Shelby destroys dyno

This vid just came in and had me laughing out loud:
http://screen.yahoo.com/shelby-gt500-destroys-dyno-192116431.html

115ah aux. battery upgrade 2000 EV

I recently upgraded the aux battery system on my 2000 Weekender and am very pleased with the outcome.  For starters I got kinda lucky and happen to find this huge sealed AGM battery at the local battery shop while I was looking for a replacement deep cycle that would fit under my driver's seat.

The only new option they had size-wise was an Optima yellow or blue, but these are a measly 55-60ah and cost close to $200.  I got the 115ah battery for $75.  It was a used unit from an electric car that they had pulled when it reached 80% capacity.  Some quick napkin math informed me that that still puts me ahead of the game (theoretically 92ah) and at a fraction of the cost of an Optima.

 It took a little figuring to get that 13x9x7 battery to fit under the driver's seat.  In terms of fitment, I had to delete the rear plastic shroud at the rear of the seat box, cut off the batt hold down stud and space the front of the seat up 2mm on each side.  With any custom endeavor there are always tradeoffs and these seemed minor to get nearly double the batt capacity using the same space only more efficiently.

 Battery installed under driver's seat.

 Sits pretty much flush with the seat box.

Pic with seat removed to show placement/orientation.  Stock aux. battery relay still in place (L top corner of seat box), but soon to be replaced with a Sure Power 1315A smart solenoid (below).

picture courtesy of  www.ase-supply.com

 Ok, top L of the batt box is where the SurePower 1315 is installed.  I installed this with two rivets so the finish on the outside of the box is pleasantly stock looking and flush.  To connect to the main battery I left the stock 10ga wire in place and also ran a 4ga wire in parallel from the sure power solenoid to the main batt so that if/when I need to do an emergency boost to the main battery to perform an ad hoc jump start, it will be just a switch throw away.  This 4ga wire exists the int through the same grommet as the stock 10ga wire and it follows the same path under the vehicle up to the battery fuses where it is protected with a 125a strip fuse.

 Out with the stock 10ga ground wire (bottom brown wire), in with a VW customized 2ga ground wire.













For kicks I installed this little volt gauge which is on-demand (still need to wire in a switch for that, just connect the trigger wire for the pic).  And to the L is my aux. batt jump start switch, which manually connects the aux batt to the main batt for emergency start situations as described above.

 A few days earlier I had epoxied an LED indicator light to the sure power unit which lights up when the emergency start switch is activated.  This way I will know when it's on, if it got bumped accidentally or if my kids discovered it.  Also in view in this pic is the Anderson connector sitting on top of the batt.  This is my preferred method for hooking up my small 20w solar panel when camping for longer periods.  It's a safe and positive connection and way smarter IMO than a cigarette lighter.  I like having a small moveable panel like this as it is easy to move around and keep in the sun at the best angle all day to maximize charging potential.

 The stock EV weekender fuses are visible to the L, and the two new ones I added are installed right next to it (two red 10a fuses) using spare VW fuse holders that clipped right into the extra slot--factory fit n finish.  One is for the 1315 isolator and one is for the solar panel connection wire.

 Another view of the fuses and some of the wiring.

Spring projects Big Island Tristar Syncro Doka, The Big Green Syncro Machine, Joker JX Hightop, 400K mile club, etc.

Here are some collected bits from the past few months.  I do get to see and work on some of the coolest VWs out there......



Big Island Tristar fun:

The crown jewel of the VW Doka platform: Tristar 16" with 3-knob controls.  Now with TDI power.

Mise en scene for the task at hand.

K03/K04 hybrid turbo top L, and our once and snazzy custom L eng bracket cradling.

Some fun in the sun with my daughter and a wild but non-native Jackson's Chameleon. 

 

400k and life to go:

One more click to go!!!

First time I've ever crossed this boundary.....

Cause celeb'.  2000 Eurovan T4 Weekender with 1.9l TDI engine and 5-spd trans.  30-35 mpg.

Big Bad Green Machine:

Dimly lit to ensure its element of surprise

Emerging slowly......    Big bad and very green

Expedition ready, 2-knob Syncro with the biggest tires/lift I've yet to see/drive.

The view down low.

Where the magic happens under the hatch.

Angle R.

Angle L.

An Ode to those now passed

This week's Boston Marathon tragedy has staggered the nation and cast the signature cavalier east coast Boston attitude with an ill shadow.  I am a Massachusetts native and can still spell that goddamn state name without so much as missing a beat.  I was born and raised in the "armpit" of Mass., attended school in Amherst and I ran the Boston Marathon back in 1998 and so this story hits particularly close to home for me.  Heartbreak hill will never be the same. 

