I'm a novice at vws and engines in general so your help is appreciated.

Ok so I have the car without the ignition barrell in.
I have tried to start the car by joining to connections together, when I do this the engine starts to turn a little then it seems to sound like it "hits" something then stops.

The "clunking" noise that stops it from starting sounds like its coming from inside the case.

The engine is old (naturally) and in unknown condition.

Hi
First off You need 3 wires..

the two to connect the ignition system..
then add another one to turn the starter motor over..

hopefully, the clunk is too much fuel in a cylinder..

or it can be many things..

or it can be the starter motor throwing the pinion out to start the engine [which is normal] but then dropping back in and back out... this will especially happen when trying to start a car with wires...

You need to tie the ignition wires together to get spark in the engine..
then touch the other wire to get the starter motor to wind over...

pour a cap full of petrol down the carby and it may start..
[or a spoon full] not too much

hope this helps

LEE

Thanks lee

Does the starter wiring come to the 4 wires at the back of the ignition barrel? The writings a birds nest and hard to follow.

Hi

black wire is ignition ON 15
RED thick wire is to start the starter motor 50
Dark Green is the POWER wire to the battery 30

this is from a late model beetle 1969 electrical diagram

LEE

Firstly, can the motor turn all the way around (720 degrees, two rotations) by hand (put a socket on teh crank pulley)

and secondly, if a starter hasn't got enough battery power to start teh car(or poor earth, or loose battery leads), it can throw the starter pinion out, turn a little sometimes then run out of juice in an instant and makes a "clunk' noise. Clunking starter is often a low battery sign.

if you can turn the motor all teh way around by hand, i'd be under assumption that you should check your battery power.

I'm with Chris here. Make sure the engine turns over by hand a good few times before trying to start it.

If it turns well then make sure the battery is in good condition, which means taking it to a garage to check on their machine.