Does anyone else out there have a Fierro 600?

[djm58]

darryl, i've found red to be a common conveyor for a number of functions in my car, so be careful and check everything and assume nothing as it could be costly and possibly dangerous(sending unit wire to gas tank is signal wire-not hot-or kaboom). you really need a knowledgeable hands on person who knows wiring to help you as not all of your gauges perform(trigger,power-up,etc.) the same type of function. refer to your vdo book whenever possible. the simplistic wiring in these cars get complicated with no real color code to go by therefor needing more in depth understanding on functions and tests to determine what is being used for what. there is probably some commonality as the "orange" being used for switched lighting and "black" for ground(the x-mas tree symbols) but still need to be tested to be sure. these are kit cars and could also have a positive or negative ground, check this. your temp. gauge is for oil and monitors your engine for heat and your lbs. gauge is also oil and monitors the engine for oil pressure. the thick cable on your speedo goes to your left front wheel for speed input. the tach. has options for the number of cylinders the car has, to determine rpm and you should again refer to the vdo manual for hook-up. there's alot of stuff here to take into consideration as each one of these cars were wired differently. it would be very hard to walk you through this as you are waste deep in alligators. this probably isn't the help you were hoping for but hopefully the help you need.

[Darryl Castone]

i found out what everything means and i now know all the proper wires and w/e.
im just tracking through a ton of wires in my car to repair wires that have come loose by their attachments ===< >===
and in doing so i've been able to make sure there is a 12volt current running to everything properly. i found out how to get the gauge's lights working as well as my tail lights and headlamps.
it turns out my german next door neighbor i've mentioned before. the guys favorite part about fixing cars if electrical and wiring. hahahaha
and im getting all this help for free being that figuring out my electrical mess is a major joy/hobby to him. lol

[dfhtrhjn]

Hey guys, sorry I've been MIA, I lost my job due to the economy so I've been getting my ducks in a row. I'll be back to post later.

[djm58]

i'm real sorry to hear that stephen, i wish you luck on lining those ducks up. i've been going through a little bit of that myself as with alot of other people i know. sometimes it opens doors for better things. darryl, sounds like the right guy for a wing man, if i was there, i could pobably help better. i'm pretty good at that type of wiring but have to be looking at it to see where i need to start from and to get an overall picture of what kinda' 'gators your swimming with.lol i had a guy offer me 6,000 bucks for my fierro the other day, it tempted me pretty good. i haven't replied on it yet, what do you guys think of this offer? i don't have that in it and this guy seems to be interested in restoring it in it's original glory.

[Darryl Castone]

Ahhh that sucks man sorry to hear that.
when my car was still a dirty white wreck i would have sold it. now it's painted red and looks all new on the outside... carpet and stuff still not installed though.
i dunno... i said i would only trade my car or sell it. only taking trades for GT40/ 65 AC shelby cobra replicas. lol
knowing how rare the cars are and how much work i've put into it... it's now that much harder for me to get rid of it. as for wires go... i started soldering wires together where before i had lazily twisted them together and taped over them- or used those male-female clips.

[djm58]

yea, i did that twisty thing earlier in my years only to find i was twisting myself into roadside repairs. i now solder and heat shrink those babys, i still do the spade and bullet connectors in certain areas and wet areas i use seal style connectors with dielectric grease. well, as far as my car goes, if the falcon that my daughter will inherit doesn't break me, i'll keep it. don't get me wrong, i know i can't just go down and buy another fierro 600, it is a tough decision.

[dfhtrhjn]

I use the spade and bullet connectors as well. I twisted a few one time then went for a pretty rough ride on a 60 or so mile mountain ridge and promptly shook everything loose. I totally forgot the dielectric grease is a life saver too, I used it all over my side and tail lights. I got an offer for 10k on mine before I built the engine and tranny I've got now; I didn't take it, where are you going to find another car like ours?

