A Prost!

New Injectors & seals? Check.
New plugs? Check.
New points? Check.
New Battery cables? Check.
Battery charge topped up? Check.
Fire Extingusher at hand? Check.
Jerrycan of gas? Check.
Fuel rail pressurized? 40 PSI, check.

Here we go....

I should say, first, that my experience with Aircooled VW engines has always been on the carbureted side. I've never actually run a fuel injected ACVW. So frankly, I had no idea what to expect. My 20 years of experience suggested a coughing, sputtering, gagging, and hacking while the engine shook off its torpor and varnished bits crunched and blasted their way through long dormant passages. Certainly that was what I expected. Or nothing. Or just a cranking engine as I have gotten previously, but no fire.

VRRRROOOAAAMMMMHHHH!!!

I think I spent the first several milliseconds being purely shocked. Then I was very busy, since once the engine had caught, it seemed to want to rev completely out of control! I made a fast leg back from the driver's door to the engine compartment, reached all the way back to the firewall and gave the throttle valve a counter-clockwise twist to close down the throttle valve. The throttle felt like an ooy-gooey mess and shows every sign of needing a liberal working over with a can of gum-out. Also noticed that the return spring was pretty weak. With a twist on the throttle valve, the engine dropped into the 2500 rpm range, and stayed there.

Just then, I saw my wife running out. She had heard the ruckus (like a rhinoceros rhythmically ramming a steel shed) and come running. While she offered me congratulations, it was in the form of yelling over the din, 'it smells like something died!' Thanks so much. The exhaust was probably rattling mouse turds all the way down the exhaust system, which bothers me not at all. The goal is to prove that the engine is sane and run-able, not that the exhaust (which is quite rotten and will probably have to be replaced end to end) is in good condition.

After about 3 minutes, the Auxiliary Air Regulator (AAR, which provides big gulps of air to make the engine run faster during warm-up) finally timed out and closed itself down. Now there wasn't enough air, and the engine stumbled and gently stopped. A backfire or two. Now that I've seen that the engine can be made to run, and probably has life still in it, it is time to do all of the things to it that have been neglected. The initial list reads like so:

Get down to the throttle valve and give it a bath with some gum-out.
Check that the AFM (Air Fuel Meter) flap has not been jambed or warped by those backfires.
Consult ratwell.com for correct lengths of fuel and vacuum hose.
Then execute the first purchase from Bus Depot.

While these next steps are taken for the engine, I'll start work on the sliding door, which is going to need a bucketful of TLC before it operates correctly again. More on that next time.