200hp VW TDr? Emma lives!

[Royal]

We finally got Jack’s BCW on the road and even changed the wheels to pretty baby moons this AM.  Until today we only had a total of about 10 miles on the car, under very carefully controlled conditions.  

Holy Mackerel, Andy!  I just test drove Happy Jack’s 2332cc TDr.  Talk about “hairy” (one of Ed’s favorite words)!  The builder of this engine claims it to be 200hp.   

Let me tell you that IMHO this is entirely too much torque and hp in a TDr.  Really scary!  Great Ghia disc brakes, almost new tires, tight suspension.  Every thing about Emma is nice and tight.  

But, on a 2 lane road I did not dare floor it in either 1st or 2nd.  0-4500rpm is about 1 second.  Pedal to the metal?  Fuggetaboudit!  (I was testing it in a semi residential neighborhood.  Out on the big 4 lane, maybe you MIGHT dare floor it.)  

Those of you who are going to Carlisle are going to see a real Monster TDr.  One of the things that I like best about Jack’s Emma is that it looks like a very nice tame BCW TDr, not a hot rod.  But the exhaust note is a dead give-away that this is not your grandma’s VW, let alone a puny little 1250cc MG.  Were I a few (ok, maybe 50) years younger, I’d have to have it.  

I’m still shaking and I didn’t get over about 45mph.  (I didn’t dare take my eyes off the road and look at the speedo.)  

I’m gong to try and get Jack to post and/or bring every thing we know (builder’s sheet) about this engine to Carlisle.  If you have a “need for speed” this is the one.  It’s going to take a very patient and practiced foot on the accelerator to do well in the Autocross.    

We are trying to get some miles on her to check out how well she cools (or not).  We’ve got oil pressure, oil temp and #3 cyl temp gauges monitoring right now on a nice long high speed run. When Jack gets back, we’ll give you an update on how the temps faired.  Right now it’s sunny, the roads are pretty warm and it’s 78 degrees F in the shade.  

VERY EXCITING!

[Paul Mossberg]

Sounds awesome…and a bit terrifying!

 

Will certainly impress some of those over-powered Speedster guys!

Paul Mossberg
Former Owner of a 1981 Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess (VW)
2005 Intermeccanica Roadster

If you own a TDr and are not in the Registry, please go to https://tdreplica.com/forums/topic/mg-td-replica-registry/ and register (you need to copy and paste the link)

[HappyJack]

Hey folks.

I just got back from a 50 mile run in my BCW.  WOW.  This car is WAY fast and a little scary.  I still have to get used to the steering, handling and the burst of speed in ANY gear.  The car has a temp sensor under #3 plug as well as a temp and oil pressure gauges.  On the high speed run on the 4-lane, the speed limit was 70, and I hit 75, then had to back off because I was not comfortable at that speed.  I ran most of the 50 miles at 60-65 and was comfortable.  The traffic was very light, so I was able to slow down to about 35, drop to 3rd and floor it…basic rocket propelled car!!

I need to get a little more “courage” before I try to see what the car will do from a stand still at full throttle.  Stay tuned.

[HappyJack]

I forgot to post the temp and oil pressure specs:

On the run at 65 mph, the #3 cyl head temp ran around 325 and the oil temp was running right around 190.  When I goosed it up to 75, the cyl head temp ran up to about 360 and then fell back to 350.  For the last 20 minutes of the run driving between 60 and 65, the #3 cyl temp ran right at 325-340 and pushed up to about 360 when I nailed it and ran the RPMs up to around 4600.  For most of the run,the oil temp was running  200-210 and staid pretty steady.  It dropped down to 180 as I turned into the development and dropped down to 35 mph.  The #3 also dropped down to under 200.  

I don’t have enough data yet to know what this all means, but at least it is a first data point.

[Dale Schumacher]

Sounds great Jack – would love to see ( and get a ride! ) if you bring to Carlisle.

[edward ericson]

Nice! Those temps sound better than should be expected. Hope it stays like that & look forward to seeing her in the flesh in a couple weeks.

[KentT]

edsnova wrote:

Nice! Those temps sound better than should be expected.

Ditto.  I’m a bit surprised by them, in fact.  You did some tigntening/sealing of the engine tin, as I recall.  Sounds like it paid dividends.

Will be interesting what the readings are in July/August temps, or in heavier traffic…

Early FF TDr on 69 VW pan
Slowly coming back from the ashes...

[HappyJack]

The SAGA continues…

Last evening, Roy called and asked if my DELLORTO carbs were 45’s or 48’s and I could not remember, so I went out to look…

…and found oil all over the right back bumper and engine cowling…and I was down a little over a quart in the crankcase.