One thing comes to mind when selling our cars. I was stuck on the side of the road with it once (my throttle cable came loose from my carbs and I was tightening it back with an Allen wrench). A middle-aged guy driving down the road stops. He says holy sh*t I've only ever read about these, and I've never been able to find one. He offered to help me except I was almost finished. Anyway, he told me never to get rid of it.

Oh you guys remember I was looking into vinyl wrap instead of paint? This will blow your mind. It's DIY for it that costs only $150. He does it flat black, but you can do it with any color of course.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=376442

for some reason you can't swear on STF, it just changes the word...

[Darryl Castone]

OK so more updates.

we took off the carburetor and saw a hole at the top. a hole that's supposed to be there. lol
and we turned the car on and realized it will not sit idle very well. btw i drained out the old gas. i replaced it with 92 premium gas though. after draining the tank and fuel filter under the carburetor, we ran it for a bit to get the new gas through the fuel lines. so a few things we noticed. (now im referring to the picture)
part #1 had a loose tube, you can see how i connected it thinking, and pretty sure that's how it's supposed to be.
then i saw some old dry rotted rubber caps on parts 2 and 3.
now i dunno if those are supposed to be connected to something by a tube like part#1 but, i noticed if i closed them with my finger tips the engine seemed to isle better and smoother. but i could be getting the wrong impression?
now part 4 is that hole that was under the carburetor. there is some sort of flap thing...? i noticed if i pulled that lever that revs the engine.. if i pulled that flap thing down at the right time with the revving lever, it was like driving and gear shifting. now my neighbor told me that flap was supposed to waddle back and forth slightly on it own, it's got something to do with the Tachometer's RPMs. well it doesn't waddle slightly on it's own, so something involved with that isn't working right. any ideas?

now.... with getting some new gas, and seeing those air things (parts 2 & 3) help the engine run/idle better when plugged shut with my fingers, and experimenting with the flap thing under the carburetor. we figured the engine probably had some terrible spark plugs. i don't have a tool (its the socket piece for a wrench) large enough to remove the spark plugs. what size should i get?

I guess a lot of this question is a part of the bigger question.
How the hell do i tune my engine?

[dfhtrhjn]

Did you get my fb message? I wrote most of it out for ya.

Check this out: Ignore the fact that I keep brakes in my bathroom.

[Piledriver]

Did you get my fb message? I wrote most of it out for ya.

Check this out: Ignore the fact that I keep brakes in my bathroom.

Don't feel bad, that's where I built my last motor !

[SCOTTRODS]

OK so more updates.

we took off the carburetor and saw a hole at the top. a hole that's supposed to be there. lol
and we turned the car on and realized it will not sit idle very well. btw i drained out the old gas. i replaced it with 92 premium gas though. after draining the tank and fuel filter under the carburetor, we ran it for a bit to get the new gas through the fuel lines. so a few things we noticed. (now im referring to the picture)
part #1 had a loose tube, you can see how i connected it thinking, and pretty sure that's how it's supposed to be.
then i saw some old dry rotted rubber caps on parts 2 and 3.
now i dunno if those are supposed to be connected to something by a tube like part#1 but, i noticed if i closed them with my finger tips the engine seemed to isle better and smoother. but i could be getting the wrong impression?
now part 4 is that hole that was under the carburetor. there is some sort of flap thing...? i noticed if i pulled that lever that revs the engine.. if i pulled that flap thing down at the right time with the revving lever, it was like driving and gear shifting. now my neighbor told me that flap was supposed to waddle back and forth slightly on it own, it's got something to do with the Tachometer's RPMs. well it doesn't waddle slightly on it's own, so something involved with that isn't working right. any ideas?

Well,... since there's no exact answer to the question "how do I tune?" I'll offer up a couple of things, since I've been watching this thread pretty much since I signed up on the forum.... I have a "Kit Car" also,... a Dune Buggy... so this is one of my areas to watch.

The 2 rubber caps that are all dried and cracked, need to be replaced. They are, for lack of a better explanation, LEAKS. The advance fitting has always been where you have it attached, so that's a good thing. When you put your finger over the two cracked bits and it runs smoother, you're essentially just plugging up leaks. That's why it seems to run better. When there's a leak there, you're getting too much air in the fuel/air mixture.... cover them,... more closely correct.

