Hey yo

Got a '58 running the OG 30hp 1200. Having issues when in 3rd and 4th. She potters around nicely in 1st and 2nd, but as soon as I'm looking to hit 45/50 mph, she starts spluttering and the power dips in and out. She then becomes a bastard to keep running.
If I lose power at that point, she refuses to start for a good half hour (with fuel in the carb, choke right out etc...)

1200 30hp, what I believe to be a 1500 gearbox, svda dizzy, Lucas coil, mechanical fuel pump, solex 28 pict carb, standard manifold with heat risers.

The dizzy is a repro 009.

 

Bare in mind;
1 - The engine seal is what was cobbled together in Cyprus, so I shall be replacing.
2 - The oil bath filter is off as I was putting in easy start.
3 - The heat riser on the right has been welded.

Any ideas?? Can anyone tell me where I can find a correct distributor??

Cheers
Lee

I thought 009s did not have a vac unit on them ????? Cheep 009s can give problems I would try a condencer in the dizzy to start with. :d



Andy W

Ps Put some more photos up of the 58

It might well be something else then. Just a standard svda? I dunno. I've been told a few times I need a dizzy with vacuum advance only. Without centrifugal advance. Something to do with the advance can being out of whack with the carb.

I do have a new condenser I was going to try. I can't even start the flaming thing as it is!

Of course, I can show her off!


 


 


 


 


 


She's a Cyprian import, so relatively rust free. On hydros. 4" narrowed. Originally Receder green, which you can see in places. I wanted to paint her the og colour, but this crazy patina'd blue had grown on me!
Got a couple of holes under the windscreen, along where the rear wings meet the body and a gammy drivers door hinge.
Love her to bits though!

Got an early 59 my self running a later 1200.



Andy W

Hello, I don't want to sound rude, but you have asked for opinions on the problems... I really urge you to take that motor out of the car and give it some serious TLC, the wiring and the rubber fuel pipe look like a fire waiting to happen to me.

I would suggest checking the soundness of the intake manifold, I would throw the Mexican dizzy, coil and ignition leads in the bin. You should be able to source a correct German bosch dizzy and coil pretty cheaply through the forum ads.

I would also check all valve clearances and run a compression test, the little 30hp motors run sweet if they are in good order, but that looks like a combination of many problems to me, not just one thing.

I reckon an investment of £100 ish and a couple of days graft and you could get that running (and looking) sweet 😎

BTW the carb you have is correct for a '58 1200 but it's not a 28pict it is the 28pci with the manual choke...the pict version has the automatic choke.

It also looks as if you have some missing bits of engine tinware. You need to have it all to keep exhaust heat from adding to the engine heat between the top and bottom of the engine.

This ideally is what you should be aiming for...a little at a time if you like:

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Rude? No, not at all! You're entirely right. I appreciate comments like this!

I think this is making me realise that I need to take the 30hp out and whack my 1600 in. I'm absolutely skint this month from beetle parts and I've got nothing to show for it.
I think I need to put the 30hp aside and rebuild it over time. The cost of general bits and bobs is just ridiculous.

Thanks for the help guys! Much more informative than VZI!

Lee

Cheapest option is to keep it under 45mph :d

Take some tools with you and do some diagnostics when it refuses start, you need fuel and a spark. Take the top off the carb and check the float chamber has fuel in it, take a spare spark plug with you - pull a lead off and put on the spare plug, hold the plug with plastic handled pliers and thick gloves and earth the plug while someone cranks the engine over for a few seconds - you should see a nice spark.

If you have no fuel it's most probably a carb problem, if you have no spark then it's a case of tracing it back to see what's going wrong.

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