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Mon Apr 08, 2019 7:36 am

I am back. I am finished with my 68 bus and now have a 1979 with fuel injection. My first , of probably many , questions is: Can anyone share experiences with converting the engine to a carb? I'm not really sure if it is a good idea or not. The reason I ask is that it seems like it would be a lot less complicated. Please have mercy on my stupid questions.

thanks

ted

Thank you everyone. what a great forum. I was asking about the FI because I was not sure if it was a good way to go. Mine works now and I will leave it alone. I am just diving into the engine now and am anxious to see what I find.

Thanks again

Mon Apr 08, 2019 7:40 am

seems ill be the first of many to tell you that going to a Carburetor is an unpopular idea

i spent countless hours and parts collecting to convert my dual carb bus to match your 1979 setup.

the benefits of FI far outweight what simplicity you might get from a carb

when the FI works you just forget about it. when you habe a carb, you drive along all day thinking about your fuel to air mixture, or are your needle valves leaking fuel into the case, or are they balanced correctly, or is your pump putting out too much pressure, or if your mileage is correct, if your linkage is worn out, if its jetted correct, are the chokes working, ahh fuckin carbs i dont miss them much at all

Mon Apr 08, 2019 7:52 am

I'm a big advocate for modern technology....but these FI systems are not only long in the tooth, but getting VERY hard to find parts for. ask anyone that has tried to find a AFM that is worth a dam.

having said that, what are you working with? as in, is there a lot of missing parts?

the harnesses typically need work, are petrified at this stage in the game etc...

a GOOD set of carbs well tuned would be about as easy as you can get. for a stock application a pair of dellorto 36's are nice. personally, the single barrel carbs are ok, but I'm not a huge fan.

there are some that have well sorted FI...but ask them what it took to get there...and how much it cost. you are forced to use whatever is out there...most of which is used.

well sorted FI is nice. I have dell 36's on my camper and get about 22 mpg out of it...so the tuning is just as important on a carb as it is with FI.

Mon Apr 08, 2019 8:13 am

I'd stay with the FI. It is a simple system once you learn it. And while some parts are hard to find, putting poorly made late carb castings on one of these engines can require an equal amount of work or more.

Mon Apr 08, 2019 8:42 am

If your FI system is intact, don't mess with it. I LOVE my FI system. just make sure you check everywhere (EVERYWHERE) for vacuum leaks, replace any worn seals, etc. An afternoon of maintenance will ensure your FI system lasts forever.

http://www.ratwell.com/technical/VacuumHoses.html

Mon Apr 08, 2019 8:07 pm

In well over 200,000 miles between the two fuel injected Buses I use as part of the fleet in my plumbing service business, I have had two FI related issues: a temperature sensor started acting up, which was easily sourced at Bus Depot for something like $20, and we had an issue with the AFM on the other which needed some adjusting. Other than that, they just run and run and run, start well in all weather, get decent mileage and burn clean. They idle and run smoothly. Our third Bus was carbureted. No one was ever able to get it to run right-constant tinkering was needed. The original carbs were gone when we got it, and we started out with the CB Performance Brosal dual carbs because they have electric chokes which we wanted for the winter. Those actually worked fairly well but they always seemed to run rich and the linkage was garbage. After that we tried a single progressive, which no one could ever get tuned right. Tried a set of dual Weber 40s, and everyone complained about what a huge pain the ass it was to start the thing up when it was cold, not to mention a 10-15 minute wait time to let it warm up. Just what you don't want when you are running service calls. It had been through multiple VW specialists and different carb/s before I finally had enough and converted it to Subaru.

No way would I ever replace fuel injection on a stock engine with carbs. Some say carbs are simpler-not these days-unless you work on it yourself, but very few shops want to touch it and as I mentioned, I went through several air cooled specialists and was never good even after that. Some may disagree, but my experience with the FI has been stellar.

Tue Apr 09, 2019 6:49 am

Add my name to the pro-FI list.

As Skillz mentioned, it is expensive and time consuming to convert from carbs to FI. But once you understand the function of each component, and get the system working, it's a cinch to maintain.

This became my second-best teacher when learning about FI...
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/afc_fi_training_troubleshooting_manual.php

Robbie (AirSchooled.com) was the best teacher.

