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Post by willyknight on Jul 31, 2011 20:11:33 GMT -5
Hi,I am a new member and a new Bradley GT 1 owner.I do not have pics yet but will post.I just got the GT running and drove it to a show 80 miles away down I-75.I was running with traffic at 70 miles per hour at 3400 RPM in 80 degree weather.When I stopped, the car seemed very hot.It would not start and seemed like it was vapor locked.I had to wait a while for it to cool before it would start and the idle was very erratic.Also this is a brand new JC Whitney carb cause the other one would not idle at all.This one sounded beautiful when I left, but now went to erratic idle and now has some stumble it did not have before.
Also when I hit a big bump the front wheels go into a death wobble.What is worn to cause this.It drives nice otherwise.
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Post by smyrnaguy on Jul 31, 2011 20:36:21 GMT -5
The wobble is most likely caused by a worn steering damper. Are you certain the choke is set properly? What kind of carb is it with what distributor? Each combo has it's points (a coincidental pun occurs) and is adjusted slightly differently.
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Post by willyknight on Jul 31, 2011 20:43:37 GMT -5
It is the JC Whitney replacement for the PICT 30 is what it said .It was $180.00 on their website catalog.My donor chassis is supposed to be a 1968 Beetle.It still has the origional points ignition.Could there be a ducting problem with the fan ? There are duct hoses running to the front and heat is coming out of them.I know nothing about VW.This is my first one.
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Post by Dan MacMillan on Aug 1, 2011 6:53:00 GMT -5
X 2 on the damper {providing the front end is tight}, been there done that. Now every build gets a new one whether it needs it or not.
Possible dirt in the idle jet.
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Post by Jeff Lande on Aug 1, 2011 7:36:10 GMT -5
the "death wobble" may be from a broken front shock as well. I had that happen once a while back.
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Post by smyrnaguy on Aug 1, 2011 7:41:41 GMT -5
Did you adjust the carb or just bolt it on? They usually have to be dialed in a bit. They come rough-set so you can get the engine started but have to be tweaked. Does your distributor have a vacuum advance. Here's a blast from the past that might help you out: www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOxxS1EMphU |
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Post by Dan MacMillan on Aug 1, 2011 8:22:00 GMT -5
A shock will not cause the death wobble. A bad/broken shock will cause the suspension to bounce. The wobble usually occurs after a sudden jarring to one front wheel around 35 to 40 mph, it is an extremely violent rapid oscillation of the steering wheel from left to right and back. You cannot hold the wheel straight. The car will travel generally straight although weaving side to side. You cannot turn left or right. DO NOT SPEED UP to drive through it. DO NOT GET ON THE BRAKES. Clutch in and use the parking brake to slow down until it subsides.
Any one who has experienced it knows and probably changed their shorts once they got it under control.
Raising caster will also help correct it. Shims have been made available that when placed behind the lower torsion tube will raise caster. Also when the ball joint cams are turned to affect a camber change, the trade off is in caster. Caster on a Bug link pin chassis is considered non adjustable.
If the front end is stock then the place to start is with the damper.
Here are some examples of what it looks like. Both of these vehicles use damper shocks.
You will notice the wheels are not bouncing up and down {motion controlled by shocks} but are going side to side.
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Post by jspbtown on Aug 1, 2011 8:36:11 GMT -5
I would also check your timing and valve adjustment in regards to the heat issue.
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Post by willyknight on Aug 3, 2011 22:30:25 GMT -5
Thanks for everyones help.I will try these things and see what happens.I did adjust the carb and it seems that every time I drive it ,it needs adjusted again.Although I have lost some faith in its dependability it was nice to drive over 150 miles round trip to a car show,cruise around,and I gave 4 of the neighbor kids fairly long rides for about $20.00 in gas.
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mpm
Junior Member
Member since 2008
Posts: 51
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Post by mpm on Aug 4, 2011 4:34:38 GMT -5
What tire pressure are you running with? Adjust the front tire pressure to 15
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Post by willyknight on Aug 4, 2011 22:18:21 GMT -5
I am running 25 psi.I just put on some aluminum cragar adapters that I glass beaded and clear coated and then put on some Chevy 4 3/4 bolt circle and 15 in diameter torque thrust wheels to make it look as close to a GT 40 as I can.It came out pretty good.The adapters cover the whole drum face and make them look like aluminum drums.The wheel offset brings them to the edge of the fenders and gives it a wider stance.It looks agressive.
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