R32rennsport's Amazon Thread

[R32RennSport]

Moving full steam ahead. Gas tank is in and plumbed. Though I didn't document it here I added a barbed breather nipple a few inches down from the the filler that exits in between the small rear bulkhead where the filler protrudes through. I ran the breather hose to the left rear corner where it exits through a grommet next to the spare tire well away from anything hot.

I had this idea for a flip top filler for ages and had one in my parts stash from over a decade ago from a prior career at a British restoration shop. As it happens the threaded ring was a press on fit to the filler neck and I think it's exactly how I envisioned it. It's fuller reversible if need be. I have a few issues with the replacement gas tank from VP Autoparts which are minor but annoying nonetheless. The first being that all the holes are about 1/8 to 1/4 inch off from the originals which necessitated drilling new holes. Secondly, I recall the original tank having a baffle at the base of the filler neck to prevent splash back up the neck which the replacement does not have. Also, had to chase all the threads for the sending unit as the screws were not happily threading in. The grey is because the paint on the tank was clearly temporary for shipping purposes and easily scratch off so I thought a few more coats wouldn't hurt and I had the grey left over from the engine bay. Next I'll be putting the trunk lid back on after addressing some surface rust where the seal sits and adding upholstery then on to plumbing the heater box and finishing the dash so I can start on the interior and install the engine/trans.

[stick70]

That filler cap looks good! I'd guesstimate the vent in my wagon is in a similar location in the filler neck, just in the top side.

[R32RennSport]

My only concern with the breather is the lack of baffle at the base of the neck causing overflow run out when it sloshes back. I added a loop in the breather line to hopefully reduce flow but we shall see. I could always run a small container at the termination of the hose for a while to get a feel for how much gas is coming out and then readdress the system accordingly.

[Canuck]

I have one of these in my parts stash...been there for years. Looks great.

[R32RennSport]

I've been bogged down with the acquisition of the '68 Combi, repairs to my Golf (actually just converting more things back to street use) and rampant sickness in my household. Hoping to make some big progress this weekend! Stay tuned!

[Canuck]

Torq Thrust FTW!

[Vol242vo]

Could I get this image in its original format? Email is vol242vo@gmail.com

Absolutely love it.

[R32RennSport]

On it's way over!

[R32RennSport]

Had some fun bending up brakelines last night. I opted for my own routing as I've never thought the factory routing was clean or well thought out. I did the front to rear line after taking these pictures as well, got a little dizzy after being on the creeper for too long and called it a night.

[matt b]

Looks clean, I agree that the factory routes were a little odd. And with changes related to different model years, it can get messy.

You may want to shield the line on the passenger side, the exhaust can get pretty hot.

[R32RennSport]

Originally Posted by matt b

Looks clean, I agree that the factory routes were a little odd. And with changes related to different model years, it can get messy.

You may want to shield the line on the passenger side, the exhaust can get pretty hot.

Thanks! I figured someone would point that out. I already had a heat shield in mind using some unused factory holes along the frame rail. Also, my header will be wrapped so that should provided some added protection in the engine bay as well.

Also, I triple checked the bend over the throttle linkage, it has about 5mm of clearance at full throttle, no contact, even if it were close I could have just added a small throttle stop at the pedal.

[matt b]

If you wrap your exhaust, I think you'll be just fine.

If you decide to plug the holes in your firewall to avoid water or draft getting into the cabin, Harbor Freight sells a box of rubber grommets that works great. I've done roughly 5 cars with my current box and it is not empty yet. It's an alternative to VP's grommet kit.

[stick70]

I like how you sunk that Bosch coil in the firewall like that. Are you still running the stock ignition switch? It's pretty easy to make it work.

Some serious engine bay envy going on over here.

[R32RennSport]

Originally Posted by matt b

If you wrap your exhaust, I think you'll be just fine.

If you decide to plug the holes in your firewall to avoid water or draft getting into the cabin, Harbor Freight sells a box of rubber grommets that works great. I've done roughly 5 cars with my current box and it is not empty yet. It's an alternative to VP's grommet kit.

Thanks for the tip, I have a HF right around the corner from my work, didn't think to look for those there. Yeah, I'm plugging and sealing up everything, this car is going to be weather proof to the max.

[R32RennSport]

Originally Posted by stick70

I like how you sunk that Bosch coil in the firewall like that. Are you still running the stock ignition switch? It's pretty easy to make it work.

Some serious engine bay envy going on over here.

Thanks! Lots of hours spent in that small square footage.

I bought the coil relocation kit from the guy in Greece that sells a bunch of stuff on Ebay, it came QUICK, like 4 or 5 days. I opted to go super stealth and mount it from the back side and sealed it up really well instead of having the 1/2 inch chrome lip exposed.

I'm probably just going to run the stock switch for now, I bought Ron's (Swedish Embassy) push button start setup as well, haven't entirely decided what I'm going to do yet.

[Canuck]

Why the big loop into the brake switch? Have you tested this with the heater and cowl drain in place?

