Fugue for Engine Carrier and Wiring Harness

As I get dragged kicking and screaming away from my tools for two weeks to go on vacation, I have a couple of pleasing events to report:


My wiring harness is off to Jeff Robenolt in Wisconsin to be worked over and turned into a harness adapted for use in a Bus. Jeff is a good egg: a real thinker about ways to improve the art, not just crank out monkey copies of what has gone before. In my case, I'm specifying certain modifications that would have gotten me turned down (or laughed off) by some of the other folks who do the conversions.

The most significant modification is for the circuit and their fans. This isn't actually to make it more exotic or specialized, it is to more effectively use the programmatic intelligence of the Subaru ECU to manage cooling a relatively exotic and specialized cooling environment:

The Scirocco fans are dual power, that way cooling could be increased without adding an additional fan. There are two circuits to drive the same fan: a 250W and a 150W. Put on the AC, and the 150W comes on constant because the AC condenser is sandwiched in with the radiator. AC needs a lot more air volume passing over it (and a guarantee of air volume, when slowed or stopped) to ensure that the AC system will work correctly.

The 250W circuit is to pull air through faster if the coolant got to hot. It pulls a steep 20 Amps at 12 volts. This is not a circuit you want closed all of the time: this is for when you're in the bad spot of Dallas asphalt in August at 110°F in the shade, and you're stuck crawling along, stop and go at 5mph in first gear. The pitch of the blades is so steep, its clear that this fan is designed to come on, waste no time pulling your coolant temperature down out of the danger zone and then shut off again. It shouldn't ever be running all of the time.

The Subaru also has two circuits for fan control, but it is for two different fans. In this case, I'm getting Jeff's help to rework the circuit so that the FAN1 signal from the ECU closes the relay for the 250W pair (40A total draw!) and the FAN2 signal closes the relay for the 150W pair (20A total draw.) The fans themselves will be tapped directly off the battery, for the shortest power path.

Here's the interesting question that Jeff is going to be working on: Does Fan2 only come on in a Subaru application when there is air conditioning? Does the ECU ever trigger BOTH fans even without the AC circuit being closed? I don't know. HE doesn't know. So we're going to find out, and what we learn will help guide the continuing evolution of the VolksarU design.

Those of you who pay attention to power draw may note that, if it were even possible for both fan circuits to be engaged at the same time it would constitute a load of 60A just to run the fans. (Are these fans designed to run at an additive wattage? I dunno. That's what we're testing.) The Alternator on the EJ22 is only designed to put out 75A, which is more than enough to push a 5 passenger car with power-everything down the road. I'm actually hoping that the 150W circuit is AC only. But we won't know until the test is complete.


The second piece of happy news may be documented in a somewhat blurry picture, but it is a beautiful sight to me:

This is the EJ22e engine rotated 180° (upside down) and the beautiful Rocky Mountain Westy engine carrier bar bolted on to the engine with new vibration dampners. On the left you can see that I've mocked up the extension arm that reaches to the rear and bolts to the factory carrier bar chassis holes for the 1972-1973 Type4 based bodies. This is the only design I've seen that does this, and it's brilliant: It locks the carrier into place in three degrees of rotation, and does so without requiring any cutting or welding on the body, re-using as many stock mounting points as possible. In it's own way, it is the perfect demonstration of the VolksarU ideal: Installation is DIY friendly, no body mods needed and is compatible with two decades worth of Subaru EJ series engines. If you decide to trade up to an EJ33 or a Subaru H6 engine...they just fit. A lot of smart engineering, jig and fab work went into this carrier.

To my knowledge, only two other companies offer carrier bars "cash and carry" rather than a custom fabrication each time, but they're both in the UK. (RJES & Fellows Speed Shop.) Both are good products and have the merit of being weld-in compatible with many different models, but require someone to do the welding, so they aren't as DIY friendly (unless you already weld.)

With that, I'm closing up shop and going on vacation. See you in mid-July!

Divine Intervention?

So I'm officially broke. This project hasn't beggared me.  Everything else has. It isn't 'the expense you weren't expecting' that wrecks you, its when 5 or 6 expenses you weren't expecting all kick in the front door in the same week.

Blown controller board in the refrigerator, AC drops dead in your commuter car (At the start of summer, dammit!), wife needs new lenses for her glasses she has put off buying for a year, your son needs a replacement tablet you've put off buying for four months....etc, etc, etc. It all landed at the same time.

