Hey all, newbie here, just picked up a Sand Rail with a 1973 Beetle Engine in it, it has not ran in 6 months, Was going through it and found something I thought was Odd.

It has a 34-PICT-3 Carb, the arm that controls the upper butterfly swings freely. The arm has "stair step" cuts in it I would assuem to allow for different setting for Idle speed. Please comfirm my thinking, that the arm SHOULD NOT swing freely and should be SET in place.

Thanks for your help.
JNT

 

on the side of the carb there is a (should be a) circle with 3 flathead screws. this is the automatic choke.there is supposed to be a hot wire from the coil going to it but most people unhook this.
it is supposed to work like this: the moment that you turn the key an electromagnet pulls on a spring that is kind of a thermostat like device. if it is cold outside the spring will be shorter,(that butterfly you mentioned is your choke) causing the choke to close. it will not move until you tap the gas once. the steps on the linkage hold the butterfly open to whatever position the electric choke pulls it to. the colder it is the more closed the choke will be. if there is no wire you can use the stepped gauge to set the choke manually but as soon as you touch the gas pedal the choke will return to full open.
some times in the winter (when the wire was not there)I would have to crank the motor for a few seconds turn off the key then pump the gas twice. then walk back and set the choke to fully closed on the stepps then turn the key without touching the gas. let it run for a few seconds then rev it up a little and it should idle after that, if all else is good. the 34pict carb is so simple that it can make you feel like a master machanic once you have mastered it!
yes it should swing freely. incoming air will hold it open.
as far as idle goes, there are two screws on the left side one about a half inch around and one a quarter inch around. there is a method to tuning the idle that is quite indepth and I recomend not touching those screws without a manual in your hands(seriously). if you need that info I can dig it up for you.

 

another reason not to touch these screws is that they both have a thin rubber seal on them that will most likley break and cause a vacume leak afterwich it is imposible to tune the carb. wait untill you do a rebuild on the carb and replace these rubber seals to do any adjusting.

 

I see what you are talking about. But I fear I have a bigger Issue now. She was running Fine last night for about 5 minutes, and then RPMs jumped up and it Died. Now it will barely stay running, If I wiggle the throttle arm you can see fuel squirting in to the carb throat....I do that about 10 times, and she will idle for about 10 seconds then Dies again. I replaced the fuel pump, thinking it was a supply problem, but that did not fix it. What should I look at next? rebuild/new carb? any other possibilities?

One other thing I notice not sure if it linked our something else....the Coil mounted on the fan shroud is getting SUPER HOT. Is this normal?

 

the hot coil is something that happens when you have the key on for a while without the engine running.
It is very common in the old 1600to have intake leaks, to me it sounds like you might have a big one. the easy way to find that leak is to start the engine then take a propane torch turn on the gas of the torch but dont light it the with the engine running point the propane around the sides of the carb and follow the intake manifold all the way down to the heads. if the car idles up pull away the torch let it idle back down and recheck that spot to see if it idles up again. I would pay close attention to the rubber boots that conect the intake runner to the dual port end casting. those are only good for a few years and then the start to crack and leak. this can cause engine failure if you drive it whith these leaks. the lean mixture will cause alot of heat and ruin the heads and burn up the pistons. anothe r suspect spot is where the endcasting bolts to the head. these are both easy and cheap to fix.
if you are haveing trouble keeping it running long enough to even do this test mark the position of your distributor and advance the timing slightly by turning the distributor counter clockwise about 2-3 millimeters from your mark.
have you checked the valve lash? changed the plugs? is your distributor conected to your carb by a hose(vacume advance). that hose my need replacement also. also you can check that your distributor is advancing when the throttle increases. the easy way is to pull the hose off the carb and suck on it, listen for the rpm to go up, or hook up a timing light, paint pen your timing mark on the flywheel and rev the engine your timing mark should move quite a bit.I doubt that this is where your problem lays but it's important. there are many small thing that have to be in check before you start blamming the carb. even an exaust leak can cause the symtom you described, pressure in the exaust helps the valves close tightly. check your points on a regular basis especial in the first couple hundred miles after changing them. they may not be opening and that would explain the hot coil. I'd start there points are key. I would drop in a petronix and lose the points right away. gets you about five more HP if every thing else is tip top.
good luck!

 

The engine is in a sand rail, Has a Push button start and a Kill switch, with the switch BACK, it is in the "KILL" position, with the switch Forward it is in the "ON/RUN" postion, while working on it I did leave the switch in the "RUN" Position, probably the HOT COIL issue righet there.

Thank you VERY much for the input. Gives me a good idea and a check list to work though. As I am new to engines, I am not clear on "points". I have read up a little bit, souns like if I replace the Distributor completely, I will be replacing the ponts as well. Is that right?

 

Got home last night ans pulled the carb to give it a once over....HOLY DIRT AND CRAP BATMAN!! Sand particles, some rust looking stuff on the springs, and Some weird white GUNK, not alot of varnish though. Looks like I wil be Doing a Carb job Tonight. Almost SURE that was a HUGE part of my isssue. I also looked at the intake manifolds, the boots were red, but now faded and cracked, ordered them as well, Might as well Fix the whole fuel/intake system if I am going to fix it, right? Besides, carb rebuild kits and Manifold boots and gaskets are cheap and easy.

Wish me luck....this is my first venture in to carb cleaning. I have done small 2 stroke engines in the past so hopefully this will be only sightly more complex and not super complex.

I will let ya all know how it turns out. Thanks again for all your input.

REGARDS

JNT

 

I picked up a Carb Kit from NAPA, had the O-rings and a new Float bowl needle valve as well. I have no clue what the white crap was, but MAN it was a b(^% to clean out.

I found several places on line on how to set the Needle Valves, once I recieve my new intake Gaskets and Boots, I will swap them out and get her running again.

After a bit of looking, I see there is an "upgraded" distrubitor on the motor, there is no Vacume. I found it on a Sand Rail Parts web site, called a EMPI 009. Looks to be fairly new. But I will take your advice and eventually switich over to the Petronix, sounds like the way to go from what I have read about them.

Thank you very much for you help....I hope one day I can return the favor.

Regards

JNT

 

Oh i am sure i will have mroe questions....lol

My plan is to have it running this evening, that is if the wife lest me go out side and Tinker, I have all the parts I need to get the engine running again, Rebuilt carb, new Intake boots, and gaskets.

I will try and get some pics for ya'll. It is still Ugly, I am working from machaincal, then I''ll clean it up, once I get it running good then the REAL FUN Starts.

 

Just bouncing this off you guys. I need to adjust my carb settings, I am getting back fires and lacks power after warming up. Based on my experienece with 2 cycle engines, when there is a lack of power the carb is getting TOO MUCH FUEL, a RICH mixture.

So with the 34 PICT 3 carb, She Idles FINE, a little surging, maybe 100 RPM or so, I need to adjust the settings to get LESS FUEL to it? turn the Small Needle IN a touch?

From what I have read the Larger Needle only control the amout of AIR to the carb.

Am I on the right track?