Re: [T3] Type 3 A/C System

["Brent Johnson" <johnsonba@earthlink.net>]

Wow!  Lots of responses to this! Thanks!

The co-worker I bought my fastback from told me the injectors were shot, her
mechanic said replacements were few and far between, and recommended
replacing them with carbs.  She never did the work and I bought the car with
the complete FI still working.  It would run fine cold, then quickly try to
stall when warmed-up and idle.  Then, it would take a lot of pedal play to
get her started again.  I bought some dual Weber 34mm ICT carbs from
CIP1.com, a Bosch 009 distributor, Facet low pressure fuel pump, VDO fuel
sender, new fuel filter and 35' of fuel hose.  I've already removed the
vacuum distributor, ECU, a few hoses and the intake up to the manifold.  So,
the FI system has been "partially" molested.  I'm being very careful to
remove everything to where it will be intact for someone else to
buy/use/resell.  I disect microchips for a living, so this job is pretty
easy so far.  I've been at a standstill the past few weeks because my
counterpart at work is on a 5-week vacation in China and I've been putting
in extra hours.  Normally, I only work 15-days a month and that's why I
decided to buy a car to restore on my free time.  For the most part, the FI
system is still installed.  I've found a places that sell injectors for
Fastbacks.  Then, I found vwtype3.org a few weeks ago and have been reading
all of these very informative emails every day.  That's about where I'm at
today, why I was asking about the pros/cons to a stock AC system, then
opening a can of worms by saying I'm converting to carbs. :-)  I've greatly
appreciate everyone's honest input on these subjects.

I do not plan on having her as my daily driver.  And when I do take her out
for a drive, I don't plan on taking her anywhere where I will need to adjust
the air/fuel mixture to compensate for the altitude.  That was another
reason why I wanted to install carbs.  So there you have it.  I've had her
for about 7 months now and she's been in the garage for the past month.  I'd
take her out at least once a week for a quick drive (maybe 5 miles or so),
just to keep things running.  Before I owned her, she belonged to a
co-worker whom inherited it from her mother in '97.  She gave me all the
receipts and records of all the maintenance that was done while she owned
her.  She didn't know if her mother was the original owner.  But it's
amazing the things I've found since I've had her.  She's got a tow ball in
back with lighting connectors coming out of the break light lens.  There's
also a few inches of dirt between the rear fenders and the frame that I
found when I removed the tail lights.  I'm in no hurry to get everything
done so that adds to the fun of noticing the details of my car.  I've taken
a few pictures to use as "before" shots and to see how much I've done since
the last set of shots.

Anyway, this is getting too long of an email so I'll just stand here in
front of the firing line for any more advice, pointers, etc.

Regards,
Brent


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jim Adney" <jadney@vwtype3.org>
To: <type3@vwtype3.org>
Sent: Tuesday, May 04, 2004 7:07 PM
Subject: Re: [T3] Type 3 A/C System


> On 3 May 2004 at 22:24, Brent  Johnson wrote:
>
> > Thanks, Jim!  I figured there would be a huge power loss when it is in
use.
> > The guy did recommend using a Sanden 508 compressor, which would not
cause
> > such a draw on HP.  I am replacing my fuel injection system with dual
34mm
> > carbs, so I was not too worried about the air cleaner being an issue.
I,
> > also, am not a fan of the unit blocking my ability to access underneath
the
> > dash.  I guess I was just thinking it would be a nice visual thing to
have.
>
> Yes, others have recommended the Sanden compressors, so that would
certainly
> help, but it doesn't fix all the problems.
>
> Why are you switching to carbs? If you've just got your heart set on it,
fine,
> but the FI works great when it's in good repair, and getting it in good
repair
> is lots cheaper than buying a new set of carbs and starting from scratch.
Most
> people who make this switch never get their engines running even as well
as it
> did with the FI. Don't just assume that this will simply work, right out
of the
> box; getting the jetting right will take a long time.
>
> If you're having trouble with the FI, then there's lots of help available
here.
> There's lots of help available for carbs, too, but once you're off the
stock
> path there are so many variables that the answers are never cut and dried.
>
> -- 
> *******************************
> Jim Adney, jadney@vwtype3.org
> Madison, Wisconsin, USA
> *******************************
>
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