The Buchka 242 Daily Driver

VQ said:

I love the work. But talking like making calliper mounts, making 2 peice rims, the throw out bearing arrangement on the w58. Etc etc on top of every other job. Well, it's not how most people manage this sort of thing, as we aren't engineers with European training.

Not to take away from the work you do, but you guys are very fortunate to have your life situation.

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Ok. I'll bite.

I'll preface this post by stating that I'm uneducated (by your standards) and I've never been outside of the North American continent.

Four years ago the Buchka's made a flywheel for me to bolt a QM triple disc clutch to my 2JZ. The idea being that having a clutch I could adapt to any transmission would motivate me to swap a 2JZ in my '68 mustang. Also, I had no idea how to operate any machine to undertake such a task to make that part myself. What they delivered to me was the most amazing hand made, custom part I've ever seen. I was impressed.

But, as I looked at this amazing piece, I thought to myself "If they can make something like this, what's stopping me from doing the same?"

Adapting a factory transmission from a '68 mustang to bolt to a 2JZ is no bolt on affair. I came up with a game plan, figured out what machines I needed to make the necessary parts, take a google crash course on how to operate those machines, get some material and hope for the best.

Shortly after that I had machined an adapter plate by hand that bolted a Ford T-10 to an A340 bellhousing. I machined the pilot bearing adapter to pilot the old furd trans to the 2JZ crank.

Not long after all that, I had a 2JZ powered '68 Mustang on stock drivetrain.

Today that same car just got a GM 4L80e that again, I made a bunch of stuff on a mill to bolt it to a Toyota engine.

And now I like doing this **** all the time. I like doing it so much I bought all the machine tools to have at home to keep making cool stuff.

I'm uneducated, not well traveled, incredibly stupid, and yet, I manage my projects much in the same way.

Anyways. The point is I admired a component the Buchka's made for one of my projects. I admired it so much that I wanted to do the same thing. So I learned. I ****ed **** up, trashed a lot of ****, and made a lot of cool ****.

We just like doing this stuff. That's all. There's nothing stopping you doing the same but yourself.

^ Beautifully said. They embody one of the main points of what a forum is possible of providing to others in all regards.

BillyMaysHere said:

COuld have just been one word shy of what he meant

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Sure. how is that earned?

By having the skill and background to be able to understand the information in the first place. So yes, they work for it, I'm sure you do spend all your spare time on this stuff, but to not have depression or an ill family member that means you don't have to spend time caring for yourself or others in that way. Well it is fortune and it's a lot of the reasons why others don't get there.

But hey, take it all as a negative.

I'm a mechanic, I use hand tools. I am lucky to have one friend who has a lathe and mill at home so it doesn't cost a fortune to make things, but to design things to have good alignment in the first place is where being a trained engineer does help a lot. And having not had to pay for it helps projects along. Because otherwise it is a lot of expensive trial and error. And once again, not that realistic to lose the money on it. At least in Australia, labour, land and steel is not that cheap.

More off-topic to go with the rest:

Not too sure about Ozfailure, but here in Nu z-land we have a proliferation of something called "tall poppy syndrome". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tall_poppy_syndrome

I'm sometimes guilty of feeling that way toward others. However I don't feel that way toward people who are well behaved. Only those who are not, such as our ex-prime minister, the right dishonourable Jonky. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Right_Honourable

My neighbour is a prime example at ~500/hr, however he's articulate, intelligent, wise, funny, modest, generous, and all sorts of other positive adjectives. I think nothing but the best of the guy - someone to aspire to be more like. So it's not the height of the poppy, for me. It's how it behaves. I saw what appeared to be some iffy behaviour from Karl in one thread, but it's none of my business, so I did not add 2c. Could be simply a matter of a poorly updated thread. Aside from that, they seem fine.

And at the other end of the spectrum is someone like Jimmy Spithill. I don't hate him for his success, more for his arrogance, bad attitude, and sell-out nature.

It took me quite a few years, and some overseas trips, to realise the extent of my own privilege levels. Merely growing up in NZ is a big one. Seemed like everyone had a holiday house and boat when I was a kid. Such is life when you're surrounded by those from the right side of town. The truth differs significantly. It's hard to quantify how going to the "right school" matters as much as it does, but it does, and this sort of privilege is real. In my case, by way of massive sacrifice of my father to make it that way for my sister and I. Nevertheless, I too worked my arse off to achieve what I have, and you can't put that down to where I went to school. More to the kiwi attitude deep in my soul.

VQ, pull your head in, lest your neck get a little more sunburned

On topic: All 242s are amazing. I wish they were so cheap here, 10knzd minimum. If they were half that, I'd probably have 15 cars right now

Alex Buchka said:

Not really sure how to respond. Thanks for the compliment I guess? Don't really understand what is driving the thinly veiled insults.

I didn't pop out of the womb knowing which handles to crank on a lathe or how to use a welder and I certainly didn't learn it sitting in a lecture hall. Designing and fabricating stuff is something I'm passionate about. I have, and still do, spend a lot of time learning and failing at it. I don't own a TV, I rarely go out drinking, the vast majority of my time outside of work is spent in the shop or at my computer working on projects for myself and my friends.

I recognize that I'm fortunate to have access to certain tools and equipment through my employer but the skills to use those tools are hard won and definitely not something exclusive to my "life situation".

