Making an 82 Rabbit pick-up not suck at moving

Sheet metal patch work looks GOOD! Nice job there. Where on the car is that exactly? Front cross-member/radiator support?

In reply to Mezzanine :

Yes, Radiator support, that's the bumper bracket next to it. 

Got to work on the truck this weekend and a few hours Tuesday morning. I've been sorting out pedals!

So old on the right, new on the left. As you can see, the old stuff is way more compact. My first instinct was to just cut off the extra stuff in the way or off the firewall and make the whole new pedal assembly fit.  However I ran in to 2 problems, the potentiometer on the drive by wire sits much too high. And, the clutch is hydraulic and the master cylinder and connecting rod goes right through the steering rack... so, no. 

Here's the original pedals installed, step one, cut that gas, scratch that, diesel pedal off the firewall. 

My brother took pictures on Saturday so hey, that's actually me!

Next, chop the throttle assembly off of the TDI pedals. 

Here is the TDI assembly ready to be attached to the old pedal box. 

In the stock position, the potentiometer stuck up above the pedal like this.

There is not much room above the pedals and it would likely interfere with the heater core, so we flipped it over. 

This was our first attempt to tack the bracket in place and you can see the cable isn't lined up that well. 

So I cut that back off and made an addition to the bracket. It was way easier to line it up, drill one hole. move it to the right angle then drill the second. 

With the pedals installed, I realized that the throttle was way too low. We mounted it low because the potentiometer was supposed to go above it. After the flip I had more room, so I moved the whole assembly up a few inches. 

It's still lower than stock but it's better. 

Moving right along, I want to put the steering colum back in before I do anything else. It's going to be tricky and interfering with the clutch master. And before I do that, I want to sort out the ignition. I got the key, tumbler and switch from the TDI which has more pins on it than the older one. It was removed in less than ideal circumstances though...  

A sawzall was likely deployed. Luckily, the 83 cylinder is exactly the same as the 98! 

After a quick youtube search, I found that to get the tumbler out you have to drill a small hole and push down a tab. 

Started with the broken one cuz I knew I would miss!

I drilled out the other as well and got it on the first try (barely)

Reassembly went real easy and look at that. Obligatory turning the wheels and making vroom noises to follow!

Really wish I could make this key work but it doesn't fit any tumblers I have. Oh well, makes a great light-pull. 

Next up, brake booster. Here are the two boosters, 83 -98

As you can see, the old one is an inch longer and has a different pedal adaptor. I'm using the old brake pedal, and one extra inch can make all the difference...

So, scrap steel. 

Cut it out. Unintentional artist formally known as prince. 

And weld them up. 

Doing small jobs and finishing them the same day sure is satisfying!

Next step won't be so easy though, I need to get the clutch master located. Here are the issues: There is a steering rack in the way, the old system was cable activated, the new one, hydraulic. I could backdate it to the cable system but it looks as if the cable shifter will interfere with the clutch pull...

So, my options are, Make a cantilever to pull the master cylinder, maybe make a custom cable actuated one, or try and install the master cylinder under the dash and backwards? Any ideas guys? 

Master backwards under the dash is what I have done on EF civics...

Cantilevered. For the Rube-Goldberg aesthetic. 

BirgerBuilder said:

Yeah, I'm a bit of a hippy and generally don't like removing pollution controls, but I might have to make an exception this time...

 

I haven't read through the whole thread yet so if anyone has suggested the following, I apologize.  I'd look at those turbo shaft oil seals.  There shouldn't be that much oil in the intake tract.

EDIT:  Also sorry I ruined the flow.  Didn't know where this thing was going to land.

In reply to Jerry From LA :

You're likely correct. I started working on intercooler placement and there was a ton of oil in the turbo piping as well. 

Looks like a cantilever system is going to win out. I would have preferred to mount the clutch master under the dash but there was no way to place it below the brake booster, which it shared a reservoir with. So I would have had to add an extra reservoir under the already cramped dash. 

Plus, I found a spot to mount everything under the hood which shouldn't interfere with anything else. 

Here is the 80's cable pull that was installed.

Give it the chop!

Here are the components laid out, all very simple. 

To cut the cable, use zip ties. I think I learned this trick here but maybe I saw it on Road Kill?

After that, you can put a spot weld on the end and the zip tie just melts off. 

After that, I drilled a hole in some bar stock and welded it up. 

Now we have a much shortened cable pull. But what am I going to use for the pivot arm?

The 90's clutch pedal is conveniently the right shape to attach to the Clutch cylinder!

