What could case this leak?

Rub some on your finger. Smell like gas?

yes, i think so.

Carlos

Fuel line, gasket,  loose fitting, stick needle valve, carb housing.

so i better don't drive it,...

C

Correct.  Don’t drive it until the leak is fixed.

At the top of the carburetor housing and on the outer side of the carb (towards the wheel) there is a round fuel fitting with the rubber fuel hose attached.  If you feel around for it (you can use Alan Merklin’s tip of using a brown paper napkin ) you might find that the hose connection or the connection of the fitting to the carburetor is leaking, which would explain the wetness down below the carb and towards the outside.  Feel around just below the air cleaner and see if anything comes up wet.

DO NOT DRIVE!! FG is very flammable.  Will spare you the pictures of too many crispy critters.

Thanks for the advice!

Looking at your pictures, I’d give the “brown napkin test” to the gasket/diaphragm in the accelerator pump, too.

Would also check that rubber fuel line to see if it’s had a hole rubbed in it. (Can’t tell from the angle if it’s actually rubbing on anything.)

Will share with our mechanic.

I am just worried, the car has less then 500 miles on it, and we have to already fix the leaking fuel tank, arrived with broken hand brake and wires disc-connected. Now it needs new axle (leaking) and now this leak. Is that all normal for an new replica speedster?

My car was delivered with a cracked carb leaking gas.  It's called sorting.  Can take a REALLY long time.

@Carlos P posted:

Will share with our mechanic.

I am just worried, the car has less then 500 miles on it, and we have to already fix the leaking fuel tank, arrived with broken hand brake and wires disc-connected. Now it needs new axle (leaking) and now this leak. Is that all normal for an new replica speedster?

I feel your pain, Carlos.

But imagine trying to build something nice, using parts that were manufactured (if one could call it that) in East Asia to hit a price-point that was established by thrifty VW people in 1970, and which has never been adjusted for inflation. Imagine needing to tweek or completely remake every single part in every single box you open. Imagine that there are no other alternatives - no slightly better parts for slightly more money.

Now imagine that you are trying to build enough cars to clear a backlog that stretches 2 or more years. Imagine selling those cars to people who'd waited those 2 years, and are paying $40K+, and who expect the kind of zero-defect perfection they can get at the Honda store in a base Civic for half that much.

That's what it's like to try to build Speedsters for a living. Henry, and Carey, and especially Greg (because he builds with a lot of VW parts) have to play whack-a-mole finding and fixing quality issues with pretty much every part not under their direct control.

Last shipment, the carbs didn't leak, but the main jets were all loose. Next batch, the throttle-shafts will be loose in the body. Last month, all the master cylinders leaked. Next fall, the brake calipers will be cast out of square with the rotors. Lather, rinse, repeat - on and on and on and on.

Before I understood just how crappy the parts were, I thought building Speedsters would be a dream-job - now, I wouldn't touch it with a pole. I talked with Henry Reisner once. He told me, "imagine opening every box you buy, disassembling the part, and remaking it with better quality parts". He throws out the bearings, races, and seals in every brake kit he buys, and replaces them with Timkin parts. Imagine how much that costs, and how much labor it takes. It's a wonder any of these cars cost less than $150K.

In my line, we've got "price-point" equipment we work on we call "tar-babies". We call them that because every time you touch them, they make you look dirty and stupid. It's easier to turn the work away than to tie into it. The problems are almost always something silly that wouldn't take that much more money to manufacture correctly (seals that don't seal, electronics that don't work consistently, etc.), but when you are making 10,000,000 of them, the nickel you save on each part adds up to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Your problems are not really the fault of the manufacturer of the Speedster, they are the fault of the supplier providing parts for the Speedster builder (I'm looking at you, EMPI). It's why ALL of the builders are moving towards Subaru or Porsche parts.

I wish it were not so, but it is. It's best to go into this with tempered expectations, and the understanding that "teething" (or "sorting" as well call it here) is a real thing.

Forewarned is forearmed.

@Stan Galat thanks Stan for this insight and the viewpoints. This is good to know as I didn't know what I bought ;-) I am a newbie, and if that is all pretty common than i am okay with all that. I am learning ;-)

@Carlos P, we have all felt your pain, but it is more frequent with some builders than with other.  Still, all of these problems can be solved. It will require patience and a willingness to learn how to do some of the repairs yourself so that you aren't always dependent on others.  The folks on this forum will help you all of the way just like they did me.

