Body work part 4

The interior, engine compartment and roof sprayed with rust bullet. 

I throughly cleaned the bus inside and out. I spent about 3 days cleaning every nook with soap and water, then wax grease remover. I also sanded the spots that were not blasted before cleaning.

I also applied Everglass on welds holes and some small pits.

Engine Balancing... Voodoo or Should do? Part 2

In this update I plan to answer the following questions I asked in Engine Balancing Part 1.

What are the tell tail signs of a good balance job vs a bad?Is there any way to confirm a good balance job?Also what are the right questions to ask to screen out the posers from the real deal?On top of that I also read about volumetric balancing. Is this necessary?

First there is a level of trust and confidence you must have in the shop that is doing the work. It is difficult if not impossible to check the dynamic balance fully, short of taking it to another shop or rebalancing it yourself. After much research here are some of the things you can ask.

1. What parts do you require for a balance job. In the case of a type 4 motor it should look like the following.

1. Crankshaft
2. Flywheel
3. Gland nut or flywheel bolts
4. Pressure plate
5. Front crank pulley 356 and 911 (Cooling Fan TIV ONLY)
6. Connecting rods
7. Pistons& pins
8. Piston rings

Some shops may also want

1. Crankshaft gears, spacers and retaining hardware (do not install them on the crankshaft)
2. Connecting Rod bearings
3. Teflon buttons/wrist pin clips

If the shop does not at least require the fist 8 I would be weary 

2. Ask for a spec sheet on the balance. It should include weights of the parts to the .1 tenth of a gram. Knowing the weights you can double check the balance at home with a gram scale. If you want to be extra paranoid, weigh all the parts before you take them in for the balance, then compare when you get home.

3. Ask for all the parts to be indexed for reassembly. With indexed parts you can assemble the parts in the way they were balanced. Also if you need to replace an item such as the pressure plate you will know the balanced weight and be able to get close to that spec again. It wont be perfect do to wear in the motor but it will be closer than not knowing.

Still don't know if volumetric balancing is necessary. Here is a pretty good article on volumetric balancing.
http://www.autospeed.com.au/cms/A_109725/article.html
I realized this is not a particular procedure or test that can satisfy this term. As I understand, it's the sum of good fitting parts, valve train geometry, engine balancing, deck height, etc. So basically an engine the has tight tolerance on all parts and assembled with best possible care.

I would like to amend this a bit and add Crankshaft gears to the must balance list. After I read John Maher's articles on engine balancing I am convinced this is necessary. These are great article it really details the process. Read both articles!
http://johnmaherracing.com/2013/01/project-2110-part-4-dynamic-balancing/
http://johnmaherracing.com/2013/01/project-2110-part-5-dynamic-balancing-continued/

Engine Balancing... Voodoo or Should do?

It seems clear to me that engine balancing is important. The confusion seems to be, to want extent of balance is necessary or required for engine longevity and performance?

There seem to be so many different options for engine balancing. Some shops say they use x, y, z method other shops say a, b, c. Everyone seems to balance different parts. Some say every part that spins on the crank should be balanced others say only certain parts need to be balanced.

A local shop says I need to balance

1. Crank
2. Flywheel
3. Pressure plate
4. Connecting rods
5. Pistons
6. Fan hub
7. Fan

At Aircooled Tech that they require the following parts for a proper balance
http://www.aircooledtechnology.com/index.php/dynamic-balancing

1. Crankshaft
2. Crankshaft gears, spacers and retaining hardware (do not install them on the crankshaft)
3. Flywheel
4. Gland nut or flywheel bolts
5. Pressure plate
6. Front crank pulley 356 and 911 (Cooling Fan TIV ONLY)
7. Connecting rods
8. Connecting Rod bearings
9. Pistons& pins
10. Piston rings
11. Teflon buttons/wrist pin clips

In up and coming updates I plan to answer the following questions.

What are the tell tail signs of a good balance job vs a bad?

Is there any way to confirm a good balance job?

Also what are the right questions to ask to screen out the posers from the real deal?

On top of that I also read about volumetric balancing. Is this necessary?

Engine Rebuild Part 2 - Valve Train KB

I am just going to list the most critical links that should be read in order of importance.

