New to me speedster, new member, couple questions

It wouldn't be detonation when decelerating; it sounds more like a small exhaust leak, the negative pressure pulling fresh air into the exhaust. A hole somewhere, or maybe a loose flange?

 

Shift at 3,000-4000 rpm when you're just toodling around; when you want to play, then use the higher rpm's. In the lower gears you can putt around as low as 2,000rpm's as long as you're only at a light throttle; a heavy foot at lower rpm's will build heat faster than the motor can cool itself. On the highway you want to keep the engine above 2600 rpm's (to keep fan speed high enough to cool the motor properly) and as long as the oil temp doesn't get above 225'F the car will run at 32-3500rpm's all day, and even up to 4,000rpm's for short blasts. And if you have a cylinder head temp gauge- up to 350'F is perfectly acceptable, 375' is warm, but ok for short stints and above 400' is dangerous)

 

Redline- Do you have specs for the car, or a build sheet for the motor? I'm going to guess it has dual carbs? If stock with carbs- 4500rpm's. If the build sheet has the cam # (or specs) and you can confirm it has heavy duty valve springs and solid rocker shafts (no stock wavy washers or clips) I (and others here) can tell you how high you can rev the engine occasionally. Failing that, when you run it up in 3rd gear, at what rpm's does the power seem to fall off? Yes, I know it will rev a little higher, but where it "peaks" should be considered redline.

 

Hope this helps. Al

Thanks, Al! Great stuff.

 

I'll have my exhaust looked at next time I'm at VS or another shop getting valves adjusted (I'm not yet comfortable doing more than an oil change on my own).

 

I unfortunately do not have build specs on the engine but it is equipped with dual webers and a redline which is at 5k rpm on the tach. I'll double check at which point she loses "umph" and figure that's probably redline or near redline.

 

Lastly, I only have one temp guage (I presume this is tied to one of the red lights) which hardly ever moves off of the left side/from cold. The previous owner told me this engine tends to run pretty cool and that he seldom saw it heat up (the needle stays on the left side of the dial and while it does rise towards center is doesn't go far - this at least gives me confidence that it works). I have confirmed that an external oil cooler was installed on this VS, too.

 

I really appreciate your taking the time to share thoughts, etc. THank you!

Jeff- Pop a valve cover and have a look at the rocker arm assembly; are there bolts in both ends of the shaft holding everything together or wire clips (the will be several along the shaft)? Wire clips will indicate stock rocker shafts and a redline of about 4500rpm. Bolt together shafts means the beast is meant to be revved higher. If you're not comfortable doing this, check it out when you get the valves adjusted. I'll tell you about temp reading dipstick tomorrow; it's time for bed. Al 

Welcome to the madness, skycyclej !  When Yoda awakes, help you more he will.

Al(Yoda) knows what he is talking about. I'm sure he will chime in more.

 

Welcome, Jeff!

 

I wouldn't bet on any lights linked to the gauge. The temp gauge is usually oil temperature. These cars take a long time to get the oil up to temperature, especially if equipped with a remote cooler. My gauge doesn't ever get past 1/3 from cold. The two red lights that are on when you turn the ignition on are usually for "GO", "G"enerator and "O"il pressure, in that order, left to right. Of course, you may have an alternator, but no matter, as long as both lights go out shortly after the car fires off, you should be ok. Pay careful attention to oil level and change it often, every 3000 miles.

 

Have fun!

 

 

I forgot (how rude!); Welcome To the Madness! About the oil temp dipstick I mentioned last night- this is from the Gene Berg Enterprises catalogue-

"Or should it be, how hot is hot? How hot is your oil? Over 230F? This can cause case studs to pull out, head and case sealing surfaces to warp, cases to be internally distorted, permanent case metal fatigue and engine bearings to wear prematurely. Here's the answer! This slick little temperature sensor goes into the dipstick hole and hooks up to the oil light switch. It takes just a minute and can be done by anyone who can check the oil. Simply remove the dipstick and install the temperature sensor in its place. Install the wire ends and hook the wire to your oil pressure light switch. When the temperature reaches about 225F, your oil light flickers. Hotter temperature turns the light on steady. Low or no oil pressure still lights up your oil light in the normal manner. When the light flickers, slow down until it goes out. If the light continues to flicker, check your oil level. If problems continue, carb jets and timing should be checked and corrected. Possibly, a larger main jet is needed. If you have all of the correct corresponding components, the CR in relationship to the gas octane is correct, and temperatures are still a problem, get GB 801-COOLING and GB 801-CR. We have spent years on R & D for the proper way to do this and do not have cooling problems with any properly built engine.

