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'72 510 Sedan Build - denis.drc - LOTS OF PICS!


denis.drc

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Thanks, Chad!

 

I don't mind questions at all. This build is no secret. ......or is it... :ninja: ....

The whole point of this community is to share, so share I will.

 

I was a technician/fabricator at 2Bennett for years and now am the service manager there...moving on up.. B)

 

The front shock inserts are for B3/4 chasis and UR-S4/S6 Audis. They're 2Bennett spec. KONI external adjust units. [surprised...?]

 

I have gone through a few sets of springs, but am currently running 250lbs front springs and 200lbs rear springs. If I reall correctly 8" tall front, 7" tall rear.

 

The shocks work well with those rates. The bump valve of the KONI shocks seem perfect for this rate. I have dampening set to about 40%.

 

 

The shifter has plenty of clearance in all gears. But I do sit pretty far back.

I'm using Jeep seat sliders. They're almost idential to Recaro factory sliders but A LOT cheaper.... Pick'N'Pull baby!

 

Check it out... This is 4th. 2nd is nearly idential.  Btw, being a VW guy, recognize the center console?

 

 

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Hope that helps answer your questions. Let me know if I can help any further.

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Moving right along...

I drove the car this way for about a month and loved every minute of it, then summer rolled around.

NorCal summers, especially in Sacramento, are HOT. We had stretch last year of about a month with 100+ degree weather.
The hot weather really showed flaws in my cooling system. I found it nearly impossible to drive for more than 30 miles without the gauge reaching 80% HOT. This was less than ideal.. :sneaky:

What better excuse than to upgrade the cooling system?!

Lucky for me one of my buddies had a fancy brand-new 'Mishimoto' aluminum radiator that he was willing to part with.

It was for a '97 Dodge Neon. The size was just right. Wider and taller than OEM, but small enough to fit inside the engine bay.

Broke out the tools and got to work..

This is the radiator. Nice quality unit.
mishimotorad_zps08427046.jpg


This radiator uses pegs at the top and bottom to mount into the vehicle.

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I though about using the pegs and associated rubber mounts/isolators, but after careful measuring, I noticed it would make the radiator sit too high. So I cut the posts off and decided to fab up for brackets to use oem style direct core-support mounts.

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Got out the tig and attached the brackets.
Then it was time for a test fit..

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Fit was great, but the opening in the front of the 510 was just too small, so I had to enlarge it a tad..


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MUCH BETTER!


The next step I did just because I wanted to.

I wanted to run larger radiator hoses, so I enlarged the inlets/outlets of the engine and the radiator. This was also a good way to remove the corroded ends of the thermostat housing and the lower water outlet fitting.

Here's an example..
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While at it, I also made a temperature switch housing for my electric fan setup, and a hose union (I ended up not using the hose union pipe)

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All the pieces completed with beads rolled into the ends.

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Since my car didn't come with a radiator overflow tank (I had been using a Gatorade bottle for a while), I decided to add an overflow tank and breather tank. Attached them to the sides of the radiator. I also fabbed up an aluminum fan shroud to use with a pair of slim line fans. (One is an 11" one is a 10"..most clearance that way.)

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Final test fit without the fans. I noticed the lower radiator hose was now too close to the alternator pulley, so I machined about 3mm from the pulley and ended up with a much more comfortable clearance.

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Final test fit with the fans installed revealed just how close the water pump pulley was to the fans if using standard bolts. Easiest solution was just to use slim line bolts. Don't let the pics fool you, there is about 1/4 - 3/8 of an inch between them now.

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All that done, it was time to install the assembly and see how it works..

Final product:

Also, not the reliefs in the radiator mounting brackets around the headlights...attention to detail! B)

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Cooling is AWESOME with this radiator. With an OEM temp. thermostat it gets up to temp. quickly and stays there!

I'll update the temp. rating of the thermostat and temp. switch later. I want to say it's a 85*C thermostat and a 92*C temp. switch.

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Engine bay looks sweet!

 

Thanks, Rusty!

 

 

Great build thread! Great to see the fab work take shape. How do you like the L16 after the rebuild? Was it a dramatic change?

 

Thanks, Moath!

 

The L16 definitely feels better after the build.

The difference between low cylinder compression with high leakdown and GOOD cylinder compression with low leakdown is indeed quite dramatic! :w00t:

While at the machine shop, I had a full valve job done and had some extra meterial cut off the head to bump up the overall compression ratio a little.

The combination definitely made the motor feel tight and "peppy".

 

Do I want more power.....absolutely! But these things take time.

For now, the L16 makes me happy to drive and the side-drafts sound AMAZING at higher rpm.

