Air/Fuel Mixture Gauge Installation!
Finally! A way to get your carburetor jetting down exactly!
Jetting. Even the sound of the word is enough to make most mechanics cringe. You spend all day (A day you could spend doing other, more fun things) removing jets, putting in different jets, resetting the mixture, driving the car around, pulling jets, putting in different jets, reseting the mixture, driving the car around..........
Let's face it, it gets old reeeaaaal quick. Especially if you have a set of dual carbs crammed into the tight surrounds of the VW bug's engine compartment. And in the end, isn't it almost just a guess that you have the right jetting? Well, it isn't popping, so I suppose it's not too lean, I don't 'think' it's too boggy, so I suppose it isn't too rich.........
But not anymore!
Hey, it is the 21st century, right? Should we be doomed to the harsh reality that working on our beloved cars has to be horrible work? I say "No it doesn't". For me to combat the agony of jetting is impossible for two reasons. The first being thatI don't have much spare time to spend tinkering with something on my car, when more "Fun" things can be done, and the second reason being, I get bored with things really quickly, and would never get the jetting done. I'd get it close and call it good. Lucky for me, Aircooled.Net has a new product aimed right at guys like me. You know, the kind that feels, "Why walk to the corner store, when we can drive a VW to it!". I know i'm not the only one.
Now, if you order an Air/Fuel Mixture gauge from Aircooled.Net, what exactly do you get? Just the gauge? The gauge and a cheap o2 sensor? Nope. When you get thier kit, it comes with about everything you need to install it. It comes with the Air/Fuel mixture gauge, a four wire heated o2 sensor, about 3 feet of fiberglass sheathing to insulate any wiring close to the exhaust, a bung to weld into the exhaust, more than enough wire to wire up the system to a rear engined car, all needed connectors, and heat shrink tubing. As you can see, it is a very complete kit. All you have to do is get the bung welded into the exhaust!
The first thing I did was to work on getting the o2 bung in the exhuast. I viced my Phat Boy muffler and began wire wheeling all the POR-20 off the surrounding area that would be welded on. For me, I got carried away and removed everything on the pipe leading to the muffler. Give me a power tool......... Anyway, placement of the o2 sensor isn't too critical, you just have to put it AFTER the collector, and BEFORE the muffler (or, catallitic converter, if equiped). The place I chose to put mine was on the inside bend of the pipe, to keep it out of harms way.
For the o2 sensor provided in the kit, a 1/2" hole is big enough. Make sure you have a good hold of the drill, when it starts to go through and catches, all hell breaks loose. Well, the drill breaks loose, and hits you in the funny bone. Now if you're happy with the placement of your hole, your good to go for the next step. If you aren't, tough shit, you've just drilled a 1/2" hole in your exhaust, and better be happy with it. Hehe..
Now, if you dont have a wirefeed welder handy, you may want to find one. Or, have a reputable muffler shop weld the bung for you. Since I was in a hurry to get the job done, I whipped out my trusty Oxygen/MAPP fuel torch. The weld looks bad, but it will hold, that, I can assure you.