Beetle gas mileage

I seem to recall a flurry of talk about using the Bosch CIS system from the Rabbit on the air cooled engines. I was planning to do that conversion on my Baja. I've heard that it works well.

Tony

Can someone explain the logic of those things? I've never driven one but isn't it like a stick shift with a torque converter instead of a clutch? Seems to me it's got all the disadvantages of a stick and an automatic with none of the advantages of either.

Thanks,

Jeff DeWitt

BTW, the BIG sunroof is called a "ragtop"

Karls

Kinda a hybrid between an automatic and a stick shift. YES it has a clutch that is operated by a vacuum system controlled by some electrical switches and solenoids. So you have to shift into the "gear" that you want but the torque converter allows the transmission to stay into gear while at a stop even with the clutch engaged.

Just put it in Driving Range 1 and drive all around the city without shifting any gears nor having to use a clutch pedal. Drive without shifting! Or have fun and shift it from Driving Range Low, then 1, then 2. You can even hold the shifter in Low, rev the engine some and let that shifter go and burn some rubber at the rear tires. Drive one if you can still find one. ;-)

Some even had a Park>>

Ahh, that makes a lot more sense, so it had both a torque converter AND a clutch? So does that mean the clutch locks up so you don't get slippage when driving along in high gear? Like a modern lockup torque converter or a 50-51 Studebaker automatic (I HAD to throw that part in )

I saw a reference to that somewhere else, but the rest of the world calls a convertible a ragtop. Was VW just trying to confuse everyone?

Jeff DeWitt

Karls wrote:

I think that the torque converter allows slippage all of the time and it does not "lock-up". :-( But I am not sure about this.

Where I lived in Connecticut in the '60s and '70s, we called a convertible a ragtop. My 23 year old son, born in Vermont, calls a convertible a 'vert' and a sunroof a ragtop. Go figure.

Al Adams

The ACVW is no great mileage champ and when you compare it to the lusty comfort of a modern Asian wonder with surround sound and AC, it's really pathetic. Discounting the fun factor, of course, and the joys of wrenching, and pissing off insurance salesmen and just plain loving classic esthetics.

I'm getting the pristine '72 ready for sale. It will soon be time to market it to the whacko "poseur green" software engineer types who work in a cubicle, but carry a Leica M8, and spendy hiking stick, wear Swiss hiking gear and mountain boots to work - and take a cab on rainy days so their monster SUV doesn't get dirty.

There is more to life than gas mileage, and if I was really nuts about it I'd be looking for something like an old Rabbit diesel.

Plus I don't WANT just another boring Asian car, I've never had one and don't plan to start now.

Man, that would be as boring as, uh, as... driving a Rabbit diesel.

Did you see that Chrysler is going to make the 2009 VW Bus? I'm not EVEN stepping into that sh*tstorm but if it comes out I'm sure I will see plenty on campus. Ya know it sucks - they don't even have hubcaps to steal.

I have seen end casting with injector bosses readily available. Try CB-Performance or shops alike.

The cheap version is to drill the end castings and simply glue inn the injectors. A person I know retrofitted a complete T3 system on a T1 this way many years ago(In his Oval). The system was adjustable by simply turning a screw, cant remember on what component, but I would assume fuel pressure related.

J.

Sounds like you have your routine set. Of course you would want to sell the VW so your mountain boots don't get hung in the pedals and your Swedish hiking hat might smell like horse hair. 8~)