Back to FI or not?

mxracer · Posted: Sat Apr 16, 2011 10:05 am Post subject: Back to FI or not?

Hello everyone,

Been lurking for a little while reading and love the forum.

I recently picked up a 73 squareback which has a weber 32/36 installed. I also just bought a "donor" 73 squareback today that has the stock FI still on it.

So my question is... is it worth it to take the FI off the donor or even just rebuild that engine and put it on the one I'm restoring or should I just keep the carb setup, progressive or not?

I'm not concerned with keeping things stock as the car is already mod'ed. I'm just looking for which is going to be better.

I've read (most) of Tram's FI sticky, haven't gotten thru all of it yet so I see there is a lot of info on FI but seems like parts are getting scarce? Since this won't be a daily driver I don't care so much about fuel mileage, I'd rather have reliability and availability of parts in case something does happen.

Thanks in advance and it's great to find a community like this. I started with beetles when I was 16 and having this type of info back then would have been GREAT. Smile

Dan

Bobnotch · Posted: Sat Apr 16, 2011 11:22 am Post subject:

Out of all the carb set ups, the progressive carb is probably the worst. And I'm not talking about the fact that it needs a hole cut into the engine cover, or that it sticks up into the load/trunk floor. That carb was designed to run on a pinto, not a VW. That being said, Weber ICTs make a much better choice IF you decide you'd prefer carbs over injection.
Since you've got a donor car that has the injection on it, you could swap it over. Parts are kind of getting hard to find, but they are OUT there. The fuel pump is probably the biggest weak link, and most expensive to replace, but there are other pumps out there that will work (the ford ranger frame pump comes to mind). Everything else is available, and the injectors can be cleaned, or even replaced, as they're out there. The choice is really yours though.

The key with having a 70 and later car, is the overflow vent hose (located in the RF fender), as they are commonly cracked, and allow dirt and water to enter the fuel tank. It doesn't matter which fuel system you go with, that vent hose probably needs to be replaced, or you'll have fuel related issues. Just something to be aware of.

Ninja edit: I purposely stayed away from advocating 1 set up over the other, mainly due to the fact that I have both set ups (carbs and FI) on the cars I own, since I own more than 1 car. Both systems get pretty close to the same mileage though. Very Happy

_________________
Bob 65 Notch S with Sunroof
71 Notch ...aka Krunchy; build pics here;
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=249390 -been busy working
64 T-34 Ghia...aka Wolfie, under construction... http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=412120

KTPhil · Posted: Sat Apr 16, 2011 12:05 pm Post subject:

With yours not needing to be a daily driver, FI would work out ideal. Parts are scarce, but ebay and Samba ads mean you will find everything you possibly need. I would say within a couple of weeks you will find every part of the system for sale somewhere. Or the T3 list people have parts you can buy.

With FI you have reliability, good cold starting, altitude compensation, and maximum value when you sell. No tweaking when the weather changes, no icing.

Weakest link is hoses and wires, easy to replace and maintain or restore. Once done, and with regular hose replacement, they are pretty bulletproof.

X2 on fixing the overflow/vent hoses right away. Jim Adney sells a kit that fixes it better than new. It will save your fuel pump.

Tram · Posted: Sat Apr 16, 2011 1:48 pm Post subject:

I've got tons of parts, and there are more out there. Plus, Mercedes and Volvo used that same system.

Once you drive it with the FI, you'll realize what a piece of shit carburetors are. Smile

_________________
Немає виправдання для війни! Я з Україною.

bent_karma · Posted: Sat Apr 16, 2011 9:58 pm Post subject:

I've never had f.i. So I don't know what I'm missing. The p.o. Was in the middle of converting the job, I just finished the job. So I'm going to Kelley park and thinking about selling all my f.I. Stuff.
_________________
'71 VW Bay Window Deluxe Bus [Busness] sold
'73 VW Thing [Agent Orange]
'71 VW Squareback (first air cooled/vw ever) sold
'07 Mazda3 Hatchback GT [the Mazda]
'06 Nissan Sentra 1.8 S (gone at the moment) sold
'18 Subaru Forester 2.5i [Sue Bee]

"Water is for drinking"

TotalSquare · Posted: Sat Apr 16, 2011 10:40 pm Post subject:

I am running fuel injected and I might be brain washed from reading Tram's thread, but I say go FI if you can. It adds value to the car, gets better millage, and fits better under the engine cover. The biggest pain for me was getting a good fuel pump. If you have a stock fuel pump that works I would definitely say go for it. I am running the ranger/bronco pump and it's good, but I still wish I could have my system stock. Either way it will be great to have another Type 3 on the road.
_________________
73' Squareback, FI

Woreign · Posted: Sun Apr 17, 2011 12:49 am Post subject:

One thing I like about F.I. is that the engine will not vapor-lock! When I was living in North Carolina, where temps would reach near 100 degrees with over 90% humidity, I had a Beetle that would vapor lock constantly. Very frustrating...

mxracer · Posted: Sun Apr 17, 2011 6:37 am Post subject:

Thanks for the replies guys.

Here's what I'm thinking. I'm going to spend a little time getting the engine that's in the car tuned up and running as best I can with the weber. That will allow me some time to play with the car (or get really frustrated with the carb) and have a little fun with it.

Once I get it tuned up I'm gonna pull the donor car into the shop and drop the engine and transaxle. Plan is to rebuild the FI donor engine and then swap our the engine and trans once it's rebuilt. Trans in the car has a reverse issue so I'll just swap both.

BTW Woreign... wish I was back over there. I lived in Wurzburg for 3.5 years and loved it. While there I had two of the best bugs I've ever owned. One of which I paid $75 for, dropped a battery in it, bolted on a muffler and drove it for 2 years. Smile

sharkskinman · Posted: Sun Apr 17, 2011 11:25 am Post subject:

atleast get some stock 32s instead of the progressive

and yes go to F.I.

once its tuned and running
you dont need to mess with it

add electronic points and Tada
you never have to set it again
_________________
74 Mexi Swamp Thing. 70 square volksrod (Swamp Rat)..65 C10

supaninja · Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2011 9:17 am Post subject:

The FI parts ARE NOT scarce! I was just at the texas classic, type 3 parts in general were scarce but there were 2 complete FI setups for sale. Thanks to all the "carb heads" for going the easy (aka lazy) route and swapping out the stock FI to controlled fuel leaks.
There are plenty of FI parts available. I did drive 2 type 3's other then mine(which doesn't count because of its shear awesomeness Razz

) this weekend, one was a stock carb car and the other was a 68 with OG FI and WOW the OG fuel injection is so much nicer to drive.

Anyways The FI parts are still abundant, eventually they will dry up since there are more carb hacks then people willing to learn something new, but there are other options for FI being explored (Max Welton's build)
_________________
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y163/chucky1974/ninja.gif

Nick
Megasquirted Type 4 powered Notch http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=427890&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0
Blog of Doom http://supaninjanick.wordpress.com/

Typ3nut · Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2011 11:24 am Post subject:


Hello! Log in or Register \| Help \| Donate \| Buy Shirts	See all banner ads \| Advertise on TheSamba.com

	Forum Index -> Type 3	All times are Mountain Standard Time/Pacific Daylight Savings Time
Page 1 of 1