Aircooled VW South Africa

I went by Autozone yesterday and saw they had a few tune up kits

Timing lights, compression tester, Dwell meter, etc.

I'd like to buy one of the kits
Anything I should be aware of in terms of quality, pricing & brand?

Most of the cheap kits have neon timing lights, which are only visible at night. If I ever buy another timing light it will be one of the expensive xenon lights.

Since I threw away my crappy cheapo neon timing light I have adjusted timing by eye (watch the points gap open). However, since I turned 40 my near vision has deteriorated alarmingly, so now I use a basic test light instead.

The stuff in those kits is useful, but you don't need any of them to successfully tune up an ACVW.

to true...ive been successful for 4.5 years without meters and lights. BUT, if u have electronic ignition....get a timing light.
then again...unless u have a marked crank pulley, u would never be able to guess exactly where 6 r 8 or whatever degrees is.
you cant go wrong with static setting of your timing, hundreds of people have done it for the last hundred years....especially
if its a standard road car-as apposed to a high performance race car.

most importantly...just have a feeler gauge.

an easy way to set the timing, without having to use the spark plug method, get a 12v globe-solder a wire to the positive and one to the negative.
then crimp a push on lug on the positive lead from the globe. now, when you about to set the timing, push the positive from the globe
onto the negative on the coil and ground the negative of the globe. now...what will happen, as you tur the dizzy to find timing,
the globe will come on. so the spot will be exactly where the globe starts to come on.
this is just slightly easier than trying to see a small spark in the spark plug.

Matt wrote: so the spot will be exactly where the globe starts to come on.

This is the spot to tighten the Dizzy right?

So i assume the rotor remains static, while the Dizzy rotates around it?

absolutely right....once the flywheel is on the mark for number 1, and the rotor is in the correct position(if u really wanna be sure, take the tappet
cover off and make sure both inlet and outlet are closed). loosen the dizzy-not to much, just enuff to turn it. connect the contraption.
switch on the key. and turn the dizzy.

u'll find with this way, u dont have to turn the dizzy as fast to "see the light".

Make sure your have the motor set for number 1 cylinder and not number 3 cylinder.

Make sure your have the motor set for number 1 cylinder and not number 3 cylinder.

well, thats y i sed take off the tappet cover and check. coz ive got a dizzy thats 180deg out-making the rotor point to number 3
when infact its number 1.

the rotor is s'pose to point to number 1

The static timing light works great. Still having a problem finding out exactly where to tighten.

I found TDC and it's currentley set at around 5 deg. ATDC. There's a mark filed in the pully that was there when i got the car. So I tightened the dizzy and the light came on when the puly was on that mark.

Is this fine?

ATDC??? You sure? it should be BTDC.
As the pulley turns, the 2 (or 3) notches will come past. Figure out which one is TDC. Any notch to pass the split in the crank case before the TDC notch is BTDC (before TDC).

it shouldnt be atdc! check which way the motor rotates when it runs!!! u could put it exactly on the filed mark- we've put a clock guage
through the spark plug hole before-inorder to find tdc, and its like exactly on the filed mark.

most dizzy's recomend a few degrees btdc....find out what yours is. i have electronic and they told me it should be 7/8 degrees btdc.
the bottom line is; the more advance u can get without detonation-the more power.

play around with it, advance it and drive...especially up a hill. see where the best result is. alot of mechanics do it this way.
if u dont find a difference. leave it on the mark.

anyway...if all else fails, get a power pulley-they bout R500. it has all 360 degrees marked on it, plus coz of the smaller diametre it
gives a few(bout 6/7) free horses.

Thanks for the info Tony & Matt

I misunderstood previously, it is past/after the TDC mark as the engine turns so I thought after is ATDC.

So i think it's fine; 5 degrees BTDC then

Shot!

dont get a power pulley for a stock application. Your fan turns slower and thus you get less cooling air to your engine.

Can't you run it with a serpant pulley?

serpentine pulley, thats something totally different. Fancy name for a multi-grooved belt like all other cars use