Progress on the Nomad...

MGVWfan · Post by **MGVWfan** » Sun Jul 31, 2005 9:05 pm

Well, I now know a machine shop to NOT send your heads for rework!

Suffice it to say the rebuild is slipping out further...

ubercrap · Post by **ubercrap** » Sun Jul 31, 2005 9:32 pm

MGVWfan wrote:Well, I now know a machine shop to NOT send your heads for rework! Suffice it to say the rebuild is slipping out further...

Oh, what happened? I've read many posts here and there cautioning people that Type 4 heads need to be worked on by somebody who knows them specifically, otherwise...

MGVWfan · Post by **MGVWfan** » Mon Aug 01, 2005 3:30 pm

Well, the problems I'm having in this case aren't pecular to the ACVW, just the garden variety machinist runaround you can get with any shop.

I have read that you want to be very careful with how the valves and guides are done, and to be vigilant for cracks, but other than that...Ray, anyone else?

raygreenwood · Post by **raygreenwood** » Mon Aug 01, 2005 9:29 pm

Yes. Some shops push the guides in either crooked or the tolerance to the head is not checked corretly..and they can put cracks in them. Also....though a small dial boregauge is the very most correct way to check stem to guide clearance....that only works if (a) the user had good gauge technique (b) the gauge is in good condition (c) they know what the measurement is supposed to read on a dial bore gauge.

Number three is the biggest problem. There are no books that show you the measurement with the dial bore gauge. They use teh dial indicator and rock test. You first have to know what the correct measurement on the rock test equates to on a dial bore gauge. Its worth it to find out and then asking to check using a valve and gauge on one each..intake and exhaust...to give a working example for the machinist to measure.

Also...shops that are not truely VW...get crappy with setting stem heights...and correctly setting spring shims when necessary...because they think these are crappy unprecise vehicles. Ray

Devrdander · Post by **Devrdander** » Tue Aug 02, 2005 6:18 am

So do we have any names of good shops that you can ship them to or is it a ask your local ACVW gurus?

raygreenwood · Post by **raygreenwood** » Tue Aug 02, 2005 1:03 pm

Pretty much....I would say headflow masters or Len Hofman. I have personnal family connections that do superb work on my cylinder heads....but I don't know if I can promise those services to anyone. In short...my brother does nothing but heads. Some top fuel, some grand national a little nascar...a lot of drag boats and SCCA. he's been at it for about 25 years and has his own flow bench and dyno...and is a process engineer with a specialty in airflow. He is a perfectionist when he searches for HP. He is also primarily tied up with his day job of producing high end natural gas well head compressors. He does the racing stuff on the side. He has done superb work before on type 4 heads...but has requested of me before he does anything more involved than what he already hasfor me....that Idrop in some cores for him to slice up on teh band saw to plan port work.

All that being said......I will find out if he is willing to do basic high quality reuild work. That means...replace seats (which he did beautifully on my last set of heads), valve guides, valves + valve job...and setting stem heights and coil bind rates properly as well as trimming pockets and shimming springs if necessary. Then clean up and crack testing. Seing what he normally gets for head work that he does....he may have to charge too much for the average person. The thing you have to remember...is that all of the listed stuff must generally be done...or else you cannot warrant your work. To do that...quickly...in order to charge low prices....you needed to be jigged and set-up for that. I will ask how often he thinks he would have tto do a set of type 4 heads to make it worth setting up for them. Ray

MGVWfan · Post by **MGVWfan** » Tue Aug 02, 2005 3:55 pm

Hey Big Al, you know any good machine shops that can do decent work on T4 heads here in Houston?

MGVWfan · Post by **MGVWfan** » Fri Aug 12, 2005 8:22 am

While awaiting parts (like heads, ARGH!), I installed a 60's Blaupunkt shortwave converter box. I got the thing off the Ebaything, and it's in mint condition. I did have to repair a cracked on/off (or is it ein/aus?) switch slider (looked like a factory design defect to me), but it works GREAT with the Blaupunkt Emden radio I installed last year. I get all kinds of stations from Europe and the far East, in addition to the usual suspects (AWR in the West Indes, RCI, WWV, VOA, WWCR, WEWN, etc.).