 -

"Our temperature dipstick has a special heat spring silver soldered into the bottom end and is hooked to a grounding shaft that goes up out of the top of the tubing. A wire is run from the post on the tubing to the oil pressure warning light wire. When the oil heats up too hot, the spring rotates the grounding shaft until it reaches the calibrated temperature and touches the post that is connected to the stock oil pressure warning light in your dash. That's right, no new lights to hook up or wires to run up front."

 

Gene Berg Enterprises doesn't sell them any more; the supplier has gone solo and is selling them through the classifieds on the Samba (although last time I looked I couldn't find his ad). Gary Berg has one for sale-

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/cla...etail.php?id=1428270

 

The reason I like the dipstick sensor is that it tells you definitively when your oil is getting too hot; the factory oil temp gauges in a lot of these cars don't have temp markings that really tell you what's going on. Oil temperature in an aircooled VW motor is very important; if it's gets too hot, you're damaging the engine. Some more reading from Mr. Berg about aftermarket gauges-

 

"Most Gauges Are "Horrible" I hear daily of engines being destroyed by people relying on gauges. I have run hundreds of accuracy tests on practically every inexpensive aftermarket gauge under $125 offered. Practically all read low in the 212 to 260 degree range by 40 to 50 degrees on oil temperature and head temperature gauges in the 250 to 550 degree reading range, again being low by as much as 250 or more degrees. I tested about twenty each of most brands such as VDO, Smith, Stewart Warner, Hawk, etc., and found none without these problems. Oil temperature gauge readings would be 212 to 220 degrees on the gauge when the true test temperature was 240 to 260 degrees. Head temperature gauges read 385 degrees with a true test temperature of 550 plus degrees. When head test temperatures were upped to 700 degrees, the reading of the gauge went up to 390 to 395 degrees. The price range of such gauges was from $60 to $125. I swapped gauges with senders and got different readings. I found nothing in that price range I would wish on my worst enemy. Not one I tested could ever be properly calibrated or relied on in any way for any valid information or even as a comparison from day to day on the air cooled VW. Yes, even the oil pressure gauges were just as bad. I found good accurate gauges range from about $250 to $350 and few people would buy them. What was needed was a device that gave the information required and was reasonably priced. That was the reason for the GB 227 in the first place. It is specifically made and calibrated to provide an accurate reading in the ranges of the VW air cooled engine. Originated by Hal Brown in 1972. Made in the USA. Note: If you must install an oil pressure gauge use GB 264-1/8 tee fitting and GB 265-1/8 pipe nipple to install the factory (Bosch VWA021-919-081B) light sending unit and the gauge together as the factory sender and light are over 100 times as fast to tell you if you run out of oil. Never use any sender that has the pressure and a light combination as they are extremely slow and you lose the rapid action that the factory light sender provides. Warning: If you want gauges as a decoration fine, but never rely on them. After all, if they provided reliable information I would be selling them to make a profit just like our competition."

 

And thank you Danny and Al- very kind you are!

Jeff, a little bit of popping on deceleration is okay.  If it starts to get louder you've probably got a leak somewhere.

Around town I shift between 3000 and 4000 rpm.

If your engine has near stock heads it's probably done at 5500 rpm.  It will rev higher, but not much will happen.

jeff, u have to hook up with us for a cruise up pacific coast highway

vince and jim lets plan a run

This is all great info. Im currently looking for a good shop in west la/south bay who can work on my VS (and hopefully allow me toa watch and learn).

Im absolutely up for a pch cruise! Just tell me when!

sky boy, I am located in Torrance & have  a great mechanic if you are interested..

I am always available for a cruise also...but no speedster

Finally got that "supporting member" monkey off my back....