'73/1500

[beetlejessica]

Raj, we devoted most of today to tinkering with the Squareback - and had some good luck. We're hoping to be able to drive it to the Air Raid!

When we covered the 3/4 carb the other day, the engine did sputter, so we definitely have a problem at 1/2. Took the carb inside to clean it and blow it out, but it seems pretty clear from our experiments the other day that there's a leak in the throttle body even if we can't see the source of it.

What do you think about the excessive heat by the distributor, pulley and surrounding part of the case?

[Glenn]

Too lean or too much advance.

[Raj]

Just for s and g's, and if you carbs will allowit, try swapping the carbs from side of the motor. The problem should follow the carb, if the issue is indeed the carb.

I'm stumped on the heat thing. Is that part of the motor hotter than the rest of the case? Can you toss in your old dizzy and try to replicate the issue?

[D-A-N]

Just for s and g's, and if you carbs will allowit, try swapping the carbs from side of the motor. The problem should follow the carb, if the issue is indeed the carb.

I'm stumped on the heat thing. Is that part of the motor hotter than the rest of the case? Can you toss in your old dizzy and try to replicate the issue?

Our old distributor is a vac only one designed for a 30 PICT1 or 2 so I'm guessing it won't work for this application. I'll try getting the advance down a degree which would put us around 28. Maybe that's the "sweet spot" for this engine and these carbs.

If I switch them, they'll be backwards. They'll mount fine, but then no access to the problem spot on the throttle body which will be facing the firewall....

[beetlejessica]

Put back in the 1/2 carb today, with the addition of Permatex Aviation at the seams. Pulled the plugs and found that 1 & 2 were black and sooty! However 3 & 4 were oily. Changed all four.

Now, we can cut off the engine when 1/2 is choked. Just for fun, tried choking 3/4...and the engine kept running
Now wonder if we shouldn't have also brought in 3/4 and given it the same treatment 1/2 got.
Sprayed for vacuum leaks, but didn't find any. 1/2 still hisses when the air cleaner is off (3/4 doesn't)... but maybe that's what it's supposed to do? At this point, we don't even know what anything is supposed to be like.

Took it for a ride around our neighborhood - ran great, had power, was real zippy, and only had some minor hesitation in 2nd gear after having to slow down (not enough to need to downshift) and re-accelerate.
After the drive, still idled kinda funny - idle wanders and when it dips down, black smoke comes out of the tailpipes. When idle increases, black smoke goes away.

Any ideas about why it runs rich when the idle dips and/or what to do about it?

[Raj]

What happen to the Brooklyn chapter of the DVG? Any update on the carb/ idle issues?

[beetlejessica]

Ha - Brooklyn chapter is still here! We've been so fatigued by the other guy (Type 3) that we've been annoyed by having to spend time fixing our "reliable" car! To make things more complicated, Daniel is back at work after a 3 week vacation (during which we dedicated every day to working on the T3 (90% of the time), or driving waaay out of the city to swim and relax). I've mostly been moving the bug around to avoid street cleaning tickets (4x every week) while occasionally checking in/tuning the engine and carbs. And in the midst of working on the carbs, we changed the fan belt which was worn out. After we put the new one on, the fan started knocking so we had to deal with that too. Then the wire loop on the condensor broke off from the screw and it took a while to figure out why it wouldn't start, etc. etc. We're like the Bad News Bears sometimes....

Latest moves: Valves were readjusted. Spark plugs checked and changed. Mixture was set. Idle was set. Tightened carbs to manifolds, put Permatex Aviation around suspect seams. Manifold is no longer cold. Still isn't perfect, but muuuuuch better than before. Yesterday, we double checked the timing and made a slight adjustment, putting it back to 30* from 28* which gave it more "zing".

Our two remaining problems are:

1. After a bit of driving, the idle dips WAAYYY low....like down to 600-700 even though we've set it at around 1000. Black eye-stinging exhaust when this happens. Not sure why. Maybe too much fuel is coming in at idle causing it to run rich and bog down?

2. A little bit of hesitation after shifting into 2nd and also 3rd but less so than into 2nd. We had this even when we first got the car back from Tony. Fixed it then via the linkage but now we're wondering if maybe it's a fuel issue.

Today, either before or after I clean a rodent nest (I suspect chipmunk) out of the left side of the engine on the T3 (previously thought/hoped the nesting material was only on the right side ) I am going to bust out the sync tool and play with the mixture and idle screws again while the engine is definitely HOT.

Any tips/pointers on how to solve those two problems? We need to have 1 running car so we can make it to the show on Sunday!

[Raj]

Dan and Jess, How are you guys? Any update on either of the vws?

[D-A-N]

What's up Raj?

No offense, but I'm afraid it's a jinx to answer your question. You're the first person to respond to us since the last time we answered that question 2 months ago!!

[Glenn]

Best carb for an 1800 build?
'69 FI Squareback: The Continuing (Mis)Adventures

[Raj]

What's up Raj?

No offense, but I'm afraid it's a jinx to answer your question. You're the first person to respond to us since the last time we answered that question 2 months ago!!

