Thanks Craig for the offer...
I am struggling to get my head around this little car and its idiosincressies.
My previous Super bug was never this problematic but that was 24 yrs ago..
At the moment i cant let my daughter drive it, being so unreliable..
I `ll keep plugging away until i iron out all the bugs...😂
I will read up on timing and 009 distributors and put that into action.
If i can get the thing to run a little more reliably , i will make a run for the Hood Jax also..
Craig Torrens6 times Australian, 7 times State Hillclimb Class Champion
We had a very similar problem with our beetle, took a while to figure out but it ended up being a leak in the fuel line at the tank, it wasn't enough to leak fuel but was enough to suck air into the fuel line.
It would cause the car to mysteriously stop(like running out of fuel) only to start again later.
Replaced the lines, clamps and haven't had the problem again.
Hope this helps.
bob n ash
1961 swb buggy
1960 karmann ghia
1963 Single Cab: "El Concreto"
1963 bent 23 window " Frieda Samba "
1963 Eriba Faun camper " Cara Van daCamp"
2012 Skoda Octavia scout
DUB74L mentioned the coil, recently while pulling the engine in and out of my buggy the coil must have been knocked either by a live wire on the wrong spot or knocked physically and got damaged internally 'cos one moment the engine was running fine and the next it wouldn't start at all even when there was a spark at the plug (plug out and checked!). The engine would start eventually with a tow start but not with the starter, replacing the coil with a spare and there's been no trouble since. In 35 years of VWs I've only ever had trouble with a coil once before so it may be worth checking out.
Since everyone else has thrown in their 2 cents worth, here goes..... Just a couple of yeras ago I came across a similar problem with fuel supply with a beautiful newly restored split van. Would run fine for a while, and then just stop, like it had a fuel supply problem. Everything checked (almost), and it turned out to be the breather from the fuel tank. The owner had fitted a new gasket in the tank cap, but because the breather was blocked it eventually formed a vacuum in the tank, until it couldn't suck any more fuel. kleave it to stand for a while and air seeps back into the fuel tank, and off he goes again... for a while. prior to the resto, it had a scabby old gasket on the cap that didn't really seal, so plenty of air getting in, and no need for a breather. This was certainly the most bizarre problem I had ever seen, and it took a French RAC (equivalent) guy to figure it out....
BTW, this has nothing to do with the original plug fouling issue, just the issue of grinding to a halt in dangerous places...!!!
So, when you take the cap off the tank, do you get a sudden rush of air into the tank? Try driving it without the gasket on the cap, or as previously suggested, look for a blockage in the fuel lines. In my humble opinion, it sound like fuel starvation, particularly when trying to pull away hard etc..
Good luck.
PS: My Type 182 runs like a bag of poo most of the time with an 009 on a standard 1600, so all of this talk of performance is all rather alien to me. 😊
Thanks everyone for the great hints and tips.
I will try the fuel cap , as it is very firm to screw on and it could be an issue. I will also crawl under the car on saturday and check all the fuel lines.
Car stopping at the most inconvienent time not very nice..
Thanks for everyones help once again..
Well, i think the plug fouling issue has been solved.
Thru carb overhauls, tuneing lean,new leads and sparkplugs, new dizzy caps , new rotors, new electronic ignition , new fuel pump , installation of a fuel reg. We managed to fix the problem..
This intermittent stopping , will also be corrected and then i hope we can get in and enjoy the ride someday soon.....
I think, i have found the reason the bug was stopping .
This morning we were pampering the old girl and we lifted the engine lid and were tracing the fuel hoses.
All the fuel line in the engine compartment is new. It was replaced two weeks ago.
I found the fuel regulator adjustment screw had moved off its setting. Which is 1 1/2 PSI ..Its all back to how it should be, the real test shall be a very long drive on a much warmer day to really see if its all good.
The adjustment screw on the fuel reg is now secure...
Lets see what else will decide to $&%# itself...???
I decided to take the bug out for a drive, to Miller and go to the Flat Four clubs vw meet.
The whole family squeezed in thats 5 of us and we went for a drive to the show.
It ran very well going there.We enjoyed the array of colours on the cars on show ,as i am a minority male and the others in the family are more females, they only notice the colours!!
On the return trip we made it home without any incident.
I did look for hood jax ,but we got to the show rather late, it was after 2:30 pm and many of the items for sale had been packed off/sold for the end of the day..
Well that is promising for the time being , that some reliablity is returning to our bug.
We still dont trust it for a long drive , but that shall be short term until it proves its self..
Craig Torrens6 times Australian, 7 times State Hillclimb Class Champion
I dunno if I mentioned it before, but Danielles twin carb (standard) type 3 has a fouled number 3 plug when we first got it.
changed the oil and plugs, and it seemed to be ok for a while (couple of months) but just lately Danielle thought it was starting to run rough again, and sure enough, it sounds to me like there is a plug starting to foul up again somewhere.