If you're ever interested in one of these things, one word of caution...you really need an old-fashioned ANALOG DIAL AM (MW) radio, the modern digital ones won't allow tuning to the signal (they tune in 10 or 9 KHz steps), and the local oscillators in the converter aren't on-frequency enough to put the shortwave stations close to one of the 10 KHz tuning steps. In addition, most shortwave broadcasters have gone to 5 KHz spacing, so you'd miss a good portion of the available stations with 10 KHz steps anyway. An old Sapphire (Bendix/Motorola) or Blaupunkt works best.

raygreenwood · Post by **raygreenwood** » Fri Aug 12, 2005 4:29 pm

I have...for my dash if I want it installed....a mint condition Blaupunkt Wolfsburg III....AM/Shortwave...mint condition with a beautiful pseudo art deco chrome metal bezel. I have the dealer paperwork from its install before delievery in the vehicle as well. Its cool...

Ray

MGVWfan · Post by **MGVWfan** » Fri Aug 12, 2005 5:28 pm

Never seen a Wolfsburg, I'll have to go look that one up...good deal Ray! Nice to have one that's brand new. Is it 12 volt or 6 volt (or selectable)?

From the Euro pics of T4's I've seen, and the M code listings, it appears the Emden (made by either Blaupunkt or Grundig) was VW's top option in Europe for the T4 and other ACVWs of the late 60's and early 70's. I think the Ingolstadt was the second level option (no FM/UKW), and the AM (MW) -only bottom option was the Bremen (?). Of course, here in the USA, we got the dealer (or port?) installed VWoA radios until the late 70's, usually made by Bendix, but I understand also made by Automatic Radio and Motorola (just one or two models), the "Sapphire" series.

I've had this Blaupunkt Emden since college, my father found this one at a garage sale, someone with an ACVW had replaced it with a Craig AM/FM with 8-track (imagine that!). I used it in my Anglia for a couple years in college until I earned enough working at the Pizza Inn one summer to afford an Alpine AM/FM cassette. The Emden sat in my general-purpose junk box in the attic until last year, and when I ran across it, I remembered one of those German taxi photos on Tuna's site, and the rest was history.

DeathBus · Post by **DeathBus** » Sat Aug 13, 2005 4:53 am

really sorry to hear your rebuilds went wrong.

raygreenwood · Post by **raygreenwood** » Sat Aug 13, 2005 6:51 pm

It is 12 volt. It was used very little. Then someone installed a VW/Motorola made saphire am/fm....of which I have the box and tag for.
The Blaupunkt has six push buttons for tuning. Three AM and three short wave. It has nice black knobs with a very fine VW logo etched in each one. They look like little replicas of VW "mooneye" hubcaps. The rest of the face plate is Chrome plated steel with what looks like an art deco pattern. Inside of the top plate...is a nicely folded wiring diagram in German. Ray

ubercrap · Post by **ubercrap** » Sat Aug 13, 2005 8:05 pm

?

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/ ... ?id=202091

raygreenwood · Post by **raygreenwood** » Sun Aug 14, 2005 9:44 am

Yep! Thats the one! But...$200?

Gimme a break! Maybe $50-65 max. Ray

tuna · Post by **tuna** » Sun Aug 14, 2005 12:15 pm

raygreenwood wrote:Pretty much....I would say headflow masters or Len Hofman.

These two shops, or FAT Performance of Orange, CA, are the only people who'd trust my Type 4 heads to. Right now Len of http://www.haminc.biz/ is doing a set of Bus 2.0 heads for my 2056 for my '69 Bug. I'm eager to see how they worked out.

Tuna