llnrotary

I mounted the oil cooler directly below the rad there was enough room on the engine cage. The noise level really wasn't to bad if you kept the revs down but when I ran it up to redline or beyond it made a wicked noise and would shoot a flame out of the muffler when I shifted, probably due to the very short exhaust.Yes I found the kennedy pressure plate to very good the car was a blast to drive and out of my group of friends at the time we had 5 baja bugs running at the same time and no one came close to mine with vw power.

thudknuckle

g'day there just a lil bit on what i have found with gearboxes behind the 13b in my baja ... first up i went through a stock 1600 box in about a month , then droped in a single side plate box ( much stronger ,, alot of the vw drag guys use these as they can be built to be as strong as a fully hyped nus tranny) ,, this lasted me around 3 months ... from there i went for a bus conversion making all my own mounting systems.. i considered 3 options 1600, 1800 and a 2lt box ,, the strongest of all three is by far the 2 ltr box or the 6 rib,, it does have higher gear ratios however 1 and 2nd are still failry low while 3rd and 4th are fairly high .. i found this to be perfect ( stock ratios) my baja sees alot of harsh offroad runs ( hill climbs and long harsh beach trips ) and is also driven 4 times a day as a daily driver 2 and from work and uni ) on the offroad runs who needs 3 rd peaking in 2nd offroad and up hill climbs is dam fast , and as for the beach it is more then happy to sit in 3rd in the soft stuff and 4th in th eharder stuff..

the only mod to my 6 rid is the addition of a super diff ,, this has 4 spider gears rather then 2 ( much much stronger and highly recommended as that will probly be the first thing you brake in a kombi box if not revervse gear as that is also very fragile .. i have had the 6 rib in the car for a good 8 months now and it takes a pounding and is still goin stronng with no sign of giving up ..


as for oil cooler i mounted mine under neith the rear cowl above the enigne on my baja as is act like a scoop to feed the air to the cooler and is still resonalbly close to the engine ( i used stock oil cooler lines and ran around a mtr of copper piping from the the cooler down teh firewall and conects to the oil lines ( it works great )


as you probly know my radiator is up front with the lines being run through the centre tunnel ( not the eaiest place to run them but looks the best and offeres protection for them ) i run twin thermos that click in at 88 degrees ( normally only in traffic or while the car is gettign a hard time for exteneded periods ( like through windy soft sand tracks) i use 3 nostrells with a grill behind the cut into the nose cone a shroud and you have to remove the material behind the radiator to allow air flow and brace it back up with a bit of tubing ( i can still run a large bash plate with this set up ) ..

another idea that has been done with a v6 mazda in a bug is to mount the radiator above the gear box ( has trouble cooling on the high way though ) but the addition of scoops would help.

as for room in you back cage you will heaps of it .. i made a set up custom extracors that wind bacjk above the axle and out teh rear with two large inline hotdog style stainless steel baffles it fits very neat with only a small cage i have heaps of pics on what i have done on my website and heaps more on the computer if you want any of anything

hope this helps

karism

*ad new bookmark*

Jeff: You never seaze to amaze me!

I`am running a 13B 4 port engine with 8.5:1 Compression,used to be a Turbo engine,but I`am not a Turbo person.

Hmmm,now this is a great help with my Rotary Beetle project.I`ill be putting the oil cooler in the rear,as i do not want to run oil lines that are really that long.Radiator in front as normal.

I`am using a mercedes oil cooler off a W123 if i remember correctly.

It is 19" long by 2.5" high , and about 3" thick. I has 9 rows of pipes in height , and also 9 rows thick.With the amount of pipes internally ,I`am sure it will be up to the job.

I`am using a Vw 16V radiator ,with 2 x10" pusher fans.Will use Mr Turbo prog EFI ,and Pertronix Direct Fire ignition,with 4 coils.

I`ll be using the stock 3 x 1.77" throttles in the turbo intake manifold ,resulting in +- 600CFM flow capability. At first only the primary injectors will be used ,maybe the big ones higher in the rpm range.

Exhaust manifolds will be built according to Racing Beat Short Primary specs ,running into a 3" pipe, with single (truck) silencer.


