HELP! 1971 Super beetle won't drive

[phoomum]

I just got a 1971 Super beetle a few weeks ago. It ran alright when I got it, but it had several Vacuum leaks. When I fixed them, it quit running. My friend got the thing running, and the carb is tuned. The timing is about right. Essentially the engine is running good. But somehow, the car has no power. When pulling up a mild hill, going half clutch and full throtle, the engine still stalls out. I am at my wits end as to what to do with the car. It is supposed to be my daily driver, but driving is the one thing it will not do. What else is there to do with the engine, or is it something with the transmission. Please help, Russ

[79SuperVert]

I can't think of the reason but perhaps someone else will if you describe the problem a bit more. For instance, you say it stalls going up a hill at full throttle and half clutch. Does that mean it drives OK otherwise? Like on level ground? Can you pull away from a light? Or does it stall the moment you let in the clutch? If you step on the gas in neutral does the engine rev nicely or does it splutter and stall?

[phoomum]

it revs fine, does not have any power period. it loses it all when i let out the clutch just a little bit, on level ground, up hill, down hill, reverse. everything. i have followed procedures to adjust the carb. another friend is telling me just now that it could be the fuel air mixture. i am thinking it is getting too much gas. it was adjusted to working condition when the vacuum seals were messed up. i fixed those and everything else stopped working. now we got it to idle but it won't go anywhere. sounds great when reved to high rpm though.
russ

[phoomum]

ok, here's an update. i talked to a few of my friends and they are recommending the only way to fix this problem is to rebuild my carb with bigger floats. i think it is getting too much gas and not enough air so if i change the screws that adjust that, should that make it drivable? i need to drive four hours this friday to atlanta and back another 4 so i really need to get this working. thanks.
russ[/b]

[UncleBob]

One thing that bugged me about your original description, was that you said the 'timing was about right'.

What was the timing set at? What distributor? The motor needs to be timed and tuned by someone that knows what they're doing before you go tearing into the carb.
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OG JHC

don't worry, the ciggaret is fake.

[joshmeacham]

timing is my bet
the engine will run if the timing is "way' off...but not well..once you put the engine under any load it will sputter and die like your describing..
also..if your running a vaccum advance distributer you cuold have problems with it 'going out' pull the distributer cap off and check for play in the shaft..'up down"
my car was'dead' so i thought..same simptoms
i replaced the distriubter with a 009 and timed it right and it runs like a beauty.
my second guess would be valves need adjusting but i'm betting on the timing.

[TylerDurton]

see if it is advancing properly while your at it.. dont rely on the idle timing..

[phoomum]

ok, i'm reading how to keep your vw alive and i can't figure out how to do the stupid timing. i have no timing light but i hear you don't want to use it. somebody please give me a step by step guide for the car stupid on how to do the timing, which way it should point, etc. thank you bunches.

russ

[79SuperVert]

If you get impatient waiting, do a search here for "timing" and you should come up with lots of threads. But you have a real good manual for the timing and while I can understand you're real pis sed off, you're going to need patience to deal with your Beetle. Read over the section a few times before you try it again. Or search the threads here. But above all be patient or you're going to really screw something up.

[phoomum]

only real reason i'm frustrated is i have an 8 hour drive to a gathering this friday to saturday that i've been planning for months and i can't go if i don't get it working. thanks for all your help though.
russ

[gkcontra]

sounds obvious and I swore I didn't do it, but check your plug wire placement on the distributor. I had 3 & 4 reversed and it would run fine with no load, with load it took a bit, going flat out it would do about 45-50, if I pushed it it would pop. One day I said screw it, took all wires off dist. and started over, walla, I was an idiot. amazing how much better it runs on all 4 cylinders. My situation sounded exactly like yours, I timed it fine, with a light, but the carb adjustment screws didn't seem to be doing what they should, I even picked up a spare carb and distributor, swapped out the carb and same thing, so check the obvious like you are doing it for the first time again.

Greg
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Slurring is NOT a sexy foreign accent... but it works

[phoomum]

thank you gkcontra. that was exactly what it was. i had 1 and 2 switched around. thank you for all the people that helped me figure this out. i also got a lot of stuff taken care of that i should probably have done. i rebuilt the carb, i replaced a lot of stuff like the coil, condenser, plugs, wires, and who knows what else. thanks a lot for your help. i'm glad i found this forum.
russ

[79SuperVert]

That's great! And a really good one to remember. You had me scratching my head for two days trying to think of the answer.