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Wed Oct 23, 2019 4:42 am

Do those cheap Amazon Chinese carburators work properly??

Wed Oct 23, 2019 4:49 am

cancelja wrote: Do those cheap Amazon Chinese carburators work properly??

Two words you used here should answer your question. "Cheap" and "Chinese". :wink:

Wed Oct 23, 2019 5:01 am

cancelja wrote: Do those cheap Amazon Chinese carburators work properly??

You mean like this one? https://www.amazon.com/Carburetor-Volkswagen-1968-...merReviews

Some suggest that they have had success with these carburetors by disassembling, cleaning and rebuilding a brand NEW carb. I once made the mistake of buying one. I could never get it to adjust right. Works well as a doorstop though.

I ended up buying a rebuilt 34 PCT 3 from Tim at VolkzBitz..Absolutely satisfied. Throttle bushings redone and no more vacuum leaks.

Wed Oct 23, 2019 5:22 am

Yes. Put 2500+ trouble free miles on an Amazon EMPI.

Wed Oct 23, 2019 5:29 am

The only one I've ever had luck w/is an Empi I installed in my '74 last fall. After a year, I've put about 9k trouble-free miles on it, w/only minor adjustments after the initial tune-up. Not bad for less than $100 shipped.

I tried a Euromax 7 years ago...pure CRAP. It's a piggy bank/conversation piece/paper weight on my desk at work. I would assume the same about any no-name chinese ones.

Wed Oct 23, 2019 6:05 am

Anybody old enough that remembers how they performed back in the day can tell the difference. Anybody with a background or training in mechanics should be able to tell you why OEM was and still is better quality. Cut a corner here use a cheap copy there is not going to work as well, sorry no fee lunch :D

What we see here is just part of a larger trend where folks use cheap knockoff parts, carburetors, distributor, fuel pump, even sheet metal then wonder why shit doesn’t line up or why their chinese pump is throwing fuel into the crankcase. Again if you want it to perform and last buy quality once. Often you’ll find that it’s cheaper in the long run with less headaches.

Wed Oct 23, 2019 6:12 am

Buying cheap and substandard parts only encourages the manufactures to cheapen other parts.

It tells them that the VW community will accept crap.

Wed Oct 23, 2019 6:12 am

I bought this one in June: https://www.amazon.com/maXpeedingrods-Carburetor-D...ef=sr_1_2?

It worked right out of the box and has been great for me. I tweaked the tuning a bit and no problems. I would gladly buy another one.

Wed Oct 23, 2019 6:19 am

Quote: cheap Amazon Chinese carburators work properly

I bought this cheap 30 PICT-1 carburetor from EBay. Works great on my stock 1500cc single port.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Brand-New-VW-Beetle-Bug-B...2062024300

Wed Oct 23, 2019 6:24 am

I have an original 34-3 rebuilt by Volkbitz that worked great for 5 years or so. It's still fine, I pulled it because I had stripped one of the mounting studs. I fully intended to re-install it, bought this one as a temporary fix while I figured out how to fix that stud (yes, i'm not the most mechanically savvy out-of-the-box and will often stare at something for a VERY long time before trying to resolve it.). I've long-since fixed the stud, but have kept the Empi in place, since it's running so well, as much out of curiosity as anything else. I'm curious to see when and why it will die.

That said, I have an original 34-4 on order w/Tim that will grace the engine I rebuilt from my '73 Super.

Wed Oct 23, 2019 6:35 am

I'd say it sounds like about a 50-50 "crap shoot" nowadays -- some people report having luck with those units, others not so much.

If you "roll the dice" on the ~$100 EMPI/aftermarket carburetor bet and lose the first time, then you'll have to lay down at least another ~$100 to "play again"...

With Volkzbitz, it's about $200-$250 for a rebuilt unit (depending on carb type), but you'll basically win on that "bet" every time, since he has a well-deserved reputation for doing great quality work, plus offers a 3-year guarantee to boot.

In the end, the choice mainly depends on your "tolerance for risk", along with what your spare time is worth to you...

