I just picked up my 72 1.7 in Portland. The shop who had it for the past 3 months hadn't gone thru it thoroughly before my arriving to drive it to LA. That's a different story! In any case I need a reputable shop in Portland Oregon who can go thru the car and get it running well. It's idling rough and had linkage adjustment issues.

Thanks,
Lou

Hey Lou,

There are a few of us from the Portland area that are active here. Welcome aboard.

The two shops that come to mind are A&P on 82nd Ave. and Marque Motors in John's Landing.

We might be able to help you directly on this site, also. What's up with your car? How is it running bad? Can you post some photos?

-marcus

Thanks for the tip. I already have a call into Kirk at Marque and I'm awaiting a call back. I'll try a&p as well. The car had a side shifter upgrade and I'm having difficulty with 1st and reverse. The previous shop tinkered with the linkage adjustment which got me drivable but its still not right. I know these shifters are sloppy but this is beyond that. It has all new bushings.

It's has twin weber conversion (34's I think) after a recent rebuild (I was told 500 miles prior). It's idling (albeit @ 1300) rough and seems to be running on 3 cyls. I think its timing/distributor related since the carbs are brand new. The electrical components are not new and it could use a tune up.

I'm concerned with the valves being adjusted properly as well since that can lead to a big mess.

My issue is time. I relied on the previous shop to work thru these issues prior to my flying out to pick up the car. Now I find myself in time crunch since I need to be on a schedule to LA.

Well, right off the bat it sounds like you have a vacuum leak creating the high idle.

Can you specify more about the first/reverse shifting problem? Can you simply not get into those gears or does it crunch? If it just doesn't want to go into first or reverse than it's probably an adjustment issue with the shifter.

If it crunches in first and reverse probably isn't a result of the linkage adjustment unless you . More likely, you may have a worn clutch or a clutch cable tube that has become loose - a common fault with our cars. The good news is that clutch replacements are relatively easy to do. Easily a one day job on your own or less for a good shop. The clutch tube repair is also straightforward if you're handy with a torch, depending on where it has become dislodged. If you search through the forums here for "+clutch +tube +repair" you'll find all you ever wanted to know. But it's just the kind of repair job that isn't obvious to mechanics that don't specialize in the x19.

Timing and valve adjustments are easy. Any shop should be able to do that in short order. If the carbs are brand new, have you had them tuned?

Being pressed for time is the worst of it. How much time do you have?

-marcus

I second Marque Motors.

Hold on.

When you say you have twin Weber 34 carbs, please tell me you don't mean the single-barrel style carbs. Do you have two of these - one on each side of the engine? Or do you have a single 34/34 Weber dual valve carb sitting right on top of the engine?

Yes. There are two single barrel webers, one over each side.

Those will work on 1.7 motor, but barely. And you'll lose power, especially a the top end. It sounds like you have a real host of issues. I can't imagine that you'll want to deal with all of this while you're on the road. Hopefully Marque can take care of you.

If the side-shift conversion was poorly done, it can cause shifting problems. Things like not using the late curvy cast engine mount bar, not replacing a bushing or two, or even using the old tail-shift bushing in the firewall.

Driveability problems are often tough to troubleshoot, especially remotely.

--DD

Marque Motors Would Not work on my 914. I was told that because 914s were not worth that much, the repairs cost more than the car is worth. And that was after Camp 914 recommended me to them.

Do not, under any circumstances try Heckmann and Thiemann, they used to be a good garage but they went downhill. They‘ve become incompetent, and there customer service dried up, and that’s after 4 or 5 years of going there.

I’ve used A&P and can safely recommend them.

You might get lucky with Trafton’s. They’re an air cooled VW shop but they have been known to take 914s in from time to time.

Kurt at Marque fixed me up. A couple of Allen set screws needed replacing. Out in a day. Great guys & great work. Thanks!

sounds like you had a previous owner rather than a shop problem. linkage set screws are considered to be a one time use part.

k