Aircooled VW South Africa

bus started missing yesterday... down on power, sounding very 'bubbly'
I cleaned up the rotor, and checked all the leads were tight...
what else could have gone bad?

my thinking so far is to check all the leads, then plugs I suppose. while I am at it, I should do valve timing, oil change, clean filters etc It also smells a bit rich, so the carbs probably need set too... in the past I have taken my other bus to Dirk in pta, any suggestions for anyone in JHB that will do this properly?

Could be a dud spark plug, or a bad condensor. Also check points gap and timing. Eliminate all possible ignition faults before considering fuel supply issues.

Also check valve clearance. If clearances keep closing up between services then you may be having unleaded fuel issues leading to valve seat recession.

do a good service on the bus. Then if not right, check for manifold leaks by spraying quick start over all joints with the engine running and listen to hear if the engine idles differently. Then fix the leak

About a year ago my 57 suddenly misfired and didnt want to start. Tried everything (New leads, points, condenser, coil) until eventually I changed the distributor cap with the 59's. Violla and it run like a charm. Bought a new cap and my problem solved. I'm not sure if this will help you, but hope you get it sorted quickly.

I am embarrassed to report I finally got to bottom of this. One of the carb rods I had refitted when replacing alternator had come loose. I had checked HT cords, swopped plugs and was going to do valve timing when this became apparent. Was going to buy new leads, rotor and dist cap tomorrow.. ouch!
Thanks for all the suggestions and help.