How can I make my van faster up hills/ motorway ?

[faggie]

as metalmicky has said make shure you are getting full throttle , i guarantee you are not if the linkage has never been replaced , as years of service puts wear on the throttle linkage under your pedal making the hole where the linkage fits through now oval instead of round, either get this welded up to its round again or replace with new vw part , i replaced one recently on a Aircooled high top on the way to me it managed 55mph on the way home it made 70mph , my old 2.0 elevating roof camper could top 90mph on a good day but i would not recomend it , 60/65 mph is best for a decent mpg , or if thats not fast enough re build the engine to 2400cc it makes a massive different when going up hills , and if thats not fast enough i heard a porsche engine bolts straight in

[sternal]

i dont want record breaking speeds just to be able to cruise at 60mph perhaps my driving style is all wrong Ive not owned an Aircooled before.

Will take some pics pf the engine when I get home this afternoon and post

thanks so far

[keith]

I always find the "how fast" posts interesting....I think some of the top end speeds quoted are "ambitious".

at 75 mph+ my van feels as though its doing 110. ....and its quite scary

[vanisveryrusty]

"75mph feels like 110mph and quite scary"

110mph feels like 75mph in the Merc SLK, and thats scary the other way around .
Especially with all those unmarked Skodas prowling around the M6

[jason k]

Ditch the solex carbs and replace only with a pair of 36 or 40mm dellorto drla then you will be able to laugh at hills, have increased mpg and sound like god gargling when you boot it! They are tremendous carbs , they make the van sound glorious too and would be THE first thing I would fit to any Aircooled van I bought.

[sternal]

Changing the carbs sounds fun but tbh I'm hoping it wont be something as major as that £500 for carbs as much as Id love to the van for me is a means to enjoy time away with my family, I cant be doing all the modifications anymore my wife wont let me (nor will the bank!)

[vanisveryrusty]

Dont worry.
Changing the carbs may be a fun solution if you have the money.
Mine works well enough with well set up original Solex carbs.
If you make it go too fast you should be thinking about upgrading the brakes and suspension also.
As well as telling the insurance company about the mods.
Just get the originals working for starters.

[BOXY]

My van had a shot inlet valve seat on no3 and would still get to over 65mph on the flat. Now the head has been replaced the van is back to "normal" and can easily manage the worst hills Dartmoor has to offer. It might be worth having a compression check done to see how healthy the engine is.

[82camper]

have you considered leaving the wife at home!!

i have 1982 1970 Aircooled single webber can hit 70 easily on flat but every hill has me cursing
big hill = 35-40 third gear
slight incline= 50ish
you def should be getting bit more power!

[sternal]

Pictures of the engine bay, it was mentioned that the hole under the accelerator should be round and not oval , why is this ? would it make such a big difference ? Mine is oval !



whats this wire for ?




left



right

[faggie]

the hole under the accelerator is not the one in picture it is under the floor of van better to view it from beneath van it looks like a boomerang in shape its part of the throttle linkage , due to the hole being oval instead of round the throttle linkage will not be moving the carbs all the way due to play in linkage , this will make a vast difference to top speed , the wire with plug on is there to plug into a old dianostics machine when it was serviced at vw not needed anymore ,

[sternal]

okay thanks ,

when the accelerator is fully pressed all is working on the carbs (should have said in last post) there isn't any play had the mrs pressing whilst I looked but I dont really know what Im looking for so I could be totally wrong !

I'm going to Battlesbridge VW Show tomorrow (sat) if anyone is about to have a quick look !

[faggie]

i see you are running a electric facet fuel pump and fuel pressure guage it could also be the fuel pump is worn and not pumping enough fuel through or someone has over adjusted the fuel regulator round thing on right of engine bay which could be starving the engine of fuel , from memory i am shure solex carbs like to run at 4/5 lb pressure but not shure what pressure you fuel pump pumps out it must be more than carb float chambers can handle thats why regulator has been fitted

[sternal]

hi
the fuel pump was fitted a few years back 8000 miles ago or less by the last owner, from memory the dial is on 4 so I guess must be the pressure you are talking about ?

[faggie]

when you press the accelerator fully or the mrs does and you look in engine bay at carbs the linkage should nearly hit a stop if you have play in linkage due to play in linkage they will be well of the stop , also if the carbs as standard they should have electric chokes working on the right hand side carb the 12volt supply from coil to carb is not attached this needs re attaching, myself i prefer to remove chokes as its less hassle and less wear to the engine without them ,