[R32RennSport]

Originally Posted by Canuck

Why the big loop into the brake switch? Have you tested this with the heater and cowl drain in place?

I'm still undecided on that, but I luckily have a reference car parked right outside of the garage so I know it will work. The loop was to allow for routing of drain tube and possibly coil wire through it. I may go back and bend it differently to shrink it down a bit. I bought the premade factory tubes and I have a few spare inches on that tube since I decided to route it differently, not really interested in cutting and flaring my own right now only because I don't want to go out and buy tools for a one time gig.

I could overlap it and run it behind the left side tube but I feel like that would look messy.

[stick70]

That's one of those things where you really need to splurge on a decent tool too. I've used the cheap ones and you get more bad flares then you do good ones.

[R32RennSport]

OK, I've been putting in some more hours in the evenings as the average temperature at night stays well into the 70s until around midnight. Knocked out installing the heater box and reinstalling the cowl rubber as I installed it backwards the first time. Waiting on a bunch of trim clips so I can put the cowl trim back on and a few other trim items around the car.
The big news was getting the drivetrain in, what a bear!!! The M41 with the remote shifter assembly definitely had me scratching my head when it came to the order of operations, nothing like the much smaller M40 and attaching the shifter after the fact. At first I tried the whole thing together, engine and trans, that was a no go. Then I tried engine then trans, still a no go, the bellhousing wouldn't clear the firewall and the input shaft was hanging up on the pressure plate. Lastly, I moved the engine off the mounts and angled it down slightly about 6 inches forward then I angled the trans up and married them together. Not looking forward to having to pull either of those in the future if needed. I hope all the trouble of adding the P1800 tunnel and remote shifter was worth the effort!!!
I mocked up the American Racing V309 Torq Thrust last night. The car sits high at the moment due to not at full operating weight which makes them look awkward but I'm still not sold on them in general. I love my wide steel wheels, it's going to be hard adjusting to something new. The large polished lips give the illusion that the wheel is much smaller then it is, as I suspected before mounting them to the car I think that I want to paint/powdercoat them a solid color... or maybe I'll just stick to what I'm used to.
Next up, bolt the aux items onto the engine, start routing wires, maybe get some lighting and bodywork back on the car. Still need to tackle sound deadening and carpets on the interior but my focus at the moment is to get this fired up and moving by August.

[sspony]

Wheels look awesome man! Great work on the brake lines as well, very clean!

[R32RennSport]

Originally Posted by sspony

Wheels look awesome man! Great work on the brake lines as well, very clean!

Thanks, I appreciate the compliment!

Back on it for a few hours over the weekend. There was quite a bit of rust starting to form around the trunk underside were the top skin was crimped to the frame (from the previous failing trunk seal) so I took it down to metal, treated it, and gave it a fresh coat. Then I moved on to the engine bay to check clearances and take measurements for the exhaust and intake. Still unsure of primary tubing size for the exhaust system, 2, 2 1/4 or 2 1/2 inch with muffler and resonator, ditching the sidepipe idea though I may have them flange in a Y with a block off for future shenanigans. Good news is I have plenty of room for filters with stacks on the long induction setup with my modified wheel well, I will definitely be fabricating a support brace for it all based off the factory drawings, thinking about adding a torque mount off the block like the factory rally cars as well to minimize engine movement. Looks like the brakelines have good distance from the header on the low side but I will need a shield for the high side line as its pretty darn close to exhaust primary #4 at the firewall. Primary number one didn't sit flat on the head so I put it in a vise and bent it inline with with the other 3 and it all sits flush now.

[R32RennSport]

Finished the trunk lid up with some insulation and cover. Finished up the early latch conversion and made new harness for the license plate lights as well. Added a disconnect spade to the harness so if I ever need to remove the trunk lid again I can just unplug it. Really like how the back of the car looks now, especially after polishing up the original plate.

[AndrewNance]

I'm kinda planning on moving the brake junction block when I pull the engine back out of mine soon. I've never thought it was in a great spot if you need to get to it, especially that lower line to the rear. It's even worse with the b230. Just gotta figure out where I can put it that's accessible and doesn't look awful.

[R32RennSport]

Originally Posted by AndrewNance

I'm kinda planning on moving the brake junction block when I pull the engine back out of mine soon. I've never thought it was in a great spot if you need to get to it, especially that lower line to the rear. It's even worse with the b230. Just gotta figure out where I can put it that's accessible and doesn't look awful.

If I had to do it again I'd mount it under the steering shaft, maybe lower down on the firewall since that air space is already being used up by said steering shaft. That way it's tucked out of sight and still reasonably accessible. Would clean up the lines in the field of vision as well, pushing everything to the left of the engine compartment.

[R32RennSport]

I should also add and give a shout out to Ron Kwas of Swedish Embassy. Between his brake light switch upgrade which is also a great safety improvement (notice the pressure block off on the junction) and the AC Delco alternator upgrade (as well as relocating my battery) I should be able to clean up the wiring nicely in the engine bay. Keeping it tidy will be important with the additional room needed for the DCOEs and related fuel components, oil filter relocation, and possible addition of a brake booster.