I am fortunate in that I did not lose anyone in this tragic event, but there is a piece of me that was recently lost.  A couple months ago I lost someone I was close with, an ardent EV dreamer and an early convert to the TDI EV dream I began hatching back in 2010.  The owner of the first EVC TDI conversion I ever did and one business relationship that forged a lasting friendship.  I trust you are in a better place now Keeder, and I wish you the best on the ultimate adventure you are undertaking.  Be well my friend.

AHU/1Z TDI engine stage IV tune/build

While it may seem like I've been hibernating for the past month, I've actually been up to my eye lids with misc projects clearing the deck for this particular engine build.  Well now it's go time and the engine is on the stand and in the process of getting rebuilt.

This one is getting the full treatment, so here we go:

Headbolt hole chasing.

 Clean engine block back from the machine shop bored 0.50mm over.  Head bolt holes being chased.  Once all critical holes are chased the engine is blasted clean with compressed air and brake cleaner, taped up and painted with engine enamel high temp paint.

Then the oil squirters are cleaned and installed with loctite.




                     

Main bearing bolt hole chasing.

Nice shiny new K&S main bearings, #4 cap gets the slotted bearing shell for improved lubrication.

 Main bearing caps with bearings installed being checked for radial clearance with Plastigage.   Once clearances are checked bearings/crank are cleaned and assembly lube applied and then the main bearing caps are bolted down with new bolts, 48ft/lbs + 90*.

Ring compressor tool at the ready to compress rings and slide these pistons into their new homes.

Next up: Piston time!  These sweet ASV pistons are mated to rods, Rosten H-beam rods in this case and then, and then installed in the engine block in pairs, cylinders 2 & 3 shown here before final installation.

Rod caps #2 and #3, plastigage check.

 Radial clearances of rod bearings are then checked with Plastigage, cleaned, lubed and installed with the provided ARP bolts.

Rod caps 4 and one, radial clearances all check out.

Bottom end complete.

Pistons 3 and 2 high and proud.

Pistons 4 and 1 high and proud.

Longblock assembly:

 Febi oil pump being opened up.  Oil pan baffle installed with A4 TDI oil pan sealant on both sides of gasket.

 DV oil pan cleaned and ready to install.

 DV oil pump installed, bolts torqued to 18 ft/lbs and pump shaft checked for unrestricted movement.

 Piston projection being measured for head gasket size.

 Rebuilt head with port n polish intake/exhaust runners.

 1-notch head gasket and shiny sealing surface of head.

 Head gasket installed and ARP head studs threaded in.  The two corners have head gasket locating pins installed which will be removed once head is seated and tightened slightly.

 Another angle of the studs--one of my favorite sights.....

 Port and polish detail.

 Head installed, head studs torqued to spec and valve cover loosely installed.

 PD150 intake manifold with EGR delete race pipe installed.

 Another angle on this sweet intake.

 Valve cover installed to keep things clean.

 Custom Colt Cam stage II to let this engine breath a little more freely.

 Cam line being prepped for cam install.

 Cam bearing caps removed for cam install.  Valve ends and bearings are lubed with assembly lube.

 Colt cam installed and assembly lube copiously applied.
 










Timing belt installed and engine timed.

 Exhaust manifold and turbo installed.

 K03/04 hybrid turbo impeller.

  K03/04 hybrid turbo.

 Belted up and almost 100% finished.

 Being lifted off engine stand.  G60/VR6/TDI/Vanagon hybrid 228mm clutch setup installed.

Completed engine floating in space.

Crating up engine for shipment to Hawaii

What an adventure this was yesterday!  I spent all day securing the engine/trans/diff to a pallet, building a crate and then racing up to the terminal in Salem.  In the process I managed to put a T15 torx driver bit through my thumb.  Skipping lunch and dinner due to a pressing deadline only to spend an hour at urgent care getting it cleaned and stitched up was a sad commentary on the day.  Here's some pics I managed to take:

 Trailer backed into shop and engine strapped to pallet.

 Ad hoc work station for building the crate.

 Syncro tranny in foreground, eng and front diff on pallet.

 Front diff, trans and eng all strapped/screwed down and blocked in.

 Crate magically sprouted up around the pallet.  I was in such a frantic rush to put this together I didn't get any pics mid-process.

And there's my errant thumb dressed up after getting back from urgent care....

 And there it is once that bandage came off as I raced to finish the crate.

 And one more pic from this morning.  T15 bit went in at the bottom and came out the other side.  The doc had to slice the wound open in order to clean it and one stitch later I'm all put back together.