learning the hard way... my '62 Coupe.

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Greg Bryan
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Re: learning the hard way... my '62 Coupe.

#106 Post by Greg Bryan »

Here are the Redline part numbers for the Weber throttle levers I mentioned above. I've used them on three different engines with good success. Sorry that my iphone turns the photos sideways, but they correct if you click the photo.
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Weber throttle levers.jpg
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Peter Schueren
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Re: learning the hard way... my '62 Coupe.

#107 Post by Peter Schueren »

I have done 130 miles with the latest carb setup now. It is still not perfect. but when the engine is warmed up it keeps idling. And it feels like beeing really fast (in spite of not going above 3500 r/pm (as the engine is "new". I am really looking forward to the great tune up with the Weber people in Cologne.Befor that dat an oil change and the valves are due.
Thank you for yor great help!!!!
Peter

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Peter Schueren
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Re: learning the hard way... my '62 Coupe.: New Trouble

#108 Post by Peter Schueren »

Friends, Tuesday I plan (or planned) to drive 100 miles to Cologne where the famous Victor Günther will start the good work on my Weber carbs.... Yesterday I took the car for a drive. After about 15 miles the engine started to stutter. It sounded more like ignition than carbs... I stopped and looked at the ignition wires hoping that something was loose so that I could show off my competence as a mechanic. No - not at first glance. I could drive home but the engine did not run right. Idling was OK but above this it did not run "round".
It has a 123 electronic ignition. Any very simple solution to this problem.. otherwise I will have to visit my workshop before driving to Cologne.... (In the night I thought about the madness of selling my perfect 911 from 1985 to get this green monster from 1962 without being a qualified mechanic...)
Any ideas...

Peter

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Martin Benade
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Re: learning the hard way... my '62 Coupe.

#109 Post by Martin Benade »

Can you tell if it seems like all four cylinders have the same problem, or if it’s just maybe one side of the engine? I’d snap off one throttle link and see if the engine accelerates equally when opening one carb at a time.
One side weak might suggest dirt in a carb, both sides weak suggests ignition trouble (or fuel pump)
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Peter Schueren
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Re: learning the hard way... my '62 Coupe.

#110 Post by Peter Schueren »

I will run the engine tomorrow and have a look. But I only dream to find a loose wire... It will probably be the workshop on tuesday.

Dave Erickson
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Re: learning the hard way... my '62 Coupe.

#111 Post by Dave Erickson »

Peter, I am just breaking in a new engine, so I had similar problems until I solved them. Here were all the things that made a difference. All of them corrected symptoms like you mention:

1. balancing the carbs at 3000 RPM
2. adjusting the accelerator pump output down to .16ml per stroke per bbl
3. rejetting the carbs (to 115 mains and 55 idle jets). My carbs are Solexes, yours Webers, so I don't know how that translates, but both are below CJ's recommended jet sizes)
4. regapping the plugs (.7mm vs. the .5mm they came set at)
5. bending the accel. pump nozzles so the stream goes straight into the gap between butterfly and manifold and setting correct float level
6. checking point adjustment using a dwell meter (proper dwell means the coil has sufficient saturation current to generate a good spark)

Good luck.

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Peter Schueren
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Re: learning the hard way... my '62 Coupe.

#112 Post by Peter Schueren »

That is interesting Dave, thank you.
my engine is more or less NEW with new carbs and a new electronic ignition all done about 300 miles ago.
the carbs are to be adjusted at Victor Günther in Cologne... My engine was running quite well for about 250 miles before this happened.

But my car was in the workshop for an oil change and a valve adjustment that has to be done around 300 miles after the total rebuilt of the engine. Maybe something in connection with this job is not right...
I will have a look at it later in the day (Whit-monday is a holiday in Germany), but I have to bring the car to Cologne on Tuesday. So it is back to the worshop in the morning. I will not drive with an engine that is not running right.
peter

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Peter Schueren
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Re: learning the hard way... my '62 Coupe.