My wife, who has great sympathy for my trying to move this along tells me, sorry, you must pause until the end of the month. We go into low consumption mode on everything we can until the next check clears and we can breathe again. Don't even buy beer. Yikes!!!!

So imagine my frustration when I see that I need to spend a lousy $120 to execute a series of steps which must be done in dependent order to take the the project miles down the road toward a running engine:

Start with:
'firewall permanently installed' which leads to
     'chassis electrical installed' which permits
          'cooling system permanently installed' which then allows
               'engine off of the stand' to
                    'install flywheel and transmission adapter' so I can
                         'replace engine support mounts' then
                              'add engine support bar' so I am able to
                                   'crane engine into compartment' to permit
                                        'bolt engine, adapter, and support bar to transmission & body' and then
       'Drink a beer!'

Unfortunately, I'm stuck at 'chassis electrical' without the ability to buy a couple-of-few parts. Which is just ridiculous. Once I pass 'cooling system permanently installed' everything else is downhill requiring barely any additional purchases or even much work: It's just bolt-in, then. It is a classic: "For want of a horse shoe nail."

Then I had my divine intervention moment last night.

Exposition: I was gifted with some cash for my recent birthday, and at church on Sunday I felt the prompting to pitch 1/3 of it into the offering plate. *I don't ever put anything in the plate.* All of my family's contributions are transferred right to the church's account.

Now why would I do this? I'm already broke, and this money was *mine* for my birthday. But I felt the nudge, and though I'm slow and stupid in spiritual matters, I took the hint and put in.

That night, I had my epiphany, and I know who sent it.

The dilemma with getting hung up on 'chassis electrical' is that I have to wire up the tail lamp housings again after having moved it all out of the way while the engine compartment was under heavy rework. Once it is back in...but that's where I have to stop: The tail lamp housings have been completely ruined by UV; literally crumbling away, so they have to be completely replaced.

The lamp housings are held in place by nuts INSIDE the body that thread on to bolts embedded in the plastic of the housing. Once the 'cooling system permanently installed' is done, I can't get to those nuts. To gain access there, I have to take the whole cooling system apart, which is a seriously pain, and also the Achilles' Heel of my design. But how often do you REALLY need to get in to those battery box compartments once the battery is moved to under the rear seat? Almost never. Still... It would really ease the mind and make maintenance a lot easier if you could get in there. But the lamps are held on by nuts on the INSIDE. Again, the bolt heads are locked into place by having the plastic cast around it.

Bolt holes for tail lamp assemblies which are nutted on the inside. What if it could be nutted on the outside?

This seemed ridiculous to me. Why COULDN'T I find some way to make the parts switch ends? Flip the bolt head and nut ends....No. That still won't work. Either end is still locked by the plastic cast around it, whether it is the bolt head, or the nut. Either way, you'd still have to get to the INSIDE to remove the fastener that is still free to turn.

I took the UV damaged units I have (if they get banged up with experimentation it doesn't matter since they're being wholly replaced...when I can afford it again) and brought one over to the bench. I used a sharp utility knife to trim away the plastic flashing that keeps the bolt in place in the molded hex socket in the lamp housing. Then I flipped it over and with a nailset and hammer, drove out the hex head bolt. If I rounded out the hex socket in the plastic housing, the bolt could turn. But the nut would still turn inside, so that's no good...



That's when the Spirit whopped me with the epiphany bat: I have ALREADY BOUGHT the solution to this problem: Nutserts aka Fastenalls, e.g. aluminum rivets that have a threaded inside diameter. Install the rivets in the lamp housing mounting holes in the vehicle body and now you have a nut that WON'T TURN on the side that you can't get to when the cooling system is installed, but you can drive a bolt from OUTSIDE into the nutsert. Remove 4 bolts from the outside, the whole lamp housing comes out. Free access to areas previously inaccessible.

At first, I thought, "Well, that let's me move ahead to the next step! Hot Dog!" Then I got whopped again coming back the other way: This doesn't just let me make the next step, it fundamentally changes the maintenance character of the entire design.This single $4 retrofit changes everything, both during the initial installation, and during the all subsequent installation steps, as well as any maintenance that needs to be done in the far future.

After having re-laid the tail lamp wiring harness back into its original clamps, I've discovered that there is enough slack on the cable that when you pull the machine screws, you can pull the assembly out of the hole and reach in and not even strain the cable or bulb fittings.

