New Owner, 70' Fasty

[wdollie6]

So good news and several bad news(es). Good news, with the seats in the car I had the leverage to pop the mirror in place (took 4 or 5 tries to master the technique, kept popping out).

Bad news is that when I took it on the initial drive yesterday morning (1 mile) I noted several issues; first the clutch needed adjustment, easily accomplished on my return to the garage, second the idle was racing, which I solved by addressing a kink in the accelerator cable/adjusting spring on accelerator pedal, followed by adjusting the idle.

The final issue was that I only had 3rd and 4th gears, the shifter would not move far enough left to engage 1st, 2nd or reverse. Disassembled the shifter assembly and found that the rod going to the coupler did not rotate far enough. I believe Colin had mentioned this back in 2019 or 2020, he simply asked, "Is this shifter spring loaded, didn't know they had those in 1970". I now assume this was said in humor, but who knows...

So with no adjustment at the shifter, I slid under the back of the car and after much deliberation determined that the location of the dimple in the rod that the coupling screw parks in, was in the wrong location, wtdh! So moving from under, to in the car, and back and forth a few times, I was able to determine the proper location. Out came the JB Weld Steel Stik and the drill, relocated the hole slightly (actually overlapped the original a touch) and then JB Welded the remaining part of the old hole after trialing the screw. Waited over night and then put it all back together, and like magic was able to adjust for all 5 gears. Bring on the next issue.

After accomplishing this started the car up and took it on an 8 mile trek, it was great for 7 but then started bucking and losing power like I had lost some cylinders (yes it had fuel...). Every once in a while it would go back to full power but towards the end this Fasty was limping badly. The good news is that like all other VWs I have owned it got me home, after asking nicely of course. I assume the loss of power has something to do with the triggers but due to other commitments haven't been able to dig into it as of yet.

I will say that this VW Fastback is roomy, comfortable, handles nicely and had power that doesn't exist in my bugs or bus, very impressive. On the main highway I was able to hit 70 mph without much effort. Hills didn't seem to bother it a whole lot either. Looking forward to a longer run in the near term. Still have to hook up heater cables, install the new liners for the frunk and trunk, and then finish painting the fuel door cover, the round caps that go on the apron and the rear fenders, and finally wet sanding the paint. I also have a couple of glass seals, lower windshield and front corners of vent windows that have corners that didn't seal that need to be addressed.

[wdollie6]

Problem solved with regards to the bucking and loss of power, the trigger points were dirty again. I pulled them for the third time cleaned them, and filed the points, lightly. I also again verified that both sides measured the same for resistance, they each measured around .3-.4 ohms, well within specs. Reassembled everything and hit the road again, results were much better! A 12 mile ride and only one issue, when I stopped and tried to restart the starter wouldn't engage, easy solution wire solenoid wire had come off the spade terminal. Probably loosened when I had my push button start attached to it. Other than that it was a nice run, no issues, other than the idle related issues.

When cold it won't hold idle, when warm it surges, symptoms that should shout the solution to me... I'm listening but nothing obvious comes to mind yet. I have no vacuum leaks that I can find, although am wondering if my manual AAR is not working properly. I did test it several years ago to make sure it had movement and opened and closed but not sure that is a good indicator of proper function.

[Amskeptic]

You are driving it after all these years .... a testament to perseverence.

I think you might be rich, check for vacuum leaks on mildly warm engine with WD-40. If you catch a vacuum leak on an already rich engine, the idle should bog down further.

Warm idle speed 950rpm with verified closed AAR?

[wdollie6]

Strangely enough, with out making any changes the idle has settled in. I drove it Friday night, expecting and planning for the idle to die but it held fairly consistently. I'll take it out today, warm it up then check for leaks but as you know everything is somewhat new.

A question regarding the gas cap, is it supposed to be vented? When I remove the cap it I get a long hiss, like the tank is pressurized, haven't had that on the other VWs. Maybe a function of pressurized fuel injection.

[Amskeptic]

Strangely enough, with out making any changes the idle has settled in. I drove it Friday night, expecting and planning for the idle to die but it held fairly consistently. I'll take it out today, warm it up then check for leaks but as you know everything is somewhat new.

A question regarding the gas cap, is it supposed to be vented? When I remove the cap it I get a long hiss, like the tank is pressurized, haven't had that on the other VWs. Maybe a function of pressurized fuel injection.

No no no, check that out!
Fuel tank is supposed to be vented through evap system. Please research. It is a mess on the internet. I hope your manual helps. In a pinch, a ventd cap will buy you time, but fuel spills can occur on left turns.

[wdollie6]

Not sure how it would vent as everything goes back to the tank. This doesn't have, nor has it ever had the evaporative/expansion canister or any other piping. I will continue to look for information but not sure where to find what I am looking for. I have two gas caps, both appear to be age appropriate, neither vents.

That being said the pressure in the tank has to be relieved somewhere. On my 66 beetle it has an open vent hose that goes under the car, my 72 beetle is vented the same way (I removed the original parts and pieces when I rebuilt it and put in the same setup as the 66, works great).