Tue Apr 09, 2019 8:50 am

Ted sammis wrote: I am back. I am finished with my 68 bus and now have a 1979 with fuel injection. My first , of probably many , questions is: Can anyone share experiences with converting the engine to a carb? I'm not really sure if it is a good idea or not. The reason I ask is that it seems like it would be a lot less complicated. Please have mercy on my stupid questions.

thanks

ted

Probably helpful to know why you want to ditch the FI. Is it missing parts? Doesn't run well? Intimidating? All of the above?

Tue Apr 09, 2019 2:57 pm

Ted sammis wrote: I am back. I am finished with my 68 bus and now have a 1979 with fuel injection. My first , of probably many , questions is: Can anyone share experiences with converting the engine to a carb? I'm not really sure if it is a good idea or not. The reason I ask is that it seems like it would be a lot less complicated. Please have mercy on my stupid questions.

thanks

ted

You'll get a lot of answers. Mostly from people saying you should do the thing they do. Don't stress, fuel injection isn't complicated and the parts aren't impossible to find - IF you ever need one.

Why do you ask, is it not running currently?

Tue Apr 09, 2019 3:46 pm

airkooledchris wrote: Ted sammis wrote: I am back. I am finished with my 68 bus and now have a 1979 with fuel injection. My first , of probably many , questions is: Can anyone share experiences with converting the engine to a carb? I'm not really sure if it is a good idea or not. The reason I ask is that it seems like it would be a lot less complicated. Please have mercy on my stupid questions.

thanks

ted

You'll get a lot of answers. Mostly from people saying you should do the thing they do. Don't stress, fuel injection isn't complicated and the parts aren't impossible to find - IF you ever need one.

Why do you ask, is it not running currently?

Having run a single progressive carb, I intend to stick with it, but I wouldn't recommend that someone dumb $500 and innumerable hours into going this route. If you already own a carb set up then maybe stick with it, but don't drop the cash if the FI system is either functioning or reasonably close to doing so.

Tue Apr 09, 2019 4:43 pm

Where are you located? Do you have someone nearby that can work on your fuel injection? I’m in San Diego and have worked on two 1979 fuel injected buses within the last six months. One was a Cali bus and the other federal.

Tue Apr 09, 2019 4:44 pm

As some will say, Do you have photos of the Engine and FI set up? I have a '78 FI and I am keeping it. I've heard to many challenges with trying an FI engine with a carb set up, being that the FI is programmed to be adaptable to all the varying weather and conditions.

The reasonable route would be asses the system, clean and refresh what you have existing, and if it is serviceable, why spend the money? There's a FI system refresh kit I have seen online out of England for around $100 that makes things simple.

Tue Apr 09, 2019 5:25 pm

Quote: Please have mercy on my stupid questions

Little mercy was shown.

Ted...oneof the mobile guys can work wonders with your FI.

Tue Apr 09, 2019 9:27 pm

If I had a problematic or even incomplete FI - Id put stock 72-74 Carb system on my bus. Cheap and plentiful parts.

None of you weenies have done that or even suggested it. Why? Remove the State restriction as complaining about that would be too easy.

Tue Apr 09, 2019 10:59 pm

notchboy wrote:
None of you weenies have done that or even suggested it. Why?.

That sounds like more of a PITA than just fixing FI to me. :wink:

Wed Apr 10, 2019 9:29 am

tommu wrote: notchboy wrote:
None of you weenies have done that or even suggested it. Why?.

That sounds like more of a PITA than just fixing FI to me. :wink:

More importantly, the OP hasn't responded on why is asking this question. There could be nothing wrong with the FI. As we know, there's people out there that will tell you to ditch it as soon as you say you have it, regardless if it is running splendid or not.

Wed Apr 10, 2019 9:33 am

ImAddicted wrote: tommu wrote: notchboy wrote:
None of you weenies have done that or even suggested it. Why?.

That sounds like more of a PITA than just fixing FI to me. :wink:

More importantly, the OP hasn't responded on why is asking this question. There could be nothing wrong with the FI. As we know, there's people out there that will tell you to ditch it as soon as you say you have it, regardless if it is running splendid or not.

Aw come on. You dont like the storage wars style of discussion? We know just enough to speculate the hell out of it. :roll: :lol:

Wed Apr 10, 2019 9:55 am

C'mon Ted. we know your out there. We can hear you breathing. (plus the site shows you were last here today)

Wed Apr 10, 2019 10:20 am

Im telling you that dual carb remark spooked everyone. Makes you think. :-k :lol:

Wed Apr 10, 2019 1:12 pm

Poor, Ted.

Stay with the stock FI system!