• Hello Guest, welcome to the initial stages of our new platform!
    You can find some additional information about where we are in the process of migrating the board and setting up our new software here

    Thank you for being a part of our community!

1971 142S "I'll keep this one"

CW6x4rbl.jpg

ZiABt6ml.jpg


1 of 8 seat pedestals/mounts to raise the P2R seats above the cross member. There's a nut welded into the top plate and will be a bottom plate with a nut welded in as well. These were supposed to get done on Saturday but ended up getting the wrong material from Tractor Supply (ferrous stainless marked as cold-rolled) and spent 3 hours diagnosing before running back and getting some cold-rolled. Sunday was mother's day.

Had to quit at 8:00 (got off work at 7:00) so the grinds look like garbage, but I slid it in the car and it looks like a guesstimated correctly. This seat should definitely fit and support my fat ass far better than the worn out tweed seat on long drives.
 
Thread updated time:
Haven't gotten into my garage to finish the pedestals yet- new job has been draining me physically and mentally.
I have the 4-tower 80's Yakima rails, basket, and bike mount sitting in the shed now that I've removed the last of my property from my former employer (including selling the GD 300TE Benz).
I sold the 300TE this morning, so now I have some upfront capital to get the cam, gasket kit, lifters, hydraulic hoses, fuel lines, etc to get this car on the road.
I went to what was supposedly a Euro-Mecca yesterday where I knew of 3 16v parts cars. All 3 had broken belts, and the guy was firm at $500 a piece in light of that for just the heads, plus $200 for manifolds. My consolation prize was a set of straight Virgo wheels. I'm not sure if I'll try to trade for something a little less bend-prone or use them, but I can't complain.

I have decided this car is certainly staying B20-powered for the long run. Possibly turbocharging the B20 with Microsquirt/Speeduino to make ~200hp. I would use a B20F head to drop the compression within reason.

Joey (my brother, vwbusman69) and I went to a few yard sales today after a geezer car show at the VFW and I scored 'The Club' for $3 with two keys. It'll hopefully deter theft at remote college parking lots.

loQCOGMl.jpg

NDJRcIrl.jpg
 
Last edited:
Today was a pretty much me spinning my wheels.
Made the decision this morning to just rebuild the original driver's seat with better foams and a new seat cover instead of retrofitting the R seats. They look out of place in the tweed interior.
Vacuumed the whole carpet and rear seat, washed the black OE rubber mats, and removed/scraped out the remains of the rubber mat in the trunk that had turned to sticky tar. That led to the discovery that the passenger buttcheek had a ton of bondo/glass and the driver's side isn't much better for rust at this point. I'll have to do those before the summer is out. Also, there was a ton of standing water in the gas tank tub- naturally, I drained the 10 gallons of varnish out and discovered why the pump wouldn't pull fuel from the tank- the steel line was rotted clean through. I'll be replacing all of the long brake lines and fuel line with 3/16 and 5/16 NiCop line respectively as well as installing a new fuel level sender.

I would like to address the pinch weld under the windshield (some rust/bubbling). Can I replace the trim/seal with the late style 240 trim-free seal and windshield?
 
Only thing you have to do is tap down some bumps where the windshield meets the cowl. 1978 and newer already are flat there, but the 1967-77 cars aren't. There is a '75 164E at a local yard that had the 1991-93 windshield installed in it.

-J
 
Is the 142/242 glass available new as well and can they get a matching seal as the front?

Pulled the rotted fuel lines and installed new NiCopp 5/16 line. Discovered that the driver's side frame rail is crusty and will need some repair before I leave for school in August. Any tips?
 
Seal on 1991-93 244 is basically the 140 series seal, but without the trim moulding. Probably best to just grab a low mileage 1991-93 rear window and swap it in. You'll also gain a 3rd brake light, plus defroster lines that seem to clear the glass much quicker than the older ones do.
 
Is the 142/242 glass available new as well and can they get a matching seal as the front?

Discovered that the driver's side frame rail is crusty and will need some repair before I leave for school in August. Any tips?

Don't get discouraged! If you have a mig welder you can deal with frame section repairs easily. Just procure some 12 ga steel stock and use that. Don't worry about bending into a perfect shape, just cut out the bad section, tack in rectangular patch pieces cut to size and then weld the seams closed.

script>


" title="Frame Rail Patch - Bottom Section


" title="Frame Rail Patch Complete


" title="Frame Rail Patch - Primed

btw: thumbs up on your seat decision.
 
Last edited:
The car has assumed the traditional TB pose- jack stands on all four corners. No real progress today, mostly just reading up on various "things".
0q9cccul.jpg


I'm not terrified about that frame repair, just need to make sure I measure/template it well.

The OG seat is certainly growing on me.
 
just need to make sure I measure/template it well.

An easy way to make a template once you cut out the rotted sections is to use card stock (5x7 cards or even old manila file folders you may find laying around). You can lay the card stock over the section you cut out and use your fingernails to etch the outline of the piece you need to cut into the stock. Then you can cut the template out of the card stock, and scribe the shape onto your sheet metal stock.
 
An easy way to make a template once you cut out the rotted sections is to use card stock (5x7 cards or even old manila file folders you may find laying around). You can lay the card stock over the section you cut out and use your fingernails to etch the outline of the piece you need to cut into the stock. Then you can cut the template out of the card stock, and scribe the shape onto your sheet metal stock.

I'm a big fan of the manilla file folder method. Relatively flexible, easy to cut, easy to mark, and holds a shape/curve well.

