by Chris | Sep 1, 2019 | Auto tech
I have often seen the thin green o-rings around the tops of the wbx cylinder sleeves blamed for fire ring leaks, so maybe a little reality check on that question is in order. In the ten years of my wbx rebuilding business, we tore down close to 200 wbx’s, and a lot,... 
by Chris | Aug 13, 2019 | Auto tech, News, Redshiftt
Time for a Redshiftt update. The 6-relay/receiver control box design is nearly final, so here’s a rendering from Solidworks: Overall size is about 9 x 5 x 1 5/8″. The base is stainless steel, while the cover is transparent red vacuum-formed polycarbonate... by Chris | Apr 24, 2019 | Auto tech
Over my ten years building wbx’s commercially, it took to my 45th engine before I had one develop a fire ring leak* . Fire rings, or combustion seals, are multi-layer steel (MLS) rings that seal the cylinder sleeves to the head. These normally install dry and depend... by Chris | Apr 22, 2019 | Auto tech, News, Redshiftt
Since I drive a VW Vanagon Syncro, one of the first applications for Redshiftt I focused on is adapting positive air pressure servos to replace the feeble and expensive vacuum-powered servos the factory used to operate the diff-locks and driveshaft decoupler. This is... by Chris | Apr 20, 2019 | Auto tech
I’ve always chuckled quietly to myself when Vanagon people justify their plan to convert their van’s engine by stating, confidently and a priori, that their fuel efficiency will naturally improve by swapping the engine to something “modern”.... by Chris | Apr 2, 2019 | Auto tech
In online discussions about replacement coolant pressure caps for Vanagons, people often talk about blowing, quacking, making kazoo sounds, etc. as confirmation that their new cap is OK. Some of these folks are undoubtedly referring to a short, funny little video...