My '86 GTI build

[walterclark]

Some updates after Ascutney...

The ContourHD works well but I seem to have created an audio problem with cable I used to feed it the external DC power. I used a generic USB cable for the power wire because, well I have a bunch of them lying around. IT seems the fairly rigid cable couples chassis vibrations (from the engines solid motor mounts) to the rear of the camera and at certain frequencies it must be just enough out of phase with the vibration coming thru the camera mount to induce a very loud buzz into the cameras mic. I didnt diagnose this until I got home so all my videos feature an un-listenable soundtrack. I have some super-flex wire coming with which to make up a new cable and hopefully that will eliminate most of the problem - if not I will just operate off the internal battery during runs.

The hatch was coming up on me again after start. I found a problem that makes me feel like less of an idiot (not shutting the hatch). There is a small transfer lever behind the hatch release button that was very sticky so when the button was pushed to open the lid the little spring that is supposed to return the hatch's latch lock pin couldnt push the pin back in place and the latch remained unlocked despite the hatch being closed. Some grease on that lever seems to have solved that.

I am not getting a leakproof seal on either output flange and I get a small amount of accumulation of gear oil on the outside of the gearbox along with a little dripping when driving. I dont know for sure if it is because the used flanges I installed are slightly worn at the seals or because the flanges may be able to rock a bit. Normally the flanges are preloaded with springs which would keep them from any rocking but the Quaife LSD doesnt permit their installation and I can make the flanges rock slightly by wiggling them by hand due to a slight gap between the splined output shafts and the flange's shaft receiver (maybe from a little wear there too). I got in a new set of flanges and will probably install them to see if that takes care of it.

The speedo data log worked flawlessly. It is a little difficult to analyze because I dont have an overlay of the turns to reference but I can compare run to run and see where I am making and losing time. Unfortunately this past weekend I didnt look at the logs other than to be sure they were working so I learned nothing I could use on Sunday. I guess I was so busy testing tires and playing with my virtual co-driver in preparation for Mt Washington, I was not serious about trying to reduce my times - and it showed.

[Rabbit Farmer]

Seems that Ascutney was a good shake-down for you.

[walterclark]

I guess I will use this thread as a place to update the damage and progress from Mt Washington.

I spun the car on the first right hand off-camber kink after the spectator area and "Caution rock left". Totally unscrubbed tires and not recognizing the off camber nature of that turn caused me to enter it too wide and hot, the rear end went light and the low grip caused the rear end to rotate around and I went into the left kink backwards the across the drainage ditch and into a mostly dirt embankment - stabilized with a lot of large rocks left rear corner first.

I ended up with body damage on the left side and left rear corner, suspension damage left front (large positive camber and right rear (large negative camber and slight toe-out) and tire/wheel damage on both left side front and rear.

The preliminary tally is:

Body - Left rear fender including wheel well and interior support, left door, left rocker panel, hatch.

LF suspension - wheel broken, tire cut, steering knuckle bent, control arm geometry corrector bent, camber plate domed.

LR suspension - Wheel bent (wobbly spyder).

RR suspension - axle beam tweaked to -3.5 camber and 1/4" toe-out. Wheel/tire seemed OK

I was able to run Sunday after removing the control arm geometry correctors to make the LF and RF the same, hammering the LF camber plate more or less flat so the upper perch didnt rub when turning the wheel and adjusting the camber plate for max camber (I only got to -1.5 degrees, versus the -2.5 I normally run), decreasing the camber on the RF to match, and adjusting the toe on the front. I also cut 2 more tires from my second set to match the "wet" cut I did for Saturday's practice. I didnt attempt to correct the RR camber/toe as that requires either a new axle beam or a special shim plate (shimming with washers is known to break the mounting ears off the spindle). So I ran with the toe-out and excess camber back there. The car was pretty tail happy and "darty" in transitions and bumps, but drivable if I was on top of it and didnt push too hard. My times were miserable but I had fun and would do it again (preferably in a car where all 4 wheels point the same direction).

During my second run I experienced some fuel cut-out issues I have never seen before with this car. First one was mid way thru 2nd gear after the startt, then about half a dozen times when in various gears and RPM. Not sure what that is all about at this point and I need to really analyze the logs.

