Re: [T3] Distributors

[Greg Merritt <gregm@vwtype3.org>]

> Can someone tell me what the big differences are between the standard T3
> distributor and the "009" distributor?

	...a difference of about $450, list price, according to my FLAPS.
;)

	The 009 is strictly mechanical advance:  the timing advance is a
function only of engine rpm.  Depending on year, the fuel injected
distributor has, in addition to mechanical advance, vacuum advance or
vacuum advance and vacuum retard.

	Also, the fuel injected distributor has a special set of trigger
points in the base which control the injectors.  The car cannot run
without these trigger points, as no fuel would be delivered to the engine.

> The 009 wasn't original equipment,
> was it?

	Nope.

> Does it give better performance?

	In many applications, it provides poorer off-idle transitions; the
car tries to stall when you take off from a start.  This is especially the
case with the 34pict-3 carb from the early seventies on the uprights.
Also, the vacuum advance carbs let you safely have access to greater
advances at small throttle openings, like when cruising on the highway.

> Can it be used with fuel injected
> engines?

	Not the Boasch D-Jetronic of the Type III.

> How can I tell which one is on my Squareback?

	If your squareback is injected, and it runs, you haven't got a
009, that's for sure!


	Basically, if you take a stock carbed engine with vacuum
advance/retard distributor and put on different carbs, you apparently lose
the availability of a carb vacuum port that's just right for your
distributor.  The only real recourse is to install a mechanical advance
unit like the 009.  Basically, they must be pretty cheap to make, I think,
with no vacuum canister, and it's a "one size fits all" sales mentality.
I got suckered into buying one once, too -- heck, they're all over
VWTrends and DB&HotVWs, so they *must* be good, right?  Argh.

-Greg

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