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Fri May 20, 2016 6:31 am

Hello volkswagen enthusiasts!!!!

I live in southern California and own a 1971 squareback that has recently been converted from fuel injection to carburetor.
I paid 3,000 in 2014 and bought my first car, and in March of this year I paid 4,000 for an engine rebuild including a carburetor conversion.

I understand that VW businesses/shops working on vehicles from the 50’s and on is a costly decision to dabble in. The 5 auto shops that serviced my vehicle never gave much effort or passion into their work. Sometimes I would return to pick up my car and notice that my battery wasn’t properly connected, my upholstery was covered in grease, or plugs weren’t connected properly that influenced the overall performance of my vehicle. other problems I managed to fix myself.

The frustration only continues to grow. My dad told me about a place in Riverside where I paid 4,000 for an engine rebuild. This place never forgets to remind me how old my vehicle is nor how difficult parts are to find these days which I am absolutely aware of. It seems to be their excuse for problems I’ve experienced with them thus far.

I was told my FI hoses were in bad condition and that it would be of great consideration to switch from FI to carburetor. Something that I felt made my car so unique was basically frowned upon by this repair shop. At this point, I didn’t care how costly the job was to be done, I had the money and decided to take my car into this shop and agreed to this carburetor conversion because I was told It would be beneficial for my performance.

when I picked up my car, I noticed that the backfiring was absolutely horrendous. I decided to take my car in..... the car doesn't start. I was told in a weeks time that they found the problem. There was a "fluke" in the carburetors that had been purchased. Apparently a number that is stamped somewhere on the carburetor part was incorrect. Had my car fixed at no cost. I pick up my car and notice a TOTAL difference in performance. It aggravates me to know that this shop didn’t notice something this obvious, and sent me on my way with my car running the way it was. I didn't have my car for a weeks time when I needed transportation to work. A complete inconvinience to not only my vehicles performance but my own personal life.

I was so use to driving FI so I’ve never had the opportunity to drive a car that runs carburetor. I thought the way it drove was normal, and it truly was not.

Here I sit now wondering what little hope there Is for my car and how much more money I will be investing into businesses that don’t seem to truly care. What I’ve honestly come to conclude is that shops don’t seem to want cars in their lot for very long due to the demand in work.

I mentioned to this shop about petronix for the distributor and really like avoiding the idea I ever brought it up. I made it very clear before I went into this shop how import it was that I have this installed due to the distances I’d be traveling. They seem to enjoy informing me how often I should return to pay in adjusting the timing.

I truly have no problem in paying these businesses to support the VW community, but all 5 shop that I have come across have failed me. the customer service skills in all shops: abysmal. I will be traveling from los angeles to san fransisco. Anybody willing to help or guide me in a positive direction would be greatly appreciated. I love my Squareback as my own, and don’t think I’ll ever be able to let her go.[/img]

Fri May 20, 2016 6:53 am

A familiar, but sad, story. A good shop is hard to find anyway, but with an older car it gets even harder. For a Type 3 it's harder still, and for fuel injection it's almost impossible. They don't know how to work on it, so they recommend switching to carburetors.

If you plan on using your Squareback as your only car, you simply must learn how to work on at least some things yourself. You'll go broke paying people to do it, if they even know what they're doing. Come here and ask questions, there are folks who will help you along. Some of our California members may be able to recommend a better shop.

By the way, I love the roof rack!

Fri May 20, 2016 6:59 am

Donnie strickland wrote: A familiar, but sad, story. A good shop is hard to find anyway, but with an older car it gets even harder. For a Type 3 it's harder still, and for fuel injection it's almost impossible. They don't know how to work on it, so they recommend switching to carburetors.

If you plan on using your Squareback as your only car, you simply must learn how to work on at least some things yourself. You'll go broke paying people to do it, if they even know what they're doing. Come here and ask questions, there are folks who will help you along. Some of our California members may be able to recommend a better shop.

By the way, I love the roof rack!

Thanks for the response! I've most definitely considered buying that brown service book, not sure how informative that might be to my benefit. Really appreciate your reply!

Fri May 20, 2016 7:25 am

I hope they gave you back all the FI components...?

Fri May 20, 2016 9:06 am

Miked914 wrote: I hope they gave you back all the FI components...?

They actually did not. Was contemplating on asking for them back after the conversion but always forgot.

Fri May 20, 2016 10:44 am

You will need the brown VOLKSWAGEN SERVICE MANUAL Type 3 1968 through 1973 by Bentley at it is our 'Bible'. It has a big Chapter 8 covering the automatic transmission too! You might need more tuning/jetting on your Weber carburetors. www.aircooled.net is good for their technical articles/free advice/parts etc for Webers. Go back & get all of your fuel injection parts. :twisted: