Follow me on my 1915 Stroker Conversion. . .

[gblakeney]

Well, the parts order is going in this evening.

My overall goal is to increase the torque of the engine to push my 'loaf of bread' (as I once heard Raby refer to it ) up hill while maintaining / increasing speed. I shift between 4500 and 4800 normally, but never go above (nor do I intend to go above) 5000RPM.

 Here is the list as I see it now:

CB 044 40x35 heads 94mm bore Magnum series, ~55cc chambers
CB lightened wrist pins
Mahle 94mm 'B' pistons
CB 82mm, Chevy journal
CB H Beam Race Rods, 5.4" Chevy journal
DTM
Clevite 77 triple metal rod bearings, Chevy journal
Main bearing set,STD KS brand
Chromoly blank end push rods,/Scat  Manton
Good engine gasket set w/fly seal
Cylinder spacer kit
Deck Height Tool
Case SPlitter Tool
Cylinder Head CC kit

I'll follow this post with my math in 'initial' changes made by the stroke, B pistons and stock length rods.  Good information to see and understand. I'll also follow up with a bit on rod ratio too.

Stay tuned - she's coming apart soon!

[gblakeney]

Wednesday morning and all is quiet in the house - for now

I managed to make a few decisions yesterday and get all the parts ordered. I stepped up to an 82mm crank, so the grunt (torque) I am looking for should be better than the 78 would have provided.  Sadly, though, I had to go back to a VW journal on the rods.  The CB race rods are only available in 5.5, 5.6 & 5.7" lengths with the 2" (Chevy) journal.  There are some 5.4" rods with the Chevy journal available, but the set I found was second hand - though never installed - and would have had NO warranty. 

The 2.0" journal would have equated to a bit less grinding when clearancing the case for the stroke.  Going to a 2.165" VW journal will not have nearly the impact on grinding as will the change from 78mm to 82mm on the crank though.  I may have a lead on a shop in SoCal that will clearance my case same day.  Not that I don't want to do it myself, but if they can zap it while I hit a few shops, that would make my life simpler and take some of the guess work out of the equation. I can hear it now . . . .

innocent bystander - "Hey man, what's that hiddeous knocking in your engine?"
me - " Oh, that's just my new crank finishing up the case clearancing for me!"

Parts should start arriving late this week - they don't have far to go, right out of Torrance, CA.  I did make the commitment tothe DTM. On my last run to Huntington Beach I noticed the difference between punching the throttle at 180 degrees F oil temp vs. punching it at 205 degrees F. There is no doubt in my mind that cooler = more power. This new shroud shold be a decent improvement over my cheap repop doghouse shroud.

I'll lay all the parts out like Thanksgiving dinner when they get here and post a picture. Afterall, that will be my Thanksgiving! 

[gblakeney]

Well, I guess Thanksgiving diner arrived early this year . . . everything but the heads were on my doorstep when I came back from lunch.  UPS ground is great when you live this close to Southern California.

Heads will be showing up shortly, they are being cut for 94mm.

[admin]

Well, I guess Thanksgiving diner arrived early this year . . . everything but the heads were on my doorstep when I came back from lunch.  UPS ground is great when you live this close to Southern California.

Heads will be showing up shortly, they are being cut for 94mm.

Are you getting the CB "Fluff and Buff" on those heads?  I've heard its just a mild port job and chamber shaping.  It's not their CNC or hand ported process.

Great Thread Greg!  I'm sure everyone is enjoying it!

Scott Faivre

[gblakeney]

Are you getting the CB "Fluff and Buff" on those heads?  I've heard its just a mild port job and chamber shaping.  It's not their CNC or hand ported process.

Thanks Scott.

Actually, it's just their 'out of the box' magnum series 044 head,  ~55cc chambers.  Parts supplier is cutting them for 94mm cylinders, that's all.

I also got a head CC'ing kit and plan to use it.  I want my CR and deck, as well as the head chamber to be as matched as possible accross all 4 cylinders.

When the heads get here I plan to port match them to the heavy gaskets I use from Nevada Offroad.

I just had a look at the crank and it is sweeeeeeeeeeet! ! ! ! 

