Finally starting on a blow through Kadron motor

[buguy]

Very likely. Once i changed cams i had to run a ton of initial timing to get it to run correctly. That cam was a 150@50 duration and was just too much for a stock engine i think. Even still when i backed it down to 10 degrees it would struggle to run, but that turbo was whistling like a mother!

[Lo Cash John]

Well, this is LOOOOONG over due.

The 1600 Kadron motor has been up and running for about 9 months now. Here's a peak at what it looks like now.

[Lo Cash John]

And just for giggles, here's a quick video from VW Drag Night back in July.

This was the second 1/8 mile pass ever for this motor AND my buddy Danny "Buggy" Gilbert. This is the first high performance VW he's ever driven and he had ZERO racing experience before that day.

[madmike]

"lookin good" John

[John S.]

Nice!

[buguy]

Time for a 2 step!

[Lo Cash John]

Finally getting back to some updates.




Here's the Kadron motor shortly after installing it in my buddy's car. It looks all business and run really well too.

Once we sorted out a few bugs he used it to drive to work (35 minutes each way), go to cruise in's and just drive the wheels off of it.

[Lo Cash John]

So after playing with the tune a little bit I just couldn't get it to pull past about 5200 RPM. I was convinced it was a combination of the Engle 100 cam and the basic CB "heavy duty" single springs on the heads. The RPM's combined with the pressure of boost acting on the back side of the valve was probably causing mild valve float and making power fall off a cliff right after 5200.

So I had my buddy bring me the car so I could make some changes.

We opted for an Engel TCS-10 cam, Engle lifter, CB heavy duty aluminum push rods and ditched the modded/stock adjuster screws for SCAT swivel feet so we could ditch the lash caps. It had spit the lash caps off once and that made my buddy really nervous. I also pulled the "heavy duty" springs and replaced them with CB 650 springs BUT with the outter springs only, then shimmed those to within 0.150" of coil bind.

I also made another little tweak to the emulsion tubes to help fatten up the top end.

I TIG welded the fan, including the thick washer at the center.

The goal was to easily pull 6,000RPM to extend the useable power band and let the motor breath but still be something you can hop in and drive to work any day of the week.

Below is the latest revision of the emulsion tube and comments.

[Lo Cash John]

So from a video previously posted, we went to the track and did some testing. That video and this next couple were all from VW Drag Night 2020 in Orangeburg, SC.

Things to remember:

Danny, the owner/driver had NEVER been on a track in his life.
The car is in NO WAY set up for a fast engine. The rear is lowered and the sump would SMACK the track on every pass.
This was still running the lighter valve springs and cam so the motor wasn't turning much past 5100 RPM.





This was actually a REALLY GOOD pass with a good launch. If this motor combo was capable of 6,000RPM this would have been a 8.99 pass I'm certain
This was also when we found out for certain the sump was hitting the track

[Lo Cash John]

So we made all the changes I had mentioned with the TCS -10 cam, springs, blah, blah, blah...

We also added air shocks to the rear (He still wants to roll into cruises and stuff with a low rear).

Oh yeah, we changed transmissions too. We had actually broke the ring & pinion at Drag Night in July so yanked that box (4.37 by the way) and stuffed in another stock box but with a 4.12 R&P. The prior combo was hitting the 5150 RPM shift light in 3rd gear just before the finish line with the old box so we knew this one would carry further with the longer R&P.

Keep in mind we finished this re-configured motor, and installed it and the trans the NIGHT before drag day then drove 4.5 hours the next morning with an unproven combo. Can you say "dumbass"?

Anyway, Danny hoped in and made a pass. The motor was bogging at the line and he had a TERRIBLE launch BUT the car went 9.40 at 77mph. This was literally the first time Danny drove the new combo and he was amazed. He said "Dude, it just kept on PULLING". Also it never even reached the end of 3rd gear before crossing the line.

So in the pits we fire it up and when the clutch pedal gets mashed in, the motor stalls. Turns out the TO bearing on the trans we put in was on it's last leg the night before.

So we hustle around trying to find spare TO bearing from ANYONE but no luck. No racers, no vendors, nothing. Then in the swap we see a guy with bunch of stock parts in the bottom of a bucket I found a TO bearing the was rusty but the bearings felt good and it spun free. We got it for a dollar then proceeded to pull the motor and swap the bearing right there.

Pictured are Danny the owner (far right) our buddy Kurt standing and our buddy Andy on the ground.



Anyway we did the whole swap in about 60 minutes which is amazingly fast when you think about the plumbing involved in a blow through motor.

New TO bearing worked PERFECT and we then got Danny on track and made some passes.

[Lo Cash John]

So this is the first pass of the day we got video of


With the rear air shocks aired to 150PSI, the rear end sits up at a stock height and the compression is much stiffer. With the improved traction Danny kept finding himself not being aggressive enough and slightly bogging on the line.

[Lo Cash John]

Here's a few more passes

[Lo Cash John]

This is probably the best run of the night.



The best we managed was a 9.40 at 77 or 78mph and that was with 60ft times in the 2.4 to 2.7 range. But, we had LOADS of fun at the engine performed very well overall. With some seat time I know Danny will get an 8.99 out of this combo and that's pretty damn good for a 1600 in a full weight sedan and can drive any where, any distance.

[buguy]

So with the new cam and springs did it ever pull to 6000 rpms?

[Lo Cash John]

So with the new cam and springs did it ever pull to 6000 rpms?

Easily pulled passed 6k. In fact the night we fired it up, and I made a test run down the street from my house it went past 6K before I realized it. I actually don't know where the power drops off now. But because this is built as a driver and not for all out power I set the shift light on 6K and that's where Danny is going to leave it.

Keep in mind the fastest VW he'd ever driven before this was a 1679 with a 100% stock bottom end and a 34 carb. This thing makes over double that power so it's a mind blower to him.

Now Danny and Kurt are making plans to build a drag buggy using a Manx clone they have. Not sure if it'll be radical but streetable or 100% track but it'll be turbo for sure. They are totally hooked on turbos now.