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Wow! Thank you all. Sincerely, that's a fantastic bunch of suggestions. I feel like I definitely came to the right place to ask. I have a tuneup kit coming from Kanter's some time this upcoming week so I'll be able to eliminate those as potential culprits. I had a sense that it might be the coil but it I didn't have a basis for the thought. Just intuition. I'll move on to the fuel system from there. The tank situation is a bit screwy to me anyway. The guy I bought it from couldn't find the correct replacement fuel tank and put a newer VW tank on it because it fit. Now this guy may have 30+ classics and own a garage but somehow I got the feeling that it didn't necessarily make him a good mechanic. I know how I'm spending my 4th of July. Thanks again!

No problem if it needs to be moved. I wasn't too sure where to place this when I started.

Quote:
Rock,
for including your '50 in the Owner Registry.

And Kev,

Could you please move this thread to the Post-War Forum?

Just an update... replaced the coil and still have the same problem though I did some more troubleshooting and it does seem to be a fuel system issue. If I give her a little shot of carb cleaner after cutting out and try to restart she'll perk right up again for a few minutes. Plus I smell no fuel in the carb AND I also noticed that when you stomp the gas when she does run you hear a huge sucking sound and the engine just glug glugs for a couple seconds before picking up. On to the fuel pump and a big thanks to bigkev for that nifty PDF on the topic. Really brilliant guided tour of the rebuild. As a side note I did get up and running the other morning for about 10 minutes. Longest run yet and I had to shut down because the temp was rocketing up. I'm going to replace the thermostat but it's looking like a water pump rebuild is in my future. My laundry list groweth. On the bright side my engine electrical system is now well on the way to a clean bill of health after my wild goose chase. I love my car... I really do. And I look forward to a day when I can actually drive it!

This is the place I'm going to have rebuild my water pump:

Arthur goulds, the quoted 90 bucks to rebuild my water pump

Technical support is offered Monday - Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (CST).

Shipping Address: 5R Main Street
Kings Park N.Y. 11754
Phone : (631) 269-0093
arthurgouldrebuilders.com/index.htm

A thermostat and coolant change are always a good idea. Mine heats up pretty fast if I start it and only run the engine in about 10 minutes or so. If I drive it, then the temps stay as they should.

OK, so nobody laugh now... remember I'm still learning. I noticed today that there is a hose that enters the side of the engine just below the exhaust manifold and it is disconnected. Just hanging there and angles down towards the exhaust system perhaps? Is this part of the engine vacuum system in some way? A return of some sort? I know for most of you guys it's elementary but if it is what I think it is would that contribute to shutting down as the engine warms up? I feel so backwards on occasion with engines. I'm a certified master mechanic for machines of the motor-less persuasion. Bicycles not cars. But I'm trying to learn as much as I can like a sponge.

If it's in the rear valve chamber, it's the road draft tube. It connects to nothing.

If it is a small rubber hose it would be for the vacuum booster to help the windshield wipers. These cars had a combination fuel & vacuum pimp with the vacuum section used to assist the wipers when manifold vacuum was low. The vacuum pump is in the upper part of the fuel pump and connects to a steel line that runs along the side of the engine block towards the rear and then by a rubber hose up to the wiper motor on the firewall.

Nah, it's a pretty big tube... about 2" diameter I'd say. It's connected to something though because it's disconnected at the side of the engine and still connected at it's bottom end somewhere because it's floating there. Hmmm.... I'll take a better look later to see where it hooks up.