[gblakeney]

November 10, 2006 Update

I started messing with the internals a bit today. Cleaned off the crank with some carb spray, as well as the protective coating on the new KS rod bearings I got from Nevada Offroad this afternoon.  Took the CB H beam rods and 'fought' to get the ARP2000 bolts out - they must have been torqued at least 20 pounds in the box. That is not much unless you are using a 5" wrench to loosen them.   

Starting with #2 journal, I installed a rod and measured the side clearance.  Marked it as .020". I followed suite with #4, then #1 and finally #3. I basically worked from the top down - the crank was standing on the flywheel end. All side clearances were .020" - the only special note was that #1 was a tight .020" I used some white lithium grease on the bearing surfaces to protect them.

As I disassembled each rod, I numbered them at the wrist pin end with a red sharpie marker. I did the same on the back side of each rod bearing - 1R, 1C (rod or cap) etc. This will bring a level of consistency to the build. Same bearings in same place, as well as same rod on same journal. Anyone who has built an engine knows you normally assemble it several times. Moving things around could potentially change tolerances. Note for instance the tight #1 rod. I might find that the rod is a bit wide, or the journal is a bit narrow - or maybe both. Now I know where everything was, I can try something different to see if I can get all 4 to equal clearance. Consistency, consistency consistency . . .



I tried to get some plastigage today from Autozone but they were out. The next thing I want to do is measure the bearing clearances to the journals.  Everything will probably be fine, but I want it all noted.

Lastly I took one of the stroker pistons out of the cylinder and assembled it to the #2 rod while it was on the crank. I was surprised at how close the piston skirt actually comes to the crank. The last engine I built was a 64mm stroke on a standard 77mm piston (can you guess that one? ) and I remember how far the piston was from the crank at this stage. All the more reason this caught me by surprise.



The last thing I did was weigh the CB lightened wrist pins and compare to the ones that came with the Mahle set. They seemed very close to me - I was wondering if I was sent the wrong pins. The CB pins were ~.75 ounce lighter than the standard pins.

I'll be looking to get all of this balanced soon. Pulley to pressure plate and everything in between.

Stay tuned - more to come for sure.

[gblakeney]

November 11, 2006 Update

No time to work on the engine today - too much house work getting ready for visitors later this coming week. 

FedEx delivered the heads today - I was glad to see the truck leaving the neighborhood when we got home.

We have family coming to town, and I have a trip to Portland Monday afternoon. I may not actually have time to work on it again until Friday, the 17th.

[gblakeney]

November 12, 2006 Update

I had a few moments to go out and disassemble one of the heads early this morning before the family woke up. Let me tell you, I had no idea the places I'd find aluminum shavings after the heads were cut.  I had every intention of cleaning them, but man - I can see problems for anyone who would go right to the engine and bolt on.

One of the exhaust valves had a grey stripe on the face, as you'd expect to see after lapping the valve.  However, the remaining valves did not have that stripe. I may contact CB and see what they think. No big deal. I considered a 3 angle valve job, and may still, but my thoughts are that I am running a low CR and may not need it.  Not that it would have no benefits, but until I look farther into it, I think the benefit would be marginal.





I also got an inexpensive dial indicator and base. I am all for buying quality tools, but after looking over this unit at Harbor Freight, I was quite pleased with the price of $21 with tax including the base



The base has a magnet that can be 'turned on' with the flip of a lever. The bracket you see it setting on will be modified to bolt to the exhaust stud so I can get into position for measuring valve lift and setting the valve train geometry.

I'll lapp the valves late this week and then cc the heads. After that I will have to wait for the short block to be complete so I can remove combustion chamber material to get the CR to ~8.2:1. These chambers are about 55cc now, but with a .04" deck I'll need them closer to 72cc.

[admin]

I've got the same dial indicator tool.  I got it when it was on sale.  I think you paid $8 more than me!

I was looking at your heads.  They've been cut for 94's for sure, but have they also been fly cut?  Those chambers look WAAAAY different than the 044's that I bought 4 years ago.  My chamber was much more open than that, and I had none of the sharp edges that you're showing.  CC those bad boys and see if it's less than 55cc's.  (That's what mine were.)

Regardless, I would open those chambers up some.  Even if you're not going to touch any of the ports, I would blend and open the chamber up some.  Those sharp edges will become hot spots within the chamber.

