Wishlist for the Nomad...

[MGVWfan]

OK, I've been collecting nags/annoyances/things that aren't quite right about my '73 412 Variant. Here's a list of projects for 2010, stuff that I would like to work on. Parts sources should be junkyard/car breaker or readily available FLAPS/VWFLAPS. Any other ideas from your wish list?

1. Fit a more modern alternator, something that can keep up with the VWoA air conditioner or the Eber at idle and still charge the battery. Target is 75A at idle. Looking at "Frankensteining" a Nippondenso from various MoPar's of late 80's through present vintage...
2. More oomph from the Eber aux blower, a bigger blower that fits in the cubbyhole in the engine bay of the Variant body style where the current one goes. Looking at the rear aux blower for certain Ford vans, might work. #1 enables #2.
3. Cruise control, preferably the BMW motorized variety like from an early 90's 5-series.
4. Delrin front suspension (and maybe rear suspension) bushes.
5. Secondary A/C condenser in the spare tire well...got the little condenser from a Geo already, just need to install it. #1 enables this one, too, due to the need for another condenser fan motor...
6. Auxiliary oil cooler for those blasted hot Texas summer trips
7. Transmission oil cooler and filter...external pump of some sort needed.
8. Paint the thing.
9. Reupholster the front seats
10. Replace the side and rear window gaskets
11. Distributorless ignition (or at least keep the dizzy and its advance hardware, but use it to trigger a set of coils).
12. Rework the right gauge cluster, needs CHT, Oil P, Volt gauges, and a tach if possible, in addition to the fuel gauge. I like the little tach on the New Beetle's cluster, it's perfectly legible and SMALL.
13. Find a better brake MC, one that's not almost unobtanium, with better feel etc. Ray's been looking into this one...
14. Do the BMW 320i front caliper upgrade...already got the calipers, need to get them machined to fit.
15. Consolidate all the added relays/fuses into a single block in the (front) boot/trunk...you know, the A/C, Eber, fuel pump, accessory, etc. relays and added fuses for above and my GE Rangr amateur transceiver. They're spread out all over the car right now.
16. Adjustable rear camber (Ray's mod).
17. Install the rear anti-roll bar (got two, one with the kinked section, one without, just need to install it).
18. Grease fitting provision for the rear wheel bearings (Ray's mentioned this before, good idea).
19. Wider wheels so I can fit modern tires sometime.
20. Wireless remote controlled run for the Eber (after I get the high-volume blower, and the high-output alternator to recharge the battery quickly)
21. More interior illumination, add a dome lamp assembly maybe?
22. Find a good home for the stereo speakers, they're currently surface-mounted and get in the way
23. Fix the warped demister ducts, expecially the driver's side, and increase demister flow
24. Fix the broken rear window demister traces
25. MAP sensor replacement for the MPS. Gotta be a way to condition the output of a modern MAP sensor so the D-Jet ECU can use it in place of the MPS. Would keep D-Jet cars on the road even as MPS's become unobtanium.
26. Get Ray to mold us some new front turn signal lenses ...man, those originals are hard to find!
27. Fabricate some rigid fuel lines to replace as much of the (expensive!) rubber lines as practical.
28. Make a electronic switching/relay box for the Eber to offload the old switch contacts (ignition points, fuel pump points, thermoswitch) and make them last longer. Fuse the various loads independently so I know what happened when something blows its fuse.
29. Replace all the steering stuff with a rack and pinion...less chance of monkey motion due to slightly worn tie rod ends or whatever.
30. Do the Ray strut cartridge mod (Quantum/Rabbit strut)

Of course, all of the above depends on $$$, so we'll see if the Grinch harshes my mellow this year or not

[vwbill]

What about this Alternator?? Ebayer # 130351737976 . Bill,jr.

P.s. Did you see Bill K.'s pics of his rear disc brake setup and the greasers for the rear bearings and the delrin bushing rear and front? And Ball joints! His looks sweet now! Must ride nice too!! We need more of a step by step of those jobs with pics!!!

[albert]

MG, you have the pict.

