Date: Fri, 4 Apr 2008 21:00:57 -0700
Reply-To: neil N <musomuso@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: neil N <musomuso@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Need inspiration. Lacking motivation on my engine conversion
(Warning! Severe Whining Within! --- ;^)
In-Reply-To: <285d01c896ca$b8b85ef0$6401a8c0@DJZL7KF1>
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All good advice Scott and MUCH appreciated.
True to my nature I get pretty focused. Overly so in some ways. "Step
at a time. Step at a time. Focus. Gotta get the ____ done". My
determination is good in a way, but can work against me in some ways
too. You're right. I should move on to different aspects and see if
the engine even fires up. I bought it from a reliable source, so it
should. Regardless, as you say, it would be inspiring to hear it run
and bring energy into this project.
I wonder how loud it'll be with only half the exhaust on? --- ;^)
And you're offering $300 for it unfinished?
Ummm..... may be I'll keep it. --- ;^)
Yah for sure starting with an air cooled to convert was enough right
there. Let alone making my own stuff and "designing" some aspects of
it.
Gee that's not much for a newbie is it? Heh heh.
But I was warned..... ;^)
I'm taking tomorrow off.
Neil.
On Fri, Apr 4, 2008 at 8:11 PM, Scott Daniel - Shazam
<scottdaniel@turbovans.com> wrote:
> I hear you.
> Discouraged temporally - that's normal.
> They do take a LOT of time and effort don't they !
> Just take a break.
> Think about something else for a while.
>
> Also.......look at is as enjoying the process itself, rather than only being
> interested in it being done.
> Besides, they are never really 'done' to me. They are only at stages of
> competition. There are forever ways they could be more refined, or more
> elegantly finished, or more features added on, etc. I view them as works or
> art.
>
> Well, a time deadline never helps. I always advise against that. I see
> vanagon people wanting to pull off some conversion in a given amount of
> time, like say 6 weeks, and it's their only car ( big mistake ) or there is
> a time deadline, or financial pressure, or partner/spouse pressure- all ways
> to NOT do it.
>
> I don't regard it as whining as in 'oh poor me' but as sharing your process,
> which you have done all along, the ups and the downs, the advances and
> setbacks - very touching actually and so wonderful we have this opportunity
> and resource.
> But ......yeah, It'll never be worth beans anyway. I'll take it off your
> hands for 300 dollars, and you deliver it ! or just ship me the engine and
> what you have done so far. Then you won't have to worry about it anymore.
> ;-)
>
> I just advised a guy today to not start with an air-cooled vanagon for a
> water-cooled engine conversion. That adds considerably, plus....the 'first'
> anything is always a lot harder.
> Heck, even after they are done I've spent 40 hours sorting and fine tuning.
>
> Which......btw.......is why I advocate moving toward having it running in
> the most direct way.....
> Several reasons for this ......and it might include firing it up before I
> do an exahsut system, for example.
> First I want to see the engine mounted to the trans and in the van.
> Then I want to see the clutch working, the shifter working, and the starter
> working. ( at that point I have a van that can move around on it's starter
> even )
> Next I want to see the engine run.
> I go for that directly - get the wiring harness and fuel system hooked up
> and working.
> I run it before even mounting the ECU under the back seat or anyting, just
> in case I have to pull out the whole wiring harness to check it over. I
> just lay the ECU and wring next to the engine for example. I don't have an
> air filter or an exahsut system at that pont, but I have confirmed that much
> of my basic work is correct, like the wiring harness, and that the engine
> gets oil pressure and so forth.
> What's really good about this is it keeps up the energy of the project.
> I'm not done yet, but I have a van that can move under its own power, and
> I've confirmed work up until that point is good.
>
> THEN......it's only embellishments after that really. I do the exhaust
> system next.
> Then air filter system next after that.
> If the oil pan is to be shortened, I do that very last, and sometimes only
> after a few weeks of driving around.
> In your case of converting a air-cooled, I'd barely have the main pipes and
> radiator hooked to it. Each step of the way, do as little as is practical to
> move directly to a van that fires up and can move under it's own power.
> I don't even do alternator until after I know the engine runs. Always in
> order of priority, as long as I'm not making more work, like take something
> back apart to do something that should have been done at an earlier step.
> Heck, I might even run the engine in the van with the main coolant hoses
> going to and from a large bucket......you want to get to that first
> ......rrr, rrr VROOOMMM !! ...... and then settle to a steady noisy idle, as
> directly as possible. It SURE RAISES THE ENERGY OF THE PROJECT !
>
> Had you done that, and were at that point now, knowing all you needed to do
> was finish 8 major areas say......you'd feel a lot better right now.
> You'd at least have something that runs, but right now.....you don't even
> know what that might take yet, so I don't blame you for being discouraged.
>
> ( another tip, is stop on the exhaust say, for now, and work on the wiring
> harness for a while, if that's still needed. In other words, if you get too
> burnt on one area, work on another . )
>
> Several times I've done things not in this 'primal' order, and regretted
> it. Last time I final-installed an ECU wiring harness, it had to come back
> out for a wiring work correction.
> I let one guy talk me into doing head gaskets first on a Subaru engine -
> that engine turned out to have a knock in it. Always move directly to 'it
> fires up and runs' first, THEN do embellishments like exhaust system and air
> filter, and charging system etc. When I first fire off an engine
> conversion....half the systems aren't hooked up yet, charging, power
> steering, tachometer, air fitter, etc. They are a lot easier to do too,
> knowing that they are details that need to get wrapped up on an already
> running engine conversion.
> It keeps the energy of the project up too, and gets you the closest to
> 'running and done' the most direct way the soonest. It's applying energy
> where it will do the most good the soonest.
> Scott
> www.turbovans.com
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
> neil N
> Sent: Friday, April 04, 2008 7:29 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Need inspiration. Lacking motivation on my engine conversion
> (Warning! Severe Whining Within! --- ;^)
>
> Hi all.
>
> I'm sure others have gone through this, but I've never done a project
> like this before and I'm just kind of, well, mentally stalled.
>
> I don't know why, but it's all just hitting me now. Even though the
> engine is in place, the learning curves I've been through, and more to
> the point, will go through on all this, combined with the thought of
> just how much stuff there is left to do, seems a little daunting.
>
> I swear it's not so much the work left to do. It's the running around
> gathering parts, returning parts, studying up and redoing things (more
> than a few times in certain cases) that is un-inspiring me. Maybe
> discouraged is the word. Plus it's such an "all consuming" project
> that seems like it will never get done!
>
> And my hopes of getting it finished in time (end of March. Ha!
> Beginning of April. Double Ha!) to do more than just a few days of
> camping before my gig begins, were a little unrealistic and likely
> won't happen. I thought I had left enough time. Still, I am unhappy to
> know that in all reality, it may be a couple more weeks before it's
> running with major bugs worked out.
>
> I'm trying to see "the journey" angle with all this, which I see from
> time to time, but frankly I just feel a little overwhelmed and really
> just want to get it done.
>
> Oh yes. I know. "Boo hoo". Enough whining! --- ;^)
>
> Any inspiration, advice, stories, mental slaps up-side my head, or
> humour to motivate me to get this thing done are more than welcome!
>
> --- :^)
>
> Cheers,
>
> Neil.
>
> --
> Neil Nicholson. 1981 Air Cooled Westfalia - "Jaco"
>
> http://web.mac.com/tubaneil
> http://tubaneil.googlepages.com/
>
>
> --
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>
--
Neil Nicholson. 1981 Air Cooled Westfalia - "Jaco"
http://web.mac.com/tubaneil
http://tubaneil.googlepages.com/
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