Scott Faivre

[gblakeney]

I do not think they were fly cut. If I look real close I can see the difference between the original machined surface and the new 'outer band' when they were opened up for 94mm.  That picture does make the lines look sharp, but I think it is just an illusion - perhaps some JPEG compression and the contrast between machined and cast surfaces?

I need to get the right tips for my Dremel so I can open them up & unshroud the valves too.

There is a really cool primer over on Cal-Look.com about porting heads for beginners. I'll be re-reading that one a few times!

[admin]

I do not think they were fly cut. If I look real close I can see the difference between the original machined surface and the new 'outer band' when they were opened up for 94mm.  That picture does make the lines look sharp, but I think it is just an illusion - perhaps some JPEG compression and the contrast between machined and cast surfaces?

I need to get the right tips for my Dremel so I can open them up & unshroud the valves too.

There is a really cool primer over on Cal-Look.com about porting heads for beginners. I'll be re-reading that one a few times!

Yes.  That was written by Tom Simpson who lives in Ohio.  I got to meet him in Beaver Springs, PA one time.  He's a really good guy.  Much of what he knows was self taught by studying others and reading, reading, reading!  See the article I wrote for Cal-Look.com under event coverage.

The other thing you need is Bill Fisher's "How to Hot Rod VW Engines" book. 



While some of the info is kind of dated.  It's got a good section on head porting basics. 

If I may make a suggestion, I suggest you get a pair of "donor" valves.  When you unshroud the valves, it's VERY easy to slip with the tool and ruin the valve seat.  (Ask me how I know!  )  I practiced on a set of dead used 041's before I was going to try my hand at porting a set of new 044's.  That day never came...  But that's another story.     Back to the topic at hand, with the donor valves protecting the the seats, you can do a better job of laying back the chamber without fear of ruining something.

GREAT THREAD GREG!!!

Scott Faivre

[gblakeney]

That is a great book Scott!  At one point  I was picking up a new book everytime I went to Nevada Offroad - they are always worth someting. This particular one is great since it was published in like 1970 - I mean it has AWESOME B&W photos from back in the day. Detail level is almost unfound in manuals today - even though, as you stated, the material is a bit dated.

Another GREAT read is Keith Seume's Aircooled VW Engine Interchange Manual. The title mislead me for several years, but it actually breaks down every piece of the engine starting with stock German production, then goes through itterations. For example, all the bores of the various engines from VW are covered, then the book moves  onto the oversize P&C sets. Pros and Cons for all are listed.



Lastly, I would highly recommend the How to Rebuild Your Volkswagen Air-cooled Engine - A great guide for the actual 'processes' of rebuilding the engine.



They all make great 'throne' side reference manuals.

I guess I am looking for a 40mm intake and 35.5 exhaust valve for the head work. That is a great suggestion, Thanks!

[YankeeBug]

I've always just been a fan of the Bentley Manual.

Andre

[gblakeney]

I use the Bentley manual quite frequently on my '65 beetle restoration project.  The information is spot on and the old school pictures are great. Makes you want to wear a white apron in the worksop and change your name to Heinz! 

November 17, 2006 Update

Well, the family should be back in Phoenix by now. We had a great couple of days visiting and bouncing all over Vegas. They'll be on a plane to New Orleans Saturday morning.

The only real update I have for now is that I called RIMCO this afternoon and spoke to Greg (good start ). We discussed my timeframe in detail - my concern was since they were closed next Thursday and Friday, could they complete my machine work and ship back to me by Wednesday?  Greg suggested that if I had it to him by Monday he'd get it done.  I mentioned driving down to drop the parts off and he basically told me that if I was willing to drive in from Vegas he'd complete my work while I visited other shops in the area.    MONEY! ! ! ! ! He is even going to balance my rotating assembly as well. I plan to have the deck checked and also install shuffle pins if the case does not have them already.

So in a nutshell, when Sheri (previously refered to as 'the wife' ) heads to New Orleans for Thanksgiving I will basically be ready to start assembly.

[gblakeney]

November 18, 2006 Update

Started at 6:50 am this morning.

Engine out and down to short block by 8:15 am.

Slowly dissasembled, inspected and marked parts until about noon.

Here is the aftermath:






The fun starts this evening