Didnt mean to highjack the thread,only sharing!

Karis

Jeff20B

iTrader: (13)

Thanks guys. Karis, ever consider a beehive? We put one on a friend's 13B baja and mounted a huge radiator in the back. Oil and water both run cool now.

If I can fit the exhaust on the side and leave enough room for the rad on the back cage like llnrotary, it would really save me a lot of pipe fabrication. I could also use a beehive without the restrictor in the upper hose as is common on '83-'85 cars. We didn't use a restrictor in the other baja, and drilled a 1/4" hole in the thermostat to reduce thermal shock.

The only part I'm not sure about yet is the engine tilt and the beehive hitting the firewall. My friend's has a 3" body lift and a 10° tilt kit. Actually it was customised to keep the Holley level, so whatever it is now is probably close to 10° but not exactly anymore. A big plus is the oil pan does not hang down. Mine will hang down without a tilt kit or something. His beehive's upper coolant pipe had to be tweaked away from the firewall. Mine without a body lift will need a section of the firewall chopped out.

This won't be a small project. I've still got a lot more projects to do before I can jump into this one with both feet. In the meantime I might just install the MSD on the 1600 for hopefully a little power boost.

karism

I had a look at the bee hive,but iam just not sure it it will do with the high temps ,and track usuage i plan for it.

fcdrifter13

If I can make one small input for your project that you might consider. REDUX boxes from a VW bus will help with the minimal amount of tourqe you can get from a rotary but will not limit you amount of top speed seeing how you have larger tires anyways.

thudknuckle

redux boxes seem like a great idea but the problem is that they come from a vw 181 or country buggy ( sming arm rear end - no where near as good as irs) teh pros of redux for a baja are --- lower gearing ( same as a 3 rib bus box) and an instant 2-3 inches of height in the rear

cons - swingaxle - must run a country buggy box cos it spins the other way to compensate for the redux boxes ( not a good move as coutry buggys come with a massive 36hp ,, wonder how it would handle a rotary with well over 150 hp lol .. also i wouldnt fancy havign them for lots of rough offroad as i see them as another part to brake or catch on something,,

best bet i would say if you want low gearing is go for a 3 rib or 1600 kombi box -- shoul dbe cheap as chips ,, 1800 would be farly low 2 but i use the 2 ltr and it seams perfect for me and the 13b out the back ( i run 33 mudders on the rear) 1 and 2nd are very low 3rd and fourth are fairly high

thudknuckle

sorry one more thing my last engine was a 1600tp and i installed a MSD kit on it with the msd coil and it made a large differance to how the car ran ,, made it much more user freindly in the fact that it would idle alot better and didnt have a flat spot low down in the rev range ( idle problems due to the large cam ) if you have an msd unit i really recommend installing it i mounted mine on the inside just below the back window with a few small holes drilled in the bottom to get the wires out to the engine

Jeff20B

iTrader: (13)

Thanks for the advice on the MSD. I've got an assortment of coils here but none specifically for a CD type ignition. Maybe a points coil from an RX-4?

thudknuckle

if the budget allows so i would also think about installing something like a compufire on the 1600 and get rid of the points all together should make it alot more reliable and user freindly ( another one of the first mods i did to the vw engine i had in mine ) it was a cheap upgrade to

Jeff20B

iTrader: (13)

I thought about that, and did install a compufire in a friend's stock bug a few years ago. However with this baja, points and an MSD are perfect because there's no need for the points to carry the amp load to spark the coil anymore since it's basically converted to a low current switch to trigger the MSD. Therefore the points will last almost forever. Only the rubbing block will wear. Of course I don't plan to keep the 1600 long enough to wear the rubbing block out.

I spent some time thinking about porting today and concluded the 13B would be best with stock primaries and '74 spec secondaries. This of course is only if I don't cut channels in the manifold. Then again, the carb was originally on a manifold with channels, and I did have good results with channels on a streetported 13B where the primaries were mild and the secondaries were extended. Even though the sizes were different, the end result was favorable. So maybe I should cut channels in the manifold, and maybe I should have different size intake ports. There are just too many variables. I thought the point of this baja was to be simple.

