dumb question

 

Just my opinion, but putting A/C in a speedster in SoCal is rediculous, especially if it is stopping the dual carb setup from being installed.....

 

OK, he should have told you that the A/C will prevent you from having Dual Carbs

the way he installs his motors, but he is not like IM or SAS who actually builds each car different, he keeps his price reasonable by doing each basically the same...

 

 

 

 

right. i was never told that i was going to lose a carb for the AC.

 

where would be a non-ridiculous place to have one of these cars with AC in it?

Arizona, Nevada, The Middle East, Africa

They were made for topless driving....they are a toy, not really an everyday driver,

if it's too hot, drive your "other" car with the A/C...

Like I said, Just my opinion

people in arizona and nevada and the middle east don't have second cars? =P

Vince.  Truer words were never spoken.  These are fun cars for driving and enjoying in nice weather.  When it's too hot or too cold or too wet, drive your daily driver.  You won't even care that you're driving a boring car because you'll be comfy and won't care what the weather does to it.  Trying to make a fun car into a daily driver or vice versa is an exercise in futility IMHO.

why do we now think i am using this car as a daily driver? i have another car.

and like i said in another post-- i have barely used the AC because the way the car runs when it's turned on is concerning. that means i have unusable AC and am still missing a carb. i agree with you guys that this doesn't seem like a good option given the poor results but then why is it even offered? when i added ac to my order i thought i was added a little extra luxury in case i got stuck in traffic on PCH in summer or something. i wasn't informed that i would be crippling my vehicle.

Well, I loved my single carb setup. It never took any adjusting and fired up every time.  Dual carbs will take some amount of adjusting from time to time.

-=theron

I don't remember saying you use it as a daily driver, I said if it's too hot

use your other car, I assume you do have another car, & that it does have A/C..

 

Look, you didn't do anything wrong, so no need to defend yourself, and don't let these monkees tell you that you need to be a mechanic.

you were unlucky enough to end up with a tub with problems, it happens, let Kirk make it right, & I guarantee you will have a smile on your face everytime you get in it...with your top up or down...hubba hubba...

kirk plans on picking up the car and putting some miles on it. we'll see how everything goes. =)

Make sure you give him a list of what you would like checked out.  That way, his having the car will be more of a structured examination, rather than just a random 'let's see what may be wrong here'.

opinions are like assholes. Everyone has one! Lighten up guys, she did spend 25k on a "TURN KEY" Car. That means turn the key and go. 

 

My Turn key VS required a visit to JPS to make it right. Even after my detailed list was sent to vs. The only person that touches my car is me or John Steel. I learned that the hard way.

 

Kirk will take care of it. Its just unnecessary frustration.

Annaliese---I am so sorry you are having these issues. I have had my VS for 6 years and although I didn't have the "teething pains" you are having, Kirk alway scame through with a solution and advice for any problem I've had in all that time.  AND I didn't buy my car directly from Kirk but from someone who only put 600 miles on it then sold it----to me.

 

Hang in there and give Kirk a chance to make this right for you and I am sure you will have a car that will be dependable and that you will enjoy.

 

Musbejim's Vintage is a daily driver---he lives in Socal near you and has put over 60,000 mles on his Speedster.  My VS has 35,000 miles, Lane's car has about the same and Tom Blankenship just drove from Michigan to Asheville, NC and back for the "Mountain Madness" event 2 weeks ago without a single problem.  The ones who call these vehicles "toy cars" are not 100% right. 

 

Hang in there, continue to be assertive in getting the car right and this will end up well for you. 

 

We want to see you here on the SOC site  for a long time! 

thanks, jack. i have no doubt that kirk has every intention of fixing my car.

New here and first post, but I find these issues unacceptable and disappointing that as a potential customer for VS I had to say something. I was considering VS even though they are farther from me, but this experience has swayed me towards JPS who's location is closer to me if I decide to join the "madness". JPS may cost a bit more, but their attention to details from what I've seen has been really good. VS may have sold the most speedsters to date, which makes the kind of issues and the number of issues Annaliese has been experiencing unacceptable IMO. That single carb hose looks like a hack job, I know I would not want that. Clearly there are speedsters roaming around with AC and dual carbs, so I don't accept the AC as reason for a single carb. Annaliese, I wish you luck in getting your speedster sorted out, I realize how frusting an experience this must be for you with a new car and all. I notice there's a downloadable VS Owner's Manual available here for premium members. Does VS not give a copy to their customers who have purchased a speedster from them?

