That's fine, on assembly I was consciously checking for tight spots ECT, it actually went together quite well, others I've spoke to (Mick, the vw engine co,) are all surprised that there is no damage to any other piston, especially no3, as it runs hotter and normally fails first(what I've been told)
I didn't, as i new nothing of it, I knew how to set the static , and I use a tach dwell meter to get rpm, but didn't realise it was something to check
Ah, well all being well 7.5 should result in about 30 degs full advance (vac hose off). BUT if your distributor over advances you will get the pinking and can burn holes in your pistons when under load. Same applies to a weak mixture under load. So what you need to do is mark your pully for 30 degs advance - you'll have to do the trig. IIRC for a stock pully it might be 45 mm clkwise from the 7.5 mark but do please work it out yourself as my memory isn't great and it will vary depending on the dia of your pully which come is a few sizes.
Cheers , I have a snazzy pulley with the numbers on it, which is no doubt rubbish, As I set the carbs up myself how would i know it if was weak
BTW your vac advance should NOT be doing anything at idle speed. The fact that it is shows that your throttle stops are set too far open. You need to set those correctly and adjust the idle mixture for good idle and then, as long as it doesn't result in too much max advance, add some idle timing to increase the idle rpm. 850 is good to aim for. Because assuming the timing was not over-advanced it burns your pistons? Sorry! Good question to be fair. You should have been fine following everyone's main/main air suggestions on here / way out westie. If it was REALLY lean it would pop and fart. I think it's most likely a timing problem assuming the piston / rings / deck was ok. You have a lot to check.
It could indeed be rubbish. So you should suspect it. You need to confirm that what it thinks is TDC really is TDC. Best way is to make a spark plug with something jammed in the end to make it longer. I can tell you how I did that - I drilled the sparking end out on a drill press, tapped it and wound in a bolt, then cut the head off the bolt so about 15mm was left extending the plug. Then fit it in No. one. Turn the engine until it hits the plug, mark the pully, turn the engine the other way until it hits and mark again. Half way between in TDC.
If you've got the pulley nut off (you probably haven't), turn the pulley so the keyway is at 270º. The 0º mark on the pulley should be pointing straight up.
Looking at the parts can tell you a lot about what went wrong, or at least what might have gone wrong. I asked what the spark plug looked like; it would be a pretty good indication of detonation and a weak or rich mixture. It might be soaked in oil but you’d still see if it is burnt. If you rebuild it without finding why it failed it could fail again. The valve gap increasing might be caused by the worn cam bearings but check the cam followers, put them face to face and make sure they rock (the face should be slightly convex) and make sure they go back in the same place as you took them out. Go slow, check and measure everything, never assume because it’s new it must be right. Make sure each step is correct before moving to the next. I use a spreadsheet to record all the engine details, dimensions and clearances – 9 columns and 150 rows, it might be excessive but I check more than is necessary.
Sorry I may not have seen your request, please see the attached pics of the spark plugs, 3 are all the same the plug from no2 cylinder is black and the electrode is bent,
The plugs look OK the bent electrode is probably impact damage from the junk in the cylinder. First pic, top left and bottom right plugs don’t look as if they have been tightened?
Maybe it’s my eyes but the sealing rings on two plugs don’t look like they have been compressed. But even if they were loose that’s not the cause of the problem.
One problem you have is how to get the crankcase clean. The oil ways will be full of debris from the damaged bearings and piston and a Type 1 doesn’t have an oil filter so all that debris will be pumped around and around. Is the oil pump, OK?
Yes the oil pump is ok, I'm going to pump maybe panel wipe as I have it through the oil ways, could i use water and a hose?
I would get a plasric tub and use a degreaser/cleaner like MarineClean. Use a squeezy bottle full of degreaser down the galleries that supply the tappets and the supply to the front “nose” bearing. They’re the smallest.
