The Baja Bug - First Timer's Thread

[EnjoyNukaCola]

Watch closely and you can see fuel bubbling out of the small hole just above the throttle butterfly. What is this for? It likely caused the engine to fill with gas.


Link

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"when i go to drive it i get to like 5-10 mph it is at high rpms and gets higher the faster i go when i shift up to second the rpms drop is this normal or what and this is my first vw please help"

[dustymojave]

DarkEarth called it. The problem is almost certainly a failed carburetor float valve sticking open or the float sunk. Start there.

Cranking the engine over with the starter when it's hydro-locked can bend con rods and break pistons, so beware of that. If there are strange noises after you fix the fuel leak, you may need to rebuild your engine .

A remote possibility is a failed fuel pump diaphragm. Replace the fuel pump if it wasn't the carb. But one cylinder full of fuel is very probably not the pump.

Whichever it is, change the oil. If you have an oil filter, replace the filter too.
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Richard
Offroading VW based cars since 1965
Tech Inspection 1963 - 2012 SCCA/SCORE/HDRA/MORE/MDR +
Retired from building Bajas, Fiberglass Buggies and Rails in the Mojave Desert. Also Sprints & Midgets, Dry Lakes, Road Race cars. All types New and Vintage
SoCalBajas Member
Kicked Cancer's A$$...1st and 2nd round...Fight ain't over yet.

[Dark Earth]

[EnjoyNukaCola]

I parked overnight on an upward sloping driveway (front up) and discovered the #1 cylinder hydrolocked with fuel when I cranked it over the next morning. Gas poured out the valve covers, quarts of it. The carb float needle seems to be working properly, as is the float itself. I don't know how this happened, I've parked on slopes before.
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"when i go to drive it i get to like 5-10 mph it is at high rpms and gets higher the faster i go when i shift up to second the rpms drop is this normal or what and this is my first vw please help"

[bikesndbugs]

[Wrongwrench]

Thank you Richard. I didn't mean to step on toes but also didn't want to start a new thread for questions that I'm certain have been asked. Again, thanks for the time looking at my links. I think #3 got sold. I was mostly afraid there were styles or years where someone would say "stay away!" I'll look at 'em and hope to join your club with an actual car soon.

[dustymojave]

Welcome to our group.

You might want to start your own new topic for your discussion so you aren't stepping on somebody else's toes though.

The 1st Baja looks decently clean. The 2nd one is not so clean and wants a little more $$, but on close personal inspection just MIGHT be better than the 1st.

The 3rd one comes up as a 404 error. Not a Craig's List closed out ad. So I'm not too sure what's up there.
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Richard
Offroading VW based cars since 1965
Tech Inspection 1963 - 2012 SCCA/SCORE/HDRA/MORE/MDR +
Retired from building Bajas, Fiberglass Buggies and Rails in the Mojave Desert. Also Sprints & Midgets, Dry Lakes, Road Race cars. All types New and Vintage
SoCalBajas Member
Kicked Cancer's A$$...1st and 2nd round...Fight ain't over yet.

[Wrongwrench]

I'm in the market for my first Baja. Actually, my first air cooled motor but not first VW. Most of my wrench time lately is on a Miata. It's time to add to the fun. I've wanted a Baja Bug since High School in the early 80s when only cool guys had them. I know nothing about air cooled motors but I bet I could learn. I live in Ventura County and I'd like to start simple with a Baja that's already completed since I can't fabricate. If the mechanicals need work, I'd love it. There are a couple nearby on Craigslist and an interesting one on theSamba. I've read a lot on theSamba before coming here. I wondered if anyone had time to look at the CL post and theSamba post and comment (sight unseen) on these Baja Bugs. Thanks for considering.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=2055685
https://ventura.craigslist.org/cto/6122823946.html
https://ventura.craigslist.org/cto/6092507631.html​

[bikesndbugs]

[dustymojave]

Sweet!

I haven't been there for years. Not that it's far away, just keep going other places.

Your Baja sounds a lot like mine.
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Richard
Offroading VW based cars since 1965
Tech Inspection 1963 - 2012 SCCA/SCORE/HDRA/MORE/MDR +
Retired from building Bajas, Fiberglass Buggies and Rails in the Mojave Desert. Also Sprints & Midgets, Dry Lakes, Road Race cars. All types New and Vintage
SoCalBajas Member
Kicked Cancer's A$$...1st and 2nd round...Fight ain't over yet.

