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Date:         Wed, 17 Apr 1996 10:30:49 -0700
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         mwest@cdsnet.net (Mike West)
Subject:      The Wierd of a '73 bus (verbose)

A month ago I worked on a '73 bus with Type 4 engine. It was a long drawn out fight that left bitterness and humiliation in it's wake. I succeded on the poor thing but at great personal expense. Never do a Free Tune up - it will haunt you the rest of your life. I was not pleased when I got a call from the owner yesterday telling me he is stranded in a Bank parking lot. It rained all day.

Symptoms: runs but when you put in gear (auto) it dies. Rain up my butt and nothing wrong but won't run. Has to be spirits of some sort. I got spark and gas and air,, what's left? Maybe the distributor isn't moving. Back into the engine room with butt hanging out in rain and wind. Sucking on hoses etc. It works.

I don't drink so it's time for some Mantras etc. Get your Chakras back in alignment. Owner being a total shit.

Once more I go down the hole. Checking points etc for anything. I brushed the little ground wire from body of Diz to points plate, it's broken. Alright! Why does it run at all?

As you recall this braided wire is welded to the plate so now what? There is nothing to connect to. I went over to the Parts Store in hope of some kind of conductive epoxy. No joy - did you know the "Liquid Solder" they sell is non-conductive?

The field fix: I took a piece of solder wire and flattened one end. I slipped that under the points and routed the wire back around to the braided wire. Couple wraps of the braid on solder wire then bend back over and mash. We have lift off!

Timing this pig again: did I tell you this thing has no timing marks on pulley or any other method of finding TDC? From previous experience I get the numbers of a retard of about 7-10 deg for starting and then runs out to about 40 deg BTDC at hi rpm. That's just an observation and has no signifigance to timing.

Some-where back in one of my other lives I heard the you put your remote starter on and get the thing running and start advancing the dizzy until the thing won't start and then back it up till it does.

On a bug with 009 this sets you at ~32 deg at hi rpm if you check it with a scope. Any way it works good on that '73 ! Where is the timing set? I have no idea but I followed the guy home as precaution and he ran off and left me.

Now that I've won one I'm not sure if I want the prize.(another free tune-up some time in the future) And no, there still is no timing mark on the pulley since as soon as I get it going this guy takes off!

I have the nomex shorts on so fire at will. west


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