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Build is looking great so far... All the sudden im feeling inspired to get back in the garage

 

Keep up the good work

 

-TB

 

Thanks! Now get out there and get to work!

 

 

wow man ! you are the kind of guy I should have as a neighbor ahah

 

awesome work on that car   :thumbup: 

 

Thank you sir! Move down to NorCal, we can be neighbors.. :P

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I also noticed this, while looking around the engie bay..One might think: why a bolt in place of a fuse? More on this later...

IMG_1185copy_zps7e47726b.jpg

 

I also didn't like not knowing what the engine was up to, so I added a few gauges to satisfy my cuiosity.

(Added a tach in the warning light section of the dash.)

clusterwithnewtach_zpsc7cfff1e.jpg

Ok 2 Questions / Points

What was the Bolt for!! and that is lolz!

And did you put a plastic screen over the tach. kinda like the one that is on the MPH gauge?

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Ok 2 Questions / Points

What was the Bolt for!! and that is lolz!

And did you put a plastic screen over the tach. kinda like the one that is on the MPH gauge?

 

Ahh the bolt....See the next post, I'll explain.

 

I did not put a plastic screen over the tach. I modified a basic non-tach cluster, which didn't have a plastic screen.

I just cut a hole in the cluster and installed the tach.

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I knew a bolt in place of a fuse was a less than desirable "upgrade".

 

The most annoying thing about my 510 were the electrical gremlins..
The headlights barely worked..They were so dim, it was difficult to 10 feet in front of the car.
The turn signals would rarely come on, and made strange buzzing noises. (The flasher relay was OK.)
The blower motor only worked on the highest setting, but I tested the switch and it had proper continuity on all settings.
There were plenty more issues, but I'll stop the list at this..

A quick check with a multimeter showed that both fuse terminals connected to the bolt were continuous to both GROUND and 12V+.....NO BUENO!

Since most of the dash was still out of the car from the cage build, I had easy access to the main electrical harness. It didn't take long (30 seconds...) to find suspicious looking hot spots..

NASTY!
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Time to pull it apart and inspect the damage..

Are these wires supposed to look all bare and melty...I think not.. :shock:

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Pretty sure this wire is not supposed to be bare... :?

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Got all the damaged wires replaced. One by one... Loomed it all back up and re-installed.


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I don't recall exactly which circuits were affected, but it's safe to say A LOT of switched power circuits were powered all the time!

Needless to say electrical system operation improved by leaps and bounds with the harness repaired.
The lights started working, turn signals started working, blower motor now worked on all speeds, etc....

Time invested: 6+ hours
Money spent: $20 bucks (+ cannibalizing an old wiring harness I had laying around)
The feeling of having a functional electrical system: Priceless!

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Nothing much done lately. Just considering where I want to go next.

 

I did add an AEM Wide-band air/fuel ratio gauge.

 

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It's actually very informative and allowed me to tune a carbs quite a bit.

 

 

I've also been working on setting up some kind of sound system. Hopefully I can get some audio installed this weekend.

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Was hoping to work on a sound system this weekend but had to tend to more pressing business.

 

I'm planning a complete overhaul of the project. No so much a different direction, but definitely a HUGE change from where things are now.

 

In planning the future of the car, I realized that I wouldn't be able to do the major aspects of the fabrication at work due to the associated down-time. In turn, that meant I had to beef up the 'home shop' just a little...

 

 

First things first.. Got myself a couple of new toys!

 

A variable speed band-saw and a couple blades:

 

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A brand spanking new fully programmable 'inverter' TIG welder!

I've wanted  for A LONG time. Transformer analog machines are great. I learned on one, used one for years, but always felt that I could improve weld quality with a better machine.

Anyway, enough blabbing, here she is:

 

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I also picked a water cooled torch and a water cooler for the TIG.

 

bernardwatercooler_zps37fa9161.jpg

 

 

I already had this MIG...but, here it is anyway..

 

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I didn't want my trusty MIG to feel left out, so Instead of making another cart for the MIG, TIG, & Future Plasma Cutter to sit on, I decided to build a new mulch-tiered cart w/work surface.

 

Planned it out.

 

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Picked up some materials.

 

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Then got to work. (Excuse the mess in the garage.)

 

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and then........I ran out of metal!  Bummer...I'll get more today or tomorrow and get back to it..

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nom nom nom nom  :w00t:  

 

I want to eat it up as well. I love that thing! B)

 

 

 

Its ok, it is a beautiful machine. Checked the price range on it... Yep, my whole shop will probably cost less :P

 

I know it's well worth it. I've been after one for years and finally had to pull the trigger. Even with all the upgrades and extra costs, I could not have gone much longer without it..

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