hi everybody....I own a 1972 superbeetle. I have to play with the air/gas mix screws several times to be able to make it start, once it starts i have to keep my foot on the gas to keep it running...but after 20 or 30 seconds it wants to die (even when i had my food on the gas). I start the mix screws 2 1/2 turns anticlockwise after its been adjusted).. I have clean and rebuilt my carburetor with those rebuilt kits. I check the selenoid wih the contact on..it clicks...fuel pump and gas filter are new and the float seems to be ok. The only weird thing is that while i was screwing the small screw to caibrate the air/gas mix, the little rubber that goes around at the top it kinda got tore as i was adjusting the screw all the way in. I do not know but i think it went deeper than it should...(can that be possible).. please help..what else could it be. 

Well, you need to replace the "o" ring first.  Sounds like you might have a bad vac. leak. I'm just guessing at this point.

There is nothing wrong with the dual vacuum distributors . . . just don't use the retard side of it and it works just like a regular single vacuum distributor.  Before you mess around too much with the carb, you need to make sure that the ignition system isn't the source of your problems.  The Carborator and Ignition systems are separate systems, but many, many times, problems with one will make you think you've got problems with the other.  Carbs are hard and have a lot of things to check and adjust.  Every time you turn something that didn't need to turned, you add a problem.

Ignition is pretty straight forward and easier to troubleshoot, so I always check out the ignition before I touch a carb.

Before you can adjust the carb, you MUST have the ignition right.  That includes setting the timing (something that MUST be done EVERYTIME you adjust your points).  To make sure your vacuum advance is working, take off the distributor cap, take the vacuum hose loose from the carb and use a hand held vacuum pump on it (or if no one is looking and you don't mind the taste of old rubber and gas, you can suck on it) . . . as vacuum is applied, the plate holding the points should move freely and hold in place until the vacuum is released.  If it won't move, something is wrong . . . could be just stuck and a little WD-40 will fix it, or it could be someone has inserted a screw in something on the outside that too long, or it could be mechanically damaged.  If it will move, but won't hold, there is a leak somewhere.

If your distributor also has centrifical advance (and I "think" yours does), the rotor will wiggle a few degrees. It should be a spring loaded wiggle . . . when you move it and let go, it should snap back.

You can use static timing to get it "close enough to run" but you really need a good timing light with an advance scale to set it right.  You have to find out where top dead center is on the pulley . . . it may not be the mark you think it is.  What you want with the timing is to have the 32 degress advance with the engine up to speed and the distributor under full advance.  Let the idle fall where it may.  If you don't have enough advance going down the road under a load, you'll waste gas, loose power and run a little hot.  If you go over 32 degrees, you'll get a lot of extra power for a few miles and end up with holes burned through the tops of your pistions.

Thanks guys...I'll check my vaccum advance as soon as i get home..i will just suck on it.........should i suck on the advance and the retard?....i will suck on both but would it matter the results with the retard if I am not using it anyways? I just got it back from my mechanic, he said he put new points on it, new coil, new dist cap, new spark plugs and cables....and that i need a new carb....I do not know if he set the timing correctly...and he also said that to adjust the valves we have to take the engine out...the bugme video shows the valve adjustmen under the valve cover under the car (it seems to me that he just did not know much about beetles), the car is very hard to start and backfires a lot.

Yes...it would be great if somebody can come over and help me to adjust my carb and dist. I bought this car last year and i have not enjoy it properly yet....I live around middle valley and hixson pike in Hixson....

in the meanwhile I will keep trying to do it myself...so you will be hearing more about this adventure  of mine.

Be sure to come to Bug-A-Paluza.  We have a certified VW mechanic who built a cut-a-way engine and transaxle . . . It's much easier to understand when you are hearing from someone who knows what they are talking about and has the visual aids to show you as they explain it.

And, like Ret.Bugtech said, you DO NOT have to pull the engine to adjust the valves.  Once you understand the process, it's quick and easy.  All you need is a screwdriver, a 13mm wrench and a feeler gauge . . . unless you are a big guy like me or your car is lowered in the rear.  In that case, a set of ramps comes in handy.

Air-cooled VWs are high maintenance compaired to modern cars.  You need to change your oil, adjust your points, adjust your vavles, set your timing and adjust your brakes every 2000 miles.  The good news is that all of these are easy for the do-it-yourselfer to learn.

And just a word of caution about Mechanics.  The best Chevy or Ford (or any other brand for that matter) mechanic in the world will suck as an air-cooled VW mechanic until he is trained on air-cooled VWs.  When you are looking for a mechanic, look for one that actually KNOWS air-cooled VWs.  Rick at RM is good!

my distributor has centrifical advance

the hose that goes from vaccum advance to carb was not tide in neither end (carb or vaccum adv.)

pictures (sorry quality is not that good):

1. this my vaccum advance..dual vaccum front and back

2. my carb....u can see both bras ends on the front and on the left side of the carb...my guess is that the retard goes (back hose of vacc adv) to the left one and the advance (front hose of vac adv) goes to the front one.....Am i right?

3. my connections (well the mechanic connections) the solenoid gets two cables...one from the coil and one from the electrical connections in the picture...the solenoid works good...with the contact on i touch it with the cable that comes from the electrical circuit and it clicks everytime i have tried.....is this electrical connection good?

4. on the left side of my carb the brass screw that it is on the upper left side of the  carb bowl is tight in....should i loosen it up or it shoul be as tide as it con go?

5. in the poly, the notch that i am pointing to is 5 after top dead center..notch in front side of poly is top dead center -->  according to bug me video i should time it on 7.5 BTDC, which is 7 16th to the right of the poly. bugme video recomends to take it somehwere else to do the timing and then mark it myself so i can do the timing later on, because u need some special tools when u have a dual vac. adv. dist. (strobe light and a tack weld meter?) is there a way u can do it yourself? is somebody out there who has this tools that can help me...plese

What in the heck is the black connector block under the coil ?  All you need is a wire from the "hot" side of the coil to the solenoid then up to the choke.