Sorry, i didnt realize the issue was outstanding. Is all sorted now or still in the works.

I was just thinking about you guys so I wanted to reach out.

[D-A-N]

What's up Raj?

No offense, but I'm afraid it's a jinx to answer your question. You're the first person to respond to us since the last time we answered that question 2 months ago!!

Sorry, i didnt realize the issue was outstanding. Is all sorted now or still in the works.

I was just thinking about you guys so I wanted to reach out.

Raj…..I was trying to make a joke but I guess it caught lost in the internet.

We do STILL have a problem with one of our carbs. That's how come we weren't at the Air Raid…no running cars.

We've narrowed it down to running rich all the time no matter the jetting, timing, new needle valves, fuel pressure, compression and all that. We've been working around it by driving a lot less and changing plugs all the time so buy stock in NGK! I wish I'd picked up that 34 PICT 3 and dual port manifold from you back in April so we could've sent the damn carb to get looked at.

The Type 3….well that's a whole other story. He's coming along fine, just a lot more slowly than we anticipated. Our Samba thread (http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewto ... &start=560) is up to 29 pages and 20,000 views . We've gotten some amazing help and parts from people on there so if anyone is considering a Type 3, there is help (and parts) out there!! We have to finish putting on a new exhaust system and do a front end alignment before we can go for a nice long ride.

In other news, we're getting ready to build an 1800. Starting out with a fresh new case full flowed, an Engle 110 cam, a 74mm DPR crank, DPR connecting rods and lightened flywheel, everything balanced and etc. Tomorrow our Dellortos should be arriving from Italy. Still haven't decided on an exhaust yet.

Guess we've been pretty damn busy. You?

[Glenn]

Dan,

If you need a hand when its time to assemble the engine... drop me a email and i'll try to help.

[D-A-N]

Dan,

If you need a hand when its time to assemble the engine... drop me a email and i'll try to help.

Thanks for that Glenn.....I definitely think we'll be needing some expert input!

I'll also post pics of progress. Hoping to maybe build up the crank this week....just waiting on a delivery of some Plastigauge.

[Glenn]

I never used Plastigauge. if the crank and rods are "blue printed" then there should be no problem when you set them to factory torque. Also there's not much you can do to alter the clearances without taking it to a machine shop.

[AoT]

Guess we've been pretty damn busy.

From all that you posted I would say a definite YES!

Good luck getting some of your issued buttoned up so that you can put some miles on the road!

[Raj]

In other news, we're getting ready to build an 1800. Starting out with a fresh new case full flowed, an Engle 110 cam, a 74mm DPR crank, DPR connecting rods and lightened flywheel, everything balanced and etc. Tomorrow our Dellortos should be arriving from Italy. Still haven't decided on an exhaust yet.

Is this the ' big' motor you have been contemplating for some time? What size P&C's you going to run?

[D-A-N]

I never used Plastigauge. if the crank and rods are "blue printed" then there should be no problem when you set them to factory torque. Also there's not much you can do to alter the clearances without taking it to a machine shop.

Well everything was supposed to be dynamically balanced but now that I think of it, I didn't provide DPR with rod bearings and they didn't ask for them so now I'm wondering if these are just a "generic" set of DPR end to end balanced rods for use on any standard journal crank and not "blue printed" to my crank specifically.

Raj...I'm using those "heavy duty" 88mm slip-ins we talked about once.

http://vwparts.aircooled.net/Piston-Cyl ... -in-aa.htm

Haven't read a bad thing about them yet and starting with a new case I somehow didn't want to bore it out and be stuck with that bore for "life"

I got the L3 heads through ACN too but they're made by DRD

http://vwparts.aircooled.net/ACN-Stocke ... s-pair.htm

[Raj]

nice. Sounds like a neat little motor you got there!

[D-A-N]

Does anyone have a preferred assembly lube or at least one they'd recommend to someone building an engine in a spare room in their apartment? In other words not motor oil?

[Glenn]

I use engine oil and GM EOS supplement.

I use white lithium on the lifters and in the oil pump.

[Raj]

I use this liberally

http://www.amazon.com/Permatex-81950-Ul ... B000HBNVSK

[D-A-N]

Thanks for the tips.

So far, I have this cam assembly paste that Matt used in his build and I was going to use it on cam/lifters.

http://www.cbperformance.com/catalog.asp?ProductID=484

And Glenn...I'm thinking that because my work area is indoors that maybe the better option for bearings, etc. is to go with lithium grease so I don't get the stink (and substance) of oil all over our apartment for weeks on end.

Raj....I've seen that Permatex stuff before. Good for indoor use?

[Raj]

Raj....I've seen that Permatex stuff before. Good for indoor use?

I have yet to build a motor outside so I'm gonna say yes. Lol

I'll see if I can read the label on my bottle to see if she ont like that.

[Kermit]

I use this liberally

http://www.amazon.com/Permatex-81950-Ul ... B000HBNVSK

I totally expected that link to lead to a KY sale page.