This was a trivially inexpensive change that produces an enormous butterfly effect. Talk about a 'Still, small voice...!"

malgré tout (Despite Everything)

I just dropped $1100 on the carrier bar, flywheel, transmission adapter, and throttle valve reverser from Rocky Mountain Westy. They are still in 'limited Beta' on their solution, which is hung up on going production flushing bugs out of what is going to be big jump forward for underbelly radiator solutions. So the carrier bar and throttle reverser I'm getting are from the initial production run. Same jigs, so no worries there, but it is a little scary to realize that there is no tucking your tail between your legs and scurrying away. I now have serious skin in the game, and will not be allowed by TPTB to back out now.

I completely understand this attitude. I've failed and failed to come through on lots of things. I DNF more than anyone has any right to. I'm going to finish this because it is, in my mind, my own personal salvation that lets me look at myself in the mirror in the morning. It is proof that I can finish. So at the same time that I am moving this forward, I'm also going back and killing the DNF records off for things that I've flaked on. It will probably take me all year to move the Bus forward, clean up DNFs behind me, and do new items like refurbishment on my daughter's bedroom and repaint of the front rooms of our house. And anything else that falls off the Christmas tree in the mean-time.

At the same time that I made the Rocky Mountain Westy order, I also ordered the jegster radiator and fan solution from JEGS. It arrived this week. I had pursued it because getting a straight answer on what fan shroud fits which VW A1,A2,A3 radiator is like pulling teeth. I'm convinced that the boners who play with these all the time are vague on it, which is pretty sad, come to think.

The Jegster arrived and a opened the box *carefully* since I wanted to retain my option to return it.

I'm glad I did. In theory, there is nothing wrong with the shroud for the kind of race-track life it would lead. But I would not consider it 'elegantly' put together, and is seriously not optimized for this application, e.g. completely terrible airflow in a less than optimal physical environment. I need every trick I can get if this is going to work out. This solution is an expensive HACK. So its going back.

The other matter that has garnered attention today is the oh so very LIMITED amount of space there is in the engine compartment. for 'ancillaries.' From the bottom deck to top deck and generally from side to side the space is 13.5"H x 32"W x 24" D. I'm attempting to think of ways to reuse as many Subaru parts from the original pull to support the need to put the ancillaries in that space. I'd like to use the factory intake with the resonator on it, just rotated 180* so it will line up with the relocated throttle valve. Maybe suspended from the ceiling?

Of Radiators and Fans

A potential fan and cowl for my radiator: The "Jegster." (Who the hell comes up with these names?)

VW frustrates the hell out of me some times.
My 'AL' 525mm radiator is stock in these cars "without AC." Now I have to find shrouds for them, or otherwise hack cooling systems into place on them. The measurements for the VW OEM 321-121-253AL radiator are 525x322x34mm
or 20.6693" x 12.6772" x 1.33858"

Cabriolet	1990-1992 1.8L Digifant
Cabriolet	1980-1989 1.8L CIS
Golf/GTI II	1985-1987 8V CIS
Golf/GTI II	1990-1992 2.0L 16V
Golf/GTI II	1985-1987 GTI 8V
Golf/GTI II	1987-1989 1.8L 16V
Golf/GTI II	1988-1992 8V Digifant
Jetta I	1980-1984 1.8L
Jetta I	1980-1984 1.6L
Jetta II	1990-1992 2.0L 16V
Jetta II	1985-1987 8V CIS
Jetta II	1988-1992 8V Digifant
Jetta II	1985-1987 GLI 8V
Jetta II	1987-1989 1.8L 16V
Pickup	1979-1981 1.6L
Pickup	1979-1981 1.8L
Rabbit GTI	1983-1984 1.8L 8V
Rabbit non GTI	1980-1984 1.8L
Rabbit non GTI	1977-1984 1.6L

I finally got sat down with someone who works on these cars: The hilarious part in a nutshell: ANY of the A1,A2 shrouds will fit my radiator. ANY. The only differences were whether the vehicle had air conditioning, and that was mostly a matter of what fan was installed. What an enormous, pointless waste of time researching this!

This does bring me to a point that I am unhappy with: There are no new sources for these radiator shrouds. They are as common as grass, certainly. But they are NOT available NEW, which violates one of the principles of VolksarU: Sourcing COTS parts whenever possible. These are not COTS. The are out of the wrecking yard. But the radiator is the most perfect fit for the space, and the fan is necessarily the best fan for the radiator.