#113 Post by Peter Schueren »

The plugs were black...
New plugs and it was running nice...but only for a short time....Therefore I will not risk it on the road for 90 miles with a lot of traffic...and have someone bring my car to Cologne on a trailer. Those Webers seem much too fat. When they are adjusted ...I hope for a nice 356..
.

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Peter Schueren
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Re: learning the hard way... my '62 Coupe -New TROUBLE

#114 Post by Peter Schueren »

Last week my green monster went to Cologne..today I got the message that one spark plug had been screwed in damaging the threads (seriously). That has been done by my small local work shop...
The Porsche will go back on the truck and travel to the people who rebuilt the engine (Ahnendorp). They will have to repair the head. When this is done the car will go back to Cologne for the big tune up. It is an insurance case as this blunder was done by my local workshop and no one else touched those plugs. Even I would have been very, very carefull with an aluminum head...
It seems that I am really learning the hard way.

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Greg Bryan
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Re: learning the hard way... my '62 Coupe.

#115 Post by Greg Bryan »

Peter - you're not learning the hard way, you're gaining experience!
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Peter Schueren
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Re: learning the hard way... my '62 Coupe.

#116 Post by Peter Schueren »

Greg, you are right...but I had other experiences in my life that I liked much more....

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Doug McDonnell
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Re: learning the hard way... my '62 Coupe.

#117 Post by Doug McDonnell »

Unfortunately, most of us do not live in a "356 Mechanic" rich environment and I expect that situation to get worse over time. When I moved to West Michigan in 1981 I was lucky enough to find a good mechanic with 356 experience and used him until he retired, and have used his son since but now he is old enough to want to retire. So now 42 years later and getting old and decrepit enough that it is hard to work on my car myself I am worried that I will need to trailer my car for service, something I hate thinking about. I have always worried about cross threading a plug myself so am very careful as were my mechanics. Good luck Peter.
1965 356C 2000 BMW 740i Sport 1967 Honda CL77 There is never enough time to do it right, but always enough time to do it over.

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Chris Davis
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Re: learning the hard way... my '62 Coupe.

#118 Post by Chris Davis »

At age 16 I cross threaded a plug on my first car (63' VW Bug). I was walking for a couple weeks while I waited for dad to have time to introduce me to the art of helicoil insert repair... Painful lesson at the time, but I have yet to cross thread a spark plug again. Sorry someone had to learn on your 356 Peter.

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Peter Schueren
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Re: learning the hard way... my '62 Coupe.

#119 Post by Peter Schueren »

My green coupe is back with those people that rebuilt the engine as they ought to know what they are doing. They will repair the thread. It should be finished next week. Then it is back to Victor Günther Motorsport in Cologne for the great tune-up and the fine work on those Weber carbs....

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Harlan Halsey
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Re: learning the hard way... my '62 Coupe.

#120 Post by Harlan Halsey »

Peter,
After 119 posts It doesn't seem to me that there is any learning going on. Just repeating the same mistake over and over: Your engine rebuilder was clearly incompetent if they installed carburetors which were incorrectly jetted. Yet you go back to them. Those non-stock Webers are notorious for having fat manifolds which probably contributed to your incompetent local workshop cross threading the spark plug. You are trusting that the Cologne shop can get your linkage corrected and the carbs successfully adjusted. I hope that you are right. As long as you continue to use vendors without carefully vetting them you will continue to fail. That crazy basket of snakes exhaust system Ahnendorp sold you is ridiculous. Look at the stock muffler. There is a German company which supplies copies of the originals. I can think of nothing wrong with a case which would require a big bore and Webers. It is possible to move the third piece with its engine number to an entirely different crank case if the original is too badly damaged to be cost effective to repair. You need to learn that you need to find a person who can supply the knowledge you lack. We all have to do that. Large shops rarely have such people. A good way to find such people is to meet them at Porsche gatherings.

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