Getting the ‘57 beetle back on the road in 2024

Did I mention the Ghia was a beater when I got it? ;)
All my vehicles were back in those days.
Weren't everybody's cars back in those days beaters? Mine were certainly beaters when bought and then progressively less so after I spent time on them. There were of course a few exceptions that went from bad to worse, a particularily nasty 67 Valiant comes to mind.
 
Speaking of Karman Ghia’s check out this beauty. 😍😍. I’ve never seen one like this before. Looked like a Corvair??

Edit - looks like it’s a type 34

Btw, there were over 300 VW’s in attendance so I feel pretty honoured being voted in the top 30😃




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. . . The pedal needs to be pushed pretty hard to stop the car although it’s much better now than the first time out . . .
it's an old school safety feature called 'fear assistance' - little danger of locking the wheels with normal braking but when you really need to stop, you will.
 
Poking around the car tonight and the points gap looked odd. Stuck in a feeler gauge and felt a tiny bit of pitting. Odd for less tan 300 miles I thought. My on line search tells me perhaps an off spec condenser? Can you measure whether they are good or bad?

I changed the plugs with one heat range hotter. I’m also ordering a couple of sizes of larger main jet to see if I can get rid of some of the hesitation.

Old cars and bikes = never ending fiddling around
 
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Many "better" VOMs have a capacitance range.
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This is probably a good read for you.
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/points-ignition-condenser-question.1237753/

You made me look!
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A rare Volkswagen Type 34 Karmann Ghia, a classic model that was never officially sold in the US.
Interesting read until it quickly went from English to Greek. I think I’m headed for another over thinking topic.

Good points and condensers are hard to find for these cars now and if you do find them they are expensive. Even a Chinese condenser fetches over $30 here. Thats what I bought and it appears to be helping to eat up my points. I’m going to check my local auto supplier to see if they have a decent condenser available but I’m suspecting they may all be made in China.
 
.33uF
Matched to the coil reactance.

Best to mount cap. on the coil or near.
I doμbt it. It's a μ not a U. ;^)

About the same, this just isn't a critical number, read that jalopy journal thread. It covers the bases pretty well.
I like this quote "trying to find the optimum capacitance for the condenser in an automotive ignition system is like trying to nail Jell-O to a wall. "
Bad pitting, quickly, points at something WAY out of spec.

Too quote the grizzled one "to find carburetor problems; start with the ignition system.
 
Hard luck on the necessary for piece of mind tow truck Vic, but congrats on the award!!! Well deserved indeed. With regards to the headlights, I do appreciate that bright headlights increase other drivers awareness of you on a bike or in a car, but how often do you plan to drive this car in the dark?
 
how often do you plan to drive this car in the dark?
In deer country 15 minutes a year is too long.
Took the old Buell to town the other evening, dark for the return trip, scary. It's getting LEDs to repace the hologens. I got a 6 volt LED headlight for the baby beemer before it left here.
https://ebay.io/m/BL3k4v
Never even got to try it. :shrug:
 
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Hard luck on the necessary for piece of mind tow truck Vic, but congrats on the award!!! Well deserved indeed. With regards to the headlights, I do appreciate that bright headlights increase other drivers awareness of you on a bike or in a car, but how often do you plan to drive this car in the dark?
Night time driving might never happen but I thought it might be a fun project. 😃
 
In deer coutry 15 minutes a year is too long.
Took the old Buell to town the other evening, dark for the return trip, scary. It's getting LEDs to repace the hologens. I got a 6 volt LED headlight for the baby beemer before it left here.
https://ebay.io/m/BL3k4v
Never even got to try it. :shrug:
Soooo if I want an LED headlight I can go 6 or 12v. The 12v project would be fun but to keep it simple I should try the 6V LED bulb first. There’s some on Amazon but I’ve read some reviews that they really aren’t 6V bulbs but 12V in disguise under misleading descriptions. There’s a pair of headlight shells available nearby. Maybe I’ll go pick them up today. 12v or 6V I’ll need them anyway.
 
I doμbt it. It's a μ not a U. ;^)

About the same, this just isn't a critical number, read that jalopy journal thread. It covers the bases pretty well.
I like this quote "trying to find the optimum capacitance for the condenser in an automotive ignition system is like trying to nail Jell-O to a wall. "
Bad pitting, quickly, points at something WAY out of spec.

Too quote the grizzled one "to find carburetor problems; start with the ignition system.
If they are so “similar”, are the hundreds that are available for different applications, the byproduct of marketing /sales initiatives?
 
I can relocate the condenser. How will that help? Just asking because I dunno anything about such matters.
Keeps it cooler.
Caps. fail from dehydration if not shorted inside.
Eliminates reactance of the primary wire(to the points) from the coil itself.

Caps. do 2 things, reduces spark discharge on the points and breaks down mag. field collapse faster.
Which really is the same thing.
 
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