Post by Volktales on May 5, 2018 21:14:33 GMT -8
So today was a VW kind of day. In addition to fiddling with the Ghia, Jason brought his '65 Beetle over for a bit of work. Apparently it intermittently runs not so good, but he had some new replacement items he wanted installed regardless. This included a new complete Pertronix electronic distributor with vacuum advance, and the same company's Flamethrower coil. Also the recent EMPI carb needed some attention as well. So here we go...
As is pretty much ALWAYS the case when installing aftermarket parts, there were a few issues along the way. Removing the old distributor, revealed a cheezy replacement chrome distributor hold down that looked to have been there for a long time. These never fit as well as the original German parts, and this one need some attention with the vice and pliers before it would fit correctly in place. Otherwise the distributor itself fit OK, and the often troublesome sealing o-ring went in without problem. The coil caused some grief, as it was very slightly bigger than the original, and the factory bracket would no longer fit properly. My big box-O-coils had a suitable replacement which fit just fine. The distributor wires do not come with the terminal ends in place, to allow you to shorten the wires to your needs. The terminals are included. They should include an adapter to allow more than two wires to fit onto each coil terminal but did not. Anyway the installation went as smoothly as expected then it was time to take a peek at the carb...
Those EMPI carburetors, like pretty much anything EMPI sells, are a bit hit and miss in quality. This one featured an accelerator pump that was WAAAAY out of adjustment. The fast idle cam "teeth" were not sharp enough and slipped, so this was replaced with a cam from Jason's old carb. The choke was readjusted, but the road test revealed it needs some more attention. Setting the timing was a bit interesting as well. You always must adjust the timing after installing a replacement distributor. For this type of distributor, I usually set the initial timing to around 5 degrees BTDC and then check to see what the overall is with the vacuum line disconnected. You don't want this over 32 degrees when you rev it up high enough that the mechanical advance stops. I chose around 29 degrees to be on the safe side, and the initial was around 5 degrees. One thing that I did not like, was the advance curve is definitely not as smooth as an original distributor, and at high RPM's, the timing was not very stable. This seems at a higher level then Jason is likely going to drive it at, so he should be OK. I did adjust the carb idle and mixture, as it was running too lean. A good test drive later revealed that it was smooth, had decent power, and was not running hot. The choke is still not cooperating very well, as it seems to come off fast idle in seconds. I will have another look at that tomorrow, and replace a leaking valve cover gasket. And Jason you are absolutely correct. This car rides too damn rough!!!
