool if anything else happens.

[milner351]

Man that really stinks - nothing worse than not getting back what you sent! That scares the poop out of me when it comes to valuable oem parts on a restoration.

I hope you can get this straightened out - those connecting rods are horrible!

[tardis454]

Man that really stinks - nothing worse than not getting back what you sent! That scares the poop out of me when it comes to valuable oem parts on a restoration.

I hope you can get this straightened out - those connecting rods are horrible!

It stinks alright. Not sending MY matched German rods back & the crappy cam gear is a bigtime deal killer.
The German rods I sent are matched & within a couple grams of each other, which is why I wanted to use them!
The CC company says once I send the parts back the shop has 1 of 2 options...
Make the deal right & send me "good" parts, or credit me for the parts plus the core charges on the parts.
If they credit me for the parts plus the core charges, that means I paid $4 for all of the machine work lol!!!
I'm gonna talk to them today & see where I stand..

[STINEY]

I'd like to say I'm suprised, but shoddy work & customer service have become the norm in the VW world. In my experience, it really started going downhill around '98, lots of offshore crap and even more "business'" to peddle it. Most vendors only got in it for the quick easy money. Buyer beware definitely applies.....sadly.

Guys occasionally ask me to build an engine for them, I only agree with certain ones. Some of them are nice guys, but only want to use the lowest cost parts, and I don't want to be associated with those engines. Not that I make any money off it, but still....

[SuperBuickGuy]

one of those funny things about people, the cheapest skinflint is willing to pay for what he wants; but if you do it for free for him, he'll nickel and dime you to death. Maybe your tragedy is an opportunity. If there is a place in the VW world for a quality shop, then why not you? I'm pretty sure that's how Stage1scott got started with his mini business.

my shop is expensive, slow - but the stuff he does is right every time. Unfortunately, however, not many people are willing to pay - they'd rather gamble that the cheap part will be the same quality.

[tardis454]

one of those funny things about people, the cheapest skinflint is willing to pay for what he wants; but if you do it for free for him, he'll nickel and dime you to death. Maybe your tragedy is an opportunity. If there is a place in the VW world for a quality shop, then why not you? I'm pretty sure that's how Stage1scott got started with his mini business.

my shop is expensive, slow - but the stuff he does is right every time. Unfortunately, however, not many people are willing to pay - they'd rather gamble that the cheap part will be the same quality.

You're right about cheap & free, cheap usually pays, free, you walk down the isle with the people...

As for the quality machine shop why not you?.. I was a maintenance machinist, machine builder, production machinist & tool & die maker for about 13yrs. I set-up, operated & repaired Acme Gridley, Conomatic, & Warner & Swasey automatics... Bridgeports mills, Warner & Swasey turret lathes, centerless grinders, OD/ID & Blanchard grinders, & a vast array of CNC lathes & milling machines. If I had a place & the equipment to do the engine work I'd do it in a heartbeat... And I'd do a hell of a lot better job than the places I've sent my parts too!!!

[tardis454]

I just had a long talk with the owner of the shop. They still have my marked rods & agreed to machine & return them. He said he doesn't want to exchange another cam & have me be dissatisfied with the used gear again. He recommended buying a new gear for $25, & they would install it. They will swap out the incorrect cam bearings.

Hopefully this will all get sorted, the buying parts portion of this build has been a serious pain in the ass!!! And I still have a trans to rebuild!!!

[SuperBuickGuy]

You're a nicer guy than I.... and he could probably sell ice cubes to Eskimos... Just so I can keep this straight in my mind: he's being "nice" by sending you the parts you were supposed to get in the first place; machining those parts - keeping in mind he machined the last ones wrong; and convinced you to spend more money on his parts to keep you happy?

about the starting a machine shop... a friend of my dad's started a machine shop with a craftsman lathe 40ish years ago as a side-hobby while he worked at techtronix. Now, his son runs the company and he's got 3 or 4 multi-axis CNC machines (the "old" one is IIRC a 100k 4 year old machine), owns the building where they are located; and machines injection molds for a variety of companies (like precision cast parts). Start small, keep your day job, buy the machines that will come your direction because of where you work, and you will get to machine VW stuff.... oh yeah, the car bit about this friend - he's a Porsche guy (911s); and we all know that a VW bug is just the unsquished version of the 911.

all because he was tired of getting screwed by Porsche techs.

