TheSamba.com :: View topic - My 1970 Ghia Backfires and Won't Run. Please Help

Sun May 25, 2008 4:45 pm

I don't know if this is the right place to put this question but I'm sure that if it's not it'll just get deleted anyway. I have a 1970 Ghia I've been spending the better part of a year trying to get to run properly, to no avail. The engine was a brand new Mexican 1600 dual port my brother bought for his Beetle. After 25,000 miles he shredded the camshaft gear and replaced the engine. I took the engine apart, found the problem and properly replaced the camshaft and reassembled the engine then put it into my car which had no engine. I fully cleaned out the crankcase and followed the manuals for all procedures. I originally had Weber 34 ICTs on it and it initially ran okay but would backfire sometimes through the carbs and out the muffler so I took it to the local VW shop here in Seatac, Autosport Imports. $450.00 later the engine was the same and they told me to bring it back with a single carb. I've since had three different single carb setups on it and it is backfiring so bad now that it won't even stay running for more than a half a minute. The curved metal tube that comes down from the oil filler is spraying gas and oil. The ignition wires and coil are brand new. I tried replacing the spark plugs but couldn't find any that had the same length threads (they're unusually long). The mechanic told me there was a compression leak on one of the cylinders and suggested there was a cracked head but I checked the heads carefully during reassembly and couldn't find any cracks. The valves have been set to the proper clearance. What could possibly be wrong with the engine? What should I do? Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thank you
Tim

Sun May 25, 2008 5:29 pm

The "road tube" is spitting out gasoline? That sounds like the fuel pump gasket is leaking gasoline into the case/engine oil - or you have cranked it over so much trying to get it started that the oil has picked up a lot of unburnt gasoline. Check the gasket/diaphram, and change the oil.

It sounds like a bad timing problem to me. I would pull the distributor out of the car and make sure you install / index it properly. Static time it, and see what that does.

Sun May 25, 2008 6:43 pm

i agree on the timing issue.was the cam gear properly aligned when reinstalled(slots and dots)?as for the plugs sounds like you need the 12mm long reach plugs.try orielly auto parts.NGK plugs work well,get the "r" series if you can,the standard ones work fine however. if you want to check the cam alignment you can do this(if you're lucky)by pulling the oil pump.

Sun May 25, 2008 7:10 pm

I'm sure I aligned the two dots on the cam gears and then re-checked it ten times. I'm not so sure I put the distributor drive gear in correctly but the mark on the distrinutor rotor definately lines up with the mark on the distributor body when the mark on the pulley is lined up with the top crankcase seam. The two distributor wires for the passenger's side of the engine cross over like they should. It definately seems like one of the cylinders is not running at all but I think the mechanic would have figured that out for $450 if that was the problem. I will try to find the proper length spark plugs and replace them. Does anyone know of any other sources for this type of spark plug? I'm thinking the compression leak and the gas in the oil might both be caused by a broken piston ring. Other that I'm still completely stumped.

Sun May 25, 2008 9:23 pm

I took the carb off my 69 Ghia, which is a good running car, made an adpter plate to fit it on my 1970 ghia and tried it out. The 1970 ghia now for some reason has started and is running near perfect. All four previous carbs that I had on this engine were either junk or the $450 I paid the mechanic to get it running good with the Weber ICTs was a WASTE and they must not have had ANY idea what they were doing. Unbelievable!
What a waste of time and money! As far as the compression leak goes, with the engine running this good I think I can just grin and bear it. As long as the gas doesnt continue to leak into the oil and the gas consumption isn't bad. But I do need to get a second decent carburetor. Will post another update later thanks everyone

Mon May 26, 2008 6:35 am

glad you got it running any parts store should have them or be able to order them

Thu Aug 28, 2008 9:02 pm

70 140 wrote: It sounds like a bad timing problem to me. I would pull the distributor out of the car and make sure you install / index it properly. Static time it, and see what that does.

I have a friend whose engine has not run in years. We guessed that the drive for the distributor was installed wrong by the PO and wired the plugs to the distributor 180 out and it ran fine. What do we have to do to correct the distributor drive? He won’t have to tear the engine down will he?

Fri Aug 29, 2008 9:23 am

tstracy39 wrote:

Quote: I tried replacing the spark plugs but couldn't find any that had the same length threads (they're unusually long).

What brand/part number plug did you remove? Did you try an exact replacement?

Quote: As far as the compression leak goes, with the engine running this good I think I can just grin and bear it.

Given your experience with the carb and this "machanic", why would you think there is a compression leak...particularly since you did not detect one? I would do a compression check.

Quote: But I do need to get a second decent carburetor.

Check with kiefernet.

Sun Aug 31, 2008 2:29 pm

NOVA Airhead wrote: tstracy39 wrote:

Quote: I tried replacing the spark plugs but couldn't find any that had the same length threads (they're unusually long).

What brand/part number plug did you remove? Did you try an exact replacement?

Quote: As far as the compression leak goes, with the engine running this good I think I can just grin and bear it.

Given your experience with the carb and this "machanic", why would you think there is a compression leak...particularly since you did not detect one? I would do a compression check.

Quote: But I do need to get a second decent carburetor.

Check with kiefernet.

Already bought a used German 34 PICT-3 and rebushed it with brass tubing, tested the choke heating element, idle cutoff solenoid, blew it out with compressed air, did a compression test (115-120-120-125. I don't know how they could blame the problems on a "compression leak" with results like that), replaced a missing accelerator pump injector tube, installed a new needle valve and gaskets, riveted up the hole in the butterfly and rejetted it to work with the 009 distributor, installed the carb and the engine now runs great although the plugs still foul up when it's left idling for too long.
I just sold the car and its on its way to California, the ramps on the new owner's trailer were all buckled up and it was like driving up a set of stairs but the engine didn't protest (predictably the clutch slipped a little though). I wouldn't take a VW with a dual carb setup back to Autosport, they seem to know how to install a new engine pretty well but anything that involves pulling parts and fixing them seems to be a mystery to their mechanics. After the $450.00 bill I vowed to learn how to do all the work myself. Anyways I do have another Ghia and the engine is running good on it too.

Sun Aug 31, 2008 2:37 pm

Roark wrote: 70 140 wrote: It sounds like a bad timing problem to me. I would pull the distributor out of the car and make sure you install / index it properly. Static time it, and see what that does.

I have a friend whose engine has not run in years. We guessed that the drive for the distributor was installed wrong by the PO and wired the plugs to the distributor 180 out and it ran fine. What do we have to do to correct the distributor drive? He won’t have to tear the engine down will he?

It's possible to buy a tool to pull the drive pinion out with the engine still in the car, or drive a piece of wood in the groove to pull it. Just be careful not to knock any of the washers into the case!

Sun Aug 31, 2008 9:35 pm

It's pretty obvious that your engine is not properly tuned. Check the timing and hi-tension wires must be plugged to their respective firing ordered. Rule of the thumb ~ always timing your engine staring with No. one piston as the fisrt firing order.