Yes---VS does provide an owners manual.  Perfectly adequate too.

i was not given an owner's manual.

Annaliese do you like working on cars?  I've been  a total moron when it comes to anything mechanical my whole life but for some reason (maybe cause its so simple and there is a lot of info available) I enjoy and am successful at keeping my 2006 VS (daily driver lol) up and running.

 

Ever consider (the fact that your car is "brand new" and the fact  your having issues with VS aside) tinkering on it? 

 

Get a pair of mechanic overalls. the internet, a set of metric tools and go or it, its fun.

PIPE DOWN GERD

 

 

 

beetown, i would like to tinker with the car but i don't want to void my warranty by messing something up. i am sure i will mess with it after the warranty expires.

Good point and good luck

Chilton's Repair & Tune-Up Guide for the Volkswagen. seventh printing 1973  is my bible for bugs.  It's a great starting place. read over it a few times and then ask questions if anything stumps you.. were here for ya!! 

thanks, guys =)

 

Just spotted this on Craigslist.

 

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/ctd/3321227215.html

 

 

Looks like one of those cars a dealer orders from VS to resell at a mark up.

 

But check out the engine - it's listed as a 1915 cc and it has the same single carb setup as Annaliese's car - but with no AC. Has Kirk made this his new 'standard' 1915 cc to cut costs?

Why not just put the air cleaner on the carb?

Not enough clearance?

Looks like a cost cutting solution ORRRRR... done for better gas mileage?

 

BTW... I HATE when people refer to brakes as breaks.... (in Craigslist ad)

I guess I just discovered another pet peeve.

can a 1915 engine only have 1 carb?

oh and whats that hole with the screen in the back?  Is that the way to increase airflow to the engine i have seen some discussion on in this forum?

No; a 1915 makes a great dual carbed motor. More power, and it will run slightly cooler as well because of better fuel distribution. The hole in the firewall provides more air to the motor so it doesn't run as hot.

but i have a 1915 engine with one carb. =(

so I have a dual carb 1915.  Annaliese has a single carb 1915?  what am I missing?  Can we have the same engine as advertised with 2 different carb systems?

see Annaliese I told you I was a VS moron

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

A motor with one single throat carburetor will run best with a stock or very mild (Engle W100 or anything similar) cam, as too much duration will upset the carb's operation (it can't meter the fuel/air mixture properly) at lower rpm's. That said, even a 1600 is undercarbed with a single 34-3 Solex carburetor; it's small venturi (26mm?) acts as a bit of a rev limiter (very important when you're a factory trying to make a motor somewhat bulletproof) but the long intake runners aren't the best for fuel distribution. This is why dual carbs even on a stock 1600 produce more power and better throttle response. 

 

Kaddieshack http://www.shop.kaddieshack.com/main.sc dynoed a completely stock 1600; power peaked at 50hp at 4000rpm and dropped to 48 at 4500 and 40hp at 5000rpm. With the addition of a Kadron dual carb kit and an Empi quiet pack exhaust power was now 60 at 4000rpm, 58.5 at 4500 and 55hp at 5000rpm. Adding 1.4 rockers added .070-.080" valve lift and increased the duration at 0.050" lift figure (keeping the valves open longer so the cylinders fill better) some 8 or 10 degrees and the motor now ran the same to 4000rpm, but kept on making more hp to 5400 rpm (63hp) and still registering 60 hp at 5000. IIrc, the average torque gain over the stock 1600 was about 5 ft.lbs. throughout the rpm range.

 

Beetown- Yes, you could have almost exactly the same engine, the only difference being the carb systems (and air conditioning compressor).

 

Annaliese- I know you don't want to hear this, but I really think your motor needs to be a bit bigger (the addition of a 78mm crankshaft would make it a 2165) to handle the compressor.

Annaliese- Perhaps a no-brainer but if you're not happy with the AC performance then let VS know and if they can't improve it then request it be removed and get a rebate.  Also tell them about the dual carbs, if you paid for them you should get them.  You should always go after what you paid.       

I think we need opinions from a few others...is there anyone else out there who can tell Annaliese what to do...somebody we haven't heard from.....

 

Thanks for the clarification ALB.  I just spent the last hour examining the carbs.  Think I'm gonna adjust them.

 

Also now I want a 78 mm crankshaft.  Wife's gonna flip