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Haha those who are close to me know I’d rather take the hard road and build it myself than buying something off the shelf. Something I’ve inherited from both sides of my family, no doubt. It doesn’t hurt that I’ve been blessed with a great career that allows me to enjoy multiple hobbies.
The stainless was actually left over from a previous project that I finished. I bought a used 400 gallon stainless sprayer tank off a farmer and built a stainless water circulation manifold that hangs off the side of it to circulate hot water through water to air heat exchangers in my HVAC ducting to heat my house. I burn wood for heat and my outdoor wood burner only had 400 gallons of hot water storage and I effectively doubled that and can store a lot of BTU’s in all that water.
The stainless material was a great excuse to buy a TIG welder and teach myself something I’ve wanted to learn for a few years now. I never really caught on to aluminum TIG, but stainless is nice to work with. One of these days I’ll break the ice on aluminum again and build a tank for Zella.
{-Zella-}
1984 BCW Model 52 kit on a
1969 VW 1500cc drivetrainComing along nicely. Have you had a chance to copy the build manual? I would sure like a copy. And how’s the baby? Change your life?
1986 British Coach Works Type 52 (Sammy)
Chevy 2.8 V6, 5 speedNo I never did get around to getting it copied. I need to though.
Thanks, I finally got the intake welded up. Needs polished but it fits okay. By the time I got it finished I started getting the hang of TIG welding again. It’ll do for now but I’m going to build another one that extends down into the passenger side of the fake gas tank. One of these days.
My son son is getting really big really fast. Started crawling on the day he turned 8 months.
I thought I knew love when I married my wife, but that was only the start.
Anywho, here’s the intake.
{-Zella-}
1984 BCW Model 52 kit on a
1969 VW 1500cc drivetrainWOW! Your air filter creation looks Great! I have the same clearance problem and I’ve been using the smaller air filter on top of the carb since I’ve owned my car. I like your set-up much better!
Thank you both! The weather was not cooperative this week or else I would have taken Zella for a spin.
I was, on the other hand, able to get a bunch of other work finished in the garage all while having my 8-month old job boss looking on.
{-Zella-}
1984 BCW Model 52 kit on a
1969 VW 1500cc drivetrainGreat pic of your son…His shirt is too clean…needs a little grease on it! He should be changing the oil and adjusting the valves by the time he’s two years old…Enjoy the journey, My Brother. My oldest son made me a Grandfather, last fall…My wife’s ecstatic…I’m too young! I’m still trying to figure out where I put all of that time that went by…It should be around here, somewhere…
Thank you! If you find all that time, I’ll take some! 🙂
{-Zella-}
1984 BCW Model 52 kit on a
1969 VW 1500cc drivetrainAnother round of parts should start trickling in here soon…
Rebuild kit for my 30 PICT 2, PerTronix Flame-Thrower Vacuum Advance distributor, plugs and wires, new vacuum and fuel hoses, fuel filter and fuel shutoff valve.
I figured a Seafoam treatment of the fuel during the off-months is best and dealing with fuel in the oil from an occasional stuck float will be remedied with a fuel shutoff valve. Was going to do a 12v electric shutoff valve but a manual one will do me fine.
I was working on peeling the carpet back but decided to leave it alone for the year since the weather will be breaking soon. It desperately needs replaced but some things will just have to wait.
Zella should be road ready within a few weeks!
{-Zella-}
1984 BCW Model 52 kit on a
1969 VW 1500cc drivetrainIf at all possible, I highly recommend burning “real” old fashioned gasoline. NOT ethanol! Ethanol shelf life is a maximum of 90 days:
I found a station about 24 miles from me that has non-ethanol fuel. Guess this is a good reason to build a fuel tank to keep 20 gallons or so on hand.
{-Zella-}
1984 BCW Model 52 kit on a
1969 VW 1500cc drivetrainIf at all possible, I highly recommend burning “real” old fashioned gasoline. NOT ethanol! Ethanol shelf life is a maximum of 90 days: http://www.fuel-testers.com/expiration_of_ethanol_gas.html
Thanks for the info! I recently replaced almost the entire ignition system(it needed it anyway) thinking my stalling issue was an electric issue, but was still stalling out at low rpm’s. I began thinking in the fuel direction and after reading the linked site, I’m looking at that being the culprit.
I remember in days gone by, stations of ill repute being accused of “watering their gas”, now I guess it’s the EPA we should be pointing at! Living in Illinois(corn capitol of the UNIVERSE,) we have LOADS of pro-ethanol politicians. I’m sure NONE OF THEM have a classic care to worry about!
