Has it got a vacum advance distributor and if so does it work, removing and sucking on the carb end of the hose with the dizzy cap off you should see the distributor mechanism move.

hi all , just been out playing and test running, tried backing off choke rob, first time no difference , went a bit further clockwise and not feeling as rich when I manoeuvre round the garden , definately starting better hot now ,so whether I can back off more yet I guess will depend on how it starts from cold now, was going to try the vacuum sucking thing next snoopy to see if it is moving, how do I tell an 009 distributed ? As reading that they were never used on beetles and although they work can cause stumbling and poor pick up and response ? Mine is stalling at junctions now so have been reading on setting up the 34 pict carb and several things to check and try with the different throttle screws , but feel it is moving in the right direction, will go and suck on my vacuum pipe now ! ,thanks

Dizzy moving when I suck on vac pipe 

Is the timing set at 7.5 degrees before tdc although vw used 7.5 btdc to 5degrees after tdcon later engineswith emissions stuff on them. Does the accelerator pump jet work correctly and squirt down the carb not onto the side.

have you got the correct length of plugs in there. ?   never trust what was in when you bought it .
I,ve found ODD heads, one side short reach plugs and other long .  you can exspect all sorts second hand in the Vw scene  .
this could well be your problem.

have you got the correct length of plugs in there. ?   never trust what was in when you bought it .
I,ve found ODD heads, one side short reach plugs and other long .  you can exspect all sorts second hand in the Vw scene  .
this could well be your problem.

fitted correct plugs from Retrodubs when I got the engine up and running . Am going to change my vacuum advance hose to the correct outlet on the carb tomorrow and test again, thanks for your input

take your rocker covers off and check the heads casting number on both, you can search to check which you have or let me know and i can check for you. ( what plugs are in ? )
have you a vw dizzy or after market as after market have a lot of slop in the spindle and will throw the timing all over the place.
bogging down on accelleration is idle jet to small ( I bought some tiny drills of ebay for opening jets out ) saves buying new jets all the time. ( 1600  52- 55 idle ).

take your rocker covers off and check the heads casting number on both, you can search to check which you have or let me know and i can check for you. ( what plugs are in ? )
have you a vw dizzy or after market as after market have a lot of slop in the spindle and will throw the timing all over the place.
bogging down on accelleration is idle jet to small ( I bought some tiny drills of ebay for opening jets out ) saves buying new jets all the time. ( 1600  52- 55 idle ).

thanks grisly and all, vac hose on carb now and loads loads better, much less bogging, hoping now it will still crisp up the pick up now with tweaking carb settings and timing, can't get rocker covers off without removing cannons, so will check casting numbers and plugs when I do my valve clearances. It's a 1600 twin port AC code,, the empi carb came with a 55 idle and I fitted a 130 main jet but lost the original one taking it out so don't know if it was a 130 as well,still a bit black in the exhaust, so could still be a bit rich , do you think I can back off the choke even more as it still starts well from cold and better now from hot but still not as good as it should be, 

take it for a run to clean the crap out of the engine, then see how it runs the carb may need a tweak to get the mixture weaker.
ideally a full engine set up should be done before setting the carb as in plugs, points, timing and valve clearances all spot on before the fine tuning starts.

take it for a run to clean the crap out of the engine, then see how it runs the carb may need a tweak to get the mixture weaker.
ideally a full engine set up should be done before setting the carb as in plugs, points, timing and valve clearances all spot on before the fine tuning starts.

thanks snoopy, slowly getting there , the vacuum pipe making a massive improvement, it is getting less rich as I am backing off the choke more and more , noticed it was idling a lot faster after test drive , I guess that's cause it is weaker now ? So reset the idle slower. Will test cold and hot starting tomorrow and look at colour of my plugs and give them a clean. I realise  I am doing things back to front and really should be doing valve clearances etc first ,but am getting there thanks to all help from you guys 

As Snoopy said, you really need to do the valves 1st.

As Snoopy said, you really need to do the valves 1st.

. Ok , think I will bite the bullet and remove the cannons so I can get to my valve covers ,