stuck in the desert,

slajana · 09-06-2006, 04:55 PM

my '73's 2.4 Permatune CDS gave out. With no hope of rescue, and the coyotes closing in, I'm hoping the addition of a condenser and coil from an old VW Beetle lying next to the road will give me enough spark to get her going again?

Um...help?

afterburn 549 · 09-06-2006, 05:10 PM

yes,just make a old style ignition...are you really stuck ??? in a desert ??

john walker's workshop · 05:30 PM

that should work. just jump power to the 15 or + side of the coil and run the 1 or negative side to the points/condenser connection. unplug the CD plug and tap off the 12V in the center of the 3 terminal plug. you can even use the CD coil in a pinch, but be sure to disconnect the ground wire from it.

slajana · 09-06-2006, 05:25 PM

yes! but hopefully for not much longer!!! Where do those wires go? Without an old car to work off, condenser to breaker, breaker to coil primary + and ignition to coil primary -, should it just work? Or is there something I'm missing........?

slajana · 09-06-2006, 05:30 PM

oops..sorry, slow connection here...missed your post..Thanks guys! I'll report back soon...unless the rattlers get me....

Early_S_Man · 05:59 PM

Blue Permatune or silver???

Yes, it should work. You will need some wire and Fastons:

1. Remove existing CDI coil. Mount VW coil with same hardware.

2. Disconnect two wires ... Black and Black/Violet from distributor.

3. Get switched +12 Volts from the unused fuse on the 3-position fuse block on the electrical panel ... that needs to go to Terminal #15 on the VW coil.

4. Connect Terminal #1 of the VW coil to the points terminal on distributor and non-grounded side of the condenser.

5. Ground the VW condenser to the leftover ground strap from the CDI coil #1 terminal, or clamp condenser ground tab under M8 washer or coil strap.

Good luck!

ps,

If you have no wire & Fastons ... salvage some from the Beetle, preferably from behind the dash [raise hood, remove cardboard cover] where it would be relatively clean and protected from weathering.

ruf-porsche · ruf-porsche's Garage

Next time get a AAA premium membership

slajana · 09-06-2006, 07:14 PM

now where's the fun in that?? I've made 2 new friends, made contact with 3 new buddies ( thanks for the info guys!) spent 2 hours hanging out the back of 911 while the desert sun sets and, to crown it all, she's running like a train! Not once did I get bitten by the wildlife and expenditure =$0. I'm a happy and wiser man

afterburn 549 · 09-06-2006, 07:22 PM

congrats. We expect a full write up Mcguiver

bell · bell's Garage

so who's bug did you get your parts off of ?

great story, with this bbs you never are truely stranded.....as long as you have web access

slajana · 09-08-2006, 02:59 PM

The bug was a car that had been fully restored, including the engine, 15 years ago - shortly before the owners garage had gone bust and the car put up for auction to recoup losses. In the event it never sold, and has lain dormant ever since, while the ravages of time and nature have taken their toll. Depressingly, the carb wasn't plugged and the spark plugs were missing , the result of which was the lump had become a haven for sand...
The owners mum had gladly given parts to a desparate man, and would have gladly given over the entire car had I the room....as it was, all I needed was the condenser and coil.
A cautionary note! The top fuse on the 3- position fuse block is permanently live - a fact I noted upon attempting to shut the engine off. Initial thoughts of MAD engine over-run quashed by realisation of stupidity...
Thanks again!

jester911 · jester911's Garage

How bizarre is that. A guy that never posted here before finds this website while stranded in the middle of the desert.

All I can say is he has a helluva an engine. Search engine that is.

Scooter · 09-08-2006, 03:21 PM

Been there, done that.

My desert location was Needles. 115 degrees and sand storms for entertainment.

Good luck!

LakeCleElum · 09-08-2006, 03:38 PM

Slajana: A great tale.....You don't list your location in your profile.....You be stranded in the Australian outback. Or you be somewhere between Victorville and Lancaster in Calif???????

Zeke · 09-08-2006, 04:10 PM

Man, do I know the hot desert blues. Back in the 70's, I had a 914 and I was returning from Lake Havasu when the wires to the fuel pump just got up and went away somewhere outside of BFE. Of course, I didn't know that and had the car towed to Needles. So, I'm in the gas station lot where they dumped me and they guy says, "You need a fuel pump." Brilliant. It's Sunday afternoon. He can get one maybe by late Monday. Got to a motel, he advises.

It's 114 air temp and the hot asphalt was....well, hot. I crawled under the car with only the tire jack holding it up (I know, but desperate people do desperate things. I discover the eaten up wires from the battery which is cooking nicely in the heat and destroying everything below it. I tell the gas station dude that it's the wires and can I buy a couple of Faston connectors (I didn't know what to call them at the time and wouldn't still if it weren't for Early_S_Man) After some negotiation, I get a couple of connectors and a borrowed pair of crimpers for $20. That's 20 in 70's money! Well, the gas station crook was pissed that he didn't get his 500 for changing a fuel pump, which it didn't need, and he knew that because he had the car up on the rack just after we got towed in.

There is a moral to the story and I bet Warren has connectors and wire with him wherever he goes. So do I.