I've sorted me brakes out and am making headway into getting a windscreen. The next thing on the list is that the car has no oomph at all.

I've not had a lot of time on this, other than to look at the spark plugs, which are dry and sooty. I understand this to be the mixture is too rich.

If I rev the engine when at idle, there is a hesitation and then it revs. If I'm really lucky, I'll get a back fire inside the air filter ...!!

On the road the car is sluggish. You can't drive at anything below 40mph in 4th. Basically it feels very under powered. I sure that this isn't right, even though the VW flat 4 isn't the most powerful 1600 by a long shot.

I believe that it is fitted with a Bosch 009 distributor. Only by the fact that there is no vacuum pipe on it. The serial number ends in 009, but I can't see Bosch written on the casing.

This is mated to a 34 Pict-3 carb, which I understand to be a standard fitment to a flat 4 1.6.

Any answers on a postcard will be gratefully received.

Knighty, if you fancy a trip out in your's one day, I'll put the kettle on.

Steve, just to be sure I think you should change the two rubber seals which link the central inlet manifold to the two outer inlet manifolds that bolt to the heads.......they are notorious for leaking and making the engine run badly, they only cost a few quid..........dont get too excited about getting good performance out of the 1600 aircooled engine.........I would advise you first get a decent 4 into 1 exhaust manifold, this will be a simple bolt on modification, with no tuning.........then perhaps some twin carbs...........but to be honest if it was me I'd bund in a 1.7 8v alfa-sud motor.......115bhp easy

yeah, when is convenient to pop over?.....I need to come take a look at your fug-2......you available anytime this weekend?.........

Knighty,

After about 4pm Saturday, from 10am-noon Sunday (someone's offered up Sunday roast and beer...can't turn that one down !!)

All day Monday

I've had a look at the seals and they are corroded. I take it that the back pressure doesn't build up because they are leaking ??

Remember a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing...........which makes me very dangerous indeed then ..

Steve-T - sounds a bit like behaviour I inherited. I would gap the plugs, check the points (or buy new as they are not too dear), set the tappets (stone cold), check the timing - all after new rubbers are on - and see if any improvement. Next I would clean out carb, maybe apply the 'overhaul kit' sold by VWH. Still nothing, I'd test the compression and perhaps start considering an engine rebuild. But that's just me :D . However, you are lucky to have Knighty near. I'm sure he will help you get sorted. :)


Cool running! :ph43r:

Right then, how do you get the shagging side manifold way from the centre manifold ??

I've undone the rubber seal
I've undone the nuts to the side manifold - moves a bit
I've undone the metal plate next to it - moves a bit
I've undone the tube that runs from the centre manifold to the exhaust - side manifold moves a fair bit more, but not enough to take it off and slide off the rubber seal..........

Any ideas please ?

You need to remove the two nuts completley from each side manifold, then once you have taken one off, the other side will be easier to remove........when you bolt everything back together, make sure your bolt joint/flange surfaces are all nice and clean and flat, same for the join between the centre and side manifold - use some fine sand paper, I would also use a light smear of silicon sealant, from your local DIY or motor spares shop, this will give added sealing insurance..........I'm told the rubber seals can sometimes require a bit of playing with, as they can sometimes not seat properly when first tightened up.

If you think you have a persistent air leak, get the engine running and aim the odd squirt of WD40 at various suspect areas of the inlet manifold, and the revs will slightly rise when it consumes the WD40 via the air leak

are the times you stated when your available or when NOT available???....

wise words from fuge pilot - check the points timing - easily checked with a cheap strobe light, if the inlet is OK, I wouldnt be surprised if the points are shagged - dont worry, easy and cheap to fix.

As for the carb overhaul kit - after fitting it, get a mobile emissions van around to your house, call Mick on 07860 558524, he will tune the carb according to the exhaust emissions, and get it running as sweet as a nut - he re-set my alfa-sud carbs for £30

F&*K me I forgot - your air filter may be glogged and blocked - when the manifold is re-assembled - run the engine with the air filter in place - then remove it and see how the engine runs.......this was why my engine run on 3 cylinders!!!!!......carbs can be quite temprimental with a blocked air filter

Knighty

Done the air filter...looks fine.

I take it I need to keep removing more bits to get the side manifold off, coz it ain't coming yet ??

