New crank pulley

Stupid question of the day! I bought a speedster around thanksgiving and when I got it home I tuned the carbs set the valves and the car ran great. Then I tore it all apart! The engine is a 1641, I replaced the tins and put on a Pitronix (sp) distributor and coil, and replaced the wires. Now when I try to tune the engine, I can't even see the TDC mark on the pulley. So me question is, is there more then one way to put the crank pulley on?

The car starts fine but does not idle nor runs worth a crap. Any thoughts?? I checked the wires to make sure they are all firing they seem to be.

Thanks

Brian, other than calling That Guy, give this guy's Q&A a shot. There's loads of info here, but this one addresses the timing mark.
http://laudeman.com/bug_faq/msearch.pl?findme=timing+mark
Are you sure you have the plug wires in the right order? Maybe a silly question ...

"Are you sure you have the plug wires in the right order? Maybe a silly question ... "

Believe this, you can set the distributor drive gear in place 180 degrees out, I did this once while consuming the Silver Bullet and remained confused as all hell until I figured out that switching the plug wires 180' allowed it fire and run...never did bother to correct the drive gear position.

My distributor drive gear is 180 degrees out, but rather than move the plug wires round I took the drive piece at the bottom of the distributor (Bosch 009) off and rotated it to match. It's a quick and easy job to do.

The reason? I can't say for certain if it's correct but I was told distributors for VWs have slightly less advance on cylinder 3 (to allow for cooler running) so it would make sense to keep the wires in the right locations

Here's the fix.

Start by removing the distributor cap. Next remove the valve cover on the #1 cylinder. (The cover on the passenger side) Using a large wrench, rotate the engine clockwise until you see the #1 intake valve start to close (4 valves per head and if you're looking at the valve train, it's the valve right under the intake port closest to the front of the car) As that valve closes, turn the engine clockwise about 180 degree's until the TDC mark appears at the 12 o clock position.

Your engine is now at TDC #1.

Install or move your distributor so the notch on the body of the distributor and the rotor are lined up. Install your distributor cap and install the #1 into the distributor hole where the rotor is positioned. Looking straight down on the distributor, the next wire to install is the #4 just to the left of the #1 wire (clockwise) then the #3 and finally the #2. Cylinders are located as per the following. #1 is closest to the firewall on the passenger side, #2 is located closest to the rear of the car on the passenger side, #3 is located closest to the firewall on the drivers side and #4 is located closest to the rear of the car on the drivers side.

You can now time your car by starting it, holding the rpm's at 3,000 and locking down the distributo at 28 degree's before TDC. (28 degree mark is located to the right of the TDC mark)

It won't let me edit so:




Should read:

Install or move your distributor so the notch on the aluminum body of the distributor and the rotor are lined up. Install your distributor cap and install the #1 spark plug wire into the distributor hole where the rotor is positioned. (distributor wire hole above where the rotor is pointing towards the notch in the aluminum body of the distributor)

Looking straight down on the distributor, the next wire to install is the #4 just to the left of the #1 wire (clockwise) then the #3 and finally the #2. Cylinders are located as per the following. #1 is closest to the firewall on the passenger side, #2 is located closest to the rear of the car on the passenger side, #3 is located closest to the firewall on the drivers side and #4 is located closest to the rear of the car on the drivers side.

Firing order is 1-4-3-2

You can now time your engine by starting it, holding the rpm's at 3,000 and locking down the distributor at 28 degree's before TDC. (28 degree mark is located to the right of the TDC mark) Personally, I wouldn't exceed 28 degree's total advance due to the crappy fuel we have. Also, don't worry about timing the engine at idle, only at full advance.