[MGVWfan]

Thanks Bill. That "75A" optional OE bus alternator does not produce 75A at idle...it's only about 10A better than the 55A alternator at idle, and that means something like 25A. And it'll not produce its full 75A output (when the engine's spinning 2000 rpm or more) forever. To get an alternator that produces 75A at idle, you gotta move up to a late model like a ND 90A or 120A, used on the second-gen MoPar minivans, high-end Toyotas, etc. They key factor is that these newer alternators are rated to spin faster, so you can use a higher-ratio pulley setup and not overspeed the rotor, bearings, sliprings, brushes at redline. And, that Bosch bus alternator will be unobtanium in about 5 years, it's already impossible to find some rebuilding parts for them. They were an option for a few years only, and are even rarer than the 55A alternator in our T4's.

[albert]

MG,, look on the audi ,,200 turbo,, 110 amps,, 70-75 amps at 1000rpm,,

[MGVWfan]

That's a good lead Albert...merci!

On second thought...

http://www.autohausaz.com/search/imagee ... AL179X.jpg

The adjustment bracket end mount is clocked about 90 degrees off, that's one of the "gotta haves" to make any replacement work, due to the tight spaces in the T4 engine application and the adjusting bracket configuration...and the price

http://www.autohausaz.com/search/produc ... ber=al179x

This is kinda what I'm thinking...

http://sd.autohausaz.com/autohausaz/ima ... 405BOS.JPG

http://sd.autohausaz.com/autohausaz/det ... 33-1604405

It's the 120A alternator for a '94 Grand Voyager (though the image is of one with the v-belt pulley from, say, an early 90's MoPar V8 application). I've got a dead one (pulled from our '94 Voyager a while ago), using it as a fit-check mule...just a few minor fit issues.

[vonkr]

9. Reupholster the front seats

You need new upholsters for your seats? I've got a NOS set, brown/beige color, for seats
with headrests. I can make a picture if you want, please let me know

[raygreenwood]

OK, I've been collecting nags/annoyances/things that aren't quite right about my '73 412 Variant. Here's a list of projects for 2010, stuff that I would like to work on. Parts sources should be junkyard/car breaker or readily available FLAPS/VWFLAPS. Any other ideas from your wish list?