[STINEY]

I usually install straight cut cam gears, frees up a bit of power, they are a tad noisier though. Steel on steel is very noisey, steel on aluminum is not too bad.

In what way are the cam bearings wrong? Did you get single thrust instead of double thrust? That's the only wrongness I can think of?

(I like double thrust on all my engines, even stockers. Gpa liked overkill too, so its in my genetic makeup.)

If you are getting a new cam gear, get one of the adjustable ones, that way you can dial in your cam to match the cam card. They have a slotted gear and some offset washers to allow some adjustment.

[tardis454]

I usually install straight cut cam gears, frees up a bit of power, they are a tad noisier though. Steel on steel is very noisey, steel on aluminum is not too bad.

In what way are the cam bearings wrong? Did you get single thrust instead of double thrust? That's the only wrongness I can think of?

(I like double thrust on all my engines, even stockers. Gpa liked overkill too, so its in my genetic makeup.)

If you are getting a new cam gear, get one of the adjustable ones, that way you can dial in your cam to match the cam card. They have a slotted gear and some offset washers to allow some adjustment.

Yeah, they sent single instead of double thrust. The cam is a reground stocker, W-100 grind. He's installing a new stock gear on that cam. I'm not terribly concerned about high performance with this motor. I just want a solid driver for now. I'm gonna build a 1776 with the old motor, that's where I'll spend the money on the good parts.

[tardis454]

A month of bullshit later,.. & I finally have a motor!



I opted for windage style pushrod tubes, a remanned German oil cooler, & a reground stock cam (W-100 grind).



Accuvance 009 Distributor, CB Performance Maxi Pump, 'Shitty' EMPI solid degree pulley,
Standard UF-3 ignition coil, Mahle filter, AA 87mm piston & cylinder set...



Now I need to put it together.

[STINEY]

Awesome! Those look like the stainless windage tubes, I love the stainless ones. Seems those tubes are the first thing to rust.

I've had goodluck with the empi pulleys. If it want to go on tight, stop and hit it with some emery cloth until it just slips on nicely. If you have to tap it on with a rubber mallet I guarentee you will have to destroy it to remove it later. Little emery cloth will cure that though.

Use lots of heat on your crank gear, and stick the crankshaft in the freezer for a few hours, and they will just slip together like a newly married couple.

And PLEASE make double extra sure you put the bearing on first, and in the correct direction. That gear is tough to remove, takes a special puller and some precision swearing.

What for lifters did you go with? Haven't heard of the ACCUVANCE 009, is that a brand name or a new style with a better curve?

[tardis454]

Awesome! Those look like the stainless windage tubes, I love the stainless ones. Seems those tubes are the first thing to rust.

Nope, just plain steel(they were only $19), I plan on painting them with rustoleum...

I've had goodluck with the empi pulleys. If it want to go on tight, stop and hit it with some emery cloth until it just slips on nicely. If you have to tap it on with a rubber mallet I guarentee you will have to destroy it to remove it later. Little emery cloth will cure that though.

It's not tight, it slips on/off no problem & it'll work, it's just kinda cheap quality wise...

What for lifters did you go with? Haven't heard of the ACCUVANCE 009, is that a brand name or a new style with a better curve?

The cam is a stock billet reground to W-100 specs so it can be used with stock lifters no problem.
The distributor is from CB Performance made by a Canadian company & the quality is awesome!!!
Probably better than a Bosch one in my opinion.

I was thinking about heating the crank & cam gears in my old toaster oven, how do you do it STINEY?

[STINEY]

I waited until no wives are around, then just lay it on the burner of the stove. Toaster oven should work fine as well, here at work we use an old electric skillet to heat gears with. Works fine!

I ask about the lifters as there seems to be a bunch of poor quality lifters out there, with soft faces that get gouged easily.