Bugzilla - Mid Engine Madness

[Bugzilla]

[dew34]

Bugzilla that was a great read simply bad ass !!!!
mike

[Godbolt]

Piston looks beautiful. That must be a welcome sight for you.

[Bugzilla]

Thanks Mike! And yes it is a very welcome site. The Bug has been down for nearly 4 months. The pistons were the last thing I needed.

[Bugzilla]

Well here we are 2 month later and still no progress has been done to the Bug. I kinda got distracted with the Jeep project. But the Jeep is nearly completed so Bug time will be coming soon. Hopefully I can get it all back together before summer hits and the triple digit temps hit. I missed my first race which was last weekend so kinda disappointed. Next one is in June so hopefully I can make that. We will see!

Jeep - Went from this to this in 4 months. Now if only I could do the same to the Bug...

[beater65]

Seems like you have an affinity for WHITE vehicles lol.


Get back on that BUG MAN! lol

[Bugzilla]

Yep that I do. Have 6 white cars at the house right now...

Bug update coming soon.

[LERM]

Don't be too hard on yourself about the project A.D.D. Getting distracted by desert toys describes the last 15 years of my life! I think it's just part of living in socal.

Looking forward to bug updates.

[Bugzilla]

Yep that is the Socal life I guess. We are surrounded my deserts and mountains. The natural habitat for a Jeep. This is now the 5th Cherokee I have owned in the past 15 years haha. I got my shackle angles all fixed over the weekend so the Jeep is pretty much done now. Just have to wait for my custom shackles to come in. That will be an easy swap though. So, that could possibly mean Bug time this weekend (if I decide to not take the Jeep out). I really need to pull the engine out to see if I have any good rods left in it. Thats the only thing I am waiting on in order to start the new engine build. Everything else is just sitting on the work bench ready to go. But man, I really do not want to pull the engine out. So much work. The interior is already gutted but that was the easy part. Now I have to pull off the rear suspension to get the axles out (spindles at the minimum) and then attempt to wiggle the engine and trans out the door without scratching the dash or cage. Yep going to be a blast.

[Bugzilla]

Small yet big update for today. I have pulled the Juke out of the garage and moved the Bug to the middle. Lots of room to work now. I believe that means I will have the engine out this week.

[454bug]

Hey man,

I'm sorry to hear about your parts breakage... But, like you said, you wouldn't be pushing hard enough if you weren't breaking parts!

Unfortunately, this is not an inexpensive hobby. Especially when you have life, family, work, and other projects getting in the way of progress. You've got plenty of years to enjoy the car. Just take it at whatever pace you can afford. I've done that for years. I actually like the build part of the project too. It's a lot more fun racing the vehicles but I get a lot of enjoyment and friendship time during the build as well.

I have always had hotrods in my life but I have had a TON of distractions along the way. I got into 3-wheeler and 4-wheeler racing, water skiing and kneeboarding, flying radio controlled airplanes, college football tailgating, etc. They all took time and money away from my car projects. They were all short-term hobbies (except for the college football tailgating) that were always replaced with car projects...

Good luck with the rebuild and keep up the great job on the car!

[Bugzilla]

Ray - Thanks for the words of inspiration! And yes I have had many distractions along the way haha. But it has been well worth it. I guess I really dont mind the Bug being down for so long since I have already completed most of my goals in it. Once it is back up and running, I probably wont even drive it that much. I do enjoy driving the Jeep probably more then the Bug. Yes it is slow and doesnt like to turn or stop but that keeps me out of trouble. BTW I really like the big changes you are doing on your Bug. I have been lurking on your thread for quite a while now. Keep up the good work!

[Bugzilla]

I guess I cant upload picture's from my phone since I updated it. Awesome. And to make things worse, photobucket isnt working like normal. So no pictures tonight. I will try again tomorrow on a computer. The engine is pretty much ready to come out. All I have left are the 4 mounts that hold everything in. Progress, finally.

[Bugzilla]

Not sure what is up. I cant add pictures through the attachment option even on a normal computer. And photobucket is still not working. So I guess no pictures it is. I will try again once the engine is all the way out.

[Bugzilla]

Still cant post pictures.... well the engine is out. I also popped the pistons out. Spun bearing on #2 as expected. All the other bearings look horrible. Metal went through this thing for sure. I will order another rod tomorrow and start getting the new engine built. Good news is the clutch looks brand new!

[Bugzilla]

Well stupid Photobucket is working today.

[Bugzilla]

Another small yet big update for today. My replacement rod showed up today. It was the last of the last parts I needed. That means on Monday I will send out my rotating assembly to get balanced. Should have it back by the end of the week if all goes well. Then on to building the new engine! Finally.

[Bugzilla]

Well not everything goes as planned when you order custom parts. I got a call from the shop balancing my rotating assembly today. Looks like the wrist pins are a little too big. Somehow they set the pistons up for a LSJ wrist pin and not a L61 wrist pin as I specified. So back to not building the engine and once again waiting on pistons. I swear every single custom part I have ordered has come to me wrong. And not just with the Bug, same thing happens with my Jeep...

[Motown 454]

That sucks, taking longer to build is part of this hobby but waiting for parts a second time is a kill joy. Stay positive.

[beater65]

Boy that looks like too much fun digging that motor out.