I plant to rummage thru my used parts to correct the LF suspension quickly (I have a set of complete knuckles I used when rallying), and I will make a shim plate for the RR to bring the camber caster back in line for Okemo. Later this year I will pull out the Passat knuckles (with larger brakes) and add the bits I need to install them and start building up my spare axle beam to replace the one in the car. The body will have to wait until I am done for the season, though I will try to push the outer door skin out enough to let the window roll up.

Quick update... I put the car on the lift and rotated the RR wheel after checking camber and toe again. The wheel has a degree of run-out so is probably toast but more important it turns hard and makes some odd grinding noise suggesting a problem in the spindle and/or bearing. It didnt turn hard after the crash so it was probably damaged in the crash then degraded during Sunday's runs. I have to dig my tools out of the truck to tear it apart - tomorrow.

[walterclark]

The RR stub axle was bent pretty good. All the toe-in and abut a degree of the extra camber were from that. I have spare used stubs. I made a tapered shim to fit between the stub and axle beam to remove another degree of camber and reassembled. Swapped the grooved tire from the RF (I plan to run the 2 remaining ungrooved V710 on the front and the rain grooved tires on the rear until I can pick up a couple more wheels and new tires). That corner is now good. LF next. I am in a hurry to fix or identify parts I need because I am not going to be able to work on the car at all from tomorrow afternoon until next Tuesday - and Okemo is only 3+ days after that - not much time to locate and have in hand some parts.

[presterone1]

I have a red hatch no rust up here in maine, and there is a 2 door MK2 golf at the junkyard near my house. Pm me if interested

[walterclark]

I got a call last night from a friend who was at CTTC and found out a local shop that also races VW in SCCA IT had a sound '91 GTI that had been cannibalized of some engine and interior bits. I picked it up this morning. So I have replacement sheet metal and more sitting next to my shop... The '91 bumper covers, fender flares and rocker covers are complete on this one and I will probably move them to the GTI over the winter as they allow me to add a front splitter and rear diffuser (goin' all aero on this brick).

I also finished up going thru the suspension this morning. Everything damaged has been replaced and all 4 corners work properly, except for the absence of the the control arm/ball joint extenders (used to correct camber and bump steer geometry when the ride height is lowered). The replacement for the bent extender is on order but they probably wont go in before Okemo 1 since the steering knuckle I used on the left front is an earlier unit and the extender wont fit it. I will need to build up those Passat knuckles or swap in the '91 GTI knuckles (if they are good) to be able to use the extenders. Next week I will reset the coilovers for correct cross weights and dial in the final camber and toe on the front.

I also want to put the passenger seat and harness back in and finish up things for Okemo next week but these things are optional. I want to look at the drivers door and see if it is possible to push the sheet metal out enough to regain use of the roll-up window. Otherwise most of the body will have to run as it is.

[walterclark]

Well, still finding things from the Mt Washington off....

At Okemo I had 3 issues to deal with.

First was the RR tire rubbing the fender lip and cutting the tire. That seemed to be improved on Saturday with my BFH having a face to face with the fender lip. Monday evening I found one of the axle beam pivot bearing keepers had popped out (these are tack welded), permitting the beam to walk out a little on the right side, particularly under side loads (the bearing and keepers on the left side limited how much the beam and right side bearing could move). The part of the mount bolted to the chassis showed evidence it had been struck by a rock and the end had been folded over, which is probably how the welds on the keeper failed. When the keeper was reinstalled and re-welded and the beam installed again it lined up without much drama so the chassis itself doesnt seem to have been tweeked and the bend in the bracket was limited to one side and only from the bearing mounting bolt outward so it wasnt affecting alignment. This also opened up the space between the tire and lip a little more.



Second was an engine cut lasting a second or so and sometimes repeating that appeared at high loads. Didnt happen on the fam run Saturday but became severe in the first 2 practice runs. The O2 sensor data log suggested fuel cutoff. After the second practice run I had the engine idling in the pits and was looking at the RR tire for more rubbing when I heard gurgling (both fuel pumps are near the RR wheel). Gurgling means air and fluid mixed so I took a guess that the in-tank transfer pump might be a problem so I filled the tank completely with fuel since that is known to mask symptoms of a bad transfer pump. Problem pretty much went away so I kept the tank full over the weekend. In looking closely at the fuel tank (one of those vinyl/plastic factory things) and its straps it looks like it may have been temporarily deformed (the tank is fine but one of the straps under where the pump sits was bent a little), probably during the off at Mt Washington. When I pulled the in-tank pump assembly, the pump itself was disconnected from the assembly except for the electrical connector so the main pump was having to suck fuel from the tank which it is not designed to do and about 4" off the bottom at that. The in-tank pump assembly uses a spring loaded telescoping tube to hold the pump in place against the bottom of the tank. The bottom of the tank was likely temporarily deformed upwards in the crash, then popped back down, at which point the pump must have come off the rubber grommet that seals it to the assembly and holds it in place against the tank bottom. The old pump looked fine but I installed a new one anyway.