I will continue to dig.

[wdollie6]

After taking another look at the parts book for 1969 it appears that my tank may not be original, which makes sense based on the front end collision that it was involved in. It has an extra nipple on the drivers side corner closest to the windshield that I naturally hooked the small hose to, the one that loops up and around, Item 21. It also appears that the first cut in of some of the vapor reducing, pollution equipment was December of 1970, my Fasty was built in Dec 1969. Based on everything I reviewed during the build I saw no signs that pollution control equipment was ever on this vehicle, which makes sense.

Based on this I will cap off the corner nipple and route my small vent hose up and around the hinge area (already is), then down and out through a small hole that is in the front apron area (thought a PO had drilled a hole for some unknown reason). I had plugged it with a solid grommet.

Another concern addressed.

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[Amskeptic]

So you will have a vented fuel tank with a big "syphon loop" to prevent fuel from spilling?

Photos from an interested observer who got to drive the car, 18 pages in!
A frisky Fastback with good reflexes. Needs detail work, but that is the fun.
Colin

[wdollie6]

So the guru says, "...you have to be careful what grease you use with your shift bushing...". Turns out Colin is right. I pulled the shifter out today to see if I could finally figure out why the front to back movement, 1st to 2nd, 3rd to 4th, was so stiff, found a straightforward answer. The plastic bushing, after only a few hours of use was mashed (actually turned to mush) in between the bushing support and the shaft. I removed some of the bushing material, reassemble and wow what a difference. While still a little stiff it is much improved over where we started.

Another bushing is on order, so when I replace the urethane shift coupling with an original rubber type (also on order), maybe my shifting will be like my other VWs. Still have the growling from my "new" throw out bearing so at some point in the fall (if it holds out that long) will have to pull transmission to determine what the issue is. While in there I will pull the nose cone off the transmission replace bushing and seals as needed and check status of "hockey stick'.

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[wdollie6]

On a side note the shifter bushing has been on the shaft with the offending grease for over 3 years, plenty of time for the grease to break down the plastic. What is the appropriate grease to use with this bushing?

[Amskeptic]

On a side note the shifter bushing has been on the shaft with the offending grease for over 3 years, plenty of time for the grease to break down the plastic. What is the appropriate grease to use with this bushing?

Silicone grease! You can get it at Lowes or Home Depot, "faucet grease" is another name for it.

Why did the day feel like a full day, but my list in your dossier looks small? Can you refresh me on what we did to get rid of the loping idle on the Fastback? Have you driven it since our front suspension torsion arm adjustment?
How is bus starting working out with new elbow?
FailingMinds-R-Us

[wdollie6]

My apologies but a bunch of work has been completed without pictures. This morning we headed out for the Type 3 Invasion in Ticonderoga, NY. The Fasty is not done but close enough to to take to the invasion on a tow dolly. I still have areas to wet sand more and then repolish, I also had to repaint a small area by the drivers door, a little mishap when hanging the door by myself.

The Fasty looks tiny compared to the camper but a lot of space as compered to a Beetle.

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[wdollie6]

Some pictures of Type 3s from beautiful Ticonderoga NY!


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[wdollie6]

By the end of the invasion the Fasty's shifter was almost impossible to move into the gears and the clutch was in need of a severe adjustment. After returning home put it up on the lift pulled the shift rod out of the front, replaced the bushing and lubricated with a silicone grease (supposedly okay with plastic materials). While up in the air and disassembled I also replaced the urethane shift coupler with rubber, which I found out are now cast vs. the stamped sheet metal ones, no welding required. The shifting is now as smooth as my other VWs, finally!

I also adjusted the clutch for the third time since driving, unfortunately still have the growl from the release bearing and a slight shudder. The release bearing will have to wait until fall as I want to drive this car over the summer. I will attempt to address the shudder with an additional washer on the clutch cable to ensure the bowden tube has the proper offset. Hopefully that will solve the problem.

[wdollie6]

Finally had a chance to drive the Fasty after a long hiatus, almost 3 weeks. As has been the case with this car since completion it started immediately, unfortunately it didn't last long, within a few seconds she spit and sputtered and died. Attempted a restart same result, easy start, no idle, immediately shut down same way.

Headed to the engine pulled the hatch and hooked up the pressure gauge, assuming it was a fuel issue, it was indeed. The fuel pressure was almost 35 psi, how did that happen. Lock nut on the fuel pressure regulator was tight (Colin tight as he insisted it was too loose on his visit), loosened the nut made the adjustment to 28-29 psi and amazingly we are back to a well behaving Type 3.

Drove to town, put gas in it and had a nice conversation with a group of new freshman students at SUNY Delhi. They were in awe of the car and couldn't believe it was a 1970 and what, really, it's fuel injected? Showed them the engine, they took pics and couldn't stop walking around the car. It turns out that they were all in the Auto Mechanic program, hence their obvious interest in a rare car.

Love my Fasty!