BirgerBuilder said:

Really wish I could make this key work but it doesn't fit any tumblers I have. Oh well, makes a great light-pull. 

 

Next up, brake booster. Here are the two boosters, 83 -98

As you can see, the old one is an inch longer and has a different pedal adaptor. I'm using the old brake pedal, and one extra inch can make all the difference...

So, scrap steel. 

Cut it out. Unintentional artist formally known as prince. 

And weld them up. 

 

Doing small jobs and finishing them the same day sure is satisfying!

Next step won't be so easy though, I need to get the clutch master located. Here are the issues: There is a steering rack in the way, the old system was cable activated, the new one, hydraulic. I could backdate it to the cable system but it looks as if the cable shifter will interfere with the clutch pull...

So, my options are, Make a cantilever to pull the master cylinder, maybe make a custom cable actuated one, or try and install the master cylinder under the dash and backwards? Any ideas guys? 

 

 

 

 

You can buy the key blanks really cheap online in a variety of cool styles.  I put together a mkiv switchblade setup for El Rabbitto for just a few bucks.

 ↑ I may have to look for a similar key blank, the 98 key is both bigger and uglier. 

So the wife and kids were away for 2 days. Much productivity to commence!

First I had to finish this though. 

Looks a little better than the open cess-pit.

Now on to the truck. I attempted to sort out the clutch but hit a snag, more on that when it's finished. So I switched over to the shifter instead. 

The old system had a clunky series of levers and arms, the 98, just two cables. Someone makes a backdating kit to use the old system, but why spend money when you can just... not?

Step one: cut a hole in the box.

After moving the cables a few times, over, then under the steering rack, to the left, then the right side of some old brackets. I found a configuration that would give the cables the right amount of distance to function and the shifter box to sit in the correct spot. 

Now, the box needed some extra clearance but, easy enough. 

The hardest part about this was fabbing up the panel to go over the cables. I started like this, before realizing it was a non-starter.

I wanted to form them angled down to floor level. If I had some appropriate tubing, I could cut and weld it in, but none could be found. 

So I made this crap-traption. 

You can see in the lower right of the photo, it actually kind of works. 

To really get them the right shape though, the correct setup was required. 

I got best results this way, clamp them in the vise, then beat the bejesus out of the bolts with an 8 pound hammer. 

End result... good enough to be hidden under the carpet and/or yet-to-be-made center console. 

Mezzanine said:

Sheet metal patch work looks GOOD! Nice job there. Where on the car is that exactly? Front cross-member/radiator support?

Having re-read the top of the page today, I realized I never thanked you for your kind words. Considering how my sheet metal patching looked when I started this project, I accept this high praise with honor! 

Ha! No way man - your patch work looks great. This is how we all learn- it's always good to show the range of quality. When I started doing this stuff my work looked like crap compared to the perfection we see on the internet. I try to share the ugly too because it helps prevent other noobs from getting discouraged.

The forming job on your shifter cables looks really solid. Good work getting stuff done on the sidewalk too - gotta do a little work on the house too!

Finishing up the shifter took a little longer than I expected. All I had left was a few bolts, so I thought. 

Here are the captive nuts welded in to hold the shifter box, (pre grinding). 

The first two went all right but I put the third under the car since there wasn't a double layer of sheet metal like the others. 

This was a mistake since it took twice as long and the welds look like they were done by a blind monkey. (no pictures of my shame) 

Also, I couldn't find the specialized nut and bolt that connected the shift linkage to the transmission. I guess I could have ordered an off the shelf replacement but since I've been fabbing everything else up, the thought didn't even cross my mind. 

You can see the piece of bar stock I ground down to fit inside the lower linkage in the above picture but I still need a bolt with a large step down. I was going to turn one on the lathe but I found this instead. 

It's already threaded to the 8mm size I had picked out for the lower threads. It's just a little larger than the shift cable so I turned it down a few thousandth. 

Finished up and parted off.

Below, installed on the bolt, just add a washer for the top. 

No picture of the finished install but you get the idea. And here is the shifter bolted down with the cable cover plate as well. I still need to make a locater bracket for the cables where they run under the truck but I'm calling that done for now. 

Very impressive.  Way beyond my skill set.   Please carry on.

Thanks for more kind words, friends!

Let me see if I can get this clutch sorted out now. 

I needed a bracket to hold the master cylinder and the lever arm, so I started with a CAD template.

Next up, a basic bracket took shape. 

