A whole bunch of questions

[Mockmaw]

Well, just spent a weekend getting my car back into operating condition. Drove it for the first time.. I'm very excited!

There's more to be done though.. here's a whole bunch of questions I have. I'm back in Berkeley, so it's time to start researching in preparation for my next trip in mid-May when I'll be driving the car up here from San Diego.

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1. I've decided to stick with the Bursch Exhaust system that came with my car.. it's not in the best condition cosmetically, but functionally it's great.. I think. There are two holes about the size of a nickle on each side of the muffler (the pipes are solid though).. is muffler putty a suitable material for patching these holes.. or is there a better way to patch them? In addition, is it possible to purchase replacement chrome muffler tips for the Bursch?

2. I've conquered all the oil leaks in the engine except for the push rod tubes (grr.. I didn't realize them before doing the valve adjustments and getting the valve covers tightly in place.) Is there anyway to fix this oil leak short of taking the valve covers off, taking off the rockers, taking out of the push rods.. then the push rod tubes? If not, do valve adjustments need to be redone after removing the rockers?

3. I need to add some bass to the stereo system, I figured the easiest and most cost effective way would be to add an 8" Bazooka Tube right in front of the passenger seat. Has anyone tried this? Any idea how much leg room it cuts out? Does anyone have an opinion or any experience with Bazooka tubes of the 6" or 8" flavor?

4. Does anyone have any experience with mail ordering tires? I understand its a very cost effective way of obtaining them. If you think it's a good idea, do you have any recommendations of places to look for?

5. Is there any type of air filter replacement for a '72 1.7? I have no problems with the filtering capability of the oil bath.. it's just huge and constantly in the way.

6. I'm thinking about building my own center console, but I need one of those bent heater levers. I searched all over the Pelican Parts site but cannot for the life of me find it.. is there a link, or does PP no longer offer it?

7. I have the old style window cranks.. and they really suck... is there any type of replacement that I can use that works a little bit better but essentially screws on to the current crank base?

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

2. Is there anyway to fix [the push rod tubes] short of taking the valve covers off, taking off the rockers, taking out of the push rods.. then the push rod tubes? If not, do valve adjustments need to be redone after removing the rockers?

Not really any other way to fix the leaks--RTV will leak again--and you should at least check the adjustment after you R&R the rocker arm assemblies. Remember, the torque on the retaining nuts is 10 lb-ft! Which means you have to torque them at TDC, otherwise the valve springs put too much tension on the rocker shafts.


3. ... an 8" Bazooka Tube right in front of the passenger seat. Has anyone tried this? Any idea how much leg room it cuts out?

MikeZ did. It didn't seem to cut down on the legroom appreciably, since it tucked right under where thhe passenger's legs went. He said the sound was pretty good--as I remember, it was no match for the Malmzzx-mobile or Jeff Shyu's cars, but competent. (Malmzzx and Jeff both built up custom enclosures and such.)


4. Does anyone have any experience with mail ordering tires?

Tire rack. http://www.tirerack.com I've always had great service from them, very good prices, and the tires if shipped from Reno will show up in two days or so. Finding a good local shop to install them for a reasonable amount of $$ may be a challenge. You can sometimes use the TR ads (or a printout from the website--which nobody I know would alter before they printed it, right??) to get the locals to come down on their prices too.

I used to get the tires mounted & balanced at Costco; it was officially against their policy but the guys there didn't care. I've also gotten the locals to match TR's prices a few times. And one other local place used to offer (still does??) a lower-priced mount & balance for "racers".


5. Is there any type of air filter replacement for a '72 1.7? I have no problems with the filtering capability of the oil bath.. it's just huge and constantly in the way.

The 73 1.7 had a paper-element filter. That's about it. You can fake something with a K&N or similar filter...


6. I'm thinking about building my own center console, but I need one of those bent heater levers. I searched all over the Pelican Parts site but cannot for the life of me find it.. is there a link, or does PP no longer offer it?

I don't remember. You can find them used (there was one at the Don & Glenn swap meet this past Sunday in San Bernardino) or you can make one. Heck, if you're making your own center console then just make one that doesn't require the lever too be bent!!


7. I have the old style window cranks.. and they really suck... is there any type of replacement that I can use that works a little bit better but essentially screws on to the current crank base?

