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The 2L pt.2(also uber long!)



Ok, so we left off on Sunday night, car ran, when it would start. One CV bolted up, one hanging. No downpipe. 

Monday morning, tow truck is late, don't get the car to the shop till 8:45, it gets in at 9:30(and I'm officially late for work). So we get started, fix a coolant leak(clamp was loose, lol), fix the timing belt cover(wouldn't sit right), and start on the exhaust. Well, I guess my exhaust was meant for a TT race DP, because it fit PERFECTLY(with a cat I might add, mine sits back behind the shifter though). On to the axle, I ask for a used one...NOPE, no rocco axles, or anything that will fit for that matter. So we pull the inner CV to put on a 100mm inner. Search around, find a good used inner, and slap it on........ Only to find out it won't fit. Apparently the rocco inner cv's are more narrow than the ones they had in stock. So we search through the stock room for about a half an hour before deciding to throw the 90mm back on and swap the flange down to a 90mm. So I'm back where I was before, plus a few hours labour. Then go to start the car, click, click. ^$*&^&(!! Ok, hook it up to the booster, nothing. Jump the battery ground to the motor, nothing. Battery terminal to the starter, nothing. Hook up the booster to the motor and starter, vvrrroooom. Ok? I still said bad power cable. The guy at the shop said starter. So we slap in a used starter, turn the key and......nothing. Hook a jumper from the battery to the block, vrrooom. Ok?  Ground, pull the ground, clean it up(LOTS) Fresh bolt, and all is well. By now it's 2:00 and I've missed enough of work that there is no point to going in, so I call in and tell them I won't be showing up. 
    I drive home to pick up the bolt for the speedo cable(always forget something eh?) and smile the whole way. By the time I get home(3 minute drive) the idle is at about 2k rpm. I pop the hood and check the idle screw. Haha, it's almost all the way out, I love poly mounts!!(Yes all four 4!).  Grab some locktight and screw that bitch in. Speedo cable bolt in hand I drive back to the shop, again smiling the whole way. Proceed to struggle for a good half hour to get the F(*&(*&! bolt in, finally it grabs and tightens down. 
     Later that evening, I go to drive the girlfriend home. All goes well, until(lol how'd ya know that was coming?) I drive away from her house and shift the second....it felt kinda weird. Stop at a stop sign and go for first, only to have the car give me the finger. I can't get it into any gear, GREAT!! So I shut the car off and it slides into first, start the car up and drive away, go for second and it'll only go in when the rpm are matched(like shifting without the clutch). So I limp it home and go to bed. Tuesday morning, go to work, car's doing the same thing, So I do what I have to get to work. On the way I stop beside a mid 90's Buick Gran sport. Now I looked this up after I got to work, 3.8L 6Cyl, somewhere between 170 and 210 HP. I kicked it's ass...twice, with a screwed up clutch!! lol So to say the least, I was happy about that. After work I head back to the bug shop, where, after 5 I get on the hoist. We drop the tranny and check out the clutch.....it all looks good. DAMMIT!!! So we put it back together with another PP I had around. And now the clutch lever has wayyyyyyy to much play, and it still wont release fully. Well, we pulled it all apart again, and figured out the problem. The FLYWHEEL, you see this Brunberg? Eh? Eh? Eh? Well good, I'm coming to get you!!!!!!  Lol, just kidding. It turned out the clutch surface of the flywheel was too narrow and screwing with everything in the clutch, so we welded some material on the pushrod, and ground it down to the stock diameter. Throw it all back together and all is well, YAY!!! 
    At this point, Peter, the guy that helped with all the clutch shenanigans takes the car for a drive(with me in it, don't worry). Unfortunately it was a little wet out, so he couldn't experience the full "power" of the car. But never the less, he claims it to be faster then a 16V, I'm assuming he means stock 16V. He's a rocco guy to(he's had 6 I think, and his was the first rocco I ever rode in) and I trust what he says, but we'll see soon just how fast it is.
    Now that brings us to one odd experience today, lol. I was driving behind my bro in his rustang(yeah yeah, it's a POS) and he decides to pull a brake torque, so like any good dubber, I pin it and out do him, lol. Then drive away and discover during a shift that my car is now idling at 3k rpm.....wtf?  lol I pull over and pop the hood expecting to find a vacuum line off. Sure enough, there's a big fatty one sitting there smiling back at me, so I slap it's ass back on and hope in the car, start it up and..........3k rpm.....ahhhhhhhh! I look again, and nothing is wrong(that I could see), so I grab my trusty 7mm wrench and check the idle screw, thinking that perhaps it backed out again. Nope, so I tighten it and get the idle down to 2.5k rpm. And head out to pick up the girlfriend. On an uphill section I pin it to see what the car can do, I take it through 2nd 3rd and a little of 4th. Pretty good. Stop at a light to make a right hand turn and wtf....my idle id normal again...ok?   So I'm not sure what the hell it is, I'm thinking perhaps something with the ISV, but we'll see, I need it to happen again so I can figure it out.

Now, overall I'm impressed. It's got some massive torque. For those who haven't followed, the buildup includes: ABA bottom end, 30mm oil pump, ABA oil baffle, JH solid lifter head(fresh rebuild, new guides, seals, ground seats, 3 angle valve grind), G-Grind cam, dual outlet manifold, TT race downpipe, 2" stainless(kinda bent) exhaust, 4k tranny w/.75 5th, all four poly mounts, 16v PP, 8V clutch disc. 
It's quick, and in the dry it'll spin the tires at any rpm in first all the way to 6k. It's like learning to drive all over again. 
I hope to go to the track on Friday for a bit of a comparison. I know it's too cold for a good run, but I don't have enough patience to wait until spring. I think it might beat it's old 18 second QM time, lol.

And this brings us to the end, thanks for reading and I hope you learn a bit from it.
-George