DarkLighter Tuning Kamei Wabbit build! by T3Bunny

9 minute(s) of a 391 minute read

Quote, originally posted by fthaimike »

do you mean the US build?

Honestly don't remember. Its been 3 or 4 years since I spoke to the guy. Almost to the day in fact as my laptop warranty is about to expire. I am going to have to look his information up and try and track him down! But on to way more important news...

So here ya go!

She fired and ran. Almost even on the first try. At least on the first try I had the power all turned on....

The smokescreen? Yeah the video doesn't do it justice. I had neighbors even show up to make sure we were all okay. I had struggled and fought with the car all day to simply spin the motor over. Not 100% sure what the damn issue actually was... But a call to the MadScientist and he suggjested the starter locking into the tranny and not disengaging. I had already changed out the starter twice....

So T3Raposa gets back on the crank bolt with the breaker bar and suddenly the engine is moving. He spins it a little, and then I crank her over. Shes suddenly spinning over like nothing happened. Then FalconFixer reads off the part number on the fuel injectors and I look them up on my specs sheet. Fugging injectors are low impedance. I have NO IDEA where these crappers came from.

So a hunt around and about half an hour later I have a full matching set. With bad seals, and only three sets of new seals. We find a usable set and go to rawk them in. Not so fast. One of the old plastic caps came off in the injector hole. Go to pull it out, falls in. Of course.

FalconFixer came to the rescue after I spent a good 10 minutes just getting frustrated. It helps to have a best bud who spends his days working on jets. He had it out in 5 minutes. And then we popped the injectors in and viola she started right up!

Theres one maybe two days left of little things before she can actually drive under her own power. Short shifter has to be made, or I need to go get my Tech Tonics Tuning shifter... Or I just drop any old one in and drive it over to my buddies shop... Exhaust needs to be hooked up from the DP back. Axles need rebuilding and painting. Damn coolant neck needs to be sorted out.

OE underdash wiring still needs a little work too. I will likely install the alarm and radio in and wire up before I finish under there. Brake reservoir installed and brakes bleed. But all in all a good day! 

hehehehehe not sure what I am more excited about. The gastank that will be here any day, or whats in the second package your shipping out!

Its JUST what was needed to make this car back to what it was, and should be.

Speaking of packages arriving, these came all the way directly from China!

Okay while a lot of people may not care about copious amounts of LED's, I am as much of an electronics geek as I am a wrench. And thats 200pcs shipped for $12.

I have plans for these bad boys too! I simply refuse to do funky color LED light conversions in my instrument cluster. But I refuse to live with a dim cluster or pricey VW incandescent bulbs that go out every bump you hit. So middle of the road compromise. I will use the white ones for the backlighting. I have some pretty wicked plans for the rest, but we shall see soon enough! 

July 02, 2009 

The gastank arrived yesterday! Looks good Blown020! I am going to try and get motivated before the heat is too bad to deal with the smell from the old tank...

I sorted out a bunch of small details yesterday. Don't really have much left on the car now other than the gastank and a few small things left. Biggest item other than the tank is brakes... The stup on there is all done except for filling and bleeding. Or deciding to run the bigger pretty ones.

My upgraded brake bits are all prettied up, painted and ready to go, but untried ETC. I may simply run with the setup now I know is good, then upgrade in the next few weeks. Sad cause the new bits look so so good... I am missing mounting hardware though.

I will post up pictures later when all is finished and sorted. Once I get the gastank in, its all downhill and easy. I will be more motivated to git her done. 

July 07, 2009 

Short but fun update here...

Shes running and driving!!!! Just moved her around the driveway for now, but thats enough for me.

I have TONS of little details to sort out lke needing much larger injectors. Got 16lb ones in her now and she hates them. Have 24lb or something to put in now, and probably getting 40lb ones tomorrow.

Anyways I will post up some more information and pictures later. Maybe even video! 

July 08, 2009

It will likely be a few days... She didn't start today first try. Hooked up laptop and was getting zero RPM. The dizzy plug was corroded. Shouldn't have been since its all new parts. But a dozen or so clips in and out and she was all good. As for staying running? Nope refused to do that either. Being paranoid I am worried its the fuel setup, but its likely just a fueling and tuning issue. I have spent ZERO time working on the maps and all that. Hell, I doubt the dizzy is even perfectly timed!

Spoke to The Mad Scientist today about getting the safety and apparently emissions done on her tomorrow. He gave me a laundry list to take care of. I knew about most of it, but I have to have a “workingâ€Â heater/defroster setup. The list is long enough that it might take me a few days to get her ready. But should be 100% legal and aligned by this weekend.

So theres a bunch of little stuff to do.

For safety the list is pretty long. Need horn installed. Bumpers back on, also solves front turns for now. Parking brakes hooked up, missing a few bits there. The blower/defroster. NONE of the wiring or cables are in the car...

I have to finish sorting out the cooling system before anything else is done. Fans not even hooked up yet. Head outlet still needs to be changed out and oil canister removed or relocated.

Injectors swapped for larger ones.

Instrument cluster back together and in the car. Speedometer wasn't mentioned on the safety laundry list, but having that working is simply a must anyways.

And everything else is simply finishing details and not really critical but will be done time permitting. Alarm, radio, sheathing front wiring. Relaying the headlights.

By the time I got back from dinner, it was dark and too late to take any pictures. So we will have pictures and probably video to upload in the next couple days. And let the fun begin! I will be doing some videos for seting timing and basic setup, then some more advbanced ones for tuning and the like. 

His turbo is dead... Nobody knows what happened to the good one I gave him.

There may or may not be any other issues. Hard to say at this point. Eliminating one known issue at a time. I am hoping my turbo is good. I am still getting some smoke out the back, but my engine hasn't been run long enough to get it past 130.

He earned that nickname... But I guess you can tell the ones of us who been doing this a while. The parts manager at my old VW dealership knew better than to ask me what make and year my car was. He would ask me What part do you need and off what car? There was even a special training session when he was teaching a new parts counter clerk. I walked in and he was around the corner. Guy asks me what model and year my car is. I tell him and then hand him a part. He proceeds to tell me that part isn't on my car. By now parts manager is smiling in the background and trying not to laugh. I insist it is in my car and he tells me thats impossible (it was a cabby with some random 1.8t piece in it). After a couple minutes of this the manager sends him out to look at my car. Then tells him I am one of the special cases and to ask me what to look up. And that if he can't find it to have me come behind the counter and look it up. You might even learn something from him! Priceless!

The VW parts guys are no where near as much fun as the local Autozone parts counter ones though. I usually have to stop and think when they ask me what model and year. Had one the other day insist that I had to tell him when I was trying to find a serpentine belt. I kept telling him that I just needed a belt This length and handed him a cut belt. Finally I tell him and he looks up my 1977 and for some reason is baffled that he can't find it. Then he realizes what I have been telling him and that no '77 came with a serpentine belt.