Intake manifold / End casting unused port.

Hey Jim I have seen this many times over the years and many ways to be sealed. I would say do what you think is the easiest to make sure you have no leaks there and you should be fine. You could use another manifold if you have it.( make sure the heat risers are clear)

Mario Vintage Werks resto

That port was probably for a vacuum operated solenoid on the carb that slowed the throttle from snapping closed. Since the engine is apart you could pull that nipple, tap it and install a bolt or another nipple. I would hate for any JB Weld to loosen and possibly get sucked inside of the engine! 8^o

OR just leave it alone since it is probably pretty well sealed. You could check it by either trying to blow air through it or filling up the side piece with water keeping that nipple at the lowest point. ;-) Or if you braze/solder you could braze or solder the opening to ensure that it is sealed.

JMHO

Dave/Mario Thanks for the info. BTW, there are no heat risers on this intake. Since the car was previously fuel injected, the PO just hacksawed them off. There are no holes in the engine tin for the heat risers to pass through and I don't believe there is a port on the exhaust manifold for them to connect to either. Should I go the extra mile and replace all of these mismatched parts with the right stuff or will the car run well sans the whole heat riser setup not that a Solex 34/3 has replaced the FI?

Thanks again Jim

The single Solex will run like crap without a manifold hot spot. You may get away with it in hot weather (barely). But come cooler temps, the thing will stumble on acceleration unless you really baby the pedal.

The "heat riser" is there on carbed manifolds to quickly vaporize the great lumps of raw fuel dumped in by the accel jet. Without the hot spot, the fuel just lays there and doesn't get carried into the intake valves.

T'other Jim :-)

Thanks for the info Speedy Jim! How can I modify my current setup to accept the heat risers through the tin? I have another complete manifold with the heat risers still attached, but there's no holes in the tin nor exhaust ports to bolt the risers to. Do you happen to know what parts I should look for to make this thing right? I suspect I'll need new tin and a new exhaust setup. Will I need anything else that you can think of?

I live in sunny SC (that's SOUTH CAROLINA for you west coasters!) so its warm most of the year here. I think I'll bolt her back together so we can get back on the road while I order the parts.

Thanks again for the advice.

Jim (the not so famous one!)

Now it can get expensive. Besides the manifold, you would need a complete muffler for a carb engine.....AND 2 heater boxes. And some rear tin.

I don't know if it's a deal-breaker for comfort where you live, but the older heaters will put out less BTU than the ones used on the FI setup.

Jim

You could keep it clean and install dual carbs! ;-) That should eliminate the need for heat risers, different exhaust, different heater boxes. Dual carbs have their own special needs too though! lol

BTW IMHO the "original" heat exchangers/boxes that came with the Beetles new were very good. The aftermarket ones were a little skimpy with the inner metal thereby providing less heat. :-(

Thanks for everything Guys. I guess I'll have to start hunting for a good used exhaust, heater boxes and tin. Anyone want to donate to the Broke VW Vert Enthusiasts Society? :)

AFAIK The tin will be different for your '78 body. So it won't look factory or stock. :-(

I guess spending the money for dual carbs is out of the budget huh? ;-)

I have some parts in Chicago. Where are you?

Dave South Carolina. About 30 miles west of Columbia. Email me with what you have and what you want for it. I may be able to take some of it off your hands.

Thanks Jim

Contact this SC and Georgia based club

There are also some shows in Georgia Make a complete list before you go to a swapmeet. ;-)

If you were close I would dig through my parts to get you what you need, but I don't like shipping some of the awkward pieces like tin. The tin would probably need repainting and my heat exchangers.......well..........they have lived in Chicago for a period of years! lol Buying new and paying for shipping maybe cheaper than me trying to ship some used components your way. :-(

I vote you look locally!

THanks for the info Dave. What you are suggesting certainly make sense to me.

Jim

I would use JB Weld to seal the hole....once it's cured you can file it flush, bead blast the end peices and treat them with a satin clearcoat finish. Once JB Weld cures and dries completely, it ain't goin' nowhere... so the chances of it coming loose and falling into the intake track are slim to none. I've used the stuff on fuel tanks (no leaks) and repaired the aluminum valve cover on my dirt bike with it....the stuff is great.

Something you might consider....use a set of dual carbs (Kadrons, Solexs, Webers, etc). You won't have to worry about retro-fitting the manifold heat riser and getting all the extra parts just to make a single carb setup work. The K-dogs are relatively cheap, can be made to work very well with the engine and they are relatively easy to tune. Due to the closeness to the cylinder head, you don't need the manifold heat like you would with the single carb setup and the carb and intake track will warm nicely (eliminating any chance for carb icing) as the heat is transmitted from the cylinder head thru the manifold to the carb.

Good luck with your project

Mike

73T1