I recently bought a 1971 VW. Trying to get it race ready. 1600cc dual port. Has mechanical advance. Goes strong in 1st gear, loses power in second gear, barely moves or runs in 3rd gear. Never made it to 4th gear. Guy I bought it from said engine was recently overhauled. Any chance that the problem is the mechanical advance on the distrubr?

I would start with the \"basics\"!!! Check valve adjustment (0.006 cold) check point gap (.016-.018) Check fuel filter & air filter. If it's a 009 mech. advance dist. set timing at 30-32*BTDC with the engine running at 2500-3000 RPM's. After that adjust carb & road test!! THEN let us know the results & we can go from there!! Also you can try replacing the condenser in the dist. as when they are going bad the enging just falls on it's face!!

Robert, WHERE are you located???

Thanks, will start there and see what I can figure out. I am located in Bellingham Wa, near the Canadian border.

I have some friends that live in Bremerton.....Loooooooooooooong way from So. Calif.!!!

They in the military? Lot over there. Used to be myself. Do they race or are involved in Baja?