any VW bug guys out there

[T77911S]

got a friend with a 74 SB.
stock dist with vac retard and vac advance.

he bought one of those $60 009 dist but is now thinking of going to an electronic one.
one guy told me the $80 was good one but he found the pertronix for 180.

any suggestions as to which one to get

[NY65912]

I had the Pertronix on my 72 SB. Never a problem, easy to install.

[asphaltgambler]

I know the oe points style distributors have #3 ( I think ) retarded on the point cam lobe. They did it because that cyl ran hot as it was next to the oil cooler. So an electronic aftermarket unit does not have this feature.

[jhynesrockmtn]

I put a 123 distributor in my 2.4 liter flat six in my 914 race car. I don't know if they make one for the 74 SB but worth a look. Gives you the ability to manage the distributor from your phone and get data like RPM, engine temp at distributor, lockout and more. So far so good but my use has been limited so far. Quite a few 914 guys have installed them.

[rcooled]

Originally Posted by T77911S

...any suggestions as to which one to get

Neither one. That $60 009 is just Chinese junk. The Pertronix is the same Chinese junk with one of their hall-effect sensors installed in place of the points.

Those 'electronic' modules can fail and strand you on the side of the road. No real advantage performance-wise, just the fact that they never need adjustment.

For a stock air-cooled VW motor, the original Bosch distributor w/points that came with the car will work best. If the distributor needs to be rebuilt, contact this guy: https://www.vwnos.com/distributor. He'll restore it to as-new condition.

Originally Posted by jhynesrockmtn

I put a 123 distributor in my 2.4 liter flat six. Gives you the ability to manage the distributor from your phone and get data like RPM, engine temp at distributor, lockout and more.

WAY overkill for a stock VW 1600cc motor...

Originally Posted by asphaltgambler

I know the oe points style distributors have #3 ( I think ) retarded on the point cam lobe.

That feature was no longer needed by the time the Super Beetle arrived.

[unclebilly]

I have a Baja bug with a 1600 and the 009 dist with points, it works just fine.

[A930Rocket]

Installed a Pertronix in a friends 240Z and ran like crap. Turned out it was a faulty unit.

[911boost]

My bus still has the points in it, works great and I can adjust/fix them if needed.

[Arizona_928]

Originally Posted by rcooled

Neither one. That $60 009 is just Chinese junk. The Pertronix is the same Chinese junk with one of their hall-effect sensors installed in place of the points.

Those 'electronic' modules can fail and strand you on the side of the road. No real advantage performance-wise, just the fact that they never need adjustment.

For a stock air-cooled VW motor, the original Bosch distributor w/points that came with the car will work best. If the distributor needs to be rebuilt, contact this guy: https://www.vwnos.com/distributor. He'll restore it to as-new condition.


WAY overkill for a stock VW 1600cc motor...


That feature was no longer needed by the time the Super Beetle arrived.

Agreed. Type one or two. Just run stock.
Type 3 or 4. Spend the money..

[GH85Carrera]

My brother has a 1954 Bug as his daily driver. He has been driving it daily since 1978. He does an oil change, valve adjustment, and points check and carb tweak as a routine. He has of course gone to disk brakes up front, dual master cylinder, 12 volts and 70 HP engine long ago.

When I had my 74 914 2.0 I always checked the valve adjustment on each oil change. Mostly it was run the gauges and only on occasion adjust anything. I was autocrossing a LOT back then. I sold it in 1995 and just stayed with points and never tried the electronic stuff.

My brother said he has a hard time finding quality points now days. Mostly Chinese crap and the block that rubs on the cam lobes of the distributor is very soft, and the points close up in short order.

I have to admit, I love my 911 crank sensor timing. I only take the distributor cap off on rare occasions now.

[gacook]

My brother-in-law is a huge VW guy. Has even had a VW resto he and his dad did on the cover of VW magazine. Has a side business restoring old VWs for people.

If you really need something and want me to try to connect you, PM me.

[3rd_gear_Ted]

If you had a bug, you had to be in a club.
DKP - Der Kinzer Panzer (The Little Tiger)
OCIR dragstrip was our hang out
My fiend was named OLE, his car was number 370, that is his name upside down.

[T77911S]

Originally Posted by afterburn 549

Points are very highly underrated.
They last forever ...well 10K anyway then readajust the timing.
But with a Vdub there is way more intense things than just points!
Valve adjustment is rather critical ..might as well change the oil whilst there ..
Adjust the belt
Check the Gen brushes
Kind of an ongoing but EZ list

i loved points in my 77s. reliability.
they did not wear out because there is no real voltage through them like on the bug.
not sure i ever changed them the 10yrs i owned it.
yes i would set them but thats it.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by T77911S

i loved points in my 77s. reliability.
they did not wear out because there is no real voltage through them like on the bug.
not sure i ever changed them the 10yrs i owned it.
yes i would set them but thats it.

One of our local PCA members has a 67 912. His mechanic pushed him to install a electronic ignition, and he said OK, as long as it can me removed and go back to stock points. He said the electronic system never ran as well as the points, so he went back to points.

[ted]

Originally Posted by 3rd_gear_Ted

If you had a bug, you had to be in a club.
DKP - Der Kinzer Panzer (The Little Tiger)
OCIR dragstrip was our hang out

During my time in DKP we raced Renn Kafer in Sac, Vegas, PHX, LA county, Pomona, Long Beach and an old DKP favorite Carlsbad.
I raced at OCIR, Famoso and Qualcomm 1/8 mile but that was before my DKP days.
Troy in white me in red at PHX.

[cgarr]

Like said before the 009 is junk, do the original setup right and it will be fine.




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[T77911S]

put in the pertronix with one vac advance.
it sounds better but it still has a very slight miss at idle and when you hold the RPM up.

the engine moves a little and you get a slight "bump" or miss.
everything is new except coil.

going to check valves and compression next.

any ideas on the miss.
its done this since i started working on it

[speeder]

Very timely thread, my buddy picked up a '74 Beetle and we need a stock distributor for it. The link above is excellent, anyone know which distributor is the correct one for a '74? TIA.

[Tobra]

Petronix and keep spare condenser and points, in the car, just in case. Keep them with the spare clutch cable and fan belt.

[rcooled]

Originally Posted by speeder

...anyone know which distributor is the correct one for a '74?

Back in 1974, VW distributors were designed to work best when paired with a specific carburetor. There should be a number stamped on the base flange of the carb (left side as you're looking at it). If this motor still has it's original carb (not always the case after all these years), that number would be either 427-1 or 428-1.
If the car was originally sold in CA, that number could be 429-1 or 430-1.

For a 427-1 (the most common carb), the original distributor would've been VW P/N 043905205. A 428-1 or a 430-1 (not very common) would pair with a 043905205A. A 429-1 carb used an 043905205C distributor.

Be aware that distributors and carburetors on air-cooled VW motors are easily swapped around and many no longer have the same components that were originally supplied with the car. Plus, there are now a ton of aftermarket carbs out there with no numbers on the base flange at all. If that's the case here, you just have to do the best you can to find a suitable match...different combos can be made to work. If you can get the model number of the carb (on the left side of the float bowl as you're looking at it), that would be helpful in picking a suitable distributor.