New Air Cooled Owner!

[Shood87]

So i have recently purchased a 1973 Beetle. I have always wanted one and finally had a chance to scoop up a deal. It did run until i started taking it apart. I cant wait to start doing more work on it.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

Welcome to STF, pretty nice rig to start with.

Lee

[Stray Catalyst]

It looks like it's in great condition, but I'd put bumpers on it - all it takes is one cellphone-user with a car to spell disaster.

What size engine do you have?

Stray

[Shood87]

Thanks! It was a real steal. There is only one bad patch of rust on the right side of the rear window. It was 1000 dollars with a whole bunch of extra parts and it did come with the bumpers i just havent thrown them on yet.

I talked to the guy that rebuilt the engine and he said it is stock 1600 but whoever had it before threw on different intake manifolds and different carbs. When it was running it didnt idle right away without me reving it for like 5-10 minutes. The guy told me that carbs i had on it didnt have chokes and it could be running rough because they were out of sync. I dont know if i feel like having to sync them up all the time.

Now i do not know much about carbs so i was thinking about cleaning them up to try and figure out what they are. I do believe they are Weber carbs. I was thinking about reverting back to stock but if there is another way to make it run right and start up right away i would rather do that then buy more parts.

I am open to all knowledge so if you have any input please feel free to let me know because i realize for her to be perfect it will take a little bit.

[Marc]

A `73 Standard has real potential - they were fairly rare compared to Supers. Can't see the carbs well in your pictures but they appear to be Weber 34ICTs, which are great on a smallish motor - better fuel economy than a stock 1-bbl with improved performance. Chokes aren't really necessary unless you're in an arctic climate...a few pumps of the throttle to squirt in some extra fuel, and a minute or so of "nursing" before the idle is stable are all that's needed to live without chokes. Synchronization is vital, though. More often than not a little tweaking of the linkage and/or the throttle levers on the carbs will be needed to get them both at idle simultaneously as well as at wide-open-throttle together. Once that prerequisite is met there shouldn't be any big drama, ICTs are nice little carbs and I'd give them every chance before reverting to stock.

[SCOTTRODS]

A `73 Standard has real potential - they were fairly rare compared to Supers. Can't see the carbs well in your pictures but they appear to be Weber 34ICTs, which are great on a smallish motor - better fuel economy than a stock 1-bbl with improved performance. Chokes aren't really necessary unless you're in an arctic climate...a few pumps of the throttle to squirt in some extra fuel, and a minute or so of "nursing" before the idle is stable are all that's needed to live without chokes. Synchronization is vital, though. More often than not a little tweaking of the linkage and/or the throttle levers on the carbs will be needed to get them both at idle simultaneously as well as at wide-open-throttle together. Once that prerequisite is met there shouldn't be any big drama, ICTs are nice little carbs and I'd give them every chance before reverting to stock.

Very good potential.... For a variety of reasons including the "one year only" rear fenders. The Standard was, in my area, just about unheard of.... I've had a Super '73..... I've had a '74 Standard,.... (and rarely saw those as well). The car in the pictures also looks to have had either original color still, or a very nice paint job along the way too.

Excellent deal, as long as the body rust doesn't make it a pain to restore. Good luck on the new bug! Looks good from here.

[Shood87]

So When i pulled them off the gaskets were pretty shot. How hard is it to sync carbs? I have been reading about it but i have never done it so i am having trouble understanding how its done. Also do you think re building them would be a good idea? Also do you think i should check the intake manifold gaskets while i have them off? Sorry for the bad pics but my camera is not so good.

[Stray Catalyst]

If the gaskets are shot, your car won't run correctly until you replace them - carbs do poorly with vacuum leaks. You'll need a tool known as a carburetor snail to balance them. The first time you do it will take a long time, but after you've done it a few times you'll have no trouble. I'd recommend buying one of the books available for your car, either the Bentley manual (expensive, comprehensive, this is the book that shops use) or the John Muir book (How To Keep Your Volkswagen Alive - cheaper but not as thorough, good to teach a non-mechanic how to do pretty much everything for a VW) or both.

Stray

[Shood87]

Thanks Stray. I do have 3 books. I def want to order the bently one tho. So maybe i will replace the gaskets and try and balance them. That would def save me some money.

Steve

[Stray Catalyst]

The good thing about your year of bug is, it's the most widely available Bentley manual, so you can usually find the book for under $50. It won't tell you how to tune your carbs, if I remember correctly, but it will give you detailed instruction on how to disassemble, inspect, repair, and reassemble everything stock on your bug.

http://cbperformance.com/weberict.asp

Here's some basic info about tuning those carbs.

Stray

[Shood87]

Thanks for the link. I will be doing some reading now. I am going to run out and grab some gaskets today and probably start throwing them on. Thanks again. I will let you know how it goes once i start working at it.

Steve

[Chris V]

The rust issue is the most alarming thing...Many cars built C. 1973 used a foam in the C-pillar that absorbed moisture and rusts out badly from inside out, once you can see it, it's far too late for a small repair generally.

I owned a 1974 beetle for a few months 4 years ago...
I saw a bubble near the rain gutter near the rear window...
I poked a hole in it... and kept poking...
I ended up with a hole 4 inches long and two inches wide...

http://superbeetle.websitetoolbox.com/p ... st-2155514

[Shood87]

Yea the rust does suck. I have a body guy that i know does good work I am probably gonna take it down to him to see what he thinks. I just need to get it running right.

Here is the worst spot.

[hugging corners]

welcome man!!
good choice, myself i have got into this hobby 2 years ago and feel bad that i massed too much with other cars (rotary rx7's ect) for so long- purely from financial and parts comperativity perspective.
Beetles are the only cars that will not drain you package, will give you nothing but thumbs up on the road, and this forum it the best -bar none, where answer from snobby members like: "do the search" nor smarter man sarcasim not heard in here
...ask "stupid questions"- and you will recieve constructive answer!!
welcome in the world of aircoooled vw motors and STF!
Now for books get those 2. These are the bible:
"how to rebuild vw engine" by Tom wilson
and "How to hotrod vw engine" forgot the author
Thes books will save you hours of internet search and you can make notes directly on the pages (just like for homework"
ps. also cover your plates # in the pics.dont know why but do it:)

[Shood87]

thanks for the books. Yea i thought about covering the plate number after the fact but from now on will always do it.

I cleaned up the carbs and pre-tuned them. Got new gaskets and put them and she is alive again. I still need to tune them while they are on there but on the right side of the engine i cant find anything to fit in between the carb and the side firewall to turn the mixture screw. So i need to figure something out.

I replaced all the fuses which now all the lights and horn work except for when i shut deck lid while the car is running. Then fuse number one blows and the rear lights stop working. Awesome right gotta love electrical work.