are you running points? check those too if you are.

I am. They looked good last time I checked when this same problem surfaced. I'll check again tomorow - thanks for tip.

probably more crap in the idel circuit, seems to happen in waves like that. It doesn't take much to clog one of those bitches up, lol

That's what I expected to find - but nope. I pulled both carbs off and checked the idle circuit passages, but they looked clean. However, I gave them the white glove treatment anyway. The rest of the carb(s) seemed to check out OK.

The points looked OK. I did notice that the dist cap is a bit chewed up on the inside; little plastic bits inside. The rotor looked OK. Thought about checking the coil - weak ignition issue? Whatever the culprit is it pops up (literally - pops) totally at random.

If all else fails, perhaps I'll have to pull the 1835 and drop in this bad boy

Have you considered dropping an electronic ignition in there? Maybe for the spring? I've been running a Pertronix unit I got from Brian for about 2.5 years now, over 20k miles and it hasn't skipped a beat ::knock on wood::

Do you run the Pertronix electronic ignition for the Bosch 009 (mech advance) or the Ignitor II with a billet VW distributor (Petronix coil)? I looked at the first unit through CIP and Appletree - they wanted $60.

The Bug runs a 010 Bosch dist - not sure if the Pertronix unit for the 009 Bosch works in that application as well.

Of course, I don't know if my issue is ignition related. Ran out of time today to take it out on the road after the carb R&R.

009 unit wont work in the 010
and they are pricey $120
http://www.aircooled.net/new-bin/viewpr ... 1078511940

hopefully it was just the carb. there's been a couple times with mine where I didn't really find anything, but cleaned it and put it back together and it ran fine. It only takes a piece of debris ~ 0.5 mm to clog the idle circuit, so sometimes you may not even see it.

I thought that might be the case. Thanks for the link - $120, that's new dist. price.

Well it wasn't the carb - or seemingly a clogged idle circuit. It ran today the same as yesterday - spits, sputters after 25-30 mph. It's not all the time and not just on acceleration; I hear it often at even speed. Car idles fine once it's warmed up a bit.

The points look fine; ign. wires OK, rotor OK; condensor a bit dirty (but I assume that happens when running outside the dist). Condensor? Should I be thinking valve adjustment?