Amor Conquista Todo
It has been my rather extensive experience with engines that most problems are due to fuel. That is Ethanol fuel. E10 is bad. E15 is worse.
The problem is that Ethanol really likes water and it is not very friendly to rubber gaskets and hoses. Every time the tank breathes there is a certain amount of moisture that is absorbed by the Ethanol. By breathing, I mean while driving or while sitting in the fuel tank overnight when it cools off and brings in moisture only to expel it the next time it warms up. (But the moisture has already been absorbed by the Ethanol.) When you finally get enough moisture to have phase separation, some water is passed into the fuel system and probably collects in the bottom of the carburetor float chamber (at first) until there is enough to be drawn into the engine: No start, poor running. If you drive gently, you possibly can get quite a bit of water in the float chamber with no effect until you go around a sharp corner and it is drawn up into the carburetor jets.
Here is a great site to help you avoid Ethanol problems: pure-gas.org
Most of the parts came in so yesterday was spent installing the new distributor, plugs, wires, fuel lines, tuning the carb, etc…
Stirling approves and was wearing his car-tuning clothes.
Working on getting it in. After setting the engine to TDC-compression (verified by pulling the valve cover on the right bank and finding TDC after the intake valve closed on cylinder 1), I noticed the notch in the distributor shaft was 90 degrees off where the old distributor was. The notch in the old one was pointing at cylinder 1 plug wire on the cap whereas the new one was pointing at cylinder 2 plug wire on the cap. Attempts to time the distributor with a timing light on cylinder 1 plug wire yielded after-firing through the exhaust. This verified my initial thought that I should rotate the plug wires counter-clockwise around the cap. Timing off the “new” cylinder 1 plug wire resulted in an engine that jumped right to life. Set timing at 7.5 degrees BTDC and she was idling, albeit a bit roughly.
This plastic float hold down piece was missing when I tore it apart and I think it was contributing to my issues with the float not seating, flooding the crankcase with fuel. I purchased a Radke carb rebuild kit and was very happy with the quality. The carb to intake manifold gasket was punched a bit small on the inner hole and after a bit of trimming I was a bit more satisfied.
Fresh out of the carb dip tank.
After letting the engine warm up, the rough idle turned into a non-existent idle. I tweaked a bit on the carb and was able to get her to idle, but not quite like I want yet. She drives completely different now with new tires and an engine that pulls very well into 4th gear. I was easily able to maintain 55 mph on my road and Zella felt pretty stable, maybe a bit too rough, but I’m still at 35psi on the tires after I put them on and didn’t realize that until after I put her up for the night.
Yesterday was a huge step forward and I feel extremely happy with my progress. Someone else was as well.
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This reply was modified 7 years, 7 months ago by
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This reply was modified 7 years, 7 months ago by
{-Zella-}
1984 BCW Model 52 kit on a
1969 VW 1500cc drivetrainThat picture of the two of you in the car together is awesome. The look on his face is just precious. The two of you will have a lot of happy memories with that car.
Congrats on the progress.
P.S. Love the vintage amplifier in your garage, wish I still had mine. 😀
Thank you. I’m hoping he takes to wrenching like I did growing up.
My receiver is a Sherwood 8910 at 60 watts per channel. Provides me with some great tunes when I’m alone in the garage. 😀
I’m not entirely sure what’s going on with the idle circuit. She just doesn’t want to stay idling when on the road. When in the garage, she stays running but when braking on the road she shuts off.
I’ve attempted to tune it according to a few different guides for the 30 PICT 2 carbs but just can’t seem to get her dialed in where I want her. Maybe tomorrow will offer a fresh start. I dropped the front pressure to 18 and the rears to 28 and she handles much better now. Put quite a few back-road miles on her today.
{-Zella-}
1984 BCW Model 52 kit on a
1969 VW 1500cc drivetrainGreat progress.
Since you’re already past the car rebuild I’m guessing you’ve read the various “how-to-adjust-your-PICT” instructions and are following them pretty much. But in case not, check out http://www.vw-resource.com/30PICT2.html#carb
(and note how different the 30/31 is from the later 34 PICT 3).
–Your idle shut-off valve is good? Good!
Since all the instructions are for a Beetle or Ghia we have to consider the differences. As I recall, you now have a proper-fitting air filter, so if that’s on when you’re adjusting, that should be good.
The only other thing is that “she idles in the garage but not on the road.” The difference there would have to be the state of warm-up, yes? Or maybe even “heat?” Or maybe even “cool.”
