[T3] New to List, Hello! Question or questions...

Jim Adney jadney at vwtype3.org
Mon Aug 27 12:58:20 PDT 2012


On 26 Aug 2012 at 15:58, jaredkohler at gmail.com wrote:

> Hello Fellow Type 3 folks!

Hello, Jared, and welcome to the Type 3 list!

> Our 1970 Fastback is back on the road!
> 
> When purchased, the previous owner had installed a Type 1 engine and
> 'moth-balled' the original FI engine. Never discovered why! Ugh! After a
> few years of parts-hunting, researching, headaches and scrounging a
> complete 1971 FI engine from a wrecked Square; the old Fasty is driving
> once again with ALL the popper goods!

Congratulations on following thru on this nicely. I'm sure this was a 
lot of work, but it will be worth it, and the rest of us thank you 
for bringing another good Type 3 back from the grave.

> Now, she seems to run hot. How do I know? Well, it 'smells' hot after a
> nice jog down the road. Feels hot too of course. I know this sounds silly.
> Just something I'm sensing. Also, the Fasty can be 'slightly' hard to start
> after a good jog. Several cranks, then slow to come up to idle. Then runs
> fine thereafter.

Well, there's hot and then there's too hot. You seem to understand 
the distinction. There's no easy way to tell the difference unless 
you have another Type 3 to compare with. The main thing you should 
worry about is the air cooling. Make sure the cooling air intake 
bellows at the rear of the engine is intact, so the engine isn't 
drawing in hot air from itself to cool itself.

Then check to make sure you have the little plates that go around the 
holes where the spark plugs go in, and the rubber airseals that plug 
those holes so air can't leak out. Unless you've already done this, 
you should probably run your fingers as far in, and around, each 
spark plug hole, to see if you feel any debris leftovers from mouse 
nests, as those are fairly common in long stored engines, and they 
block airflow. To do its job, the engine needs cool air from the 
outside louvers to blow in the top of the engine and exit from the 
bottom.  

Finally, you should check to see if the thermostat and linkage are 
still in there and working. Those parts won't cause overheating, but 
they often get removed in the misinformed feeling that cooler is 
better. Lack of a thermostat will cause long warmup times and much 
greater engine wear.

You can also tell a lot from the gas mileage you're getting. You 
should expect 20-24 mi/gal if everything's running correctly.

Once you're on the road, you are likely to find that you get gas 
spills when you top up the tank, and you smell gas after left turns. 
There is an overflow hose next to the filler pipe that is almost 
always cracked. When it's cracked, gas leaks out and water and dirt 
get blown in. It's GOT to be fixed or you'll have no end of expensive 
problems.

I designed a kit to replace this part, since the OE part is NLA. The 
kit for your '70 is $32, including shipping. My kit will be more 
durable than the OE part.

Good luck, and keep us posted.

-- 
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Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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