Wed Oct 23, 2019 6:59 am

When it come to carbs the German ones are the ones to use. Try finding the stock dual carbs for a type 3. Tim at Volksbiz rebuilt mine, upon arrival installed them, put fuel to them, engine fired right up.

Wed Oct 23, 2019 7:21 am

Redline is one company that takes the Chinese carbs and rebuilds them.

Wed Oct 23, 2019 8:10 am

Tim. Only way to go.

Wed Oct 23, 2019 8:22 am

Send it to Tim - you won't regret it.

Wed Oct 23, 2019 8:35 am

Plenty of other folks out there besides Tim.

Wed Oct 23, 2019 8:48 am

It’s a fair question to ask. Good on you to research. Maybe they do work great. My thought, is if a $70 carb performed properly and was reliable for years. We’d all know about it because people would be posting how great they are. The $100 EMPI reviews are mixed. The VolkzBitz rebuilt carb reviews are consistently great. Choose wisely.

Wed Oct 23, 2019 10:34 am

Never bought one for a VW but in the Citroen 2CV community the ebay ones from "Sherryberg" have proven to work well. These cars also used Solex and I've put about 20k miles on my Chinese carb with success.

Wed Oct 23, 2019 12:59 pm

Zundfolge1432 wrote: Anybody old enough that remembers how they performed back in the day can tell the difference. Anybody with a background or training in mechanics should be able to tell you why OEM was and still is better quality. Cut a corner here use a cheap copy there is not going to work as well, sorry no fee lunch :D

What we see here is just part of a larger trend where folks use cheap knockoff parts, carburetors, distributor, fuel pump, even sheet metal then wonder why shit doesn’t line up or why their chinese pump is throwing fuel into the crankcase. Again if you want it to perform and last buy quality once. Often you’ll find that it’s cheaper in the long run with less headaches.

This^^

The sad truth is that a lot of current classic VW owners don't remember or know how well these VW's ran back when they were new or newish and still had their original parts mounted. They "assume" their VW "runs great" where someone who knows how they should run would get in and go "it runs like crap"..

Clearly there's economic factors involved for all of us when we have to purchase parts. Some folks are frugal and buy the cheapest part they can find. While others have no choice but to purchase the lease costly part. We get it. However, sometimes it wiser to save up and "cry once" and by the best vs. purchasing a suspect, low quality parts that may or may not fit, work or last.

Wed Oct 23, 2019 2:17 pm

wcfvw69 wrote: Zundfolge1432 wrote: Anybody old enough that remembers how they performed back in the day can tell the difference. Anybody with a background or training in mechanics should be able to tell you why OEM was and still is better quality. Cut a corner here use a cheap copy there is not going to work as well, sorry no fee lunch :D

What we see here is just part of a larger trend where folks use cheap knockoff parts, carburetors, distributor, fuel pump, even sheet metal then wonder why shit doesn’t line up or why their chinese pump is throwing fuel into the crankcase. Again if you want it to perform and last buy quality once. Often you’ll find that it’s cheaper in the long run with less headaches.

This^^

The sad truth is that a lot of current classic VW owners don't remember or know how well these VW's ran back when they were new or newish and still had their original parts mounted. They "assume" their VW "runs great" where someone who knows how they should run would get in and go "it runs like crap"..

Clearly there's economic factors involved for all of us when we have to purchase parts. Some folks are frugal and buy the cheapest part they can find. While others have no choice but to purchase the lease costly part. We get it. However, sometimes it wiser to save up and "cry once" and by the best vs. purchasing a suspect, low quality parts that may or may not fit, work or last.

Good observations. I was recently at a cruise night. There was a beautiful bug convertible there and the owner was justifiably proud of it. I was impressed until he started the car and drove away. I would not have trusted that car to drive to the corner store. It did not run well at all. Who knows how it braked and steered.

I know how well these cars can and should run and drive. I remember picking up my brand new 1974 green Love Bug at the dealership in November 1974. -$2895 CDN. It had 6 miles on the odometer. I drove that car across Canada and the USA with total confidence. It had good heat and ran like a top. Other than a coil, that crapped out at 20,000 miles, that car never let me down. I did change the tires out to radials. That made quite a difference. Loved that car.