Shoptalkforums.com

First off, great site. Tons of ACCURATE info, unlike many I've seen. Full of knowledgeable members.

Anyone care to decode an engine number?
(http://i48.tinypic.com/2pzcms6.jpg)

Okay, so there is a dash vent missing on the passenger side that allows trunk air to enter cab. For the last few days the charcol can hasent been storing vapors and is leaking causing something nasty of a smell. Ive removed them off all my prior vehicles, i know where I going to exit and how to filter, so removing the can is not the question, I found this line (http://tinypic.com/r/2zowxh5/6)and Pic 2 (http://tinypic.com/r/15s9f08/6) where is this line going? Left of picture is front of car.

This tube that comes from the exhaust to the intake? Whats its purpose? Do people ever cap these off? What are the gains/losses? (http://tinypic.com/r/24m9nus/6)

Is there surposed to be a filter Inbetween the Tank and Pump?? this is on the low pressure side and im sure its restricting fuel, never mind the lines splitting. hah Left in pic is tward front of car. Tube in pic is heater. (http://tinypic.com/r/14t3k81/6)

Is this vacuum tube config correct? Id think the air filter box would see carb vac, not constat manifold vac?? Correct??? I figure my distrupitor is a mechanical advance? This vac tube with the screw/plug in it, is that intended for timing vac??
(http://tinypic.com/r/261hmhj/6)
(http://tinypic.com/r/23ht62p/6)
(http://tinypic.com/r/9a7b11/6)
(http://tinypic.com/r/3328h7t/6)

Is this red thing a light or a button? haha But seriously.....
(http://tinypic.com/r/2rn8snm/6)

Thanks everyone!

Heres some more pics as promised....

http://tinypic.com/r/2cagz6/6
http://tinypic.com/r/zwgb5w/6
http://tinypic.com/r/2nsx3d/6
http://tinypic.com/r/wva4h1/6
http://tinypic.com/r/v48aph/6 <<I do not reccomend...At lease it was included in package.

The car certainly comes across well in the pictures...I do still worry about whether it's here legally, though. Check the VIN stamped into the top of the tunnel under the rear seat cushion, and the riveted-in plate in behind the spare tire. There are also some "secret" VIN numbers on major components like the front beam, the location of which are confidential in the law-enforcement community. All cars intended for sale in the USA from Jan 1 1969 on also had to have a VIN number visible through the windshield on the driver's side as well as a tamper-proof VIN decal on the B-pillar. I don't know if Mexi-Bugs were required to have those, but if the title says the car is a US-market Beetle of `69 or newer vintage it'd better have them both. Details such as this are unimportant 98% of the time, but if you happen to run afoul of a diligent "by-the-book" gendarme (as might happen should the car ever be impounded for some reason) you WILL lose the car and it WILL go to the crusher. this is serious poop, NO Mexi-Bug has ever been imported into the USA 100% legally, but after 20-30 years the authorities don't typically care enough for it to be a problem if there's no court case involved.
The riveted-on engine ID plate denotes a remanufactured VEGE MOTOREN longblock (built in the Netherlands, they were marketed by ATK in the USA back in the day). The number on the tag may very well not correspond with anything that was originally (or still may be) under it.
5546 AD was VEGE's internal code for a 1600DP longblock (typically one with flat-top, rather than dished, pistons IIRC) and it may or may not have any relevance to the original case it was based upon.
When dealing with any mass-production longblock-mill motor such as an ATK or GEX, you've got to especially alert for any weird dimensions. For example, the cam bearings could be oversized on the O.D. and/or undersized on the I.D.; the oil-pressure control plunger bores & pistons could be oversized. Heads will more often than not be welded-up garbage which should've stayed in the scrap barrel. You may find brass or aluminum patches pinned in place at the thrust surface or center main web in order to salvage a case that should've been melted down. Sometimes they would bore used cylinders oversized to accept (generally substandard-quality) replacement pistons - and oversized rings haven't been easily available at reasonable cost for decades now...as time passed and "good" cancer-free cores became harder to come by, these ass-clowns kept lowering their standards in order to keep product moving out the door - they were capable of almost anything, even turning only one or two crank journals undersized while leaving the rest alone.
=>> Bottom line, BEWARE! It's always possible that an ATK motor was built on a sound core, incorporating accepted practices, but you're a fool if you count on it.

