Pat Callaghan wrote:

>      Well, I got my bus home.  I found two things.  I found the Pertronix
> igniter plate had moved too close to the magnets.  Not sure if that would
> keep it from starting,  but I also found the cylinder head temp sensor wire
> disconnected.  I am not sure what stopped the van but it seems to be running
> fine after I re-adjusted the igniter & re-connected the head sensor.  I have
> learned a lesson from this.  When I was young, I never went anywhere without
> my tools ala Muir.  As I have gotten older, I have also had gotten a little
> lazy.  My toolbox stays with me now.
>
> Pat Callaghan
> 82 Westy
> Portland, OR.
> http://www.users.qwest.net/~patcal

That head temp sensor wire will do it.  Years ago we were coming home to Chicago
from Florida in a '71 411 (very similar engine).  It started to lose power at
high speed and eventually stopped.  Started again only after cooling down; went
a mile and stopped again.  Finally wouldn't start at all.  State trouper came by
and said he could call a tow truck, but since it was Sunday afternoon on New
Year's Eve about a mile from the Fla-Ga line, the prospects for speedy repair
seemed dim.
  Finally a phrase from a manual came to mind.  "If the head temp sensor becomes
an open circuit, the engine will not operate."  I pulled the wire off the
sensor, clamped it to the engine with a pair of Vise Grips and the car started
and ran fine.  Got home with no problem, except a little hard to start the next
morning in Tenn.

Larry A.
'91 GL  Vinnie
'94 Golf  Minnie