Distributor issues, vw hatred building

[Toyotafan78]

Looking for help. Had 009 with a flat spot like no tomorrow,so I threw a pertronix flamethrower distributor on my buggy,it decided to shit out on me and strand me saturday night when I went to leave restaraunt after dinner. No spark (module went out while I was eating apparently) coil is still good.
Only distributor I have is a mallory dual point, yl-541-hp. Had it for a while, brand new points and condenser. I CAN NOT get this car to run with it. Nothing but backfire or popping through carb no matter where its timed. Am I wasting my time with it? How do I know it's indexed properly?(the points cam is moveable and has a dot on top of it,is that supposed to align with something?) Anybody have one I could get reference pics of? There's about shit as far as info on setting them up.
At my wits end with it, can't figure out what I have/am doing wrong, and flat out despise the flat spot the 009 has, it's not streetable with it.

[Cusser]

[Toyotafan78]

It's a brazilian one.
Trying to stick with points over electronic,especially after the embarrassment of crowd of people checking out my buggy and it won't start,had to wait over an hour for the tow truck. Points would of at least limped me home.

[tasb]

You're not wasting your time with the Mallory but very few people are running one these days. I would think basic tune up procedures and checks would apply to the Mallory just like the Bosch distributors.
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1957 Kombi low mileage 36 hp governor equipped M 178 Slow Drag Winner 2014, 2015, 2018

1965 hardtop Deluxe Microbus owned since 1990 M 620 factory 12 v 1500cc

1961 (October)Single Cab- Road Trip Workhorse

[Toyotafan78]

The bosch just has a horrible bad flat spot off idle.
I've read and read and watched videos and tried with the mallory and literally spent 100 hours getting nowhere.There is apparently something wrong with it that I can't figure out. Not a beginner with points, my harley and one of my sleds has them,sled is even dual points,never had a problem with them. Fires right up with the 009,won't even close to start with the mallory. Was trying to get away from the electronics.
Just done with the piece of shit at this point,not at all a fan of VW after this adventure. Or I just buy another junk ass pertronix and wait for the inevitable joy of being stranded somewhere again.
Fuckin junk

[Slow 1200]

just get points for the 009 and figure out why you have a flat spot with it

[wcfvw69]

What carb/carbs are you running on this engine? If it's a 34-3, you'd have to fatten up the main and idle jet and run it pig rich to TRY and overcome the off idle flat spot.

Let us know what carb/carbs your running.
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[Glenn]

From your gallery pics, it looks like you have a single Weber IDF.

The 009 should work, i would figure out why it doesn't.

I'm not a fan of the Pertronix SVDA.

I would suggest a Bosch 019 mechanical, but the 009 should work and not have a flat spot. I suspect the carb needs adjusting.
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[Toyotafan78]

All 3 dizzy's are mechanical advance only. John at aircooled.net recommended one of the pertronix svda's,but I've heard a lot of mixed reviews on them and the mallory, and the 009 seems to have a bad rep for the flat spot off idle.
It has a single weber IDF 40 on it. Tri'mil header,Unknown cam, valve adjustment is spot on.
The pertronix is a 009 knockoff. It still had a slight flat spot,but nowhere near as pronounced as the bosch 009's. Fine above 1500 rpm, but don't like having to rev and slip the clutch to take off on the street. Both,until pertronix died,pulled hard right to 6500 rpm once off idle.
I ran the 009 for a year and a half, engine sems to pull harder with it compared to the pertronix,it's the off idle that kills me.
In order to get it to a tolerable range I'm running horribly rich, (fouling plugs,12mpg,black smoke)I'm sure it's exxagerated slightly due to being a single carb. If I advance enough to overcome without running super rich it sounds like spark knock.
Are these engines just that "noisy"?
Can I tweak the initial advance on the 009?
I take it the mallory is basically a paperweight...

[wcfvw69]

The Bosch German 009's and the better option, 010's work great w/dual carbs. I ran both distributors with dual Kadron's and dual Weber's. No flat spots or off idle hesitations.

The only thing I'd use a Petronix distributor for is a paper weight.

Have you considered ditching that single carb and getting duals?
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Decades of VW and VW parts restoration experience.
The Samba member since 2004.

**Now rebuilding throttle bodies for VW's and Porsche's**
**Restored German Bosch distributors for sale or I can restore yours**
**Restored German Pierburg fuel pumps for sale or I can restore yours**
**Restored Porsche fuel pumps or I can restore yours**
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[Toyotafan78]

Crossed my mind. Haven't gotten enough enjoyment out of it to justify the cost of a dual carb setup at this point.
First time I have ever been truly dissapointed with the performance/ driveability of any carb/points combo on a primitive machine.
Been fighting this for year and a half.
Wanted one for 30 years, and flat out dissapointed with it now that I have one. No longer a fan at all. Just going to shove it in the back of the barn and let it rot until I find some sucker to pass the headache onto. Complete waste of time and money at this point.

[Zundfolge1432]

[Toyotafan78]

Just gonna stick with the vintage harleys,they actually run.
Never had so many problems with a machine in my life.

[wcfvw69]

It sucks that you got a VW with a mismatched combo of the carb and distributor that didn't play well together. Then, you experienced the wonderful world of "new", crappy, aftermarket Chinese parts.

These old VW's will run beautifully and purr when you have quality parts that match. It's critical for the distributors and carbs to match. Many people remove all the aftermarket garbage from their VW engines and buy restored, original matching German made carbs and distributors. Once they do that, they are rewarded with beautifully running, low maintenance engines.

Maybe you need to take a break from it and then consider doing what I suggest. These are great cars once they are dialed in.
_________________
Contact me at [email protected]
Follow me on instagram @sparxwerksllc

Decades of VW and VW parts restoration experience.
The Samba member since 2004.

**Now rebuilding throttle bodies for VW's and Porsche's**
**Restored German Bosch distributors for sale or I can restore yours**
**Restored German Pierburg fuel pumps for sale or I can restore yours**
**Restored Porsche fuel pumps or I can restore yours**
**Restored Porsche distributors or I can restore yours**

[vwracerdave]

The problem I see is too many people are giving you conflicting advise. I'd listen to John @ Aircooled.net and ignore everybody else. Your flat spot is a tuning issue with the carb, not the distributor.
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[wcfvw69]

[Glenn]

[nsracing]

Nothing like points - you can count on them. They are as reliable as lightning during a storm.

Anything Petronics I stay away from.

I love old 009 distributors. I pick them up when I go to swap.

[tasb]

And, you can see below at what I think is called my signature line that I have two VW's that are repeat slow drag winners. Because I have perfectly matched carburetor to distributors I can get my idle down to somewhere around 400 rpm without stalling even under a load. Not positive on the above figure as my tach doesn't register it's that low and the oil and generator warning lights are on while I'm "racing".
_________________
Roads Scholar &
1957 Kombi low mileage 36 hp governor equipped M 178 Slow Drag Winner 2014, 2015, 2018

1965 hardtop Deluxe Microbus owned since 1990 M 620 factory 12 v 1500cc

1961 (October)Single Cab- Road Trip Workhorse

[Slow 1200]

can you post a picture of your engine?

does your manifold have functional preheat?

how are you timing the ignition advance?