1974 vw beetle will not idle

[vamram]

I had an issue with the metal gaskets not sealing properly when I first ran the engine of my daily driver, back in April 2020. Perhaps the mating surface weren't completely flat between the new heads and old castings. I swapped to fiber ones and no problems since.
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'74 Super 9/16 - present, in refurb process.
'73 Super - 6/18 - Present - Daily Driver!
'75 Super Le Grande...waiting it's turn in line behind '74.
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Save the Supers!!

[ashman40]

[Savannahgood12]

[Savannahgood12]

Here’s the pics I took after pulling it out today . I’m going to take all the Tin off clean and repaint them while I wait for gaskets to arrive

[ashman40]

If you are planning to pull the head tin go ahead and torque all 8 cylinder head nuts on each side. Follow the torque sequence/pattern to evenly apply the torque. This should ensure there is no pressure leaking out between the cylinder and head sealing surfaces.
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AshMan40
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'67 Beetle #1 {project car that never made it to the road }
'75 Beetle 1200LS (RHD Japan model) {junked due to frame rot}
'67 Beetle #2 {2019 project car - Wish me luck!}

[Savannahgood12]

[heimlich]

You can start the engine outside of the car. This will help you find all the issues before installing it.
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[Savannahgood12]

[heimlich]

[Savannahgood12]

[ashman40]

The primary reason for needing an old transmission is to take the bell housing off the transmission and mount the starter to it.

With the starter mounted to the bell housing, the whole thing can be bolted to the front face of the engine and the engine can be started outside the car.

The alternative to an actual bell housing is a jig that will mount to the engine and hold the starter in the correct position. Here are a few options:
https://vwparts.aircooled.net/VW-Engine-Start-Kit-Start-Jig-with-Starter-Swit-p/vw-10.htm
[This actually looks like a section of a transmission]

https://zalexindustries.com/engine-test-stand/starter-adapter-rings

https://zalexindustries.com/product/half-ring-vw-356-starter-adapter-ring-12v

There is a whole thread on "Another boring Test Stand thread again for the 100th time". The starter frame alone is not enough to start the engine. You will need a battery and wires to power the starter/ignition coil/etc. Fuel needs to be provided to the fuel pump as well. And you can throw in a few switches to control everything.
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AshMan40
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'67 Beetle #1 {project car that never made it to the road }
'75 Beetle 1200LS (RHD Japan model) {junked due to frame rot}
'67 Beetle #2 {2019 project car - Wish me luck!}

[Savannahgood12]

Ok so I am finally back for an update. First i just want to thank everyone here who replied and tried helping me without you guys I would have been clueless. I replaced intanke manifold gaskets and rubber boots reinstalled engine back into car and BOOM what do you know shes firing on all 4 again

Never would have guessed an air leak could cause only half the engine to run .

[Savannahgood12]

I almost forgot I also re torqued the cylinder heads so who knows that could have also fixed the problem.

[Starbucket]