Jeff20B

iTrader: (13)

I think I've decided to go with stock primaries and '74 spec secondaries. Still undecided about the channels in the manifold, but I have one more experiment to finish before I start building the baja engine.

The experimental engine has all three Y castings ported to '74 spec, a channeled Cosmo reversed runner manifold, and a set of unported '74-'75 rotor housings.

If this engine works as well as I think it will, I will create a similar engine for the baja. The only differences being stock primary ports for better low end, and GSL-SE spec exhaust ports for a delayed port opening effect which will hopefully concentrate the torque at a low RPM. That's the theory anyway.

Still undecided about cutting channels in my other Cosmo manifold. If the experimental engine has good torque from 1500 and up, I'll cut the other manifold too.

Now wish me good luck with the experimental engine so I can build the baja engine.

Jeff20B

iTrader: (13)

I got the short block done. Some pics.

I went with GSL-SE exhaust port timing


A close up (late opening/T2 closing)


and stock '76-'85 12A intake timing


only smoothed and textured


to reduce fuel wetting and sharp 90° edges


tightest side seals I've ever done (.001" or so)


ready for assembly


even painted






think it'll match the car?

RotorRican

Looking Gud Jeff!

Jeff20B

iTrader: (13)

Thanks.

Slight change in plans. I bought a '68-'73 KEP kit off of eBay and it arrived today.



It's very rusty. The PO said he got it like 25 years ago and never used it. I can see that. The counterweight that came with it goes with the early 12A. That's cool because that's what I have.





Here it is after paint.


It's been streetported as far as you can go on a twin dizzy engine before hitting water. It's basically a mild streetport by '74+ standards.

It will work ok in a baja but would be far better suited to a street bug. We're talking a powerband from 2k to 8k, the smoothness of a rotary, and carbon apex seals so they won't break at high RPM. Plus I plan to do my Nikki and manifold mods, DLIDFIS of course and a free flowing exhaust with the proper 30° collector and 2" all the way. RB thickwall pipe and RE glasspacks.

This thread will follow the build.

Jeff20B

iTrader: (13)

Looks like the flywheel that came with my kit wasn't properly machined. Perhaps it's not even a Kennedy flywheel? I'll probably have to send it to Kennedy and have them machine the center deeper. Maybe resurface it to clean up the rust. Or get a new one for $180.

It actually looks like it's never been used. No discernable wear, but lots of rust. Hmm...

karism

Good stuff Jeff!

My flywheel does look totally different from yours?

Jeff20B

iTrader: (13)

Here are some pictures.





Why is the adaptor so thick?

Jeff20B

iTrader: (13)

See that big notch in the adaptor? I think that is for the stock top mounted starter of '68-'73 engines. I think this adaptor was designed around the stock flywheel and pressure plate, but with a VW disc. Kind of an interesting way to run an early engine when rear counterweights and fast/torquey VW starters aren't available. This is a great solution for a 10A if you can't find a counterweight.

I'll know more tomorrow.

GreenySC2

i saw on ebay(yeah i know no ebay links) today there is a suzuki samari with a 13b in it... kind of amusing... say this thought i would say so..

karism

Hmmm.
I stand corrected.

Your flywheel does look similar to mine.

The adaptor does look way different though.Like you said,it looks like it was made for the top mount starter.

Here is a bad quality ref pic of what mine looks like.

Karis

Jeff20B

iTrader: (13)

Your flywheel bolt holes were counterbored. I think I'll do that to mine and just buy the '74+ adaptor plate to save some money. Can you tell me how low your bolt heads were compared to the friction surface of the flywheel?

Jeff20B

iTrader: (13)

Also could you tell me the size of the bolt heads? Kennedy sells 17mm but I'm thinking I could get away with some Racing Beat 14mm heads so the counterbore needn't be very wide for more strength.

karism

I`ll take some pics of the bolts i used.

I had a set specially made.Cost a boat load of money.While i was at it,i had them make it out of the strongest steel available.I dont recall the tensile strenght of it at the moment.Dont want that 9kg weight flying off at 8000rpm.hahaha

karism

Here you go Jeff.

Some pics of the bolts that i had made,and currently using.

Karis