How much is that bling bling in the window?

No, I'm not dead. But winter has almost made me wish for it. I won't bore you with the details of everything short of divorce, unemployment and full family tragedy happening. This never ending winter just put everything into hibernation including me, my project, my creativity and my sense of humor. Hell, I couldn't even sit and think creatively, so its got to be bad when I reach that point.

A few numbers that have reared their collective heads:

Interior refit/ Door Panels: (all panels)

Sewfine - $800 + ship
cip1.com - TMI Black $551 (incl ship)
Barry Stoute/Thesamba wood panel kit (but how to attach?) $645+ ship
TMI direct vinyl $726 + ship (oversize)
Werksberg ABS panels: $475 + ship (include rear 1/4s in cargo area, which no-one else does)
Kick panels 33-405-71/79 $45 
Door panels 1975 - 1979 with foam and vinyl arm rests 33-425-75/79 $125 
Slider side door 33-450-71/79 $75 
Long panel on DS with arm rest holes 33-460-68/79A $75 
Rear seat ¼’s (pr) with arm rest holes 33-465-68/79A $75 
Rear ¼’s (pr) with spare tire 33-470-72/79S $40 
Rear Hatch PN 33-375-76/79 $40 
BusDepot TMI vinyl $431 direct ship (oversize) "Complete Interior Panel Set"
Better call BD. Their definitions of complete are slippery.

Seat Upholstery:

TMI direct $1037 + ship tan vinyl w/ sand tweed insert
TMI direct $586 + ship basketweave tan vinyl
Bus Depot / TMI $370 + ship basketweave tan vinyl
Sewfine - $560 1 Fab or 1 Vinyl
Sewfine - $680 1 Fab AND 1 Vinyl
WCM Seat Upholstery: (TMI?) $478 + ship basketweave tan vinyl
evwparts.com TMI direct $453 + ship basketweave tan vinyl

Fixed Window glass seals: BD $154

Not Just "Parts"

I decided I'd better get this list written down before I lose the data.

There is only one critical assumption that should be understood for tool purchase and this conversion: The tool is not expected to survive past the conversion process.

In other words, if you already own a needed tool, hooray! You don't have to buy it. If you need to buy this tool, these recommendations are to get you into the least expensive product to do the job ahead of you. If your newly bought tools are still running when we're done, hooray! Just consider the cost of the one time purchase of the tools as part of the cost of conversion.

When I say that I need 'parts,' I find that the vagueness can get me into all kinds of trouble. Why do I keep needing more parts? Or, what's the difference between a part and a tool? What do you call the things that you use up? Parts? Consumables? Tools?

So in the act of recording my purchases for this project, I thought that it was wise to apply categories that I defined several years ago to keep the understanding clear of what is which. (Believe it or not, this was principally for my Mum-in-law, to help her help me sort when she offered to help clean out my garage. I don't think she's forgiven me yet. The categories below just scratch the surface of how deep this can run.)

Tools for Conversion 

(A tool is something you buy and don't expect to use it up just by using it)

• 4-1/2" Angle Grinder - Harbor Freight #60625 $15
• Threaded Insert Riveter Kit containing: ten each of 6-32, 8-32, 10-24, and 1/4-20 inserts plus setting tool - Harbor Freight #1210 $17
• 1/4" - 3/4" High Speed Steel Step Drill Bit - Harbor Freight #44460 $6
• Bosch T118A 5-Pack 3-5/8-in T-Shank High-Speed Steel Jigsaw Blade - Lowes #122643 $9
• 3/8" Chuck Variable Speed reversing electric drill - Harbor Freight # 60016 - $19
• Variable Speed Jigsaw - Harbor Freight #69436 $20

Products for Conversion

(Unlike a tool, a product is expected to be used up.)

• 3M/Dynatron 550 12 oz. white auto seam sealer caulk - Autozone/Advance Autoparts - $15
• Rustoleum 249322 12oz spray Self Etching Primer - Home Depot, Lowes, Autozone $5
• Rustoleum 248645 12oz spray White Semi-Gloss Acrylic Enamel - Home Depot, Lowes, Autozone $5
• Grinding disc assortment for metal containing: (3) 36 grit, 60 grit, 120 grit 4-1/2" flap discs, (2) 24 grit 4-1/2" grinding wheels for metal, (5) 40 grit 4-1/2" cut-off wheels for metal - Harbor Freight #47572 $10

Components for Conversion

(A Component is a sub-assembly provided whole by a manufacturer. It is not intended to wear out. You use tools ON it for fitment, rarely for modification.)

