What not to do

hambone · Post by **hambone** » Mon May 14, 2007 8:30 am

"Never make a borderline decision against safety and for convenience" says John Muir...well I did. Let me tell you.
The first tuneup on the Beetle, a 1971 1600 SP block. Nice all original and rebuilt, correct distributor air filter th' werks. The middle owner (we're the 3rd) bought the car from an old gent, but he was kind of kooky..one of those guys with stored cars that don't get driven. So this little Beetle sat in an aircraft hangar for 3 years, only driven 500 miles. It was running moderately well, but sooty. Plugs came out smoothly but sooty, points were shot. Getting ready to put the new ones in but what the hell the wire is going the wrong way and it's too short...crap Bus Depot sent me the wrong ones! Well, I gotta get this car on the road for my wife, so I cut the wire and soldered in a new piece, wrapped it in electrical tape..."let's see how long this lasts" I think...
2 weeks. That's how long it took for the electrical tape to get hot, fall off, and the bare wire to get grounded and melt in 1/2. I also carved the round plastic condenser lead too much and it sat too loose in the distributor...a comedy of errors.
It's all fixed, works well. And I still feel like an idiot. All because some nitwit in Pennsylvania picked the wrong part # off a shelf somewheres...

Bookwus · Post by **Bookwus** » Sat May 19, 2007 2:59 am

Hiya Ham,

A couple of comments.............

Is the engine original? Seems to me that the engine (stock) in a 71 Bug should be a dual port. That, as I recall, was the first year for the 1600 DP.

I do a bunch of business with the Bus Depot, but almost all of it is for Bus oriented specialties. For tune-up stuff I hit Discount Import Parts. Great prices and I can look the stuff over before I haul it home to install. No waiting for the mail is a plus also.

Hippie · Post by **Hippie** » Sat May 19, 2007 5:54 am

I had that happen when I ordered by model year instead of distributor number.
I could not seem to get it straight that the '64 Bug I had, had a '70 engine.

Rob

hambone · Post by **hambone** » Mon May 21, 2007 10:34 am

It's not the engine that came with the car, it's a '71 I think.
I think '68 came with a s/p but am too lazy to check it out. Maybe even a 1500. I know they added vent louvers in the decklid when the engine size was increased. The 1600 does run a bit hot, I may have to put those decklid standoffs on to increase airflow.

Hippie · Post by **Hippie** » Mon May 21, 2007 12:49 pm

A 68 would be a single port. 99% sure it was a 1600, too.
I had a 1600 sp in the 64 w/o the extra louvres and it didn't run hot at all.
I don't know why it runs hot unless that's a dual port thing.

Rob

hambone · Post by **hambone** » Mon May 21, 2007 1:03 pm

thanks for the advice. I think that heat riser leak is making it run a bit hotter.

tristessa · Post by **tristessa** » Mon May 21, 2007 1:29 pm

Hippie wrote:A 68 would be a single port. 99% sure it was a 1600, too.
I had a 1600 sp in the 64 w/o the extra louvres and it didn't run hot at all.
I don't know why it runs hot unless that's a dual port thing.

Stock for '68-'69 Type 1 was a 1500 singleport. IIRC, 1970 was the only year for a 1600 sp in the T1 range.

The extra louvers were more for the "doghouse" oil cooler than for the carb/intake. I ran a 1776 in a '65 for years with no hot-running problems. Doghouse shroud, all stock tin in place, dual Kadrons. I *did* space the bottom of the decklid out about a half-inch to make sure of extra air, and I did the bottom because I felt (and still feel) that the traditional decklid standoffs look ... stupid.

hambone · Post by **hambone** » Mon May 21, 2007 2:13 pm

Yeah they do look awful. I hope the JB Weld seals the leak, if not it's new manifold time.
1500! I'm not cracked. Much.
I'm glad to hear of everyone's experiences with larger than stock engines in earlier Beetles!

Hippie · Post by **Hippie** » Mon May 21, 2007 5:14 pm

Well I was 99% wrong then. A 1500 it is.
I didn't know the heat riser was leaking. I missed that part. Maybe that's it after all.
You can get a new (good used) one from BFY. I had to replace the '64/'70 intake because of that.
Usually, when they are leaking they are also plugged with carbon and you'll never get the engine to tune right for a single carb without it preheating properly.
I tried everything to get the carbon out and that's when I discovered the leak.

Rob

tristessa · Post by **tristessa** » Mon May 21, 2007 9:05 pm

Hippie wrote:I tried everything to get the carbon out and that's when I discovered the leak.

Three-day soaking in a tub full of Berrymans B9 Chemdip, an old clutch cable chucked into a drill and a torch did the trick for me years back, but 1200cc/40-horse manifolds didn't grow on trees even then. A 15/1600 singleport should be fairly easy to find if needed.

Hell, I think I tripped over a 1600 SP manifold last time I was in Trafton's back lot.

Hippie · Post by **Hippie** » Tue May 22, 2007 4:02 am

I didn't try the torch. I used Next Generation solvent that Advance sells. (More for grease/oil that carbon)
Couldn't get anything to penetrate...including a plumber's snake.
Then when I found the leak, it was time for a replacement.

Before all this, I had a helluva time getting the idle steady...never really could. Plus it always had some hesitation on acceleration and it always ran rich and sooty just to get it to idle good enough after the choke pulled off.
Needless to say, one of the first things I do now for a troublesome tune-up job is to feel if the heat riser is getting hot all the way across right after I start the cold engine.

Rob

hambone · Post by **hambone** » Tue May 22, 2007 8:24 am

Hopefully that's an engine in car repair, after pulling the carb and generator. It runs great but obviously that hot air pumping in there is not a good thing. Yer right, I'll bet Trafton's will have one.
Tristessa, are you working all three weekend days? I hope you'll be able to get a couple days off this summer so you can join me/us/whoever for some wilderness fun.

Hippie · Post by **Hippie** » Tue May 22, 2007 10:40 am

I did mine with the engine in. It sucked, but I did it and it was worth NOT pulling the engine.
Hint: Mark your engine lid hinge alignment carefully before you take it off.

You have to take the lid off to raise the fan shroud up onto wooden blocks at the outer edges in order to get the generator out, to get the manifold off. (Don't forget to diconnect the thermostat first.)
You still have to do that crap anyway. Might as well not have to R&R to engine too.

I just realized after I typed all that, you have a dual port so it might even be easier. (or not?)

Rob

hambone · Post by **hambone** » Tue May 22, 2007 12:57 pm

Single port. Thanks for the advice, it helps. I've done the whole "fan shroud on blocks" before, not much fun but it allows you to pull the generator with the engine in the car.

Itinerant Air-Cooled

Itinerant Air-Cooled

What not to do

What not to do