1. Fit a more modern alternator, something that can keep up with the VWoA air conditioner or the Eber at idle and still charge the battery. Target is 75A at idle. Looking at "Frankensteining" a Nippondenso from various MoPar's of late 80's through present vintage...
2. More oomph from the Eber aux blower, a bigger blower that fits in the cubbyhole in the engine bay of the Variant body style where the current one goes. Looking at the rear aux blower for certain Ford vans, might work. #1 enables #2. I have twin blowers on my 412 coupe that really do the trick. They are twin stock blowers. I added an extra hole into teh plastic scoop and cloesed off the inboard leg of each of the two blowers....so the remaining one outlet each gets higher pressure. essentially I have one blower for each heat exchanger. Maybe install a second stock one on the other side of the variant....and block one outlet on each
3. Cruise control, preferably the BMW motorized variety like from an early 90's 5-series.
4. Delrin front suspension (and maybe rear suspension) bushes. the company that I am quoting seals for the clutch slave can make these in the blink of an eye...and has delrin like materials that are even harder than delrin. Perhaps I shoudl quote a group buy on both front control and rear trailing arm bushings from this company?
5. Secondary A/C condenser in the spare tire well...got the little condenser from a Geo already, just need to install it. #1 enables this one, too, due to the need for another condenser fan motor...
6. Auxiliary oil cooler for those blasted hot Texas summer trips
7. Transmission oil cooler and filter...external pump of some sort needed.Are we talking automatic? I am working out a version for gear oil circulation on the four speeds. You could probably use the same pump. Its the rabbit power steering pump. Marvelously small...a bit larger than my fist. Like most power steering pumps its a ssliding vane and fixed cavity design inside. I am making it work for low pressure with thick gear oil by opening one up and removing every other sliding vane. A pump like this would be perfect for transmission oil. they are $100 plus a $7 core minus pulley at rock-auto
8. Paint the thing.
9. Reupholster the front seats
10. Replace the side and rear window gaskets
11. Distributorless ignition (or at least keep the dizzy and its advance hardware, but use it to trigger a set of coils).
12. Rework the right gauge cluster, needs CHT, Oil P, Volt gauges, and a tach if possible, in addition to the fuel gauge. I like the little tach on the New Beetle's cluster, it's perfectly legible and SMALL.
13. Find a better brake MC, one that's not almost unobtanium, with better feel etc. Ray's been looking into this one...
14. Do the BMW 320i front caliper upgrade...already got the calipers, need to get them machined to fit.
15. Consolidate all the added relays/fuses into a single block in the (front) boot/trunk...you know, the A/C, Eber, fuel pump, accessory, etc. relays and added fuses for above and my GE Rangr amateur transceiver. They're spread out all over the car right now.
16. Adjustable rear camber (Ray's mod).
17. Install the rear anti-roll bar (got two, one with the kinked section, one without, just need to install it)Let me know when you get close to doing this and I will make a simple mold for the urethane bushings that will work with a beetle sway bar clamp set but allow the use of a stacked pair of bars. I also have a drawing for making the outer link froma piece of bar stock, aset screw and a grade 12.9 8mm screw..
18. Grease fitting provision for the rear wheel bearings (Ray's mentioned this before, good idea).
19. Wider wheels so I can fit modern tires sometimeFor basic budget wheels, bolt right on and run 205/60-15's....the 5.5" 356 style chromies that mangles/Eagle makes are perfect. .
20. Wireless remote controlled run for the Eber (after I get the high-volume blower, and the high-output alternator to recharge the battery quickly)
21. More interior illumination, add a dome lamp assembly maybe?I found that if you are crafty...you can slit the headliner on teh other side in the same position...do some fine drilling and cutting...and install an identical interior light on the passenger side that you have on the drivers side. Be careful slitting to headliner and it will look like factory. Then snake your wires to the door post and add a spare 4 wire door switch like drivers side.
22. Find a good home for the stereo speakers, they're currently surface-mounted and get in the wayI built a deck for the back that sits 2" below seat back level on the ledge. It is partitioned in three sections with a center section with a lift up lid to reach the heater glow plug sections. I have four 6.5" round speakers in the back inset at a30* tilt forward. I have a drawing f or the sheet metal cups I made to hold and enclose them. I have semi surface mount 6.5's in the front door. By that I mean that they have a similar part to the rear that allows them to essentially surface mount part of the way and recess about half of what they would into the door and are angle up about 15*. I am still contemplating adding a pair of recessed inside panel speakers underneath where the rear seat ashtrays "were". Thats four speakers front channel and four speakers back channel. I have a few ideas for the variant.
23. Fix the warped demister ducts, expecially the driver's side, and increase demister flow
24. Fix the broken rear window demister traces
25. MAP sensor replacement for the MPS. Gotta be a way to condition the output of a modern MAP sensor so the D-Jet ECU can use it in place of the MPS. Would keep D-Jet cars on the road even as MPS's become unobtanium.Sigh.....I just need to finally finish the replacment diaphrams this year if you are willing to re-install them on your own original adjusting screw cores....I can have them out by May. The chambers internally rarely if ever die. If the thing does not get wet or burn out a winding...again rare....two decent MPS's and a few spare diaphrams and you will be set for life.
26. Get Ray to mold us some new front turn signal lenses ...man, those originals are hard to find!
27. Fabricate some rigid fuel lines to replace as much of the (expensive!) rubber lines as practical.
28. Make a electronic switching/relay box for the Eber to offload the old switch contacts (ignition points, fuel pump points, thermoswitch) and make them last longer.Or....do a little wrok to be able to use high quality after market points like blue streak that are cheap, available and less prone to carbonizing. I have already designed a little machined part with a replaceable nichrome wire coil section that will enable us to screw a standard spark plug into it...to replace the original glow plug unit. It should also allow the use of most any coil. Fuse the various loads independently so I know what happened when something blows its fuse.
29. Replace all the steering stuff with a rack and pinion...less chance of monkey motion due to slightly worn tie rod ends or whatever.
30. Do the Ray strut cartridge mod (Quantum/Rabbit strut)