Another one of those "What engine do I have"

[75Flamebug]

So I got this engine in my 1975 beetle:

I know that I have 1973 and 1976 heads, but don't really know if that would help. I have a weber progressive carb. I'm not sure whether it has been messed with, but it most likely has because I have an electric fuel pump, fuel pressure regulator, more chrome than usual, and a jimmy'd-up manual choke. To me that means that someone has messed with it enough. So, basically I am trying to figure out what year this engine is. Could anyone help? I can get the number if I knew where it was (if I knew where it was I could get it by tomorrow).

[gt1953]

Not without removing a cylinder head and doing some measuring.
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Volkswagen: We tune what we drive.
Numbers Matching VW's are getting harder to find. Source out the most Stock vehicle and keep that way. You will be glad you did.

72 type 1
72 Squareback
({59 Euro bug, 62, 63, 67, 68, 69, 73 type ones 68 & 69 type two, 68 Ghia all sold})

[Air-Cooled Head]

Well, you can start with the engine code, stamped on, just under the alt/gen stand.
That will give you and idea of it's original heritage.
But as you say, it's obviously been bastardized, er, I mean modified, prolly a few times, in it's life.
The only way to ball park what you have is to remove a head and measure jug size. That will give you and idea, but you'd have to measure crank size also to know for sure.

What I'd do (I know, you didn't ask that! ) If that motor seems to be running fine, I'd leave it alone, and investigate my options on another go-box.
If not running fine, I'd do the min to get it running good, then look into other options.
The point being, you can spend a lot of time/money NOT driving while you attempt to "restore" a motor like what you have. Especially if you're NOT an engine builder with all the tools and experience readily at hand.
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[75Flamebug]

Well, It is running. I was having a problem with backfiring and a leaky valve cover so I pulled both covers off. Then realized that the valve adjustment screws weren't even in some of the cylinders. I saw the year of the heads and got curious what engine is in this thing. I don't have very much experience, but I know some people that do. They are currently helping me get the thing running in pristine condition. The screws I think would be the backfiring problem, but anyway, yeah I will try to get the number tonight. Thanks!
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1975 (Standard) Flame Bug
YouTube - KlutchKyle
Instagram - 75FlameBeetle
----------Since Oct 2014----------

[Bashr52]

No valve adjustment screws and a Pinto carb? That thing sounds like a basket case! Can you get some better pics that aren't done through a dirty sideways fisheye lense?

[75Flamebug]

Sorry use my phone. I got the number though. it is:

[b]AJ 123013

According to this:

It is supposed to be FUEL INJECTED? What is the deal with that? Is fuel injected better than carb or is it worse? I got the valves adjusted and now it needs to be timed. Should I time it according to 1975 fuel injected? Or time it according to 1974 carbureted? I got it timed to fuel injected and it seems to not have a puffing wheezing noise when I stomp on the gas to rev it.

So basically now what I need to know is whether I should put Duel carbs or a bigger better one, or spend the money and convert it back to fuel injected.

Thanks for the help guys!

~K-VW
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1975 (Standard) Flame Bug
YouTube - KlutchKyle
Instagram - 75FlameBeetle
----------Since Oct 2014----------

[volkswagen_bug]

I wouldn't convert it back to FI. I'd place a Solex 34PICT carb on it.
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1968 Volkswagen Bug w/ 1600 Dual Port

"It’s better to give than to receive. Especially advice." -Mark Twain

[Busdriver79]

The fuel injection has been removed...that's why there is no provision for a stock carbureted style fuel pump....now that it's a carb'd engine, time it to carb engine specs....if you are going to swap out the progressive carb, you can't go wrong with a stock 74 Solex PICT 34...just make certain that your compression is within specs on all cyls, and the valves are correctly adjusted @ .006Cold, both intake and exhaust...use a SVDA distributor. If you have an 009 type distributor, get rid of it...keep the oil changed every 2-3,000 miles....never "lug" the engine in the wrong gear, and never wind it tight beyond redline...winding it tight beats up the center main bearing, causing the non-counter-weighted crankshaft to "whip and flex", and that causes low oil pressure and other expensive problems.

[75Flamebug]

I am not sure whether my sources are correct but I heard that VW under carburets their engines, resulting in low power. I was also told that the 009 distributer are good. I am not sure I fairly new at this whole VW thing. I just want the thing to stop backfiring. Ok, and I did adjust the valves to 0.008 not .008. How important is that? It was a pain to do it anyway.

Does anyone know how to check compression specs?

Thanks!
~K-VW
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1975 (Standard) Flame Bug
YouTube - KlutchKyle
Instagram - 75FlameBeetle
----------Since Oct 2014----------

[ps2375]

[jhicken]

Good compression is usually around 125lbs, if it's low, say around 95-100, it's still drivable, when it drops below 80 you are pushing your luck [specially up hills]. Most important thing is to keep the compression within 10-15lbs across all cylinders. If you have three at 125 and one at 90, it still may run ok, but you have issues with one cylinder.

I'm guessing that you are in the states so a '75 originally came with a fuel injected motor. Folks sometimes end up taking the FI off when they can't find a simple vacuum leak. Otherwise the FI is very reliable.

Judging by the excessive chrome, budget fan shroud and questionable carburation, I'd guess that it's most likely the original 1600 that the PO just dolled up.

You said that you read the numbers off the heads and determined that one is from a '76 and the other is from a '73. I'm under the impression that FI heads [the '76] have smaller valves than the earlier heads [the '73]. If that is the case, it may never run right with mismatched heads. Hopefully someone else can chime in with a more accurate answer.

-jeffrey
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Der Kleiner Kampfwagens

[75Flamebug]

Hmm. Jeffrey, I never thought about that about the heads. I just ordered a new distributer cap, rotor, and new Bosch spark plugs. That will help me eliminate those as the possible cause of the backfiring. If that doesn't fix the backfiring, then I am going to get a new carb, probably a single 44 idf carb.

Funny story:
I was having my dad help me fix and test drive it after adjusting the valves to 0.008. My bro and I also timed it to 5 degrees after top dead center. Well, my brother forgot to tighten down the distributer. I took it for a test drive it was still backfiring. Pulled over to the side of the road and my dad timed it by ear. After that it drove great! It had enough power to burn out in the gravel (wasn't able to do that before) and wasn't backfiring when in high rpms. Got back home and checked the timing and realized it was at 27 degrees ATDC! We realized then that there was something wrong and timed it to 10 and went from there. The backfiring and other problems returned. We put it back to 27 ATDC and the problems remained.


I am actually a little bit upset that we messed with it. What do you think could be the reason why it was working better at 27 ATDC the first time and not the second time?

~K-VW

Ps. Yeah think I am going to see if I can get matching heads. Which ones should I get (73 or 76)? Or how do I check to see if they have the same size of valves?
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1975 (Standard) Flame Bug
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Instagram - 75FlameBeetle
----------Since Oct 2014----------

[Air-Cooled Head]