There have been three basic designs of thermostatically-controlled air cleaner. The first ones had a temperature-regulating flap controlled by a Bowden tube connected to the engine's thermostat, then they tried incorporating a wax-pill thermostat into the aircleaner housing (the best arrangement IMO)...later ones used manifold vacuum to pull on a servo diaphragm. The regulation for these was accomplished by a thermostat in the top of the oil-bath aircleaner housing, or in the base on paper-element aircleaners like yours, utilizing a designed-in constant vacuum leak to keep air moving past it. That's the type you have, and it works well enough most of the time.

The red light on the dash is the brake system warning lamp, mandated by dumb-ass US NHTSA regulations for 1968. Its purpose is to warn you of an imbalance in the brakeline pressure between the two hydraulic circuits (IMO, if you need such a light you should surrender your driver's license immediately and purchase a bus pass, but the law required it). The first iteration had a "push-to-test" feature, so that pushing on the light made it illuminate if the wiring was OK. In later years (like yours) NHTSA regs again stepped in, requiring the light to "prove" automatically starting with the `72 model year - whenever the key is first switched on, the warning lamp will illuminate until you start the engine and oil pressure builds so the electronic lamp control module will shut it off.

FI cars all had filters between the tank and electric pump (primarily to protect the pump from trash) but carb'ed Standards never did. Early Supers used a pickup screen in the tank (similar in concept to what carb'ed Standards used, although uniquely different parts). In mid`73 (after VIN 1332802560) Supers deleted the in-tank strainer in favor of an inline filter between tank and chassis pipe...that was of course updated to a larger filter for `75 when FI was adopted.
From the factory the only filters in the system on carb'ed Standards were the bronze-mesh pickup screen in the tank and a finer one inside the fuel pump. The in-tank screen is known to plug up with rust flakes and crud, typically under high demand conditions (such as a long freeway run). Once the engine conks there's no more draw and gravity allows the junk to fall off the screen, so just sitting on the side of the road for a while "heals" the condition temporarily - hopefully well enough that you can finish your trip and clean/replace the screen when you get home.
If you live where it gets below freezing in the winter and have any moisture in your tank, it's quite likely that some cold morning there'll be ice crystals plugging up the screen, and they don't fall away readily. If there's no heated garage to push the car into, you may find yourself under the car with a hairdryer.
Removing the screen and running an inline filter lets crud and water get out of the tank - that's good, but when the inline filter finally does plug up it's not going to self-heal and replacement will be necessary. The ideal location is right under the tank, but that's not too handy if you should need to replace it on the side of the road. Neither is the rear chassis-to-engine line, and that location has the added drawback of being near hot parts - the potential for fire if it should leak (or while you're changing it) makes me recommend against putting one there.
In short, you can make a case for or against leaving the stock screen in the tank...but if you choose to remove it and rely solely on an inline filter, be sure you always carry a spare and have a safe way to get under the car to change it.

http://www.shoptalkforums.com/viewtopic ... 8&t=140376

We really don't need two separate threads which involve the same general line of discussion, so I'm going to use my Moderator super-powers to lock the other one and point to this one.

Wow thank you for the in depth reply! Its nice to see some one educated in so much!

The vin comes back clean, matching everywhere. I cant remember exactally but i investigated upon first purchase. It comes back standard 1973 beetle. I was just wondering IF it was a mexi beetle.... But due to your insight im now positive it isnt.

Sense we last sopoke, rev whines because: when i go/down,left,back,release..pop.. Pop again this time looks like neutral. IT WAS POPING OUT OF GEAR.. if i leave it like that it will grind and not move. I now have to hold it in reverse.. So i dont doubt the main shaft is loose. As well as all the bushings. Because it will bang hard when moto r is makn alot of torq. Ill wind out in first and slowly left off...if im not like a surgeon on the gas pedal it will rock against the gears and make a horrible whining and thud thud noise from the tunnel...and the shifter will move more than normal.

The brake light: thank you, it has been on recently and the prior owner mentioned having replaced and turned the brakes.. It had been on for 3 days, after pressing (curiosity killed the cat"..sense then didnt turn off until today so im guessing it burnt out.. I will pay closer attention when i start it next time.

The fuel filter: i figured, thank you i will be removing the filter installed between the tank and pump reguardless of an in tank screen or not. I dont believe it dose sense i didnt see one when u serviced the sender unit's gasket.

Thabk you for all your insight. Im sure ill have more quesions soon !