Scirocco Register

Is the breather pipe from the rocker box to the carb the
only breather that an 1800 carb'd engine should have?
In an attempt to cure the poor idle - really lumpy and "rich" smelling and
having read that the recirculated gasses from the breather can have
an adverse affect on the octane rating I have recently disconnected it and used
the old "beer can catch tank method. When the car is idling there are pulses of
gas into the can!Enough to make the sides of said can expand and contract!

How much back pressure should the engine produce from this
breather? Have I got a bit of a piston ring problem or
is there another explanation?

The car seems like it idles on 3 cylinders but runs perfectly when
above idle, the spark plugs are a light grey colour and dry as sticks.

yeap there is only the one breather pipe.
Some people ive heard have burt the wire mech breather to clear it out, others simply replace the rocker cover.

For your poor idle it could be a cause of a weak c.o. mixture, a leak in a vacume pipe including the brake servo pipe, or even a leak in the inlet manifold. Have you checked the rubber gasket that the carb sits on, on the inlet manifold? a slight split can cause the car to run lumpy as it would be drawing in to much air, but then be pretty good under load as you will be increasing the fuel.

Hi
I'm not sure wether Jake mentioned it, because he probably called it by it's correct name, and I wouldn't know that sort of thing, but at the risk of repeating what he said, I had a "Hairdresser" white carbed Scala about 12 years ago, that I bought really cheap because it sounded like it was running on 3.
Anyway I took it to Bell & Colvill VW and the head honcho came out and went straight for a 3 inch length rubber breather just under/ behind the inlet manifold, anyway mine had rotted out from oil contamination, so 5 minutes later, New pipe on, £3 lighter in the pocket, and the car sounded like it was ready for Le Mans, it really was one of those moments you pray for when something goes wrong.
Anyways, give it a go it might work.

Cheers
Paul