The later 914 cranks do. Some Rabbit ones do. The Rabbit ones might work a little better, but the other 914 ones will probably be more of the same. New cranks of any kind might work better, though--sometimes simply having new parts makes a huge difference.

--DD

[JRust]

3 & 6. If your going to build a ceter console why not build a box to hold yor 8" or 10" sub? I already have the stock center console so I built a box that sits a the passengers feet. There is some foam allready down there that you can use for space. I put a 10" sub in there & it sounds great. It does cut leg room quite a bit. I would probably go with a 8" if I did it again. I think you could build a box for a 8" without sacrificing the leg room. I did however make my box so it can be removed easily. I would build your center console to hold your speaker though. Just my .02

4. I've heard good things about tire rack but haven't actually used them yet.

Good luck

[kena]

Here are sources/ideas for alternative air filter box setups:





Buy it here: http://www.9xauto.com
As far as I can tell these are for 1.8/2.0 only. Not sure how different 1.7 is.

[Va914]

What filter is that on the 2.0L intake?

[kena]

K&N....

[Va914]

K&N from what car, truck, bus..etc?

[karlp]

There was a post a while back that contained fairly complete plans for a center console. you can find them by searching here for "center console", I'm sure. I've been planning to modify the plan to include an 8 or 10" sub. Changing it a little would let you work around the bent heater handle.

Karl

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

The French 914 Club has plans and such for the stock-type center console.
http://914france.ifrance.com/914france/console.htm

Google will do an automatic translation for you:
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://914france.ifrance.com/914france/console.htm&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dconsole%2Bcentrale%2B914%26hl%3Den

Other setups are quite possible.


You can make something very similar to the K&N filter setup from PVC tubing, oversize radiator hose, and hose clamps. The 1.7 intake is very different from the 2.0--it is a bit more similar to the 1.8, but still not the same.

--DD

[kena]

VA914, sorry I don't know the model or from what car this filter is from. K&N has a pretty good website where you can locate a filter by dimension www.k&nengineering.com.

[Mockmaw]

I've been looking at the French plans for a couple weeks now.. still can't decide if I want to make a realistic center console, or make my own beast. =o)

What's the consensus on speakers in the center console? I've heard 2 6x9's fit.. that seems like pushing it. For that matter, has anyone had a stab at an 8" sub?

[anthony]

I've been thinking of doing the same thing with a custom console. It appears that you can fit a single 8" sub in there.

I saw that JL Audio makes a 6.5" subwoofer (model 6W0-4). I was thinking that two of those wired in parallel might be good too. They require a .175 cu foot sealed enclosure. The only thing I don't like about them is that they aren't very efficient (only 82db). Kenwood has a 6.75" sub that has a 90db efficiency.

Another thought was making a custom enclosure that fits under the dash. There seems to be a lot of room under there especially on the passenger side and it wouldn't take up leg room.

[Mockmaw]

Ahh. I'd forgotten the enclosure needs to be sealed.. this implies making it out of 3/4" MDF and caulking the sides really well? That would make things much more difficult.. but that's the only way to get good sound out of a sub.. no?

Is this also the case with, say, 6x9 speakers? Does it need to be a completely enclosed and air-tight?

[boxstr]

The air filter with the white tube is just a piece of PVC from Home Depot and the K&N filter, The brass pieces that you see sticking out are for the various hoses to plug into. There are other K&N filters that you can adapt to your car, try to get a catalog or go to your local FLAPS that carries the K&N.
Craig C. Laughlin CAMP 914

[Zeke]

Actually the speakers (especially the larger ones) need a little reciprocating air. The trick is to insulate the speaker enclosure while allowing the air to equallize. Needs to be sealed around the face of the speaker and the panel it's fastened to more than perfectly sealed everywhere.

[SummerSledSix]

That reddish-purple cone filter in the pictures could also be a "Power Flow" filter setup as sold by Performance Products, I think the manufacturer is MSD or MSDS, something like that. Have one on my motor to replace the funky 3.2 airbox that wouldn't fit under the lid, no complaints.

[Mockmaw]

Hmm... so when people have stock center consoles, do they enclose the open rear and top sides when placing two 6x9's?

[JRust]

I really isn't to hard to build an enclosed box. Maybe you build two to get perfection if thats what you want. You can easily fit an 8" sub in there with some tweets for great sound. If you let it come into the passenger side a bit a 10" is doable too. Whatever you decide I think you'll be happy with the results. I'll try to post a pic with my box for yah later.