fuel injection????

[DRS1984]

i'm thinking of purchasing a 78 fuel injected automatic bus. whew. it looks like a great deal, in nice shape and all, but i need to be convinced that fuel injection and auto trannys are not a bad thing. i've had a 69 bus for quite a while and what i think is great about it (and vws in general) is the fact that i can pretty much fix anything on the side of the road. now all of the modern conveniences make me nervous. will you all just share your thoughts and experiences with these "modern" buses with me. thanks!!!!

[NeverHadaBeetle]

I have had two (one 79 Westy, one 76 Westy) automatics with fuel injection and put several thousand miles on them together. Still have the 76 and I have been all over the country. Knock on wood, I have never been stranded because of the FI or the automatic. However, I did coast 20 miles and decended about 4,500 feet of altitude when my bus flooded and failed to start at 12,500 along the continental divide in Colorado. The bus then sat for a while and started right up so technically I wasn't stranded. In my opinion the fuel pump or double relay are the only two fuel injection components that can go bad fast enough to actually leave you stranded. All other components will usually give you many miles of warning before they leave you stranded. Ignition problems are much more pronounced on FI busses and vacuum leaks can cause annoying problems, but both are easy to fix if you keep your head on straight and look for them. Far too many people blame the FI when the real culprit is an ignition problem. Overall the FI is simple and reliable. Good luck.

[vwmworks]

i have had at least 3 westys 78 and 2 79s and they all had f.i. problems these cars are over 20 years old and there is alot of electrical that can go bad, my last 79 i changed to webers and now no problems. f.i.is a good system when working right but impossible to figure out when broke down, and parts are not cheap are easy to find if you are on a road trip, good luck on your decision.

[casey79westfalia]

The fuel injection is very simple and works incredibly when set up correctly. If you go over the system and make sure all eqipment is present you will be much happier than running big carbs which will cause a blown valve seat . Ask me how I know.

[ratwell]

[Thor]

I have owned several vw's over the years. Two FI Westy's. I loved them, never a lick of problem. As Ratwell says it only takes two things to diagnois the problems, and you slowly (still learning) add another piece of information to your VW mental Library. I stand by FI and carbs. They are both great, NYBEAT84 you need to drive the bus and see how you feel about it. As you know or will soon know that if the ride is for you, then it just have that feel and will need to come home to your garage.
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1979 Bay & 1978 II Westy Current Owner, 1963 Beetle & 1972 Beetle & 1976 SquareBack (Sold) & 1976 Westy (Wrecked) & 1978 Bay (Sold to pay for Wedding)

[phishfud]

I also have owned several FI buses, never with a problem. I am amazed at how really simple the system is. My 72 I have now had dual Solex's on it, and I was constantly messing with them. I have now converted my 72 to FI, and it fires right up, has more power, and is certainly more fun to drive.

terry
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75 Westy
76 Westy
82 Westy Diesel
02 GTI
Multiple musclecar projects

..aint toys fun ???

[Tram]

WAIT... Somebody actually converted carbs to FUEL INJECTION instead of the other way around???!!! YESSSSS!!! There IS a God! Phishie, RIGHT ON!!! You are a frikkin' Meister. When your mechanic tells you "It'll run better with carbs on it", what he/ she is REALLY saying is "Look, I just don't have the knowledge, patience, or time to fix it right." Face it, carbs are a stone- age pain in the tookus. Bus auto transmissions, like Type 3s, are either good, or they're bad. Service kits are getting harder to find, but they're out there. Personally, I'd never turn down a nice VW due to an automatic, or even an Automatic Stick Shift. They're not complicated at all if you have good repair info (ie Bentley) and are even slightly schooled in operational theory.
PHISH- Thanks for restoring my faith in Fuel Injected humanity.

[The Nomad Hatter]

I just dumped the bastard 2 barrel Weber EMPI conversion that the PO put on my 79 for an original FI system, and I've gotta say I've been nothing but pleased. Don't know about dual-carb setups on the 2000 engine, but the 2 barrel Weber just never would tune up correctly. Might have been just my setup, though, because a lot of people say great things about them...
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79 Deluxe Bay

78 Bay