HELP.....Looking for info on fuel injeting a Type 1 VW engine

I have a VS kit I built and finished 18 months ago.I have been battling my Kadron Carbs from day one and I am completely fed up....I have plenty of power out of my 1835CC. However, I'm in Wisconsin and the weather is very inconsistent. One day the car runs great and the next like crap. I have spent big dollars on "experts" to no avail. I'm very technical and have read everything I can get my hands on about living with and adjusting Kadrons; I've tried all the "tricks"... I've raised the floats, adjusted the accelerator pumps and am constantly adjusting fuel mixture, and yet, unless I "tweak" them each day I get sub par performance. (backfires, and sluggish)

So, that being said I'm looking at fuel injection. Years ago I drove the early Rabbits and Jettas and loved the fuel injection. Any one have any thoughts? Am I crazy? What brands are available? Can I do this myself?

" Crazy" by Patsy Cline, is a nice country song.....
You have issues that can be resolved by some that has VW dual carb knowledge. Back firing is electrical or more likely a lean condition.

So who is near to Glenn in WI. that can help?

Carb's can be made to work well but never will be as efficient as fuel injection, especially one that has a closed loop with an oxygen sensor.

Several companies make such a system including CB performance, Redline and a few others.

Personally, I love fuel injection and those that resist have never experienced the joy of not having to adjust carbs, clogged idle jets, high or low floats, faulty or worn bushings, adjusting accelerator pumps etc etc.

Until you figure out the fuel injection source and wisdom, maybe try this. It was suggested to me that I warm the car up to something approaching operating temperature with the car in one place. After sufficient heat built up in the engine compartment to warm the grille, the advice was to switch it off and let the heat transfer into the carbs. After the manifolds and carbs were warmed up, the fuel system became more reliable. The pops and psssts went away with normal driving, and there was nothing to change out.
The idle jets (I'm not using Kadrons; I've got 45 Dell'Ortos) were larger in the winter (70s) than they are now (60s) for routine warm-weather driving, but that has been my only equipment change.
Hope that helps?

Kadrons are a pain to tune up. Try some dual throats such as Weber or Dellorto; you'll be pleasantly surprised; and I say so from personal experience having owned both types.

I've got a little time here since it's 3:20 AM, but here's my experience FWIW:

I had a car with a 1776 and dual Weber 40 IDFs in 2000-2002. It never really ran right- I had one throat that wouldn't respond to any mixture adjustment. I thought it was a plugged idle jet, but I took it apart/blew it out MANY times, and never could get it to respond. I suspect there was a vacuum leak, but I never could determine the source.

I had a JPS with an identical Serranno 1776, except it was equipped with "baby Webers"-- dual ICTs (with a CB linkage/air-cleaner kit) from 2002-2005. It was a complete joy. Single barrel, easy to set-up, no muss, no fuss-- never skipped a beat.... but only able to support a mild 1776-- just not very big.

I did my own engine (a 2110) for the car I've got now. I really liked the simplicity of single barrel carbs, and since I couldn't get the ICTs any bigger, I called A J Sims on the recommendation of many guys on this forum, and bought the whole enchilada from him- a set of heavily modified, enlarged 46 mm Kadrons with ALL the extra goodies- bushed shafts, float vent, welded/port-matched manifolds, yada, yada, yada. I also bought his heads, his junk vacuum advance distributor, used his cam recommendations, and built the whole engine around what he said would work beautifully.

It never ran right, and it was not for any lack of trying. The needle and seat leaked by and the whole thing flooded badly no matter what I did. I lowered the fuel pressure until I couldn't keep it running, I sent the carbs back for A J to look at/work on. Nothing helped.

Finally, I called Art Theron at ACT in Salt Lake. He kindly told me to take the Kads off, and put on a set of Dellorto 40s, which I purchased from him, along with the CB linkage/air-cleaner/manifold (port matched) kit. I put on a 009 distributor, and put all $1000 worth of A J Sims stuff in a box on my shelf.

This was two years ago, and I've never touched the carbs since I took them out of the box, and set them up on my engine. They work amazingly well. I was fully ready to go with EFI, because I didn't think carbs could ever work this well. EFI comes with it's own set of requirements (namely.... build the whole system yourself, or be prepared to go without an O2 sensor, and defeat the whole purpose). I'm hoping to build a 2332 this winter with all the goodies, and I just bought a set of 48 Dellortos on ebay. I'm in love.

Your mileage may vary. Plavex isn't for everyone. If you experience nausea, shortness of breath, or double vision-- see your doctor right away.

Good luck.

My car ran like crap up until I rebuilt my Dell 40's. After I did the rebuild, it was like I installed EFI. Smooth runner now. Love them Dells!

~WB

I'm making a horse trade tomorrow for some Weber 44s. The Dell'Ortos are my end of the traded goods; will advise on how they work with the Claude's Buggies linkage stuff. Should work out fine.

Thanks for your comments - I'll keep you posted...

Man, I'm glad I read this!
I just replaced the main jets in my Solex's (Kadrons) from 130's to 115's and it runs like total crap! The reason for the switch was that I was having issues with it and my wrench discovered it was running way too rich. Anyway, we have been tinkering and tuning and it's better but nowhere where it should be. The car idles and accelerates better than it ever has but, it still has a little sputter in mid-range. There are a few more things to try but I'm losing confidence and foresee a new set of carbs in my future.
Whats the recommendation for a dual setup on a 1600cc? Webers or Dels? Are 34's big enough? Any input is appreciated.

Sorry for the hi-jack.

Hi Glen: I have fully programmable EFI on my car and I love it. It also has an integrated crank fire ignition system which eliminated the distributor. I bought the controller and then rounded up all the sensors and what have you. My take on the level of difficulty is that if you can

Mickey-

If you put Weber ICTs on your 1600, you'll be delighted. Right out of the box, they will run better than you dreamed possible. Some jetting would make them perfect.

Mickey
The kadrons/solex's are known for their mid-range sag if you are using a 009 dist. This will go away if you have the vaccum advanced dist on your rig and the carbs are synchronised. Is this the case on yours?
I sent my carbs off to AJ Sims ( Lowbudget vw? ) in Cal and had them drilled for vaccum advance and their advance dist and checked out.
I mounted them - synchronised and they ran like a top - 1500 miles later -no problems.
Check out their site for tons of trouble shoot helps and they don't mind phone calls asking for help - at least they helped me. Check them out before you buy new carbs - Kadrons should run the 1600 great.

Hope you get it worked out
Dale

Thanks Guys,
I've been reading AJ's site and considered the Vacuum advance. My deal is; with an electronic ignition it's $200, and if I have to ship it out and wait for it to get back, etc, etc, etc, it's seems like a long road to travel if I can just get a set of webers and put them on for $440 +shp from Cip1.
As I said, there are a few things that can still stand a tweek or two before I throw in the towel so we'll see. Thanks.