@Carlos P posted:

@Stan Galat thanks Stan for this insight and the viewpoints. This is good to know as I didn't know what I bought ;-) I am a newbie, and if that is all pretty common than i am okay with all that. I am learning ;-)

Be glad your fuel leak didn’t result in your brand new car burning to the ground like it did for one unlucky owner. I’m still fiddling with my Spyder 6 years on. But at least now, the car runs, is dependable, and the stuff I’m doing is voluntary.

I'd look (feel) where the gas line enters the back of the right carb.  I suspect hose  vibrates and causes leak there.  It might need a supporting tie wrap or bracket/clamp.

Carlos....  I spent a year sorting out my first Beck Spyder.....  It was a 2002 model that, unfortunately, was assembled by someone far less honorable than Special Editions....

I wound up having the transmission rebuilt, axle bearing spacers replaced (dinged sealing area caused massive oil leaks) replaced the throttle cable, redid the rear brakes.... chased headlight fuse / wiring problems.....  replaced the shifter after it snapped off on an easy 3-4 shift....  The usual spate of carb issues I had never experienced before....  

All in all it was 2 years before the wife and I could drop into it and take a 500 mile round trip without worrying about it.....

The car still twisted my ego every now and again.....  First trip to Carlisle, (700+miles one way), it chewed up the fan pulley keyway in the Alternator....  Everyone scrounged the area and parts were found that could get me home......  After that it was pretty much nickel- dime stuff.....

You will get there....  You have the talent and ability.....  Just add time and bloddy knuckles.....      

@LeonChupp posted:

The car still twisted my ego every now and again.

I laughed out loud when I read it this morning, Leon!

I really like that about these cars - they humble all of us, from the mighty to the low. Just when you think you've got them dialed in for all time, they make a monkey out of you.

Okay... I will need to be ready for the wild ride hahaha

The dream:

The reality.

@LeonChupp what a story! Wow, this must have been an insane ride! Wow!

Oh and one more thing, @Carlos P: check your fuel pressure. I believe those carburetors want about 1.5 psi. Too much and you'll overfill the float bowls and a drip like that could result. Something like that. Carb experts may chime in here with other/better/more precise advice.

Ed is 100% correct here. Solex carbs are intolerant of anything ABOVE 1.5 pounds. Check it and KNOW your pressure.

Mechanical pumps can be shimmed with gaskets(I had to use 7 on a Sandrail). Electric pumps need a regulator, I'm not aware of a self-regulated 1.5psi pump.

With the stock mechanical pump I use 2- 3 gaskets under the pump to have about 1.5 lbs. pressure for Kadron's

thanks for all the advice, all the advice above helped our mechanic to fix the leak. It was not a big deal he said, it was mainly tightening some lose parts...

Carlos

Good deal.

FWIW, a "leak check" is a good part of an occasional "pre-flight."  I check my oil before every drive (because: Spyder. It's the only time I can do it without burning myself) and do a good look around my engine compartment when I do.  I do it with the engine running at least 2-3 times a year.

Who built your car Carlos? That engine compartment and carb look very dusty for 500 miles, are you in the desert? Check the clamp on the carb feed line sometimes regular clamps can puncture the line, I changed all of mine to the smooth screw type.  Good luck.

Richard

This is just opinion, but I don't use the old worm-screw clamps on fuel hoses. They can and do loosen, and also can damage the hose if over-tightened. Use either the spring clamps or the band-type EFI hose clamps.

I don't use them on anything. My pet peeve. Or maybe because when I became a Wurth dealer, I bought boxes of every size of Norma solid SS bands from 8mm-13mm to fulfill my initial minimum order.

I'll be leaving half of them in my will.

@dlearl476 posted:

I don't use them on anything. My pet peeve. Or maybe because when I became a Wurth dealer, I bought boxes of every size of Norma solid SS bands from 8mm-13mm to fulfill my initial minimum order.

I'll be leaving half of them in my will.

Send them my way. I love Wurth products.

Those are the ones I use, regular hose clamps just chew stuff up.