Carb woes....need some advice

[Zack1978]

Hi everyone,
My 1972 Karmann Ghia is having some carb issues as of late and I would like to solve them once and for all.
My car currently has a stock Solex 34 PICT carb, that was "rebuilt" about 6 or so years ago. The rebuild was done by a local carb shop that has been around for decades, and they seemingly knew that carb. The car sits for the entire winter season and is not used frequently, not a good combination for a carb.
Last night on my way home the car simply died out and would not restart for a period of time. I would try to crank it, and no fire at all. After a period of repeated cranking, it did start and I was able to drive it home. My assumption is that something was sucked into the carb, but the filter is spotless?? The car also has times where you give it gas and it hesitates before truly accelerating. It will often stall out after a run on a highway when you get to a red light. In general when the engine is at operating temperature, the idle is poor with rather low RPM's. And finally it is difficult to restart the car once it is warmed up. It usually starts great cold.

So what re my options? Can VOLKZBITZ make my OEM Solex totally new looking and performing again? Are there cases where a Solex is "too far gone"?
My local VW parts store claims my best option is to dump the 34 PICT Solex and run a 31 PICT Brazilian carb with an adapter for my manifold. What are the advantages to the 31?
What does the collective knowledge of the Samba think?

Thanks,
Zack
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1972 Coupe

[Bloku]

To me it sound like you have vapor lock and a carb in need of a rebuild. You might want to open up the car and take a look.

[akear]

Your symptoms could be any number of things, including a worn, leaky carb. If you've already decided to replace the carb, then I highly recommend going with Volkzbitz. I recently replaced my <2 year old Brazilian H30/31 with a rebuilt OG carb from Volkzbitz and couldn't be happier. I was chasing a number of fixes for hard starting and other problems and the rebuilt carb solved so many issues for me. My car runs perfectly now. And Tim's work is amazing; you would swear you were looking at a brand new carb.

[Eric&Barb]

If it sits, water as vapor can get into the fuel tank. There it is sucked up by the carb.... There is a plug on the left side of the carb you can remove and drain any water contaminated fuel out of it easily.

When was engine last fully tuned up?

After it was tuned up was the carb adjusted properly?
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In Stereo, Where Available!

[analogmax]

I've had two carbs rebuilt by Volkzbitz and would highly recommend him