By the way, the carbs are Dellorto DRLA 45’s..

I wiped up as much oil as I could but could not see where the leak was coming from.  By the way, the PO had drilled holes and mounted fittings in each of the valve covers and then ran breather hoses up to a breather assay mounted to the back of the fan shroud…

Well, this morning I came out to the garage and found a lot of oil in my drip pan right under the passenger side valve cover…

First indication of trouble — RTV all over the passenger side valve core — none on the driver’s side

Here’s what was on the bottom of the cover:

Bottom left is the valve cover and gasket I just took off…to the right are the valve covers from my spare 1600 engine…above is the EMPI bolt-on cover that came with the car (and I’m surprised that I have an oil leak at the valve cover…???)

So as you can see, I have a choice of valve covers to install.  I can install the covers from the spare engine or the new EMPi covers.

In either case I’d have to drill out the covers to attach the breather fitting.  I’m leaning toward just installing the covers from the spare and forget about the breather hose for now.  

…not sure why the car needs breather hoses from the valve covers…one speculation on the leak is that I have a leaking valve seal thats allowing oil under pressure into the valve cover and blowing by the valve cover gasket…???

We shall see what Emma does with its new gaskets and the covers from the old engine…

…by the way, I was in such a rush to pull the valve covers off of the spare engine, I forgot that the engine was being stored on its flywheel — and it was full of oil — what a mess — 

…live and learn, I guess — or slow down and think instead of being frustrated by a “little” oil leak.   It’s amazing what kind of mess a few quarts of old, black, ugly motor oil can do to a shed floor.  At least there will be no more squeaks in that section of the shed floor.  

Wish me luck as I search for the meaning of a leaking valve cover that the PO tried to seal with 2 tubes of RTV…………

[KentT]

Jack,

Bolt-on valve covers are notorious for leaking.  The factory-type, held on with the spring bail, seal much better… and don’t even try the rubber/neopreme valve cover gaskets.  Nothing seals as well as the factory-type cork gaskets.

The reasons for the vented valve covers are: 

 (1) higher RPM VW engines  tend to build up crankcase pressure from the speed of the crank/rods rotating, essentially turning into a big air pump, and

 (2) higher displacement and higher compression engines tend up build up crankcase pressure due to increased leakage/blowby at the piston rings.  Big jugs with thin cylinder walls tend to distort slightly under heat and the seal of the rings degrades, while higher compression (a side effect of larger pistons, even if not intentional) tends to force more air by the rings…

(3) high lift cams tend to put more side pressure on valve stems, causing increased wear on valve guides and valve seals, as you have surmised…

KentT2014-05-06 11:58:05

Early FF TDr on 69 VW pan
Slowly coming back from the ashes...

[HappyJack]

The SAGA continues — 

Thanks Kent for your help on the phone — Roy and I were stumped over valve clearance numbers that seemed to change from time to time with no reason.  Roy discovered that the valve rocker adjusters had a ball with a flat spot that should have been in contact with the valve stem, but was NOT during some of the measurements.  The PO had set a few of the valve clearances with the round of the ball against the valve stem, which, when the ball rolled over to the flat spot when the car was started, caused the clearance to be .035 instead of .006 — very noisy valves and probably not very efficient running of those cylinders.  Mystery solved. Thanks again.

Now on to the rest of the story — I thought I had just an oil leak out of the valve cover, but it turns out that I also have a gas leak out of the accelerator pump on the Dellorto 45 on the passenger side.  Drip, Drip, Drip — enough to wet a paper towel section in a few hours.  I found a rebuilt kit on eBAY and also from SOCAL — the one from SOCAL comes with instructions, but per the picture, a few less o-rings than the one shown on eBAY.  Roy seems to think that the one with the extra o-rings is a universal kit, even though it is listed as a DRLA 45 kit.  So I’ll order one or the other, along with a book on Dellorto carbs from Amazon so that I can (hopefully) fix the leak before Carlisle.  (it looks like I might even be able to get to the accelerator pump without taking the carb off of the car the way this  BCW is set up.

…The FUN never seems to end  — 

[Royal]

“Another challenge is merely another chance to excell!” Roy Hendrix 1983. (I said it so often that the guys put it on my USN retirement plaque.)

[Gabor Kesseru]

The valve cover is connected to the rest of the crankcase via the oil drainback scheme. Blow-by from a leaking piston ring would cause increased pressure in the crankcase and this is one really common  way for valve cover gaskets to get blown.

[Author]

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