ORR, thanks.  I went to the books.  Read up on that whole Samba thread about advance all-in.  The numbers vary in different accounts, but I got the idea and did it that way today, so the all-in is at about 35 deg.  Set that way, when it drops to idle, it still reads about 10BTDC, the V notch ¼ - 3/8 inch left of the engine split.  It idles there comfortably, but is very touchy with throttle, easy to kill.

I’d never heard of Density Altitude so I read up a bit on that too.  I read that warmer temps and higher humidity would increase Density Altitude – I’m here with temps in the 60s and humidity in the 20s, so that should not be affecting me.

My first post made a joke about it being peeved at me for not running it all summer, but that may be a thing.  I’m thinking I need to get it out on a highway to blow the cobwebs out of everything.  Into my 29th year with this van and I’ve never had to fiddle with it like this.

Thanks again 

From: OlRivrRat
Sent: Thursday, September 10, 2020 9:39 PM
To: Gene P
Cc: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Timing

        It has been My understanding for Many Years that the General Rule Of Thumb

for Eng' Ing' Timing Advance is that what ever is specified should be Increased by 

1 - 1.5º Per Thousand Ft of Altitude @ which the Eng' Resides ~ So @ 7K ft AMSL

You should be setting Your 2.1L H2OBoxrs Timing @ Somewhere in the range of

12 - 15º ~ That Tab that You mention is Roughly 5º so You can use it as a guide 

to estimate 7 - 10º beyond it or using the Prescribed 2In = 35º You could make a

mark on the Pulley @ 2.5In from the 5º V Groove & that should be good to use @

Full Advance RPMs ~

        All that being said,, Setting Your Timing @ 5º when it should maybe be set

@ 15º shouldn't make it Idle Badly, it should only make it respond to throttle +s

sluggishly ~ 

        There is Another Factor that is important to Note ~ Your Physical Altitude may

be 7000 AMSL but depending on Atmospheric Conditions Your Density Altitude this

time of Year may very well be a Great Deal Higher Than That ~

   
 
On 10 Sep , 2020, at 6:32 PM, Gene P wrote:

> Hey folks, thought the serious work was done, but can’t get ‘er tuned.