In other news, the box of goodies I ordered Monday from VP arrived today.
Got a full engine gasket set, 'D' cam and lifters, aluminum timing gear set, a clip for the seat support strap, and a fuel level sender (figured it was worth the $53 price tag for a working gas gauge) and gasket.

Not sure when I'll blow it apart and get it done. I paid for the HiPerfAuto cam gear puller tool rental today, so hopefully, that'll be here next week and I can get it running on all 4 again.

A good friend's dad (from high school) bought a 1978 MG Midget with 30k original miles last October from a customer of the shop I was at. I had done extensive work on the car, however, it suffered from severe carbon buildup in the valve guides/valves due to not getting hot when it ran. Current owner (Paul) and his buddy pulled the head to replace an externally leaking head gasket. That was 3 months ago. My friend and I are going to try and slam it together this weekend so they can drive it this summer. Mark did a ****ty job installing an electric fuel pump, so I'm sure I'll have to un-**** his ****ery.

So basically, not working on the B20 this weekend :oops:
Might try and grab a divorced intake/exhaust manifold off a 69 144 up at an old school wrecking yard with the HS6's (to sell) and use the manifold to delete the ugly/complicated flap setup.
 
Might try and grab a divorced intake/exhaust manifold off a 69 144 up at an old school wrecking yard with the HS6's (to sell) and use the manifold to delete the ugly/complicated flap setup.

I still need a dash so if that 69 144's dash is uncracked I'll pay a pickers fee. PM me, I was trying to buy your 145's dash when you still had it
 
Started the cam swap around 12 today and have hit a wall with questions- here are some pictures and a video of the WASTED original cam.

oU6bwYcl.jpg

lo2piCTl.jpg

iKy3QlMl.jpg

CSWDIvzl.jpg

woXeE0nl.jpg


Is the cam plate supposed to have that kind of wear/machining, or is that just wear?

Czech out the video of the cam, too.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Mc2IrYkKOg0" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
The cam plates are flat when new, but it'd be normal for it to wear over time because it is a helical gear on it which does put a thrust load on. They last hundreds of thousands of miles with regular oil changes but they all will wear a bit.

As for the seat, yeah stock seats are really nice in these cars, always have been. Have you checked the webbing underneath? Not sure if your car is old enough to still have the rubber web but if it does, you can get a later or aftermarket wire webbing and the seat will feel like new even on original foam. Just pop the snaps on the front of the seat cushion and lift it up and look.
 
The cam plates are flat when new, but it'd be normal for it to wear over time because it is a helical gear on it which does put a thrust load on. They last hundreds of thousands of miles with regular oil changes but they all will wear a bit.

As for the seat, yeah stock seats are really nice in these cars, always have been. Have you checked the webbing underneath? Not sure if your car is old enough to still have the rubber web but if it does, you can get a later or aftermarket wire webbing and the seat will feel like new even on original foam. Just pop the snaps on the front of the seat cushion and lift it up and look.

The webbing this car has are 3 red straps that run from side to side. I got a dozen of the clips from VP to make sure the webbing stays where it should.

For those who are paying attention/interested, nothing new has happened since Sunday. I dilly-dallied and ordered stuff from VP on Monday night. Got a new steel plate and ring, 6 headlight bulb clips, 8 new bleeders, and a dozen copper crush washers so I can take care of the brake system.

I really, really want to register this car next week and drive it to the local friends meet and Dunkin Donuts with my younger brother on Thursday evening. His last final exam of his 1st year of high school is that afternoon, and I think it'd kick the summer off well.
 
Your cam thrust plate looks better than the one I pulled out of my '75 B20. Similar wear; it's not obvious in the photo below but it had also fractured into several pieces. This was after cam gear failure so maybe related, not sure.

Are those still available new? There's probably an accepted minimum thickness or axial thrust lash measurement you could use to determine if it needs replacement.

jc93KAMl.jpg
 
Your cam thrust plate looks better than the one I pulled out of my '75 B20. Similar wear; it's not obvious in the photo below but it had also fractured into several pieces. This was after cam gear failure so maybe related, not sure.

Are those still available new? There's probably an accepted minimum thickness or axial thrust lash measurement you could use to determine if it needs replacement.

jc93KAMl.jpg

Yes. I couldn't find the brass/bronze version, but iPD and VP both sell a new steel plate, which according to the guys at HiPerfAuto, is original/correct for B18's.
 
Well, she's a runner!!
I spent/ wasted the morning jacking around with some thread issues and various fiddly bits, and attempted the first crank at 2:00 ish.
I elected to delete the secondary butterflies in the intake per HiPerfAuto/Planetman's advice. I was able to tap the open hole on each runner for a 3/8-24 thread and threaded a bolt in for now. I will have to order two pipe plugs that don't protrude.

After wasting an hour diagnosing why when cranking, it would cough like it was 180 out and the dizzy drive was lined up, I realized that the last idiot to work on this car put the dizzy drive with the smaller part pointing downwards, and to compensate, put the plug wires on the cap 180 degrees off. Once it was timed right (ish), it fired right up and the break in commenced. With the rusted out exhaust and two more cylinders, this ****er is noticeably louder than before. I'm glad ya'll steered me towards the 'D' grind as it has a little bit of lope at idle and seems eager to climb.

After dinner, I'll change the oil and filter and get you a running video for evidence that I actually partially completed a project! Tomorrow will be tackling the brakes and buttoning up the fuel system. Hopefully Monday's lunch break will be spent getting the car tagged so I can drive it!

LSA3gfml.jpg


Also, I met Impolvo and took delivery of some goodies from him, for future (long term) project ideas.

62XSY6zl.jpg
 
Back
Top