Hi guys,

I am hoping for some help with my 1970 Beetle.

I had the fuel lines replaced at the start of the year because the old ones were starting to leak like a sieve. Work was done on the bug by a local mechanic, but lets just say that they are young and have no idea........but at least they are still trying to help me sort it out.

Anyway, when I got the bug back it was running horribly and ultimately started to stall on me. This lead to a new starter and more down time. Even after I got it back it was still not running right.

When I finally got time to take a look at it myself I found that the firing order was all wrong.

Long story short, I now have the firing order right with 1-4-3-2 (1-2-4-3 is not a good firing order). Plugs and points have been checked and timing was looked at, but I cannot recall what it was set at.

With all that, the bug starts well and idles nicely, but when out on the road and the engine is under load, the bug starts to splutter and falter.

So, what I am hoping for help on is;

1. What dizzy type do I have (vacuum advanced)?
   
2. What should the timing be set at?
   
3. What else should I be checking to get this thing running well again?
   

I reckon timing. The 7.5 degree notch on the pulley should line up with the case join.

Shame you didn't post this last week - I could have called in on my way to Warwick on Friday - at least look at the timing etc.

Yes -- your distributor is vacuum advanced.
Have you adjusted your valve clearances?
I always tried to get by without doing that - but it makes a huge difference when everything else is right.

I would check the mixture of the carb and timing, and as Denver said going over the valves won't hurt.

Start at the beginning. Set the valves, set the points, adjust the static timing. Once you've done that you can use a timing light to see of the timing needs tweaking.

If you look up Rob and Dave's website it has good description for setting the 34pict3 and other carbs. The 34PICT3 is a bit different to set than earlier carbs and some peeps screw up the idle adjustment cos of this.

I'd also check out and tidy up the wiring for the coil and auto choke. It lloks rather messy and additional load when driving could cause the coil to not get power properly.

Rob & Dave

http://www.vw-resource.com 

Well worth bookmarking

what is the number on Your distributor???

it should be Mechanical with vacuum advance...
I have one and the when the vacuum worked, it was magic....
but it only worked for a few weeks....
works when i suck on it, but I haven't got a vacuum hose long enough....

a non trained VW mechanic is like having blind freddy tuning Your VW... &
there aren't a lot of mechanic's these days that were trained on distributors with points that need cleaning and adjusting.... Possibly non at all...
One thing You can do is replace the points in the distributor with Pertronix or Compufire etc electronic trigger... and you won't have to take the cap off the dissy for a very long time....

LEE

Presume the engine is 1660 twin-port (1971 or later S-model superbug)... AD... should indicate?

There is a probable vacuum leak: The rear (rear of car) of the carb should have a brass tube in that hole (unless it is plugged?). This metal tube should have a rubber tube connected to the LHS point on the rear of the plastic air-cleaner. The loop shown should be removed (use it to buy some correct size tubing) and the RHS connexion should go to a point near the intake of the air cleaner, I think (or blocked off).
The metal tube neede can be sized from the similar vacuum tube on the LHS (going to the distributor); a new one (brass, copper or aluminium) can be GENTLY tapped in, if of the same size.

The distributor shown appears to be Dual Mechanical/Vacuum advance.
The distributor cap looks a bit sad. Is it in good condition? The leads, plugs, condenser, etc. could also be checked.

Is the coil connected the right way around? The + goes to the ignition switch; the - to the distributor/points.