• (2) The Hillman Group 3-Count #14 1/4-in- 20 x 3/4-in Truss-Head Stainless Steel Standard (SAE) Machine Screws - Lowes - $1.50
• (4) The Hillman Group 3-Count #14 1/4-in- 20 x 1-1/2-in Truss-Head Stainless Steel Standard (SAE) Machine Screws - Lowes - $1.50
• (2) HELLA (Behr) 376713301 Radiator (525x322x34mm) VW OEM PN 321-121-253AL. By Application: 1992 VW Golf 1.8L 8v w/o AC. - Amazon.com - $68
• Subaru-T2B (Bay Window) Bus Engine Carrier Product Code: RMW-EC02 rockymountainwesty.com - $400
• Subaru-091 Transmission Adapter Kit (228mm flywheel) - Product Code: F-001 rockymountainwesty.com - $520

Materials for Conversion:

(Materials are what you hack, machine, cut, fasten, etc. on with your tools.)

• (3) 3/4" x 3/4" x 3ft Steel Square Tube - Lowes - $8
• (3) 2' x 2' Ungalvanized (Zinc Passivated OK) Sheet Steel, 14 gauge. (Bought bulk.)

How many light bulbs?

Popular mythology has it that Thomas Edison tested over 6,000 potential materials to find a suitable filament for his electric light-bulb. He was a man of extraordinary grit and determination and his stubbornness pushed science forward.

Thomas Edison was also a cast-iron Son-of-a-Bitch. His two chief qualities were his stubbornness, and his selfishness. If it couldn't be done by him, he would rather it not be done. If an idea similar to his could be managed less expensively, he would publicly defame and then sue his competitors. He believed that ideas were for making money and that cooperation was for the patsy. For an inventor, he had trouble with his imagination: He could only see toward selling the object for which he held the rights; He couldn't imagine the new, subsequent changes in culture that would allow him to invent new products to meet new needs that his first invention would seed.

Why the missive on Thomas Edison? Partly because it has NOT been a productive week, being too stinking cold to do much in the garage with a heater that only fires 1 time out of 3. The times that I have been out there have had to be short because, even when there is heat I'm on the FLOOR where it is coldest, fitting parts in the engine compartment. I've concluded that no one is going to cut a straight line (not for 24 linear inches) with a cut-off wheel on an angle grinder. In short, I'm thinking of Thomas Edison to remind myself that a few failed designs aren't going to stop me, they're just going to slow me down.

The other reason I'm thinking of Edison is because I know a skunk like him who thinks that his products are the soul of perfection, and that anyone who questions his perfect work shall be publicly disemboweled. His work is not available for inspection without placing cash on the barrel head, and you only get to see what you've bought when he's done. The perfect execution of the confidence trick, Buy a Pig in a Poke.

I've just run headlong into his cross-hairs with The VolksarU Project. So I have that weighing on my mind a little.

It was warmer outside in the snow than inside
the garage. So I worked outside.

The test fit-up yesterday went pretty badly. I cut up the 14ga steel outside according to our basic plan and when I finally got it fitted, I discovered several things:

There is no such thing as an angle grinder that can cut a straight line for 24 linear inches.

An angle-grinder is a blunt instrument of cutting. I'm going to need a lot more finesse that is an inexpensive option for the poor starvlings who don't have plasma cutters at the ready. Like a metal cutting jigsaw blade is the next to test.

Performing bends to long runs of steel is not going to happen. This is why we got away from the brake in the first place. The L shaped bends that will stiffen the unit are probably going to have to be 'bolt thru.' More complexity, more parts. When faced with expensive fabrication from a single piece, we may be breaking into pieces sooner than I thought.

Lastly, I spent 90 minutes on the phone with my 3D draftsman arguing about nomenclature. He would like a 3D model of the compartment. I told him that this wasn't bloody well going to happen unless he wanted to crawl under and scan it himself. (He's in a wheelchair, so this is a false offer.) Short of that, he wants measurements of....everything. Right. When balmy in that garage is 30°F. I need to be HOME during daylight hours and the weather to let up for an afternoon to improve the weather proofing, such that I might actually retain some of the heat generated.

So like Edison, I'm going to keep plugging along, even when progress is woefully slow. I'm just going to remember the other half of the Edison equation: Don't let it turn you into a prick.