Check your thermostat and flaps. You might be stuck open (or, worse, removed) and that just might make the car run too cool when out and about, and that might bugger-up your idle setting. Looking at your setup I see you are missing key tins around the engine. This would allow warm air to recirculate when you’re sitting in the garage, idling. Driving about it will dissipate (until you’re sitting in traffic on a hot day, at which time it will probably overheat).
If it were me I’d test drive her until she cut or stalled and then quick check to see where the choke butterfly is at that point. If straight up, then probably warm enough to set idle. If not, maybe your thermostat is not right. And if the motor is too hot to touch then you’ve got some kind of cooling problem—though I think that’s unlikely at this time of year.
Get those tins though.
The only other thing is that “she idles in the garage but not on the road.” The difference there would have to be the state of warm-up, yes? Or maybe even “heat?” Or maybe even “cool.”
Well, there is another thing that changes and might influence the idle when driving vs garage. When driving, you only idle when coming to a stop. In the garage – not so much since you are always at a stop. There is another thing which comes into play. Carburetor float level. In the garage, an improper float level can be somewhat compensated for by adjustment of needles. When driving and stopping, the level in the carb float chamber sloshes around a bit and can affect the idle when coming to the stop light. Check float level as the critically important first step in trying to set up the carb(s).
–Your idle shut-off valve is good? Good!
I had originally overlooked this, but my 30 PICT 2 does NOT have an idle shut off valve. It has a fixed jet in it.
From everything I have read, the West German carb I have came with one but it was common to replace them with a fixed jet when they failed. So now I need to verify I have the correct size installed and start from there.
{-Zella-}
1984 BCW Model 52 kit on a
1969 VW 1500cc drivetrainCheck with Sterling. Ya never know…he might suggest something. Oh wait…he’s still a little young yet.
Not used to 30PICT 2 carbs. Just 34PICT3s. But when you tune the engine, do you have the vacuum line from the carb hooked up or disconnected and plugged? Sometimes the PICT carbs set differently during tuneup. Any vacuum leaks anywhere? Is she set up exactly the same in the garage as on the road? Just some other things to check.
Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The ShackYeah should have thought of vacuum leaks. And Roy is also right on. I like both those diagnoses better than my tins theory.
I threatened Stirling with spinach for dinner if he didn’t tell me how to fix it. Man that kid can keep a secret! 😀
Vacuum leaks are next on my list after confirming the correct jets are in it. I know the previous owner said he’s had it worked on a few times and it’s apparent.
The throttle shaft is definitely loose fitting in the carb body which is a known issue for these. If they’re as bad as I think they are I’ll bore the holes and press some bushings in there.
It acts lean when revving and returning to idle, atleast it is based on my knowledge with tuning carbs on small engines. It revs fine but takes 3-5 seconds to return to what I consider its point of idle. The carb tuning guides talk about observing engine speed changes during adjustment of the volume screw but I observe none. A few 1500cc engine running videos online show them acting the same so I’m not entirely sure if it’s just the nature of these engines.
Here’s a quote I found from vw-resource.com regarding the heat risers on the exhaust…
Someone wrote to say that his ’73 Super with a 1600cc engine runs just fine around town, fine getting on the highway, fine on the highway, but as soon as I slow down, i.e., get off the interstate, engage the clutch, she stalls out on me. I usually pop the clutch and get her running again. Most of the time though, she won’t even idle after I get off the highway. It usually takes a few minutes for her to be back to normal. I’ve tried adjusting the carburetor (Solex 34PICT), and adjusting the timing (009 distributor), to no avail. Am I just not adjusting it correctly?
Rob responded – Sounds like manifold icing. Even in warm weather, if the riser tubes that heat the manifold are blocked, you’ll get ice in the inlet, due to venturi effect (the mixture is forced into a smaller tube, it moves faster and cools the inlet). You really need to take off you muffler, and try to clean out the riser tubes.
Easy to check: when it acts like it wants to stall, feel the inlet under the carb. If its frosty, or really cold, you have blocked risers. (This is only really relevant to the Bug that has run on the highway for a while.)
Also, check to make sure the heat risers are hot to the touch (careful – the right one may be VERY hot). If they are not, you may have an aftermarket muffler or header with heat riser flanges that are not drilled through into the header/muffler pipe. See our discussion of this situation above.
{-Zella-}
1984 BCW Model 52 kit on a
1969 VW 1500cc drivetrain34PICT3 and 009 dizzy have a history of not playing well with each other. That’s why I always stick to a SVDA dizzy with a 34PICT carb. No mismatch problems.
Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The Shack -
This reply was modified 7 years, 7 months ago by
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