<VV> Turbo Odyssey Part 20 -- Further Progress on Engine Details

Norman C. Witte ncwitte at wittelaw.com
Sun Sep 4 11:42:56 EDT 2005


This post may be viewed on-line at
http://www.wittelaw.com/personal/turbo/20.htm

It's been over a month since my last update. Things have been progressing,
but pretty slowly due to time demands at work. I can't complain, since I
have a roof over my head and I am not standing in four feet of water.
Katrina has helped a lot of us put things in perspective.

Mostly I have been working on getting the engine ready to go back in the
car. That task is all but complete. I decided to install the turbo and carb
setup before I put the powertrain back in the car. There were three reasons
I thought this would be better. First, it would be easier to hook up
everything without having to reach into the engine compartment. Second, the
exhaust would stay in place better if the turbocharger was in place. Third,
the extra weight would help the powertrain balance on my Clark's dolly. The
big con is that I will have to get the car pretty high in the air to clear
the turbo when I slide the works under the car. We'll see how that works....

Tasks accomplished in the last month include installing rebuilt carb,
alternator and starter; connection of the turbo including oil feed and drain
lines; reinstallation of lower shrouds; and installation of rebuilt idler
pulley. I am waiting on a new fuel pump and the powertrain will be ready.

One of the most challenging tasks was lowering the powertrain from the
engine hoist it was hanging from to the dolly. Fortunately, with help from
my oldest son Jake and my next door neighbor, this went pretty much without
incident.
Here are some pictures taken over the past few weeks of these finishing
details:

http://www.wittelaw.com/personal/turbo/IMG_7713.JPG

http://www.wittelaw.com/personal/turbo/IMG_7715.JPG

My daughter Caitlin filled the transaxle with one gallon of Amsoil gear lube
and limited slip diff additive:

http://www.wittelaw.com/personal/turbo/IMG_8031.JPG

I purchase Amsoil products from Vair mechanic Ken Hand
<mailto:vairmech at aol.com>, who is based in the Pontiac, Michigan area. The
weight of a gallon of gear lube was just enough to unbalance the power train
cart.

Here is a picture of the powertrain, complete except for the fuel pump:

http://www.wittelaw.com/personal/turbo/IMG_8033.JPG

One of the things that has slowed me down lately is a new addition to my
toolbox. Well, it doesn't exactly fit in my toolbox:

http://www.wittelaw.com/personal/turbo/IMG_8035.JPG

It's a Champion two stage air compressor but in the mid-fifties. I got it
from the owner of the building next to mine in downtown Lansing. I changed
the oil in the crankcase, replaced the check valve, got it plumbed and
wired, and it runs great. This should make the Hillbilly Blaster a much more
useful tool.

I have also been getting work done on the car itself. The radio antenna is
installed, as is the voltage regulator. The radio is in the dash, and I had
a couple evenings of fun pulling all the tacks out of the tack strips that
bolt to the body in the top well. I'm glad that is done.

I haven't been commenting on VV too much lately. I read what posts I can,
but I have precious little time for it right now. So real quick, I don't
care about the dues increase, I feel bad for the hurricane victims, congrats
to Smitty on surviving the convention, and I wish you folks could come up
with an original lawyer joke. I think that pretty much covers the last
month, except for the rare technical posts, which I am thoroughly
unqualified to answer.

I'll try not to be a stranger.

Norm Witte



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