The times are availibility - 07905 390062

OK it looks fine, but did you run the engine with and without the air filter?.........I have just looked at the size of the air filter on the old e-bay pictures, and I must say its a very small air filter.......take the filter off and rev the engine hard, poss take out for a drive.....let me know.

yup keep unbolting stuff - you may even need to remove the alternator - not such a big job

OK - all being well I will pop round at about 1pm-ish on sunday, e-mail me your post code and house number on stephen_knight@eea.co.uk, get a strobe light and I'll help you with the ignition timing.

cheers

knighty

Steve - also another check - when you have the inlet manifold off. you will notice there is a heater link-tube which bolts to both of the rear exhaust pipes, this is there in order to prevent the manifold icing up - which makes the engine run like 5hit.......blow through it and see if its blocked.......also, even if it aint blocked, for good measure get a wire coat hanger and give it a good ram up there to remove any scale and crap........the best method i have seen is by placing some 4mm diameter cable in the tube, then place the exposed end ina drill chuck and giving it a good whirl.......be careful with this latter method :( :ph43r: :( :ph43r: :( :ph43r: :( :ph43r:

I like it :) - one to remember methinks.

Attaboy Knighty. ;)

To be frank Steve-T, I struggled manfully with my 34 Pict-3 carb but never achieved a relaible idle :( , hence the switch to twin webers. :D

Part of the justification for such profligacy was the abnormal state of my engine c.f. standard - counterweighted crank, lightened flywheel (relieved to see 8 dowels when it was off) and the presence of a lumpy cam: but apparently the cam is standard - so said the rolling-road man.

I just try not to think about mpg. :blink:

Steve
I have some bits that I have taken off my 1.6 twin port which may help ?
These are the manifolds rubbers carburettor etc.
I now run twin IDF's a bit lump when cold but they have made 1st gear almost redundant for me. :D
You get no advantage with BOSCH 009 dizzy on a standard setup in fact performance and driveability is worse.
People think they are better but with a standard carburettor it works best with the vac on the standard dizzy.
However these can and do wear and this can and will affect timing.
You need to check this make sure there is no wear on the shaft.
Points setup is crap all modern cars use electric ignition for good reason.
If you can’t afford it now budget for it £50.00 new £25.00 ebay if you are lucky.

Some electronic igniton makers products are crap they shall remain nameless in case of libel.
I use the Petronics electric ignition and it seems very good.
I use their full setup with their coil and leads and it immediately improved running significantly while increasing economy by around 10%. Why ? with the full setup you can open the gaps on the plugs significantly.

One note the Bosch blue coil despite all the myth is no better than the standard one in terms of performance believe I have bench tested both.
Timing must be checked

Anyway once we have sorted the ignition on to the carb.

The things I found with these carbs are:

They not designed for performance more economy!!!!
However before despair.
Check
1. The carb is opening fully.
With some one sitting depressing the throttle look at the butterfly on the carb.

There should be two butterflies the top one is for the choke.

2. The electric choke is working or adjust it so it's always open.
Obviously you will then have to sit and warm it up first before going for a blat.
This is always a good idea on an oil cooled engine anyway.

These things certainly improved my car.

3. That there is no air leaks round the spindles as they wear.
Again with an opo have the car running at constant rpm and spray a small amount of wd40 at the carb spindles . If the rpm increases then this is being sucked in and the spindles are knackered. bye bye carb

4 The other think to use is a colour tune which will show you what the combustion is like in the cylinder. You should then be able to adjust the mixture if needed. May I suggest you look at Dave and Ron’s VW tech site it’s very good especially for your setup as its bog standard at the moment by the sounds of it?
Taking the plugs out and checking colour only gives you the setup for idle.


If you want performance junk the standard carb

You first need to decide whether to go for twin or single carb.

Twin is optimum but is expensive and time consuming fitting.
Harder to setup (£599.00 new)
Second hand is possible if patient I did it for a lot less than a third.
Single with a twin choke is a very good second alternative a lot cheaper. (£239.00 new)
Second hand (£40.00 ) plenty of sources i.e. 1600 MG Maestro.

There are lots of good web sites and there are pro and cons for the progressive carbs.

The other thing is to get your car to a weigh bridge and find out how much it weighs mine was very over weight for Fug it's going on a diet.
It's the cheapest performance mod you can do.

I hope this of use sorry it’s so long good luck.