1. Raby's Ultimate Valve Train Geometry Article

2. 911 adjuster mod into 1.7 rockers

3. More on 911 Adjuster mod - grinding the rocker

4. Forums containing problems you may run into

http://forums.aircooledtechnology.com/showthread.php?5521-Valve-train-geometry-911-adjuster-clearance-needed

http://forums.aircooledtechnology.com/showthread.php?1448-Rocker-geometry-w-lousy-pics

http://forums.aircooledtechnology.com/showthread.php?2089-trimming-911-swivels


Summary:

The main concern is maintaining the correct geometry of the rocker assembly. To maintain the correct geometry, with custom valve train, the push rod must be adjusted and shims possibly added to the rocker mounting. Also the 1.7 style rockers must be shaved on the face (side opposite the lock nut) to provide clearance for the 911 style adjusters.

From my research so far the following is a good starting point.

1. Shave .06 thousands off the face of rocker. Use the techniques in 2. and 3. above as guides.
2. Use 1.  above as a guide to adjust the rocker assembly and push rods to give the correct valve train geometry

Note: there is a possibility that you will need to add shims, and shave more off the rockers and to cut the rods. It is not a exact process since every engine is different.

Front End Rebuild

Rebuilding the vw bus front end doen not seem like to difficult a proposition. Parts seem plentiful and relatively cheap. My question is can it be improved and how easily. I plan to find out. Stay tuned.

Im looking for a front beam kit. Something to replace all those worn out bushings, bearings, tie rods, etc. But first a power wash is badly needed.

I would like to upgrade the front end to a more modern system. Items below are available but I have not yet done the research to know how well they work.

Camper suspension handling kit is something I want. It's supposed to improve handling. Also considering power steering rack. Not sure if there is a unit that exists OOTB.

I have made some progress on the suspension rebuild. I disassembled most of the front beam, including torsion arms, sway bar, shocks, steering arm and tie rods.

There are several parts I will leave in place including the needle bearings and the bushings. These should be replaced if the bearings or the internal beam tube is not well greased. In other words if you see lots of fairly clean grease the bearings are in good condition. Of course clean and replace grease.
Another thing is to check for play. If play exists it may well be easier to replace the beam.

How to determine the bearings and bushings are in good condition? How to determine if there is to much play? I will cover this in my next Front End post.

The torsion arm ball joints will be replaced and need to be pressed out with a special tool. Also the tie rod ends will be replaced as well as the steering pin that holds the steering nuckle to the beam. Also wheel bearing will be replaced.

I am having difficulty finding replacements for the torsion arm seals.

Engine Rebuild Part 1 - Parts Assembly and Purchase

I purchased my valve train from Jake Raby.
https://store.rabyenginedevelopment.com

From the reviews on thesamba.com and the general word around the community things should be real good. It's up to me to put it into action. 

Items Ordered:	Price:
1 of : 155 Piece Engine Hardware Kit #80	$49.00
1 of : 2.0 Bus Gasket Set #28	$69.95
1 of : 9590 Cam & Valvetrain Kit 9112	$557.69
1 of : Camper Special Oval Port Cylinder Heads 7600	$1,695.00
1 of : Camshaft Oil Plug #125	$3.69
1 of : Front Pulley Seal #4	$9.95
1 of : Input Shaft Bearing #10624	$9.95
1 of : OEM Oil Filter #5112	$7.95
1 of : Oil pressure relief piston 5084	$9.95
1 of : Oil pressure relief screw 5088	$12.95
1 of : Oil sump screen plate nut 5087	$8.95
1 of : Oil Sump Screen-5096	$24.95
1 of : Rear Seal #8	$14.95
1 of : Type 4 Oil Pressure Sending Unit 5010	$10.95

What I got (revised)
Stock 2.0L case
Stock Crank (Planning to send this to machine shop if necessary) w/bearing, gears and connecting rods.
Stock crank gears 
Main bearings (may purchase these new)
Stock AA pistions (still in the box) for a Stock 2.0L. 

Weber 40IDF jetted for Denver and higher altitude, set up for good milage  (venturi, emulsion, jets) 

Custom dizzy from Aircooled.net for 40IDF & 2.0L setup.

Original oil pump (thinking of conversion to type 1 oil pump)

What I need (revised)

Cam bearings
Main Bearings
Rod Bearings

Permatex Gasket Sealent

Permatex Thread Sealent
Lint free towels

Carb cleaner
Assembly Lube
Camshaft Bearing Lube

Machine work
I took my case and crank to Painters Grinding here in Denver CO. The are performing the following.
Fixing the oil pick up threads where the bolt threads into the case
Polishing the crank