I was also planning to use the old clutch pedal as the new lever arm, which got me here. 

The problem here is that, while it's hard to see it in the picture, there is not much plastic behind the cable pull. I was worried that over time it would deform and break. Also, the plastic is just a bit too bulky and would possibly run into the vacuum booster. 

So looks like I need to fab a lever. Before that though, I wanted to bolt the bracket down and have a determined location for the pivot point. 

So, I drilled a few holes and lightly hammered some flange nuts into the hole, welded in place. 

Alright, now I have a jumping off point. Next, I had to source so aluminum tubing, I had a tiny piece that was perfect but too short. Local metal shop didn't have it so I asked my friend Brucifer. The original chunk came from his machine shop and he scored me another 3 foot section of it. (I'd say 75% of the metal I've been using to fab things has come free from his shop) 

I milled a hole in one end to place the plastic bushing from the master into. It jam-fit in there nicely but I figured it would slide in over time. So I milled a stop-block. 

This is pushing only affair but I wanted to keep things together anyway so I trimmed the broken plastic bush and made a hold down tab. 

I trimmed the extra lever bits and milled a slot for the cable end. I still have to make a second hold-down tab for it. 

Ok, I have a few days off for 'Murica so I should have no trouble finishing the bracket, mounting the master cylinder and hopefully, checking that this thing actually preforms it's intended purpose! 

Also! Maybe I can get my new toy sorted out. It's been bothering me for quite a while that I can't weld aluminum. It's not so much that I need to weld aluminum as that I need to stop not being able to. 

Great fab work! 

Thanks!

I had a fairly productive week, though I spent way more time putzing around with the welder than working on Patches. That's alright though, cuz I've got TIG! Sort of, still more issues to sort out but proof of concept, it works. 

Here's what did get done though. Made a little spring clip.

That makes sure the cable doesn't come off the lever. 

Then I got the last of the bracing done for the pivot mount. 

And actually got the Master cylinder mounted on there. 

As you can see in the above picture, it still has a major flaw in the system. 

So, it gets a snip and a good cleaning, and presto. 

I ran out of black rust-o-leum, so that's why this bracket was manufactured by John Deer. 

All in all, not too bad!

Installed and set up with a temporary reservoir. 

Because most importantly... It works!

I left my camera pointing down the flywheel inspection hole and pushed the pedal, we have movement! 

Please ignore the background music, it gives the video the wrong vibe... 

BirgerBuilder said:

I ran out of black rust-o-leum, so that's why this bracket was manufactured by John Deer. 

This just increased the towing capacity by a thousand pounds because my inner redneck says tractor paint makes everything better.  Also, that spring clip you made is slicker than an oil spill on whale blubber.

That little port sticking off the side of the brake reservoir is the take off for supplying the clutch master. Look for one already opened up or just drill out and connect to the clutch master. 

This just increased the towing capacity by a thousand pounds because my inner redneck says tractor paint makes everything better.  Also, that spring clip you made is slicker than an oil spill on whale blubber.

Now, that, is a complement! 

vwcorvette said:

That little port sticking off the side of the brake reservoir is the take off for supplying the clutch master. Look for one already opened up or just drill out and connect to the clutch master. 

Yup, the hose has been cut to length and connects up, It's just hard to fill the reservoir with no brake lines attached. Hence the small bucket filled with Dot 3 underneath after it all came leaking out. 

A near complete list of the essentials, if I'm gonna get this thing moving by October. 

First on the list! My brother came over and we hemmed and hawed for a while before deciding to stick with my original idea of sticking it where the battery used to be. Batteries don't need to be air cooled, so this takes priority seating. 

A beautiful mounting design to start. 

Next, break out the CAD device. 

A car, as drawn by my 4 year old. Also a bracket. Make it steel. 

Old locater/isolator bushings fit in some drilled out holes. Sure are ugly though...

Did I have too many summer ales when I made this up? Whatever, it fits, brace it.

Add etching primer, build a second bracket, less photos cuz my brother made that one. 

Speed holes drilled, 

And we are installed. 

You can see the airflow space underneath. The plan is to build some ducting and a little 'scoop' under the car for air flow. 

Oh yeah, that second bracket isn't doing much yet. 

Rather than weld it in so close to the motor mount, (probably wouldn't interfere, more likely I would just hit it with the engine by accident and bend it up) I made a captive nut and locator pin. 

Needs paint, but hey, she's in there.

If you aren't putting the bumpers back on you could use the chassis horn as a duct for air to the cooler.