Club 80-90 Forums

Good evening,

Just wandering if any one has any recommendations for engine tuners / rolling roads in the West Sussex area! The bus a 2.0 l Aircooled is really feeling underpowered a struggle to even reach 65 mph going downhill! And even the most moderate of rises reduces the poor old bus to very low speeds ;0(

Any thoughts on that and or gearbox gurus ?

With thanks

Before you think about rolling road tuning you perhaps should check the basics as it doesn't sound like it needs just a tweak on the timing or the carbs.

Get it compression tested. Most garages can do this, or you can buy a tester and DIY it. The readings are.... somewhere (Haynes ?) The results of a compression test will tell you a lot about the condition of the engine.

Check your valve clearances (are Aircooled motors solid or hydraulic tappets = I don't know, but you need to find out ).

Check your ignition timing (as per Haynes)

Check for any air leaks in the air intake tracts (manifolds, carb bases, brake vac pipe etc)

Then start thinking about your carb(s) settings. I know little about Aircooled's carbs so will leave that there.

ps, It is running on all 4 isn't it Looking at the state of the plugs and comparing them to each other and to the chart in the Haynes will tell you about this and a bit about how accurate your fuel/air mixture is.

A methodical approach to such matters will result in a much faster (and cheaper) diagnosis of the issue(s).

Good advice by John there Strawhead, try the basics first as it maybe an easily resolvable issue - if you feel the need to take you van to a tuning establishment to get it looked at, whilst i can't recommend anyone in West Sussex, i can recommend having a chat with Aaron at HT Racing - they are based at the rear of the Brands Hatch circuit if you were willing to travel:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/ht-racin ... 9352380854" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

TEL: 01474 872 888

In addition, the gearbox guru on here is 'Aidan'

Agree with doing the above things first.
If and when you then need a rolling road place, there is a garage at the crossroads in Lewes, outside the prison. Can't recall the name of the place, but iirc they have the full kit there. They CANT accommodate hi tops though!

Thank you,

will try the basics as suggested although as it is a recently rebuilt engine i would have hoped that compression would be good.

Thanks again

might be a good idea to post a pic of the engine bay and then people can check if all the vac pipes etc are there and in correct places