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In removing the old manifold, I found that one end boot wasn't on the
end piece, and the other boot had a huge crack (on the front where it
can't be seen). I'm guessing that the lean wide-open-throttle and curious
flat spots with the Solex were just due to vacuum leaks!
Anyway, my new Weber DFEV (well, it's a DFAV) is installed. This is
a tricky process, and even more tricky on a later engine with the doghouse
oil cooler and larger fan. The instructions were wrong regarding the
alternator and fan. I had to remove the fan from the alternator shaft
before I could get the alternator and old manifold off. It is necessary
to remove at least on manifold end piece. I removed the left one. To
get to the rear nut, I used a breaker bar which was a very close fit
at an angle.
During reassembly, I discovered that the fan has to go in the shroud
before the carb and manifold go on. It would have been best to install
the alternator, and finally the manifold and carb. The new intake manifold
can go in after the alternator because the heat risers aren't attached;
they kind of have a slip fit. The front left nut on the alternator stand
is very very difficult to reach with the manifold on. The front right
nut on the carb is almost impossible to reach with the fan and alternator
in place. Big problem. The solution with the carb turned out to be putting
a 13 mm socket on the nut, then reaching in with an extension at an
angle. The extension won't actually go in the socket, but it fits in
just enough to turn the socket.
The throttle linkage is a problem. The carb comes with an extra arm
that attaches to the VW cable. However, the return spring is way too
weak, the the arm is at kind of a weird angle and the throttle barely
opens all the way. It turns out that there is a separate kit with a
different arm, spring, and spring mounting bracket. This wasn't part
of the Weber carb kit, and wasn't mentioned when I bought the kit. I've
temporarily jury rigged the return spring from the Solex.
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The manifold is a pretty cheap item. It had epoxy inside (I knocked
this extra loose). It was inside the manifold, and looked like it might
restrict air flow. I think this is 1/4 inch (6.4mm) grid paper.
The heat risers needed a lot of bending before they matched up with
the header. I still don't know exactly how I used hi-temp silicon to
seal the head risers to the intake manifold. This seems to be working.
More on this as time goes along. The manifold has the word "EMPI" cast
into it, but it is poorly made and isn't covered by the instructions.
Same for the brace that holds the manifold. I had to bend it because
it doesn't fit.
I removed the old choke and fuel cutoff wires that had been attached
to the Solex, and made a single wire for the Weber choke.
The "kit" does not come with the end piece gaskets. The guys at Larry's
Offroad didn't mention this. When I called back and asked why they
didn't tell me, the response was, "I dunno."
The DFEV is a two barrel progressive, which means that the second barrel
isn't used unless you need the power. I had this carb (or a very similar
model) on my old 510. Nice. We'll see how it works with the Bug.
Special tools: 36 mm socket, S-shaped box end wrenches, distributor
wrenches, terminal crimping tool.
Extra parts: intake manifold boots, manifold end piece gaskets, hi-temp
sealant, throttle kit w/spring, wire and terminals.
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