[Dark Earth]

Looks like fun !! Love the way your bug sounds.
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My Build: '69 Baja - Dark Earth Version

~I'm almost done. I just lack finishing up.~

[EnjoyNukaCola]

I went to Gorman last weekend to watch the Baja SAE California comp at Quail Canyon for the second year in a row. Hungry Valley is just over the mountains so I drove the Bug up. It got hot going up the 5 because my oil light started flickering for the first time, so I pulled over and shut it off for 5-10 minutes. Didn't have any problems the rest of the day. From the MX park, I drove north on Pronghorn Trail (a black diamond 4x4 route) and followed Powerline Road into the valley. Gold Hill runs through the park and I drove to the south end until it ends and leads into Alamo Mountain. It's a paved road but I remember going through the Miller Jeep Trail from Frazier Park years back in my friends Toyota, it's tough going up there. We were up there all night until the sun came up because everyone was having problems. The Bug could definitely make it to the camp sites in the future.

Link

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"when i go to drive it i get to like 5-10 mph it is at high rpms and gets higher the faster i go when i shift up to second the rpms drop is this normal or what and this is my first vw please help"

[EnjoyNukaCola]

I got the Donaldson filter rigged up just a few days before going on a run with So Cal Bajas in Johnson Valley. I was the 2nd most-stock car there, besides a stock Super Beetle It's slow going through the woops when most of the guys are running engine swaps and long travel, but I can hang.

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"when i go to drive it i get to like 5-10 mph it is at high rpms and gets higher the faster i go when i shift up to second the rpms drop is this normal or what and this is my first vw please help"

[EnjoyNukaCola]

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"when i go to drive it i get to like 5-10 mph it is at high rpms and gets higher the faster i go when i shift up to second the rpms drop is this normal or what and this is my first vw please help"

[EnjoyNukaCola]

Been a minute, but I'm still around. Busy so the Bug isn't get too much attention right now. Last drive was Thanksgiving weekend to Rowher Flats with my dad.

I am still planning to install the Donaldson air cleaner I bought a while back. Going to turn the rear end up one or two clicks and maybe 2-2.5" lift spindles in the front. I just purchased a used set of Centerline aluminum wheels that I'll be putting on. At some point I'll be looking into building some one-off Eibach reservoir shocks all around, valved like the Bilstein Class 11's.
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"when i go to drive it i get to like 5-10 mph it is at high rpms and gets higher the faster i go when i shift up to second the rpms drop is this normal or what and this is my first vw please help"

[Brian]

congrats on the idle.

I really like oldschooler's tricks on where the pumps squirt. makes perfect sense.
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Wash your hands

'69 Bug
'68 Baja Truck
'71 Bug
'68 Camper

Only losers litter

[dustymojave]

[oldschool5er]

Two things we do on 30 pict-1 carbs that you can try if you ever put it back on are: first before you seat the acc pump squirt tube aim it to make sure that the fuel squirt hits at exactly the point the butterfly starts to open, it almost hits the side of the venturi but just after the butterfly begins to open slightly. If it is adjusted right and with a good pump diaphram you will have squirt the second the butterfly starts to open. We also use jet reamers to open up the squirt tube oriface a little bit at a time to increase the volume until the hesitation is gone.
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HRE in Westerville,Ohio

Full machine shop with all types of CNC. Rapid prototyping available, CNC Plasma cutting, 3D printing and Laser engraving.

[EnjoyNukaCola]

Running pretty good with the new Brosol. Wasn't installed right out of the box per se, but I did my research beforehand. Opened it up, blew it all out, swapped the idle and power jets, went to 55 idle and 130 main from the old Solex. The float bowl plug gasket is trash, but I had a fiber seal on hand. Cranked it down good and it sealed. All in all, about 4 hours down and I have a smooth running engine again.

Started classes at CPP and got a new internship at Eibach as of last Monday.
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"when i go to drive it i get to like 5-10 mph it is at high rpms and gets higher the faster i go when i shift up to second the rpms drop is this normal or what and this is my first vw please help"

[Dark Earth]