Third was the car was still tail happy under braking. I had a "moment" in the last of the series of turns 23-24-25 where the rear end came around and while I gathered it up, that sort of behavior was unusual for this car here in the past. I tried lowering my rear brake bias but the control was jammed so I lowered my rear tire pressure which helped some (I actually lowered pressure all round, more in the rear from what I usually run - I think it slowed me down some overall). Today I found the 12" reach rod from the drivers seat to the valve (under the car) was all bent like a Z and holding the control in the max rear brake position. It is likely that the way I went into the rocks backwards at Mt Washington allowed a rock to hit the lever on the bias valve itself which bent (compressed its length) the control rod and locked the bias on max. Fabricated a new rod today. Good as new. I will see how it feels at Okemo 2. I plan to bring the tire pressure back up to what I have run in the past as well because my old pressures felt like a good setting between good traction (low) and low rolling resistance (high).

[walterclark]

Today's project was to build up the Passat steering knuckles. Upright (wheel bearing housing - steering knuckle), bearings, ball joints and extenders, bushings for tie rod-end bolts, spindles with wheel studs, new rotors and pads. The Passat B1 uses a larger rotor than the A2 GTI and a separate caliper mount with Girling caliper. I also need the Passat's (or A3 Golf's) slightly larger 22mm (20mm stock A2 GTI) master cylinder to match the larger front caliper pots.

Almost everything went smoothly, I was even able to press out the spindles from the old knuckles and reuse them - usually the bearing splits and remains bonded to the spindle making it easier to toss them and use new (I normally only remove the spindles to recover the press-fit wheel studs)....Except the brake line fitting is different on the newer Passat Girling than on the older Golf Kelsey-Hayes calipers so a new set of teflon core - steel braid covered hoses and that master cylinder is on the way from germanautoparts.com (they have been busy with me this week and last).



7/21 update. After a false start (bad master cylinder) the brakes are pretty much done with the new larger master cylinder and a good bleed. Going over the car one more time looking for anything related to the crash I found the drivers side inner CV was loose on the axle splines. The inner carrier rotated a few degrees on the axle shaft but more disturbing was the axle actually had some radial play in the CV. Seems like a good place to fail under load so a new OEM CV is on order. I checked that it was indeed the CV splines that are worn or distorted by using an old CV that is from and is still a tight fit on a right side axle - this CV itself is worn out from long use in a street car but the splines have not become a loose fit. I think loose splines is from higher than stock torque from the engine. Worn splines on axles are more common on non-German and non-OEM axles which may have not been adequately been hardened. German OEM axles are getting hard to find and as a result high quality replacement axle companies like Raxles no longer have replacement dirveshafts available. Im not ready to go with the Drivetrain Shop $1K solution just yet...they make their own over-sized axles and CV joints which are not interchangeable with the OEM pieces.

7/31 update- update. The second master cylinder left me with a mushy pedal and a tendency for the RF to lock up WAY ahead of the LF. Repeated fluid bleeding and many cycles trying to bed the brakes did nothing to improve things. Let me backtrack just a bit. This and the previous bad master cylinder are both from GermanAutoParts.com where they are described as "high quality aftermarket" pieces. After speaking with one of the folks at GAP I got the idea that these parts may not be as good as OEM (ATE) and maybe not well suited to operating at the limit. So we agreed on a second swap - again no cost to me for shipping or return (great folks at GAP) and they overnighted me an ATE master cylinder (funny - regular UPS and FedEx ground shipped out their door in the evening is always delivered to me next day). I now have a "MC swap and triple bleed" down to about 30 minutes... The ATE piece is excellent (a little over twice the price of the aftermarket unit but definitely worth it for racing). Pedal is firm. The brakes feel even side to side right up to lockup - although still not completely bedded in (there is a limit to how much one can do in ones driveway) - and I can feel the extra braking power of the larger B1/A3 system. This is confidence builder. Now I just need bed them and dial-in the rear brake bias to my liking at Okemo. Between having larger front brakes and different front pads than before (I like and have used Hawk HT-10 pads on the front but those are not currently available so I went with HP+ which are supposed to have a little more initial bite than the HT-10).