Bob ;)

Steve

http://www.airsouls.com/how-tos/dcnf_manifold.htm

For a fairly cheap performance mod if you can fabricate the manifold.
If you are interested I maybe able to get the manfold made up


Bob

Bob,

Sorry for being ignorant and not reply, I didn't see you message until now.

I've adjusted the timing by ear for now. It was well retarded and has made quiet a difference. The car is now driveable, but not quick. When I get a minute, I'll move on to setting up the carb.

Cheers for your advice,

Steve

Wots happened to Knighty, has he turned into a Dad ....??? I thought it was December time though......

Right, I've finally sorted out the timing with a timing gun. It's set at 0 degrees TDC.

I, well we, have been fiddling with the mixture using numerous amounts of literal tuning advice and a spark colour tune. We are still getting hesitation on the throttle ..........

The other strange thing is that when adjusting either the air or fuel, neither seemed to have a great effect on the running of the engine. This is especially so with the bypass screw, which can be fully wound in and the engine still idles at 1000rpm. This kind of suggests that the crab is getting its air from somewhere else. It makes no difference with the air filter on or off. I've also checked the crab seating gasket with WD40 as well as the two inlet manifold gaskets.

We have been working to the following

http://type2.com/bartnik/carb.htm

The fell I brought the car off stated that they had a fabulous time with it in a sand quarry. This was borne out by the amount of crap in the fuel filter, since replaced.

Could the hesitation be caused by fuel starvation due to sand reducing the bore of the fuel pipe?? The depression of the throttle demands more fuel, the fuel flow is unable to meet the initial demand, but then catches up after a momentary delay.

Answers on a postcard gratefully received please.

steve - I think you need to remove all the jets from the carb and ensure they are not blocked with sand, just a few grains in one of the tiny jet bores will give you grief........not that hard a job to do, a haynes manual will have an exploded view of the carb.

Steve-T

Two things as far as I can see from your words... you still have an air leak fast idle confirms this, does it take its time to come back to idle when you blip the throttle, is is another sure sign you have too much air.
Also, the igntion timing is retarded (hence the hestitation). First things first...put the strobe light away save that for a modern engine. It will only run hot if you set it up with that! :o

You need a simple 12v light with two leads for a Vee Dub. Take off the dissy cap, the rotor turns clockwise. There is a mark on the edge of the body to indicate #1 cylinder (#1 is the one nearest the front of vehicle RHS as you look at it, #2 is nearest you #3 furthest LHS #4 nearest you) Crank pulley turns anti clockwise. If there is two marks on it, time to the RH one, if one mark then use this (on 1 mark = 0 deg TDC 2 marks (RH) one is = normally 5 - 7.5 deg BeforeTDC .. BTDC)

Put one end of the lead to the points, the other to earth, swith ignition on and rotate crank anti clockwise (always one way to stop back lash in gears). When determined mark on pulley is in line with split in case, adjust dissy till light comes on, repeat untill happy. If after setting up the carb it still hestitates a little then a little advance twick on the dissy is fine.

Carb wise I think most have covered this. The pre-heats on the manifold are troublsome. I block mine off, contrey to popular belief these do not go into the inlet manifold so will not cause a leak. Its just a loop designed to keep the manifold from freezing by running the exhaust thru it. But you will need to block off the exhaust end of this. I would look first at the rubber gaters, this is a rubbish idea and a pain to change, but definitly the weakest link. Then the base of the carb where it bolts onto the manifold. It is not uncommon for a carb stud to strip if you try to nip them up once too often. Thirdy I would check the manifold to head gaskets, if you have had these off check for crap down between the tinware and the manifold...easily done. Re tune the carb as per hanynes manual, good step by step in there. Obvious question but I suppose you have blocked off all the vacuum take off's on the carb except the one to the dissy(if its the standard set up)

The 009 is better it gives a longer advance curve. The reason it doesn't feel better is you get a lag on the vacuum dissy then it kicks in all at once. The mechanical one is more progressive that's all. The 050 is better still but really best for bigger engines / twin carbs. Final check for standard dissy is to pop cap off and stick a tubs on vacuum advance suck on it and make sure advance plate in dissy moves.

Lastly check the engine over, you could have a cracked head or sticking valve / broken spring. Pop the covers off and check. Do a compression test. You are looking for 4 similar figures...if they are it isn't that!

Phew !!!! Hope this helps a little, let us know how you get on? B)