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"Never go full retard" combined with no TV probably helps with these things...
For some who've had to mostly and/or totally shelve the car hobby for a minute, I for one am glad I can check in on the threads once in a while.
Hopefully (even minor) updates will be forthcoming.

Buchkas!

This build is f***ing awesome. Love the work. Incredibly ingenious. I hope to be able to do this kind of stuff once I'm out of school. Keep of keeping on and I can't wait for updates.

VQ, just stop. Your jealousy is showing.

A lot has happened since this was updated last. Here's a quick recap of what's been going on.

Went to Davis last year and managed to sleaze my way into a first place in the modified 240 category.







Machined an aluminum flywheel and converted to a Sachs 707 pressure plate with an organic disc, much improved driveability and life along with comparable MOI to the 7.25" quartermaster clutch and full diameter steel flywheel that was on there before.







Ditched the belt driven power steering pump and installed a cooler and an electro-hydraulic unit from an R53 BMW Mini. Less assist but no more squealing pump and nuked fluid.





Built a new engine that won't crap itself when it sees any kind of boost.

Out with the old:



In with the new:



















Basic spec list:

B6284T bottom end ('99 S80 T6)
Chinesium h-beams
B6304S head
Drive by wire ITB's from an E46 M3
Garrett GTX3067R turbo with a divided inlet .83 a/r housing
Scratch built engine harness with a Link G4+ Xtreme ECU

Karl and I thrashed on this thing really hard to get it done before Davis this year but there were just too many small issues in the weeks leading up to the show. All the engine build stuff happened over the course of about two months. Homer even came down for a weekend to help which was huge.

This pretty much brings us current. This past weekend I pulled the throttle bodies off to diagnose and fix some issues with the drive-by-wire system and found a generous coating of oil in all six intake ports. We pulled the head and dropped it off at the engine shop today for new intake valve guides and seals. Hopefully that fixes the issue.

Car looks great. Too bad it didn't make it to Davis this year. I really like the mini power steering pump. I might have to do that to free up some room for a AC compressor.

What were you doing to the turbine housing on the lathe?

Damn great work as usual dude

Alex Buchka said:

This pretty much brings us current. This past weekend I pulled the throttle bodies off to diagnose and fix some issues with the drive-by-wire system and found a generous coating of oil in all six intake ports. We pulled the head and dropped it off at the engine shop today for new intake valve guides and seals. Hopefully that fixes the issue.

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Have you replaced the exhaust valves? Might be worth it to put new units in while you are in there.

I have seen a lot of exhaust valve failures on white blocks as they get older.

thanks for continuing to provide inspiration to the RWD community

Looks like it'll be in great shape for a cross-country road trip to MountainMeet 2019.

Best car. Would daily.

Watch that PS pump. Our R53 is on its 3rd pump, there was a recall on them and Mini keeps replacing them for free on ours. 112K miles, you'd expect them to last a little longer. Part of the issue is the heat in the Mini's engine compartment and water getting in the pump. You might consider a shield.

t8fanning said:

Car looks great. Too bad it didn't make it to Davis this year. I really like the mini power steering pump. I might have to do that to free up some room for a AC compressor.

What were you doing to the turbine housing on the lathe?

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Thanks! There was a slight SNAFU when the turbo was assembled and it accidentally got a version of the turbine shroud that was incompatible with the turbine housing. I had to bore some material out of the housing to make it fit. Wasn't really that big of a deal, only took about 30 minutes or so.

pat244ti said:

Damn great work as usual dude

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Thanks Pat!

blkaplan said:

Have you replaced the exhaust valves? Might be worth it to put new units in while you are in there.

I have seen a lot of exhaust valve failures on white blocks as they get older.

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Standard valves still. The shop that rebuilt the head looked everything over and said it was fine, also it doesn't have a whole lot of miles on it so it should be ok.

propav8r said:

Looks like it'll be in great shape for a cross-country road trip to MountainMeet 2019.

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Too much time off work and too much driving. I'm too old for a 5000 mile road trip over the course of a week.

matt b said:

Watch that PS pump. Our R53 is on its 3rd pump, there was a recall on them and Mini keeps replacing them for free on ours. 112K miles, you'd expect them to last a little longer. Part of the issue is the heat in the Mini's engine compartment and water getting in the pump. You might consider a shield.

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Cool, thanks for the heads up! The location I have the pump mounted should be more benign than on a mini, it's completely separated from engine bay heat and gets ample air flow. A shield to keep water away is a good idea though, I'll look into adding one in the next few weeks.

you really have an eye for clean packaging and design. I like that cooler duct/scoop quite a bit, is that ABS plastic?

what's that fancy pants vacuum line?

You guys are the only thing that makes me want to live in SoCal. Always just the best work

Alex Buchka said:

Thanks! There was a slight SNAFU when the turbo was assembled and it accidentally got a version of the turbine shroud that was incompatible with the turbine housing. I had to bore some material out of the housing to make it fit. Wasn't really that big of a deal, only took about 30 minutes or so.

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My bad; it's easy to overlook the fact that there are two different shrouds in use for the GTX28/30/35 product lines. Next time I'll think about whether or not I should have been born at all.

Awesome as usual! Do you have that r53 pump running at a set speed or does the rpm change with load?

The build is awesome.

I may have to do some digging on that PS pump. I like it.