[walterclark]

Seems it never ends....

The HP+ pads friction profile on the front do not match the Pagids on the rear nearly as well as the HT-10 did so this week I ordered a set of the HP+ for the rear.

While removing the calipers to swap out pads, crosshatch the rotors and do some normal brake bit servicing I found the left rear was quite hard to turn even with the caliper removed. I noticed something like this immediately after getting back from Okemo when I just turned and wiggled the wheels in my normal post event checks but it felt as though the pads were dragging and causing the resistance. I pulled the rotor (the brake rotor is also the wheel bearings housing and the wheel stud carrier) and found the outer tapered roller bearings had seemingly welded themselves to the outer race which is part of the rotor. The spindle showed signs that the outer bearings inner race had been turning on the spindle shaft and all the synthetic grease near the outer bearing was baked almost to a solid. I punched the outer bearing from the rotor and found the race had been badly dimpled where the rollers (not turning) had hammered themselves into the race. The spindle shaft looked straight, but when I installed a new rotor/bearing assembly and slowly tightened the retaining nut I noticed it did in fact bind during part of a revolution. I installed a new spindle, and decided to install new rotors and bearings on both sides since the left is damaged and the one on the right, while appearing undamaged and virtually unworn, has in fact been on the car for 7 years.

This tweaked spindle and seized bearings is probably more damage from the Mt Washington crash and I just didnt notice it when turning the wheel and rotor by hand earlier because the entire outer bearing was turning on the spindle with minimal friction (at least when the wheel was off the ground) thanks to the Amsoil grease.

[walterclark]

With the hillclimb season almost at its end, I am looking at my winter projects.

Obviously, I have bodywork to do. I was lucky enough to have a donor car given to me right after Mt Washington and it will provide the left door. The donor's left rear fender is in pretty bad shape from rust on this one (a '91 GTI New England car) but I still have the left rear from a low rust '87 donor I was given several years ago.

The 2 liter 16V I am racing now is still running on an original bottom end from 1990, while I reworked the head a couple winters ago. Although I dont have any direct evidence the bottom end is in trouble, it seems to have more funny vibrations than it did last year so I would like a fresh, balanced short block with which to start next season. Re-enter the donor car. The previous owner removed and sold the head before it was given to me but the complete short block is there and from what I could learn of its history it has only a bit over 100k miles and was solid - the car failed inspection from rust and was taken off the road a couple years ago. I removed the eengine/transaxle this past weekend (Mike P came over to help with that) and yesterday I pressure washed the pair to remove most of 20 years accumulated grunge, then dismantled the block to dry and inspect it. It seems as stated. Rings are just at the wear limits, cylinder wear is minimal from my measurements and bearings still looked pretty good. So this is going to the machine shop to have the block tanked, cylinders honed (assuming my measurements are correct and it doesnt need to be bored), the pistons are going out to be ceramic coated assuming they can be reused, then the moving parts will be balanced and it will go back together with new bearings and ARP bolts.



Another thing I am going to do for next season is move the car to Prepared. So I will be going thru the car over the winter with an eye toward "if it doesnt help it go fast or be safe, it may get jettisoned". I still want it to look like a whole car and not a derelict shell in a scrapyard so it will not get the full Monty strip-out. I will hang onto some luxuries like the defroster since it is also important to be able to see, the DOT windshield since it permits wiper use without scratching up, and the polycarb side/rear windows. I would like to be able to swap in an ultra-light shell to replace the dashboard too but I will need to fabricate something and that depends on how much time I have to do all this over the winter. I want to improve the aero on the GTI some. The donor, being a 91, featured potentially more aerodynamic bumpers. I have removed these and am in the process of preparing them - lighter than stock, covering holes on the front - opening a large hole on the rear, splitter on the front, diffuser in the rear. The weight of the existing bumpers and (because the new ones cover everything up) the extra existing sheet metal that can be removed is about the same as the new stuff including the material for the new splitter and diffuser.