The "flap thingy" in the carburetor is called a butterfly or throttle disc/plate by a lot of folks, it should move with the accelerator pedal movement. It is, in fact, one of the most important pieces to the proper operation of the carb. It does MANY things to insure fuel air mixture and volume are where they need to be. That butterfly is dead in the middle of the carburetor "throat". There should be one above the throttle plate also, it would be the choke. Usually it is closed (mostly) when cold, and opens as the engine warms up, it shouldn't "waddle" much at all. Just slow even movement that's hard to see move while you watch..... it's pretty slow. So looking down from the top as you have it pictured, you should see the choke on top, throttle plate down inside, below the choke. They look pretty much like the same thing but serve very different purposes.

What you have removed is not the carburetor, but the air cleaner, which sits atop the carburetor..... With the carb removed,.... engine don't run.

I'm pretty sure the carb on that motor, is a "universal" carb. Should have a 32/34PICT-1 number on it somewhere on the side if it's a Solex.... I have a Bocar branded carb on mine that also has that designation. there have been a few others that look and operate just like them, but like the one you have, some have extra ports for vacuum on them for other vacuum controlled devices such as emissions stuff. These ports (at least one of them) would be needed on a later model VW Aircooled VW engine from or for California for sure.

I think the hole that you are numbering #4, is the accelerator pump tube..... When you push the pedal, it should pump a little extra fuel to enrich the fuel as the volume needs are changed, helping to limit the stumbling that would typically occur without it. I could be wrong on that #4 though.... Could be you're just pointing out the large throat bore of the Carb.

The bore of the carb throat (or venturi) is what that number is related to. I think in millimeters. AS Delll 40's would suggest a 40mm throat, these suggest a 32 or 34mm throat (or in those universal ones, a happy medium of probably a 33mm throat or some other item compensating for the odd numbering)

I'm just now getting back into my VW stuff after a long hiatus, so I may be off a smidgen or two.... but all this is from my 46 yr old memory.... It aint what it used to be.

A tune up can include a lot more, but I'll stop typing for tonight.

[dfhtrhjn]

So I made progress on the headlight covers; actually I made the left one. My father held it in place for the pic.

[Darryl Castone]

AAAAAHHHHH

I WANT THOSE!
How Much For A Set?

[dfhtrhjn]

Here's how to make the headlight cover I made from scratch. It took me about 4 hours.

Ingredients:

You need 4 screws (10 cents a piece),
a chair (kitchen chair is good)
a yard stick ($1)
a sheet of thin acrylic (optix brand) plexi stuff ($8)
a slightly larger than 8" cardboard tube ($9)
-you buy the cardboard tube at a hardware store like lowes or home depot. it's the 4 foot long stiff tube for pouring concrete into pillars.
a heat gun 1500 watts ($13 at harbor freight)
a sheet of cardboard for a loose template (cut and old box)
a pair of scissors
a dremel ($40)

Instructions:
Step 1: Take one end of the sheet and with the yard stick, screw it onto the roll; yard stick on top sheet in the middle. This keeps the side straight and in place.
Step 2: Put the whole thing on the edge of a chair so the sheet can hang without touching the floor.
Step 3: Begin heating the sheet along the yard stick slowly and evenly at about a 2 inch distance with a 1500 watt gun.
Step 4: As the sheet begins to heat you gradually rotate the tube until a semi circle has been bent.
Step 5: Create and cut a loose cylindrical shape of the light cover over the headlight with the cardboard
Step 6: Place the cardboard on the bend plexi and use the dremel to cut a fairly close shape
Step 7: Place the rough plexi shape on the headlight and cut/file away as necessary

[dfhtrhjn]

Check it out, I ran out on the first decently sunny day here and tried mounting my dash cam and going for a drive. I need to turn it a little more to the left next time so that my A-pillar isn't in the way, but I think this system could work.

Does anyone have a good way of reducing camera shake while driving?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4qKB6YY_3E